Menu Plan Your Butt Off {A Working Mom} | The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans LLC

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Hey all you Shrinkers!!  I’m Jen and I blog over at Jen in Real Life. In real life I am a teacher, mother, wife, runner…err currently injured runner, blogger, tweeter, friend…ok I am like most women…I wear many hats and I have many titles to match the hats. I blog my life, my journey and I keep it real. Once in a while, I blog about something food related but my Twitter and Facebook feeds are loaded with food! I tweet and Facebook recipes I must make and I tweet and Facebook fantastic pictures of the food porn coming out of my kitchen. I am always on the hunt for new and exciting and healthy foods to feed my family. I have to be creative to make everyone happy. I have to be creative to make us good quality meals without breaking the bank!

{Note from Editor to Jen: you need to get your butt on Pinterest so you can start pinning recipes, too! We’re there as Shrinking Jeans!}

On the Menu

Sunday 9/11: Biz’s Chicken Divan over egg noodles

Monday 9/12: Grilled Chicken Breast – baked-on-the-grill potatoes (white for the husband, sweets for me and the daughter) and veg

Tuesday 9/13: Pasta and Freezer Sauce and a BIG salad – I made a big batch of sauce and meatballs last week and the leftover was frozen for an easy school night dinner.

Wednesday 9/14: Leftovers Pizza & Salad – I will put aside sauce from Tuesday’s pasta for the pizza and I am purposely making Tuesday’s salad a BIG salad so there is leftover for tonight.

Thursday 9/15: Ground Turkey Reuben Melt (I am making this one up as I go – I will take pictures and blog a recipe when I am done) with Veggie Soup (I made this soup a few weeks ago and immediately froze a batch)

Friday 9/16: Steak – the husband’s request! I will add a potato and veg.

Misc. Food to Prep (to be used as snacks, lunches, pre-made breakfast)

  • Broccoli Cheese Chowder
  • Parmesan Spinach Cakes
  • Eggy Muffins

Desserts:

Menu Planning Tips:

I have been menu planning for a few years now and I have gathered a few tricks. In my comments on my menu last week @ashleysh22 asked “How do you stick to your own schedule? My problem is that even when I write out a menu similar to this one – I can’t seem to stick to it. I come home and don’t feel like cooking. And then I fall behind. any advice?”

I will give you the advice I was once given: it is simply a plan to guide you through. You make the rules and don’t let your plan rule you.

Meaning….sometimes you switch things up! You come home from work and all you want is scrambled eggs or a quick sandwich. What was planned, what is in the fridge defrosting will be there tomorrow. If you get backed up that just means you have an already thought out meal for next week.

I plan my menu around my week. This week I have PT (Physical Therapy) three times and an acupuncture appointment. Plus, the first few weeks of school are crazy busy. I planned easy meals with built in leftover. Crockpots are a lifesaver! Plan your menu to match your weekly and family needs. Another lifesaver meal – the occasional breakfast for dinner – everyone loves it and it is EASY!

Have fun with your food!!

Happy Eating!!

xox, Jen

Be sure to blog your menu plan and link up below! We love finding new recipes, and who knows, maybe your recipe will be featured on our Shrinking Menu Plan!

Thanks so much for sharing your menu with us, Jen! Another fun website we’ve come to love is Say Mmm. It’s a free menu-planning site that allows you to save recipes, plan on a calendar, and organize lists and coupons. Check it out!

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