Meal Plan Check-in

Meal planning is as much an art as a science.  Part of it requires getting creative with the ingredients at hand; part of it is taking into consideration the foods your family likes (especially when it concerns picky children).

As I go through the weeks, I take notes on the meal plan writing in substitutions or cancellations.  This past week was tricky because I started working, so I made a plan that I thought would accommodate my new work schedule, but then work was cancelled on Wednesday because of the weather...and that cancellation threw off Thursday's plan.

So here are the highlights...

Monday: It was supposed to be meatloaf with a green and a starch.  We had a long day running around to the ENT and the pharmacy, so by the time we got back home from all that, the baby was crabby, and I couldn't fix dinner.  Instead I made a sort of turkey-quinoa mash with peas.  I felt okay with that because I used all the same stuff I would have with the meatloaf, just in a different construction.

Tuesday: My first day at work.  My job is super easy and, so far, kind of boring, but that will change soon.  All the same, I was away from the house and kids for several hours, so when I got home, the baby needed to nurse and sleep in my arms...that's how he rolls.  Add to that, my husband wasn't that hungry and had heartburn when he got home, so taco Tuesday turned into Cheerios for him, popcorn for me.

Wednesday: Pulled pork was scheduled, pulled pork was eaten.

Thursday: Leftover pulled pork was scheduled...there were no leftovers.  I was going to make BLTs, but we were out of bread and I didn't have time to bake a loaf.  So we had leftover night.  A mishmash of all the leftovers we had in the fridge, warmed up and served family style.

Friday: On track with pasta with peas and bacon, a recipe I found in Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook.

Saturday and Sunday: Leftovers/play it by ear.

So we were slightly off track on a couple days, but we still ate homemade food and avoided the order out trap that we used to fall into once a week or more.

Life happens, and sometimes it becomes hard to stick to the plan.  I find it necessary to have a little bit of leeway built into our meal plan, as well as our lives in general.  If I hold myself too accountable, I'm likely to go crazy.  So I like to think of the meal plan as more a guideline than a strict code.