MealPlanner101 - Supper Saturday
January 5, 2008 by Julie Bonner
Filed under Home & Living
My top number one 2008 New Year’s resolution is to cook healthier and more frequent meals for my family and also learn better skills as a cook. I come from a line of very good cooks and I can actually bake and cook quite well..I just don’t do it as much as I used to or put as much effort into it as I should.
We have become SO busy now that our kids are getting older. Even though they each only have one activity that they are involved in, that’s 3 kids times 1 activity equals 3 nights a week that are taken up. Well, four actually since my middle son is at the gym 2 times a week. And then with church and other life’s activities, we are BUSY! So, guess what suffers as a result of all this busyness? That’s right - meals.
I did some searching around on the ‘net to see what I could find that might help me out in this area. I found a video that has peaked my interest. Watch it below:
Meal Planning Guides for Busy Moms: Meal Planner 101
Not only do I share the same name with the creator of MealPlanner101, but she has 3 kids that she is toting around to activities too. Now this seems like a woman I can learn something from and her system sounds like something that would be perfect for me.
I hopped over to her site and I am considering ordering her dvd/notebook combo kit for $29.95. You can also just order the dvd for $19.95 if you don’t want the notebook. I long for the days that I always knew what was for breakfast, lunch and dinner and for the days that I knew my pantry, fridge and freezer were well stocked with what I needed. I have let this slip through the cracks and I am putting a stop to it! 
If I do decide to order this meal planner, you can bet that I’ll do a full review and let you know what I thought. Be sure and visit Meal Planner 101 and check it out!
if you have any meal planning tips to share, please feel free to do so!
Update: Meal Planner 101 is on its way to me! I am SO excited and will give you a review of it after I’ve had a chance to check it out and implement it.
I’d be so lost if I didn’t meal plan. It’s the only way I can consistently provide healthy meals for my family while maintaining a grocery budget at the same time.
Check out Menu Plan Monday each week at my site. It’s been a lifesaver for me!
Laura
Yes, I agree that a meal plan is great. I like Laura’s and other sites where I check for these. One of my resolutions this year is to have a meal plan. I think it’s a big first step in my biggest goal for this year: cheaper, healthier, easier food for my family.
But I’ll start with anything that’s not shrinkwrapped or comes with a toy.
Francie
http://www.frantichomecook.com
Hey Laura, I’ve been to your Menu Plan Monday. It’s an amazing list. I don’t know why I haven’t participated. It definitely seems popular. Maybe I’ll have to join you guys.
Francie - I totally agree about the no shrink wrap and toy idea. It’s too easy to stop at the local fast food joint sometimes.
I have struggled with menu planning for years and tried lots of different ideas. I came across this site: http://www.houseoforder.com/food.htm and have been doing her menu planning and managed to stick with it for months - a record! I think it’s the best meal planning idea I have come across - for me anyway!
Thanks for the link Jamie. I’ll check it out.
This looks like something I need. I struggle with what’s for dinner every night too. Looking forward to your review of the DVD.
@Laura - the dvd was great! I’ll be putting up a review this week!