Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

One Week of Summer Fun Food Ideas

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After my most recent stock-up day at Sam’s, I made a complete one-week meal plan full of summer fun food!

You can read here to get the specifics of what I bought at Sam’s in May. We ate through much of this pretty quickly as there are a lot of us (currently 10) eating three meals a day at our house.

Then after a week or so, once the kids were out of school, I decided to make a complete list of meal ideas based on what I had on hand. (This proves what I talked about here about how I shop first, then meal plan.)

One Week of Summer Fun Food Ideas

I decided to share my plans with you because you might just find that this list comes in handy for your summer days too. This list includes seven breakfast plans, seven lunch plans, seven evening plans, and seven make-ahead snack ideas. :)

Let us know your email address here so we can send you the list. It includes recipe links too, and almost everything can be made ahead of time so that you can go outside and enjoy your summer with your kids!

 

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Meal Plan First? Or Shop First Then Plan?

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Someone recently asked: Do you make a meal plan first and then shop? Or do you shop for food and plan your meals around what you have? What saves the most time and money?

I certainly can’t speak for everyone as to what saves the most time and money. And you know I highly recommend that you subscribe to receive our Simple Meals plans so that you don’t have to think as hard and work as hard. :)

What I have found to work best for me right now is this:

  1. Shop. Buy all the food. Buy more food. We need so much food.
  2. Try to stay organized. Have an entire grocery store inside my house if possible.
  3. Each morning, consider what the day holds. Meetings, appointments, court for the kids, Matt’s schedule, kids’ events, and so on. Once I think through what the evening will look like, I plan our evening meal accordingly.
  4. Along with that, I work with what we have on hand. I look through our fridge, freezers, and pantry. Then I decide on an evening meal that works!

This shelf sits in my kitchen, so I can look and get ideas with a quick glance. Pizza sauce and olives? I have crusts in the freezer so I could make pizza tonight. However, that is a meal I like to make on a night we have games or other outings. So I nix that idea and decide to make a burrito bar since I have plenty of tortillas and all the fixings on hand.

My meal planning decision is also dependent on how many people we’ll be feeding that night. Will it just be Matt, me, with the six littles? Or will all the bigs be home too? With their gals join us? Any other friends? We feed anywhere from 8 to 18 depending on the night. So I always get a feel for who will be around for dinner as I’m making our nightly plan.

Isn’t it harder this way?

This current method means that I’m coming up with a meal plan every single morning. But because of our very full house and so many coming and going, I am finding that planning day by day works so much better than planning ahead for the week and then reshuffling it because of what each weekday holds.

What saves the most money?

Again, I can’t speak for everyone. But for me, right now, I believe that shopping first and meal planning later is saving me more money.

When I’m shopping, I can pick up meat that has been marked down – then I make meals based on the discounted meat I’ve found. I can take advantage of sale items, then make meals based on the deals I’ve found. I can pick up staples to keep on hand so that I can always make basic, easy meals with no effort.

This works well for me and saves money too!

What is working best for you right now as you plan meals?

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One Easy Way to Meal Plan

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Here’s one easy way to meal plan. Well, besides just letting us meal plan for you!

When figuring out what to make each evening, I’ve found that this is what works best for me right now…

One Easy Way to Meal Plan

  1. Begin by figuring out the starch I want to cook.
  2. Create my meal around that starch.

Weird maybe? I know. Many meal plans start with the meat/main dish and go from there. But if I want to be sure we’re eating a variety (instead of say, three meals in a row that include pasta), I’ve found that it often works better for me to plan our meals around these starch possibilities:

  • Rice
  • Potatoes
  • Pasta
  • Corn
  • Bread
  • Tortillas
  • Chips
  • Beans

This list includes are eight starch categories (and there are probably others I forgot to include!). So we can have a great variety of meals each week if I simply plan around these eight categories!

Here’s a sample of the meal variety I could come up with for eight consecutive days:

No more overloading our families with pasta. No more burning us out on rice. No back-to-back heavy meals that include bread. No overdoing the beans, ahem.

Do we even need starch anyway?

Some of us don’t need to eat much starch to begin with.

All of the athletes in my family do great eating all eight meals eight nights in a row as I detailed above. But me? I don’t need starch every night. My system does better on a meat and vegetable-based diet. I tend to go easy on pasta and bread. My body thanks me for this.

Still, I’ve found that I tend to plan my meals this way. I like the results! No burnouts. No overload. And it helps me be more creative with meal planning!

What have you found that works best as you plan your meals?

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5 Easy Breakfast Ideas to Have Every Week

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Need breakfast ideas to have every week to make life easier?

How many decisions do we make in a day, I wonder? I’m guessing it would blow our minds to know the answer to that.

Tip: I’ve heard that it’s wise to always take the same “route” as you walk through the grocery store, simply to cut down on the decisions you have to make.

Hmmm, interesting. Hearing that tidbit of advice made me think about what other decisions I could cut out of my very full brain (that is so busy making decisions that it can’t help me remember where I set my pen).

So let’s talk about breakfast!

I’ve just figured out how wonderful it is to save my brain energy by planning the same basic breakfast meals every weekday!

Here’s the basic breakdown of what I now make or serve each weekday:

Monday – Muffins
Tuesday  – Toast
Wednesday – Oatmeal
Thursday – Eggs
Friday – Granola or Cereal

With this skeleton plan, I can now make fun adaptations each weekday to keep our menu fresh and fun! (I save pancakes or waffles or other special breakfast ideas for Saturdays.) :) And now I will give you more specifics about how this works for us…

5 Easy Breakfast Ideas to Have Every WeekYum

Monday – Muffins

I can choose from these 40 recipes so that Mondays are never boring. I shall call this “Muffin Monday” because cuteness in the kitchen is underrated.

Tuesday – Toast

Let’s hear it for “Toast Tuesday.” Though now I have to admit, my cute names for days of the week have now run out. Anyway though, we can make this Stir and Pour Bread and then top it however we like. Peanut butter and honey is a favorite for most of us. And homemade bread is tough to beat!

Wednesday – Oatmeal

I try to keep this Homemade Instant Oatmeal on hand, but sometimes I splurge and buy these too. Either way, this makes for a fast breakfast!

Thursday – Eggs

We mostly prefer scrambled cheesy eggs, but occasionally we’ll fry them. I love how easy eggs are to make!

Friday – Granola or Cereal

We like different kinds of homemade granola like:

Or, I can make these Homemade Chewy Granola Bars for a fun change of pace.

Always serve fruit

Fruit at breakfast is a given at our house. So with all of the above day-of-the-week breakfast ideas, everyone can choose what fruit they like best. I try to keep a variety on hand, depending on what is in season. Our favorites for breakfast are:

  • Blueberries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Apples
  • Oranges/Clementines
  • Bananas
  • Applesauce
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Strawberries

How might this idea work for your family?

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Can Simple Meals Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half??

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I’ve shared over and over how our Simple Meals plans can make your kitchen life much easier! But is it possible that they would also cut your grocery bill in half?

Can Simple Meals Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half??

I always love hearing how Simple Meals is a blessing to you as it is to us. So I wanted to share this feedback I got from Lori. READ THIS!!!

I just had to send a huge THANK YOU! I’m not really one to use someone else’s menu plan, because I usually end up changing so much that it ends up being counterproductive. However, we have been clean eating/cutting out sugar for the past 2 years, which meant more meal planning and meal prepping for me, since we couldn’t always just grab take out or go out to eat. So needless to say, by the time I found you, I was burnt out! Lol!

When I saw your offer on build your bundle (a few weeks ago), I thought here’s the answer to my prayers! We have just started with our first week and have only tried 2 meals so far, and I’ll be honest, while I was making the recipes, I was doubting the simplicity and wondering if my kids would even like the meals, but I WAS SO WRONG, they LOVED both recipes we’ve tried so far!

The even better part, our grocery bill this week was almost cut in 1/2, by following your plan!! I am a homeschooling mom to 6, with 2 graduates and 4 still at home. We added in some outside classes this year, along with some extra, extracurriculars, haha, so you have saved my sanity, my food budget, and most importantly my time. I can’t wait to see what future menus bring.

Lori’s encouragement was so wonderful that I wrote her back to thank her and to get permission to quote her. Lori’s response?

You absolutely can quote me! I have the 3 cheese pasta in the crockpot for dinner and am still amazed that it took me literally 5 minutes to put together, and all I have left to do for dinner is throw together a salad, like what?!?!?

How cool is that? Simple Meals really makes life simple, and it saves lots of money too!

Here’s a reminder that now through September 4, your one-year Simple Meals is 50% off! To think, our subscription is 1/2 off and you can cut your grocery bill in 1/2 too!!

Get all the details here.

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How I’m Feeding My Family Next Week (Yep. It’ll be another busy one.)

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Today I thought I’d share a little fun family news, show you a picture of my groceries (you know you love looking at my butter), and share how I’m going to try and keep myself from being overwhelmed as I get meals on the table during a busy week.

First, some family news.

Soccer season ends next week!! I love soccer like crazy, but it also does make me crazy, so I’m always relieved when the season comes to an end. I mostly feel this way because Matt is assistant coach for the York College women’s team and he’s been on the road a lot. I look forward to him being home more.

puma-blues

Just as soccer season ends, basketball season begins. This doesn’t add much busyness to my life yet as Justus is driving now and can get Elias and himself to and from practices. My biggest job right now is to make sure they’ve had dinner in time to digest before they leave for practice (and provide a big snack when they get home, obviously).

Here’s a fun picture from YC Homecoming last weekend:

asa-concert-choir

Malachi tried out for our downtown Christmas theater production and got a part!! He is beyond excited and we’re all pretty excited for him. If you’re familiar with The Christmas Story movie, then you can picture Malachi as Flick. And if you’re familiar with Malachi, you know that role fits him perfectly! His practices are every weeknight from now until the shows are live in December.

Matt and I are leading a marriage retreat next weekend out of town, something we are looking forward to very much.

Justus and Elias are heading to a youth rally this weekend, and then to a big concert on Monday. Therefore, they are working double time on school work to get ahead so they can take a couple days off.

Malachi has decided to dress up like his biggest brother Asa for trick-or-treating. (Is that sweet, or is that sweet?) This plan only works if the two of them dress exactly alike for the evening and Asa is the one taking him from door to door. We’re working on coordinating their “costumes” which will likely be some form of athletic wear. I’ll take pictures to share after the big night! We’re blessed that York College opens up the women’s dorm and apartments for all the kids in the community to trick-or-treat. So, since almost everyone on campus knows Asa, and Malachi looks a lot like Asa (and gets called “Little Asa” by several on Asa’s college soccer team) – this should be a lot of fun!

That catches you up on our lives just a little bit. I’d love for you to leave a comment to share about yours!

Let’s talk food

I had plans to take a picture of my most recent trip to Fresh Thyme Market (the store I always visit when I have appointments in Lincoln because it’s my favorite!). When I got home this time, we threw all the groceries in the fridge and headed out to college soccer games. So the next day I cheated. I grabbed out a few items that I’d bought and took a quick picture. This is obviously not everything I bought (because this amount will only last us about a day and a half). But it gives you an idea of some of the fruits and veggies we’ll be eating with our meals next week. And sure enough, there’s a pound of butter.

simple-meals-groceries

How I’m Feeding My Family Next Week

This leads me to sharing about how I plan to get everyone fed and out the door to all of our events next week. The Simple Meals program we just rolled out this week? It’s definitely for all of you. But this mama is also relying heavily on all it provides. So I guess I should say, “thank you.” Preparing this each week for you is going to be a huge help to my family and me!

Today I thought I’d show you how I’m using Simple Meals to keep my kitchen life running smoothly.

Every menu plan comes with a page that looks like this:

simple-meals-options

With this in mind, I’ll look at the calendar to see everything going on so I can plug in the best meals for the best nights.

Here’s a sketch of our calendar for next week:

Sunday – Malachi soccer game in the afternoon, then Bible study at the Mission in the evening; Justus, Elias, and Malachi to youth group

Monday – Justus and Elias at concert; Asa takes Malachi trick-or-treating at the college dorms – eat dinner after

Tuesday –  Matt out of town for YC soccer; Bball practice begins for Justus and Elias – leave at 6:30; Malachi play practice 6:30 – eat by 5:30

Wednesday – (Busiest day this week) Laura appointment in Lincoln; Justus full morning with piano and college class; Bible class 6:30, then rush Malachi to play practice right after – eat by 5:30…crock pot night?

Thursday – Bball practice for Justus and Elias – leave at 6:30; Malachi play practice 6:30 – eat by 5:30

Friday – Matt and I leave for marriage retreat, boys make dinner on their own

Saturday – Matt and I arrive home from marriage retreat, boys make dinner to be eaten when we get home

After getting a good feel for all that fills next week…

I printed off the Simple Meals plan for next week and jotted down notes for the nights I plan to use each meal idea:

simple-meals-planning-breakdown2

Well, that was fun!

Want to print off this same menu plan to work with? You’ll find it here. I love how it makes prepping for healthy meals so much easier!

Check out Simple Meals program here. (And really go nuts spreading the word about it so you can earn $10 per referral!)

 

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Do you have a busy week coming up? How are you working to prepare?

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Menu Plan for the Week ~ Lots of Apples and Dip

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basket of apples

We are loving all the apples available to us right now! We are now completely stocked with homemade applesauce for this winter, plus we’re eating a lot of apples for snacks and with meals. One of our favorite ways to eat these apples is with Cream Cheese Fruit Dip. If you haven’t tried this recipe yet – do it. It’s amazing. My kids think it’s kind of like dipping your apple in cheesecake. :)

You’ll notice in my menu plan below that I am serving this dip twice today – once this morning for a college age Bible class Matt teaches at church; and again tonight for the teens who come to our home for Bible study and fellowship.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Hope your week is full of blessing! Here’s what our menu looks like:

Sunday, September 21
Easy breakfast casserole, apples with cream cheese fruit dip
Lamb roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy, peas
High school huddle – Pizza boats, tossed salad, apples with cream cheese fruit dip

Monday, September 22
Dark chocolate almond granola, grapes
Taco salad, fresh pineapple
Sloppy joes on cornbread muffins, peas, apples

Tuesday, September 23
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, creamy orange cooler
Tuna salad on lettuce and tomatoes, strawberry ice cream, sweet peppers
Baked three cheese chicken pasta, tossed salad, green beans

Wednesday, September 24
Green machine milkshakes, honey cinnamon muffins, apples
Bacon, egg, and avocado salad, honey whole wheat toast
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans

Thursday, September 25
Grape nuts cereal, blueberries
Taco quesadillas, raspberry lemon cream cups, carrot sticks, olives
Easy noodle stir-fry with broccoli, zucchini, and carrots

Friday, September 26
Pancake and sausage muffins, applesauce
Easy cheesy bean dip with chips, fresh pineapple, sweet peppers
Chicken nuggets and french fries, carrot sticks, grapes

Saturday, September 27
Bacon cheesy eggs, raspberries
Leftovers
Italian cream cheese chicken, tossed salad, asparagus

Be sure to download our free new Fall Menu Planners here.

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Menu Plan for the Week ~ And A Little Bit About Our Past Few Days

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I hate to talk about the weather, but…

Is it cold at your house already? It’s been unseasonably cold the past few days here in Nebraska. Temps are supposed to creep up again, thankfully, but here it is mid-September and I’m already wearing wool socks. It’s a little early for that, but I’m kind of a cold weather wimp. ;)

We’re pulling in quite a bit from our garden since it’s been getting so cold at night. We probably won’t be getting many more fresh tomatoes (sniff). I chopped one up to go with a new recipe – Taco Dip. It was super, super easy and really delicious – two favorite qualities in a recipe at my house. Fresh pineapple (not from our garden, ha!) was a great side dish. And of course, I served a mountain of quesadillas too. We’re serious about our food.

taco dip

I’ve got a new Make-Ahead Lunch Box idea to share with you later this week. Below is a sneak preview. Simple and delicious. Full details coming in a few days!

taco quesadillas 1

One of the cold days last week, you would have found me wearing my wool socks…and drinking an iced coffee. Silly and counterproductive, I know. But the iced coffee was delicious, making the shivering episode completely worth it. I will say though, I stuck with hot coffee the rest of the week. I’m not completely crazy (just mostly).

strawsome

Here’s a look at our menu this week:

Sunday, September 14
Apple Crisp, cheese
Cheeseburger soup, tossed salad
Huddle – Sliced ham, macaroni salad, carrots and cucumbers with ranch, grapes, chocolate chip cookies

Monday, September 15
Fruit pizza with strawberries and kiwi
BLT wraps, peaches
Cheesy beef and rice, tossed salad, green beans

Tuesday, September 16
Scrambled eggs with cheese, creamy orange cooler
Grilled cheese, homemade tomato soup, carrots, sweet peppers
Salmon patties, sweet potato fries, peas, pears

Wednesday, September 17
Cream cheese pumpkin muffins, apples
Pasta salad bar, watermelon
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad, okra, green beans

Thursday, September 18
Cinnamon apple toast, fried eggs
Taco corn fritters, sweet peppers, olives, applesauce
Potato soup, sausage, carrot sticks, pears

Friday, September 19
Crepes with blueberries
Spanish rice, corn, sweet peppers, olives, peaches
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, September 20
Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, raspberries
Leftovers
One dish meat and potato casserole, tossed salad

Tell me a little about what you’ve done the past few days. Hope you had a good week!

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Win an Annual Plan to Eat Subscription

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plan_to_eat

Plan to Eat is awesome, that’s all there is to it. For everyone who struggles with menu planning, for everyone who is short on time, for everyone who would like to become more organized…for everyone. Plan to Eat allows you to store your recipes all in one place, drag and drop your menu items into a handy calendar, and will even help you formulate a grocery list.

Take a look through this video to learn more about their great online menu planner:

Plan to Eat – The Online Menu Planner from Plan to Eat on Vimeo.

You can help yourself to a free 30-Day trial so you can see how great it is. With the new year coming, I think Plan to Eat can help you get started on the right track!

In addition, Plan to Eat is giving away two annual subscriptions! Interested in winning? Leave a comment on this post for a chance. I’ll draw two random winners on Tuesday, December 31. Be watching for a post stating the winner as you will be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen.

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Plan to Eat (Because it just works better with a plan.)

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I hear from so many people that they “wish they did a better job with meal planning” and that “meal planning is such a struggle.” And it’s not just menu planning that is a struggle. It’s figuring out a grocery list. Ugh, how many eggs will you need, anyway?

This is why I love what Plan to Eat has to offer!

Plan to Eat – The Online Menu Planner from Plan to Eat on Vimeo.

It doesn’t get much simpler, and this weekend, the price won’t be any better. You can sign up for a free trial right now to play with the system and see how great it is. Then, watch for their great Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale where you can get 50% off all subscriptions! I’ll be sure to post some reminders on Facebook so that you don’t miss the deal.

Hesitate to spend money on a meal planning subscription? I believe that it can actually save you money in the long run, since you’ll rely less on eating out in a pinch. Plus, you’ll be able to keep up with eating healthier foods once you’ve made a plan. Head over here to try it for free.

Here’s what Vicki had to say when I posted about Plan to Eat on Facebook:  “Plan to Eat has saved my sanity! I love being able to share recipes with my friends!”

A big thanks goes to Plan to Eat for being a Heavenly Homemakers sponsor!

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