Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week

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Last week, on a whim, I decided to put together a bowl of Tammy’s Chicken Pasta Salad after breakfast. It was a warm day, plus we had soccer games that evening. I can’t tell you how grateful I was that I had quickly made this salad that morning. Just before game time in the late afternoon, we all dished out bowls of salad, then headed out to the soccer field. It was convenience food at it’s finest! That meal is a perfect example of how you can”Eat Healthy and Save Time“. :)

Tonight for High School Huddle, I decided to try a variation of these Oatmeal Butterscotch Chip Cookies. I mixed up the recipe as directed, except I added chocolate chips instead of butterscotch chips. Then, I spread the batter into a 9×13 inch baking pan and baked them for 25 minutes. They were a hit!

Here is our menu for this week:

Sunday, April 29
Oatmeal, fruit
Church potluck:  Pizza casserole, butterscotch bars, mixed veggies
High school huddle:  Italian pasta bake, green beans, corn, french bread, oatmeal chocolate chip bars

Monday, April 30
Whole wheat waffles, raspberries
Bbq chicken sandwiches, green beans
Teriyaki chicken and vegetables with rice

Tuesday, May 1
Baked oatmeal cups, applesauce
Corn dog muffins, raw veggies with homemade ranch
Roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy

Wednesday, May 2
Cream cheese pastry, bananas
Bean dip with chips, tomatoes, oranges
Creamy crock pot chicken and rice, carrots

Thursday, May 3
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, apples
Chicken veggie quesadillas, pineapple
Sloppy joes, ranch potato wedges, peas

Friday, May 4
Honey whole wheat bagels, oranges
Hamburger cream cheese dip, organic corn chips, fruit
Homemade pizza

Saturday, May 5
Scrambled egg sandwiches, clementines
Leftovers
Chicken noodle soup with carrots

Anything fun on your menu this week?

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I Scored FIVE!!!! (and our Menu Plan for the Week)

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In case I haven’t mentioned it already, you should know that my entire family loves the game of soccer. Five out of six of us play, coach, and/or referee – leaving me to do what is safe and wise:  1) feed them all well  2) try to keep up with the practice/coaching/game/referee schedule as much as is humanly possible 3) cheer loudly from the sidelines and 4) for the love of everyone involved, stay far away from the soccer ball.

This system has worked well for years. But Saturday told a bit of a different story where Mom and soccer were involved. I had done my part that morning of feeding them all well before games, and then cheering loudly from the sidelines. (Although it was really cold, so instead of cheering very loudly, mostly I was focused on keeping my nose from dripping.)

Because an entire morning of soccer games is apparently just not enough, Matt and the boys decided to start a pick-up game on a small field with a few of their young friends. My kind husband then asked if I would like to join them out on the field.

I hesitated briefly, but given the fact that I am determined to get fit and thought that spending that time on the field with my family might actually be fun, I said yes. After all, I was cold. I figured that I could at least play for a couple of minutes so I could get warmed up a little bit.

One hour and fifteen minutes later, we decided to be finished. Yes, for one hour and fifteen minutes, I played soccer.

Perhaps I should clarify.

On-lookers may not call what I did “playing soccer”. It may have appeared to be more like a crazy 38 year old woman stumbling across a soccer field while occasionally making haphazard foot contact with a rolling ball.

But I’ll have you know – I scored five, yes…count them…FIVE goals. Why yes, I did.

I’m not entirely sure how it happened, because during the entire game, even though my brain often knew just what to do, that message usually didn’t quite make it to my feet. Generally, I felt like my feet were made of cast iron and wouldn’t budge or lift or turn the way I was trying to tell them to. But, since I was on my husband’s team, he obviously did a great job feeding the ball right to my foot so that I could force, flick, or otherwise, fling the ball into the net.

FIVE times!!!

Oh, had I told you that number already?

I should also mention that by the end of our game, I was so tired I could barely walk. And yes, today, I do have some bruises and sore muscles. Playing soccer definitely uses quite a different variety of muscles than does walking, jogging, lifting, and doing work-out videos. And the bruises. I definitely learned why shin guards are required for soccer.

But it doesn’t matter, because I scored five!

And now, while I sit here with ice on my knee, I will work on our menu plan for the week…

Sunday, April 22
Oatmeal, clementines
Bbq meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans, sweet corn
High school huddle – Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, pickles, olives, carrot sticks, butterscotch bars (x3)

Monday, April 23
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Leftovers
Tuna casserole, peas

Tuesday, April 24
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Beef and cheese burritos, pineapple
Taco potatoes, tossed salad

Wednesday, April 25
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Easy noodle stir fry with carrots and broccoli
Barbeque brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Thursday, April 26
Warm vanilla soother, cinnamon swirl toast
Tuna salad on crackers, tomatoes, olives
Baked three cheese chicken pasta, tossed salad

Friday, April 27
Whole wheat donuts, apples
Chicken nuggets, ranch potato wedges, peas
Tacos

Saturday, April 28
Applesauce bread, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Turkey sausage and red bean stew, cornbread muffins

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Menu Plan for the Week (and some excuses regarding the No More Excuses series…)

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Do you realize that it has been over a month since I’ve written anything new in the No More Excuses series I began this year? How ridiculous is that? I do happen to have several excuses I can give you for not taking the time to write these posts about excuses, just in case you’d care to hear them. I’m guessing you wouldn’t though. ;)

However, without sharing my excuses, I would like to apologize. It’s not very cool of me to start a series and then leave you hanging forever. So this week, I will be picking up that series where I left it off. Go catch up on all of the No More Excuses posts to read what I’ve previously written on the topic of giving excuses for not eating a healthy diet.

Ironically, this week, I’ll be writing about the excuse of “I don’t have time to eat healthy food…”. Funny, since I’ve not found the time to write that post, eh? :)

And speaking of not having the time – this week in our new Ask the Trainer feature, we will also be addressing the topic of finding the time to exercise. It seems that there’s a bit of a theme going on around here this week. How…timely. (And wow, how super cheesy was that?!)

While I’m finding the time to write those posts, here is our menu plan for this week:

Sunday, April 15
Baked oatmeal cups, applesauce
Hoagie sandwiches, chips, apples
High School Huddle – Pulled pork sandwiches with bbq sauce, baby carrots with ranch dip, cream cheese corn, grapes, chocolate chip cookies

Monday, April 16
Pancake sausage muffins, blueberries
Healthier cheese dip, chips, grapes
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, April 17
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Bbq chicken, creamy mac and cheese, strawberry peach slushies
Hamburger sauerkraut dip, chips, veggie tray, homemade ranch dip, chocolate crinkle cookies (I’m hosting Bunco!)

Wednesday, April 18
Honey whole wheat bagels, blueberries
Bean and cheese burritos, raw veggies with ranch
Lasagna, tossed salad, corn

Thursday, April 19
Banana bread, applesauce
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrots
Popcorn chicken, stir fried rice and veggies

Friday, April 20
Peanut butter honey toast, oranges
Sloppy joes, potato salad, green beans
Homemade pizza

Saturday, April 21
Scrambled egg sandwiches, apples
Leftovers
Grilled steak, baked potatoes, asparagus

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Soccer season has started up this spring for our boys. I even have a slight sunburn to prove it. Justus had his first games this weekend, and although we lost both games, it sure was great to be back out at the field again. (This is easy for me to say since the weather was gorgeous!)

Last week, I spent some time filling our freezers with some healthy convenience foods to help keep me sane during soccer season. I’ll share more about my experiences in a few days. Ah, but I love a full freezer!

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, March 25
Oatmeal, fruit
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
High School Huddle – Creamy chicken and rice casserole, green beans, dinner rolls, trail mix

Monday, March 26
Whole wheat pancakes, turkey sausage
Bison brats, fruit salad, carrots with ranch
Baked three cheese chicken pasta, tossed salad, steamed broccoli

Tuesday, March 27
Honey whole wheat bagels, apples
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Italian roast wraps with venison roast, steamed carrots

Wednesday, March 28
Creamy orange coolers, scrambled eggs
Chicken chef salad, toast
Pasta with alfredo sauce, tossed salad

Thursday, March 29
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Nacho dip with chips, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Friday, March 30
Giant breakfast cookies, bananas
Pigs in a blanket, carrot sticks with ranch, strawberry-orange smoothies
Hamburgers, homemade fries

Saturday, March 31
Whole wheat donuts
Leftovers
Swiss steak with rice

Have anything fun planned to eat this week?

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Menu Plan for the Week

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This weekend, I experimented with a new chocolate cookie recipe, which is made with sucanat, whole wheat flour, and homemade white chocolate chips. They turned out great, so I made a triple batch to serve at huddle tonight. I’ll be sharing the recipe with you this week!

Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, March 18
Oatmeal, fruit
Taco potatoes, pineapple
High School Huddle – Chili with fritos, cheese, and sour cream, baby carrots, ranch dressing, olives, chocolate cookies

Monday, March 19
Cream cheese pastry, strawberries
Pigs in a blanket, apple slices, carrot sticks
Teriyaki chicken and vegetables with rice

Tuesday, March 20
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Taco corn fritters, applesauce
Pizza casserole, tossed salad, steamed broccoli

Wednesday, March 21
Coconut flour banana muffins, pears
Creamy orange cooler, chef salad
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad, steamed carrots

Thursday, March 22
Fried eggs on toast, clementines
Tuna salad on crackers, grape tomatoes, pineapple
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, peas

Friday, March 23
Peanut butter honey toast, applesauce
Sloppy cornbread muffins, green beans
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, spanish rice, tossed salad

Saturday, March 24
Pancake sausage muffins, bananas
Leftovers
Steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, cream cheese corn

Read about how I plan my menus here.

What’s on your menu this week?

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Menu Plan for the Week

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We actually had a calm, stay-at-home weekend. I’m not sure the last time that’s happened. Well, I guess I should interject here that our boys are preparing for Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) in April, so there’s always a lot of running back and forth to practices on Sunday afternoons. Therefore, I’m sure if Matt or the boys read that statement, they’d think I was nuts to call this weekend a calm one. I just mean that we didn’t travel anywhere. We were home more than we were away. We got a little laundry caught up. We had friends over. Busy is relative, right?! :)

bananamuffins2sm

Here’s what our menu looks like for this week:

Sunday, March 11
Oatmeal, fruit
Italian stew with potatoes and green beans
High School Huddle – Chicken enchiladas, tossed salad, spanish rice, chips and salsa, cookie tray

Monday, March 12
Whole wheat pancakes, applesauce
Baked potatoes with butter, cheese, and sour cream, fruit salad
Tuna casserole, peas

Tuesday, March 13
Cheesy scrambled eggs, clementines
Homemade pizza pockets, tossed salad
Bbq chicken, fried potatoes, okra

Wednesday, March 14
Banana bread, apples
Corndog  muffins, peas, carrot sticks
Chicken alfredo, steamed broccoli and carrots

Thursday, March 15
Breakfast burritos, oranges
Sloppy joes, ranch potato wedges, carrots with ranch
Lasagna, tossed salad, corn

Friday, March 16
Peanut butter honey toast, bananas and apples
Tuna salad on crackers, fruit/yogurt smoothies
Hamburgers with homemade onion rings

Saturday, March 17
Breakfast cake, applesauce
Leftovers
Homemade pizza

If you’re interested in knowing more about my menu planning method, I encourage you to read:  Why My Whole Foods Menu Plan Might Be Overwhelming.

What’s on your menu this week?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Menu Plan for the Week

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We spent the weekend in Kansas at a home school basketball tournament for our oldest, Asa. We had a great time! My dad and his wife were able to come join us for the weekend. Asa’s team played very well and ended up taking first in their division! Very fun. More importantly, we were able to focus on and build relationships with wonderful families. We’re so thankful to be a part of this program.

After eating out several meals this weekend, we’re ready to get back into the routine of eating healthy, home cooked meals. Here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, March 4
Oatmeal, pears
Tuna casserole, peas
High School Huddle – Italian pasta bake, tossed salad, corn, chocolate chip brownies

Monday, March 5
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Salmon patties, potato wedges, pineapple
Chicken enchiladas, tossed salad

Tuesday, March 6
Scrambled eggs, creamy orange cooler
Lamb burger patties, steamed broccoli and carrots, rice
Roasted chicken, potatoes, gravy, asparagus

Wednesday, March 7
Applesauce bread, bananas
Corn dog muffins, carrot sticks with homemade ranch, apple slices
Orange chicken and rice with carrots

Thursday, March 8
Turkey sausage, hashbrowns, fried eggs, clementines
Creamy mac and cheese, peas
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Friday, March 9
Mini apple pies, bacon
Nachos, fruit
Bbq brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans, buttermilk chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and ice cream (celebrating a birthday!)

Saturday, March 10
Whole wheat donuts
Leftovers
Garlic butter shrimp, angel hair pasta, steamed broccoli

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Menu Plan for the Week

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I have something very weird and random to say:  Since I’ve been working out several times a week, my appetite has increased like crazy! I have shocked us all with the amount of food I have at times been able to eat during the last five weeks. And sometimes, I will have a big meal and find that I am very hungry again in two hours. What in the world?! Who am I, my teenage son?! Good grief.

There, I thought you’d like to know that. And now on to the menu plan for this week:

Sunday, February 26
Oatmeal, fruit
One dish meat and potato meal, peas
Chili at a church fellowship

Monday, February 27
Coconut flour muffins, apples
Tuna salad with crackers, fruit salad
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad

Tuesday, February 28
Granola, yogurt, blueberries
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, asparagus
Italian roast wraps, tossed salad

Wednesday, February 29
Whole wheat blueberry muffins, applesauce
Chef salad with turkey and cheese
Taco potatoes

Thursday, March 1
Creamy orange cooler, scrambled eggs
Healthier chip dip, clementines
Roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, gravy

Friday, March 2
Giant breakfast cookies, apple slices
Hoagie sandwiches, raw veggies
Pizza

Saturday, March 3
Cereal
Leftovers
Potato soup, carrots with homemade ranch

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Menu Plan for the Week

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We’ve had some sickness at our house during the last few days. Hopefully, we’re all on the mend and we’ll stop passing around the bug. Assuming we’ll all want to eat this week, here’s what our menu looks like:

Sunday, February 19
Oatmeal, fruit
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans
Huddle at someone else’s house!

Monday, February 20
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Taco corn fritters, carrot sticks, apples
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, February 21
Mini breakfast pizzas, oranges
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed broccoli and carrots
Barbecue brisket, baked potatoes, tossed salad

Wednesday, February 22
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, clementines
Corn dog muffins, applesauce
Cheddar ranch burgers, asparagus, carrots

Thursday, February 23
Vanilla muffins with cinnamon crumb topping, bananas
Tuna salad on crackers, carrot stick with homemade ranch, apples
Creamy chicken and rice casserole, green beans

Friday, February 24
Warm chocolate soother, toast
Chicken veggie quesadillas, pineapple
Homemade pizza

Saturday, February 25
Breakfast cake, bananas
Leftovers
Tacos

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Menu Plan for the Week

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I’d like to apologize for causing many of us a “Maple Syrup Headache” this weekend. I felt like I had done enough homework on the deal before I posted it, but I definitely see now that I should have checked into it further before sharing it with you. :(

I know many of you are frustrated with VitaCost for how they handled the situation and for how they “discontinued” the product and cancelled many of our orders and such. Yep, I’m pretty frustrated too. I do not like how they handled this and felt like they could have done a much better job and could have definitely used a better word than “discontinued” since apparently that product is still listed on their site as “coming soon”. Weird. Strange. I don’t get it. It’s kind of maddening, actually. I plan to call them tomorrow to discuss the issue with them.

While I completely understand and respect that many of you are unhappy enough with VitaCost to make the decision not to be a customer of theirs anymore, I’m also hoping that you’ll respect my decision to continue on as a customer, and to continue to occasionally share special deals they are offering with you. I’m miffed at VitaCost, to say the least, but I do still appreciate what they have to offer and while I will certainly be more cautious in the future, I will still use them as a resource. I’ve appreciated them up to this point and have benefited from their services and prices on healthy foods and supplements my family uses. I live in an area where ordering online is a must, unless I want to drive two hours to the nearest Whole Foods store. VitaCost has been a valuable resource to me and is typically less expensive than other resources I’ve found.

So now, I will take a deep breath and move on. Who knew maple syrup could be so frustrating? I’d much rather drizzle some on my pancake and sit down with a tall glass of milk.

Thank you all for being loving through this mess. I appreciate you.

And now on to our menu plan this week, which, not surprisingly, does include a little bit of maple syrup (which I got at the Farmer’s Market, not at VitaCost). :)

Sunday, February 12
Oatmeal, fruit
Potato soup, raw veggies
High School Huddle – Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, honey whole wheat bread, butterscotch bars

Monday, February 13
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots
Hamburger sauerkraut dip with chips, veggies

Tuesday, February 14
Scrambled eggs, strawberry smoothies
Heart shaped pretzels, steamed veggies, cheese, summer sausage
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn

Wednesday, February 15 – Justus’ 12th birthday!
Easy breakfast casserole, fruit
Chili with cheese and fritos
Cheesy turkey stromboli, fruit salad

Thursday, February 16
Giant breakfast cookies, clementines
Pizza casserole, tossed salad
BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans

Friday, February 17
Peanut butter honey toast, pears
Beef and cheese burritos, raw veggies
Pasta bar with spaghetti sauce and alfredo sauce, salad

Saturday, February 18
Biscuits and turkey sausage gravy, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Beefy vegetable soup, cornbread

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