Free Meal Planner

Are you still having trouble Menu Planning?

Check out this free Menu Planner. Food on the Table combines the weekly sales from your local grocery store with your family's food preferences to help make menu planning easier and save you time and money along the way. They have a Free membership that allows you to plan up to three meals per week. If you would like more than 3 meals a week and more recipes, you can upgrade to the premium version for a low introductory rate of $5/month.

 

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Menu Plan: November 14 - 20

Photo Credit

Need help to menu plan? Check out my post HERE about Menu Planning

Breakfast:(served with Berries)

Oatmeal with Peanut butter

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Yogurt and cereal

Waffles with peanut butter

Scrambled eggs with homemade croissant

Lunch:

MacNCheese, Carrots, and Apples

Hard-boiled eggs, rice, Grapes, and apples

Rainbows and Butterflies Pasta Salad

Quinoa, steamed broccoli and carrots, and grapes

Chicken Fried Rice, Grapes

Leftovers

Dinners:

Baked Parmesan Tilapia with Mashed sweet potatoes and spinach salad

Vegeterian Lasagna and salad

Pasta Fagioli , salad, and nut bread

Indian Zucchini with chickpeas over couscous ( I use the same recipe then add petite diced tomatoes and chickpeas to the Zucchini)

Broccoli Mac and Cheese with turkey meatballs and steamed carrots

Arroz Congri with grilled chicken and sliced avocado

Pizza and salad

Snacks:

Green Smoothie

Pumpkin Bread

Pears, grapes, raisins, and Mozzarella Sticks

Other posts you might like:

How to organize your way to a balanced life

Avocado-Walnut Bread

Linked to Menu Plan at OrgJunkie

 

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Menu Plan: Week of June 13 to June 19

Need help to menu plan? Check out my post HERE about Menu Planning

Breakfast:(served with Berries)

Waffles with Chocolate Almond Butter
Cereal
French toast with Maple syrup
Toast with Peanut butter, and strawberry Jam
Scrambled eggs and Croissant
Oatmeal

Lunch:

Salmon Sandwiches with spinach, carrots, and apples
Chicken nuggets with pasta and steamed Broccoli
Baked Sausage, yellow peppers, and Pasta
Leftovers
MacNCheese, peas

Dinners:

Slow Cooked BBQ Chicken ( chicken, BBQ sauce, and Frozen onions in slow cooker, shred when cooked) with homemade bread buns and mixed green salad
Lasagna with salad
Chili and Corn bread
Tortellini with pecans feta cheese and Dried cranberries
Chili-Cheese Quesadillas (I will be using the leftover chili and BBQ chicken) with Mixed greens salad
Lentil and sausage soup with bread (recipe coming soon)

Snacks:

Homemade energy Bars
Apples or whatever fruits we have

Did you Menu Plan this week using the steps I outlined in the Menu Planning post? if so, I would love to see what you have planned.

Link to Monday Menu Plan at Orgjunkie

 

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Menu Plan: Week of June 6th - June 12th

Breakfast:(served with Berries)

Waffles with peanut Butter and Bananas
Cereal and Milk
Strawberry Green Smoothie
French toast with Maple syrup
Scrambled eggs and toast
Oatmeal

Lunch:

Turkey deli, crackers, carrots, and apples
Chicken nuggets with pasta, pineapple, and Orange or red pepper
Leftovers
MacNCheese, Broccoli, and peaches

Dinners:

Slow-Cooker Beef with Pasta
Emeril's Tuna Burger and spinach salad
Tortellini Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, and Feta Cheese
Slow-cooker Chili and Corn bread
Pizza with spinach salad
Rotisserie chicken, salad, Watermelon and Ready Rice

Looking for more recipes? Check out some quick recipes from my kitchen

Did you Menu Plan this week using the steps I outlined last week? if so, I would love to see what you have planned.

Link to Monday Menu Plan at Orgjunkie

 

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Menu Planning: Why, how often, when, and How

Many evenings, we ask ourselves the same question, "what should we do for dinner tonight?" Then we race to the grocery store to buy exactly what we need to make that one special meal (or we settle for the local takeout because we don't have enough time to shop and cook.) At the end of the week, our wallets are light and our gas tank is empty, and we ask ourselves how we can plan better.

Well, fear no more, that's where menu planning comes to the rescue to solve this ongoing problem. Menu planning doesn't have to be complicated (don't we already have too many complicated and stressful things in our lives to deal with as moms?!). But I guarantee that if you follow these simple steps outlined below, you will never have to dread the question; what's-for-dinner-tonight, and you will be well prepared to conquer this dilemma and have more time to sit down and relax in the afternoons, rather than running to the grocery stores nearby.

Why Menu Planning?

Menu planning will save you time AND money. Who doesn't want that?!

Still not convinced? Check out this post at Mommysavers about 15 ways to save money by Menu Planning.

When?

I usually menu plan on Thursdays or Sundays for 20 - 30 minutes, after I get the newspaper ads. Which ever day you choose, it should only take 30 minutes of your time or less.

How often is really up to you. I do my shopping once or twice a week to get fresh vegetables and fruit so I do menu planning once a week. You can plan menus for a week, two weeks, or for a whole month.

How?

1. First you need your store ads, then paper and a pen (You can print this printable menu planner sheet to use.)


2. Next, take an inventory of what you already have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Write them down by dividing them into three sections: Meat, Vegetables, carbs, and staples (bbq sauce, ketchup, mustard, etc.)


3. Circle what's on sale in your grocery store ad that week, and add them to your list from Step 2.


4. Start planning the meals for the week using one of the few options below:

Option 1 - Recipe Websites: If you are using the internet, you can go to these following websites, enter the ingredients in the search engine and look at the recipes. Add the recipes that you like to your menu plan list until you have as many recipes as you need.

Taste of Home
Tammy's Recipes
all Recipes
Kraftfoods

Note: These are only few of recipe websites that I use.

Option 2 - Google Search: You can also use Google to find recipes. For example, let's say I have chicken, broccoli, and cream cheese in my inventory list. I type those ingredients in the google search box, add the word "recipe" at the end, and it will list all the recipes where the ingredients are included. An example of this is the "Creamy chicken Recipe" I found. Once you find your recipe, print it or write down the name and the website where you found it.

Option 3 - Recipe Book: If you are using recipe books, check the index or go through each section by meat or by vegetables if you are planning a vegetarian meal. Write down the recipes with the book title and page next to it.

That's it. Now all you have to do is create your shopping list.

Money saving tip: Use the coupon database to search for coupons (enter the coupon you are looking for where it says description, click on the "search" button to list all the sources where you can find the coupon. try it). Gather all your coupons and head to the grocery store.

Note: I only plan for dinner menus. Breakfast and lunch seem to be about the same each week. Breakfast usually consists of oatmeal, waffles, eggs, croissant, and French toast or pancakes. Lunch is mostly leftovers, Mac and Cheese or chicken nuggets with veggies and/or fruit.

I would love to hear from you about menu planning. Do you menu plan? Do you have any tips to make it quick and easy?  What's keeping you from menu planning?

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Menu Plan: Week of May 23rd

Breakfast:(served with Berries)

Waffles with Chocolate Almond Butter
Whole-Wheat pumpkin pancakes
French toast with Maple syrup
Scrambled eggs with Croissant
Oatmeal

Lunch:

Tuna with white beans and tomatoes salad
Chicken nuggets with carrots and crackers
Turkey sandwiches with carrots and apples
Leftovers
MacNCheese, peas

Dinners:

Grilled chicken salad with feta cheese and corn
Indian Zucchini over carrot rice
Pizza with strawberry spinach salad
Pasta with roasted veggies and ground turkey
Honey-glazed chicken with couscous, steamed broccoli and yellow squash
Back

Link to Monday Menu Plan at Orgjunkie

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Menu Plan: Week of May 16th

Breakfast:(served with Berries)

Waffles with Chocolate Almond Butter
Chocolate-Banana filled Crepes
French toast with Maple syrup
Scrambled eggs with sun-dried tomato bread
Oatmeal

Lunch:

Chicken nuggets, carrots, and pasta
MacNcheese, peas
Tuna salad sandwiches and spinach
Leftover

Dinners:

BBQ Quesadillas and brown rice
Curried cauliflower and green beans over Basmati rice
Pizza with grilled chicken and avocado salad
Spaghetti with garlic bread and Cesar salad
Grilled chicken with roasted vegetables, hummus, and pita bread
Taco salad

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Free printable Organizational lists

Cleaning list by room

Kitchen cleaning checklist

Spring cleaning checklist

Weekly cleaning checklist

Printable To do List 

Printable Grocery List

Printable Calendars

Menu Planning

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Free printable Organizational lists

Cleaning list by room

Kitchen cleaning checklist

Spring cleaning checklist

Weekly cleaning checklist

Printable To do List 

Printable Grocery List

Printable Calendars

Menu Planning

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Menu Plan: Week of February 21st

Dinner Menu for the week of February 21st:

Pasta with roasted veggies and ground turkey, salad
Chickpeas and mustard greens over couscous  (recipe follows)
Beef stew , salad
Salmon over romaine lettuce, bread
Indian Cauliflower with Carrot rice (rice recipe follows)
Broccoli and sausage Pasta

Chickpeas and mustard greens:

1-2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup of water or broth
1/2 an onion sliced or chopped
1/2 tsp each of ground cumin and ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
pinch of nutmeg
1 can of chickpeas
2 cups of mustard greens
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Heat oil then add onions until they turn golden. Add all the spices except the nutmeg. Stir, then add chickpeas and water. Simmer stirring often for few minutes then add mustard greens and cook until wilted then add lemon juice, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and brown sugar if desired. Serve over rice or couscous.


Carrot rice:

1 cup basmati rice
1 cup of water
2 grated carrots
1/4 thinly sliced onion
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/4 tsp of cinnamon (optional)

Rinse the rice then set aside in a bowl with enough water to cover it.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds then cover until they start popping then add carrots and onions and cook until the onions are golden. Add spices then rice. Stir for a minute or two then add salt water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 10-15 mins. Once cooked, let stand for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork and serve



Shopping list:

Meat
Beef
ground turkey
salmon
sausage

vegetables:
broccoli
Cauliflower
Romaine lettuce
Carrots
Mustard Greens
Colored peppers
Zucchini and/or yellow squash

Others:
Basmati Rice
Couscous
Pasta
Can of chickpeas

Staples:
Onions, garlic, lemon, indian spices (cumin seeds, ground cumin, mustard seeds, garam masala, turmeric), nutmeg, cinnamon

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Menu Plan: Week of February 21st

Dinner Menu for the week of February 21st:

Pasta with roasted veggies and ground turkey, salad
Chickpeas and mustard greens over couscous  (recipe follows)
Beef stew , salad
Salmon over romaine lettuce, bread
Indian Cauliflower with Carrot rice (rice recipe follows)
Broccoli and sausage Pasta

Chickpeas and mustard greens:

1-2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup of water or broth
1/2 an onion sliced or chopped
1/2 tsp each of ground cumin and ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
pinch of nutmeg
1 can of chickpeas
2 cups of mustard greens
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Heat oil then add onions until they turn golden. Add all the spices except the nutmeg. Stir, then add chickpeas and water. Simmer stirring often for few minutes then add mustard greens and cook until wilted then add lemon juice, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and brown sugar if desired. Serve over rice or couscous.


Carrot rice:

1 cup basmati rice
1 cup of water
2 grated carrots
1/4 thinly sliced onion
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/4 tsp of cinnamon (optional)

Rinse the rice then set aside in a bowl with enough water to cover it.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds then cover until they start popping then add carrots and onions and cook until the onions are golden. Add spices then rice. Stir for a minute or two then add salt water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 10-15 mins. Once cooked, let stand for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork and serve



Shopping list:

Meat
Beef
ground turkey
salmon
sausage

vegetables:
broccoli
Cauliflower
Romaine lettuce
Carrots
Mustard Greens
Colored peppers
Zucchini and/or yellow squash

Others:
Basmati Rice
Couscous
Pasta
Can of chickpeas

Staples:
Onions, garlic, lemon, indian spices (cumin seeds, ground cumin, mustard seeds, garam masala, turmeric), nutmeg, cinnamon

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