These are my lunch idea's I will be trying to put into my month long menu. I TRY to keep things as healthy and well rounded as possible.
All lunches include juice or milk to drink, something dairy- cheese stick/yogurt and chips or popcorn. When the kids come in from swimming I put out a tray of veggie's with dip for them to snack on while I finish up lunch. You can check out my other blog www.mylifewithmy5.blogspot.com to view my daily sched. with all my crazy kids.
#1 PBJ, my kids are not huge eaters of this, but it's so cheap and easy!
#2 Lunch meat sandwiches or roll-ups- my little 2 do not eat bread.
#3 Tuna/chicken macaroni salad- this is a family fav! My grandmother made it for me when I was little and it was always a get together food. It has always been tuna in my family, but recently I had made it, then realized I didn't have any tuna(the baby had hid it under the couch) so instead of running to the store I stuck some precooked chicken from my freezer in it and everyone loved it! It is a great filling and cold lunch. I will post the recipe soon.
#4 Chicken nugget/fish sticks, fries(no chips)
#5 Pasta w/ butter and cheese(no chips)- simple, but the kids love it!
#6 Baked sammies- I will post the recipe for this as well.
#7 Chicken/ tuna/ egg salad sandwiches- all super easy and yummy!
#8 Quesidilla's, beans, salsa
#9 Hummus with pita chips and veggie's to dip- You'd be surprised at how many kids love this!
#10 Hot dogs/ hamburgers
#11 mac and cheese(no chips)- what kid doesn't love mac n cheese!
My kids are big eaters and they love variety, so having the meals numbered will help to make sure I'm not repeating too often.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Breakfast Idea's
These are our normal breakfast's. All include milk or 100% juice to drink and some fruit, an apple, banana, or some berrie's.
#1 Cereal
#2 Pancakes- normally choc. chip, no syrup, maybe some whip cream
#3 French toast- I like to make baked french toast, I will post the recipe soon
#4 Eggs- lots can be done with egg's, my kids love when I add ham or shredded beef from a pot roast. I try to add veggie's as well.
#5 Bagel's with cream cheese
#6 Yogurt with fruit and granola- we LOVE greek yogurt and it's great to mix in your own fruit.
#7 Egg Sammies- I buy english muffins at the bread store, for around 2$, and pre-make some egg sandwiches. It's pretty simple just cook the egg, however you like it, put it on a toasted english muffin and add a slice of cheese. Wrap individualy in plastic wrap and put in all together in a ziploc freezer bag. They are inexpensive and ready to go in the micro for just a few minutes!
When I started witing down what they normally ate for breakfast it was pretty easy to come up with 7 breakfasts that the kids love and don't require a huge amount of work on my part. When I make my one month menu plan I will use these, it will be easy to see what #'s are being repeated to often.
#1 Cereal
#2 Pancakes- normally choc. chip, no syrup, maybe some whip cream
#3 French toast- I like to make baked french toast, I will post the recipe soon
#4 Eggs- lots can be done with egg's, my kids love when I add ham or shredded beef from a pot roast. I try to add veggie's as well.
#5 Bagel's with cream cheese
#6 Yogurt with fruit and granola- we LOVE greek yogurt and it's great to mix in your own fruit.
#7 Egg Sammies- I buy english muffins at the bread store, for around 2$, and pre-make some egg sandwiches. It's pretty simple just cook the egg, however you like it, put it on a toasted english muffin and add a slice of cheese. Wrap individualy in plastic wrap and put in all together in a ziploc freezer bag. They are inexpensive and ready to go in the micro for just a few minutes!
When I started witing down what they normally ate for breakfast it was pretty easy to come up with 7 breakfasts that the kids love and don't require a huge amount of work on my part. When I make my one month menu plan I will use these, it will be easy to see what #'s are being repeated to often.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
My freezer and pantry contents
I'm sure people are curious as to what I keep in my 2 freezers. I have 2 large freezers in my garage, one is an upright and the other is a chest. My freezer that is over my fridge in the house holds the food for a day or two and anything open, such as ice cream or snacks.
Freezer #1 is my chest freezer. This is my manual defrost, which is better for longer term storage than a frost free. In this freezer I keep the stuff that won't be used within a month. I try to pack all of my meats into food saver bags. I ONLY buy meats and other frozen item when they are at a GREAT price! I probably have enough meat in my freezer for 1 month of meals. Also, this is where I keep my prepared foods. I make huge pots of spaghetti sauce and chili and chicken pot pie {I will have to post the recipe for this later, not your typical pot pie} chicken noodle soup and stew/soup meals. These are packaged in either food saver bags or hard containers. This is my bigger freezer, so it also holds any overflow from freezer #2.
Freezer #2 is my upright, it is a frost free, so I keep mostly the foods that will be eaten with in a month. I keep all of our snack type foods in there, it makes it easier for the kids to get stuff out. Right now there are about 20 boxes of gogurt, I was lucky to find these for .50 each with coupons and a sale albertsons ran a few weeks ago, they are a lunch box fav around here. There are frozen pizzas, ice cream, frozen dinners, eggos, veggies, this weeks precooked dinner choices, and lots of cheese, also bought at a unbelievable price.
My above the fridge freezer holds all the open boxes of snacks, ice cream, pretzels, gogurt, and two nights dinners. It usually has some free space, so it can hold any over flow if there is any.
On Monday mornings I move the things I need for my planned meals out of freezer #1 to place in #2, Monday and Tuesday meals go straight in the house to the over the fridge. I reorganize and make sure everything for one meal is as together as it can be.
I have 3 pantries I use for food.
Laundry room:
Here I keep most of my baking supplies and any snacks I want out of the kids reach, overflow from this goes to my closet. I have a couple kids who if they got a hold of this stuff they would ever at real food again.
End of the hall: {technically supposed to be a linen closet}
I keep anything the kids can't or wouldn't want to open. Canned goods, condiments, sidedish mixes {think rice a roni}, boxed meal solutions, pastas.
Dining room:
This is where I keep anything that is open or that needs to be used quickly. The entire top shelf is filled with cereal. The second shelf is baking supplies, anything open, or with a close expiration date. I keep a bin on this shelf for small things, jello,nuts, choc chips. The 3rd shelf has 3 bins on it each containing different snacks, everything in single portions so he kids can grab and go. The 4th shelf has food items, anything I want to use soon goes here. The floor of this cabinet is where we keep soda/juice.
Freezer #1 is my chest freezer. This is my manual defrost, which is better for longer term storage than a frost free. In this freezer I keep the stuff that won't be used within a month. I try to pack all of my meats into food saver bags. I ONLY buy meats and other frozen item when they are at a GREAT price! I probably have enough meat in my freezer for 1 month of meals. Also, this is where I keep my prepared foods. I make huge pots of spaghetti sauce and chili and chicken pot pie {I will have to post the recipe for this later, not your typical pot pie} chicken noodle soup and stew/soup meals. These are packaged in either food saver bags or hard containers. This is my bigger freezer, so it also holds any overflow from freezer #2.
Freezer #2 is my upright, it is a frost free, so I keep mostly the foods that will be eaten with in a month. I keep all of our snack type foods in there, it makes it easier for the kids to get stuff out. Right now there are about 20 boxes of gogurt, I was lucky to find these for .50 each with coupons and a sale albertsons ran a few weeks ago, they are a lunch box fav around here. There are frozen pizzas, ice cream, frozen dinners, eggos, veggies, this weeks precooked dinner choices, and lots of cheese, also bought at a unbelievable price.
My above the fridge freezer holds all the open boxes of snacks, ice cream, pretzels, gogurt, and two nights dinners. It usually has some free space, so it can hold any over flow if there is any.
On Monday mornings I move the things I need for my planned meals out of freezer #1 to place in #2, Monday and Tuesday meals go straight in the house to the over the fridge. I reorganize and make sure everything for one meal is as together as it can be.
I have 3 pantries I use for food.
Laundry room:
Here I keep most of my baking supplies and any snacks I want out of the kids reach, overflow from this goes to my closet. I have a couple kids who if they got a hold of this stuff they would ever at real food again.
End of the hall: {technically supposed to be a linen closet}
I keep anything the kids can't or wouldn't want to open. Canned goods, condiments, sidedish mixes {think rice a roni}, boxed meal solutions, pastas.
Dining room:
This is where I keep anything that is open or that needs to be used quickly. The entire top shelf is filled with cereal. The second shelf is baking supplies, anything open, or with a close expiration date. I keep a bin on this shelf for small things, jello,nuts, choc chips. The 3rd shelf has 3 bins on it each containing different snacks, everything in single portions so he kids can grab and go. The 4th shelf has food items, anything I want to use soon goes here. The floor of this cabinet is where we keep soda/juice.
Summer time is upon us!
Here in AZ it has felt like summer for awhile, but my summer doesn't begin when it heats up, it starts when the kiddo's get out of school, which is in just a few days. I don't have long and there is a lot to get done. I will be babysitting some of my older girls friends this year, which will make things interesting. So we will have 9 kids, ages 1 1/2 to 9, here 3 days per week and 7 here the other 2 week days. Plus, with my Aunt near by needing me to watch 2 or 3 (twins age 7 and son age 9) of hers on occasion, it will be a full house. I have been jotting down some ideas for meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per day. I'm not sure of the amounts I will be needing, as I'm not certain as to how much the other kids will eat. My kids are BIG eaters, but I know 2 of the kids I will be watching are not. I updated my freezer inventory, but have not done my cupboards yet, I'm hoping to get that done tonight. Hopefully I'll get some meal plans up soon!
Trying to plan a menu...
I have always wanted to plan monthly menu's for my family. I have tried and failed many, many times, but I keep trying. I know that it would make my life, with 5 kids under 9, easier, but "things" have always come up. The "things" that interrupt my perfect(haha) plans are normal everyday if you have kids these things happen, sickness, unplanned guests, forgetting to take out the meat, a forgotten activity, or mom just not wanting to do it. I know what I have in my freezers and cupboards, and know what I can throw together, so there is always something for dinner. I just wish that dinner would be a little more organized. One of my goals with summer here is to plan a menu for 1 month at a time, I'm hoping getting out and written down someplace it can't get lost will help me stick to the plan.
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