Meals........
How many days a week do you eat out? Are you exhausted when you get home from work or are done playing with the kids all day?
I have a few questions for you....
How many people in your house are 13 or older? Are they helping with the cooking? if not, why not?
In my house, there are 3 people over the age of 13. Myself, my husband and my teenager Tess. I personally enjoy cooking, so I cook almost every night. My husband cooks on Sundays, because I work weekend night shift and by Sunday I am exhausted and not in the mood to cook.
Tess cooks usually once a week, or every other week depending on her school activity and homework schedule (her schedule is more cluttered than mine right now between AP courses, Band and Bowling....).
I cook the other nights of the week, except for Friday night.... which is Pizza night!
Do you have a Pizza night? If not I HIGHLY recommend implementing one. Whether you purchase frozen pizzas, pick up, or have delivery Pizza night is a simple night to give to someone else to cook. Even if you choose to do homemade Pizza (which we do sometimes) it's not time intensive to do.
Monday nights at my house are almost always leftover/sandwich night. Everyone is responsible for their own meal. We save our leftovers for lunches and for leftover night. If there aren't any leftovers, we have sandwiches or cereal. The point is no one has to cook.
I am a meal planner, if you plan out your meals for the week you are less likely to eat out. Do you have a crockpot? If so use it, if not BUY One! At least one night a week I use the crock-pot. I look at the girls activities for the week, and my schedule and plan something I can throw in the crock first thing in the morning and not worry about for that day.
So this is an example of what my week looks like - I alternate the nights as I need to.
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Mexican food (tacos, casseroles, etc...)
Wednesday - Pasta
Thursday - Chicken Dish
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Beef
Sunday - Jim Cooks
I alternate things, we have meatless nights, seafood nights etc. The point is that one day a week, usually on Tuesdays, I sit down and figure out what I'm cooking that week. Then I shop for my groceries (I shop at two stores Aldis and then whoever else has the sales I need to finish out my list). I try to let Tessa cook one night a week if she can, I get the younger girls in the kitchen at least once a week to help cook so that when they are just a bit older they can take turns being responsible for dinner.
I also do freezer cooking, I try to have some foods in the freezer that all I have to do is thaw out and either put in the crock pot or throw in the oven. That way if I am absolutely exhausted and neither of my other cooks can take over there is still a dinner available.
Yes, we still eat out some... yes, we even resort to the drive through, but overall we try not to. It saves money and it is much healthier to eat in.
Remember, TEAMWORK.... get the other people in your house involved in cooking and meal planning. Share the work and remember to enjoy the people you love.
I have a few questions for you....
How many people in your house are 13 or older? Are they helping with the cooking? if not, why not?
In my house, there are 3 people over the age of 13. Myself, my husband and my teenager Tess. I personally enjoy cooking, so I cook almost every night. My husband cooks on Sundays, because I work weekend night shift and by Sunday I am exhausted and not in the mood to cook.
Tess cooks usually once a week, or every other week depending on her school activity and homework schedule (her schedule is more cluttered than mine right now between AP courses, Band and Bowling....).
I cook the other nights of the week, except for Friday night.... which is Pizza night!
Do you have a Pizza night? If not I HIGHLY recommend implementing one. Whether you purchase frozen pizzas, pick up, or have delivery Pizza night is a simple night to give to someone else to cook. Even if you choose to do homemade Pizza (which we do sometimes) it's not time intensive to do.
Monday nights at my house are almost always leftover/sandwich night. Everyone is responsible for their own meal. We save our leftovers for lunches and for leftover night. If there aren't any leftovers, we have sandwiches or cereal. The point is no one has to cook.
I am a meal planner, if you plan out your meals for the week you are less likely to eat out. Do you have a crockpot? If so use it, if not BUY One! At least one night a week I use the crock-pot. I look at the girls activities for the week, and my schedule and plan something I can throw in the crock first thing in the morning and not worry about for that day.
So this is an example of what my week looks like - I alternate the nights as I need to.
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Mexican food (tacos, casseroles, etc...)
Wednesday - Pasta
Thursday - Chicken Dish
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - Beef
Sunday - Jim Cooks
I alternate things, we have meatless nights, seafood nights etc. The point is that one day a week, usually on Tuesdays, I sit down and figure out what I'm cooking that week. Then I shop for my groceries (I shop at two stores Aldis and then whoever else has the sales I need to finish out my list). I try to let Tessa cook one night a week if she can, I get the younger girls in the kitchen at least once a week to help cook so that when they are just a bit older they can take turns being responsible for dinner.
I also do freezer cooking, I try to have some foods in the freezer that all I have to do is thaw out and either put in the crock pot or throw in the oven. That way if I am absolutely exhausted and neither of my other cooks can take over there is still a dinner available.
Yes, we still eat out some... yes, we even resort to the drive through, but overall we try not to. It saves money and it is much healthier to eat in.
Remember, TEAMWORK.... get the other people in your house involved in cooking and meal planning. Share the work and remember to enjoy the people you love.
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