I hope you’ve been enjoying the play-by-play of our meals this week. :) Today’s menu plan was:
Tuesday, January 29
Scrambled egg sandwiches, oranges
Tuna casserole, peas
Sloppy joes, green beans
When I got up this morning, I decided to change things up a bit. Between scrambled egg sandwiches this morning and sloppy joes tonight – that would have been a lot of bread. Somehow I didn’t think of that when I was planning our original menu. Therefore, I decided to instead use our eggs to make Crepes with jelly this morning. I rarely think to make these, and the family loves them. Fifteen eggs later, along with oranges, bananas, and clementines – we were finished with breakfast. (My crepe recipe is in this eBook.)
A little while after breakfast, I had a phone call from my friend and web designer, Char. I am sooooo excited because she’s almost finished formatting my newest book, which we are planning to launch in February!! She and I worked out some details on the book and the layout, then I got back to doing school work with the kids. (I love that they can work independently on several subjects and that they were busy checking work off their lists while I was on the phone.)
Unfortunately, even though everyone had eaten lots and lots of crepes – breakfast didn’t seem to stick with anyone very long. About an hour and a half after breakfast, the boys were looking for snacks already. Cheese to the rescue.
I made a big pot of Tuna Casserole and peas for lunch. Most of the boys went back for seconds and thirds, leaving no leftovers. Yay! I read our latest Ralph Moody book, Mary Emma and Company while the boys were eating. We can’t get enough of the Ralph Moody books
Side note: I want to be Ralph’s mother when I grow up. She was the picture of hard work and patience. But anyway, back to the tuna casserole…
Late in the afternoon, I was very excited because Kate, a college student who is a great photographer, came over to help me get a few last minute pictures for my new book. She did such a good job, it makes me want to have her come over so we can redo all of the other pictures! What a gift!
Who knew Turkey Sausage Seasoning Mix could look so good?
Kate is special to us because she’s on the York College soccer team that Matt helps coach. To have her photography in my book is a huge blessing!
Our dinner was Sloppy Joes with green beans, carrots, and applesauce. Kate took this picture for me too. So pretty!
So let’s see…did I stick with my menu plan today? Not entirely. I adapted the menu just a little at breakfast, and everyone was thrilled with the treat. Then, I added to our dinner menu plan – which is something I often do. I’ve found that if I plan something simple like “Sloppy joes with green beans” – then add to it depending on what sounds good and what we have on hand (or what needs to be eaten before it goes bad!) – I’m able to be organized and flexible at the same time.
Not only did I add carrots and applesauce to our dinner menu, I made Chocolate Milkshakes too. Nobody argued that idea. :)
Tonight, while the boys were having a snack right before bed (Granola), I mixed up the dry ingredients for our breakfast muffins tomorrow. We have to be out the door soon after breakfast for our home school P.E. morning, so anything I can do to get ahead the night before helps us to actually be on time. ;)
I’m anxious to share more about my soon-to-be-released book (which will be available in eBook form, print, and hopefully Kindle too!). Stay tuned for more details.
How well are you able to “go with the flow” or change things up on your menu plan as needed?
Are those your homemade hamburgers buns? If so, they look perfect!
No, I ordered those from Azure Standard, our health food co-op. :)
I am definitely going to try your sausage recipe. I make my own sausage because store bought is really gross! :) My recipe is just not very flavorful. This sounds wonderful.
I like your daily post on your meals. It truly is easy to make nutritious meals for the family and have them taste wonderful.
I like to write our menu plan in pencil ~ then I at least have a plan, but when the day goes crazy or that phone call comes to change the plans of our day, we can easily switch up the menu to something else. This helps me to quickly know what we have ingredients for ~ and it also helps when we need to use up something left from a day earlier in the week.
Many times I’ll take a scrap paper around to the cupboards, fridges & freezer to note what’s on hand and then use that to make up our meal plan. This helps keep things rotated through and not wasted. It also helps our grocery budget by using what we have first.
Breakfast is still the biggest challenge around here ~ I’ve not been buying cereal but making things is a stretch. I’ve been trying to be better about starting something (like mixing the dry ingredients) in the evening while we clean up supper. Any suggestions sure would be welcome :)
Great to see someone else is concerned about too much bread in one day. I am concerned about too much wheat (refined and whole) in general after reading the book Wheat Belly and learning how much wheat has changed (not for the better IMO) since the first half of the 19OO’s. I try to limit wheat products to 2 times per day.
Your portion size looks appropriate. If you had not served the milkshakes, would that have filled your boys or would they have asked for seconds?
They did have seconds, even with the milkshakes. ;)
Good to know. I see pictures of meals from real food websites with small portions, then when my kids want seconds, I worry that I am giving them too much food. I like to start with small portions and offer more only upon request. Some days my girls are like bottomless pits :)
I love your site! I have found so much helpful info as I am trying to serve my family more real food. I’ve cooked from scratch for years but am now trying to weed out more things like white sugar, gmo foods, etc. It is overwhelming, but I can’t give up now that I know better. I’m even hoping to buy a grain mill in the near future. I have been trying to find large jars in which to store food and staples. I’ve noticed in your pictures that you have many jars of all different sizes. I have plenty of quart jars and below but am looking for more massive jars. Could you point me in the right direction for attaining some? Thanks very much! Keep up the wonderful work.
Given what I see in the pictures my kids would have been starving all day! My 7 and 8 yr olds eat more than that at most meals, plus 3 snacks.
Ha! My pictures didn’t do our portion sizes justice. The boys all had 3-7 crepes each, seconds or thirds of tuna casserole, and had loaded up during our sloppy joe meal. You’re right though, the pictures I showed looked kinda like wimpy portions when it comes to hungry boys. :)
You are speaking my language when you mention crepes. My Hungarian grandmother used to make me Palacintas, which are the same. She’d holler up the steps and tell me thye were ready. I’d go down and eat a ton of them. With Jelly, syrup, hot, cold or anyway I could get them!. Warm memories right there :)
I love seeing your meal plan in action! I was just thinking the other day how I miss the pictures of your azure orders! I love your site!
I’ll have to try and remember to be better about sharing pictures like this from now on!
(And some from my Azure orders!) :)
Laura, have you ever tried Dutch baby (I think this is also called German pancake)? It’s basically like the crepe batter, but I love that I can pour it into one pan, bake it, and have it done quickly(some mornings, I just don’t have time to make crepe after crepe … and we have some BIG appetites in our home, too!) Here are the directions, in case you are interested:
Preheat oven to 425. Melt 1/4 c butter in 12″ skillet. Sprinkle nutmeg over melted butter. Meanwhile,in your blender on low, mix 6 eggs, then add 1 1/2 c milk and 1 1/2 c flour (I use freshly milled hard white). Pour over the butter and bake 20-25 mins.
This gets really puffy and pretty (it is even prettier dusted with powdered sugar, but that is just for special occasions!) We eat the slices with jam or honey drizzled over the top.
Sounds good! :)
What brand of baby carrots do you buy? I’ve been a bit concerned because of what I had read about bleaching, but have read even more and think it’s not the issue I originally thought it might be.
I get Earthbound Organic if they are available, otherwise, I don’t worry too much about the brand. I really like the petite baby carrots, and they aren’t organic (but I can’t think of the brand off the top of my head!).