I’ve been at this marriage and parenting thing for almost twenty years now and, somehow, I am still completely shocked and caught off guard every single evening when the concept of “dinner” arises.
Without fail, around 5:30 in the afternoon, my kids will find me outside with my hands full of weeds and ask me what’s for supper. You would think by the look on my face that I had just been told that I had forgotten to attend one of my children’s weddings.
But no. It’s almost worse than that. I had forgotten, once again, that every evening normal people require dinner. And dinner requires being in the kitchen. And cooking. And planning.
Yet there I am. In the backyard, filthy, wondering how I forgot to not only plan and cook dinner for my family, but somehow I forgot that dinner is something that actually exists.
It’s not that I don’t like cooking…I actually love it! I just get, well, distracted. I love being outside in the afternoons once we’ve finished all of our homeschool studies and activities. And I guess the time really flies when I’m pulling weeds.
It is a VERY good thing that we homeschool. Because once I realize what time it is (dinner time) and that my children are expecting sustenance (as they should), off we race to the grocery store to begin the first of many steps to actually getting dinner on the table. No joke, by the time the groceries are bought and brought in, the meal is prepped and cooked, we are eating anywhere from 9:30-10:30 AT NIGHT. Like I said, it’s a good thing we homeschool…my kids have to sleep in because their momma literally can’t feed them at a decent time.
Ok, enough airing of the dirty laundry.
It was time for a change. An honest-to-goodness, time-to-grow-up, get-my-act-together change. Several months ago, I realized that maybe a good old fashioned meal plan might help me. And not just a meal plan that lasted me a few days. One that lasted me a few months. I needed the mother lode of meal plans.
So, I made one! And we LOVE it! I actually stick to it, and it has been a tremendous help. We are eating healthier, earlier, and happier.
This meal plan is for 8 weeks, and then we just start it over. The recipes in the meal plan have all received the stamp of approval from my kids because they taste good, and they have also received the stamp of approval from me because they are clean and healthy! I buy the groceries for each week on Saturday or Sunday, and every afternoon I – get this – simply walk into the kitchen and start cooking!
Below, you will find the PDF printable version of my Two-Month Meal Plan. If you would like to know an individual recipe, ask me in the comments and I will provide it!
I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me!
Month One – Meal Plan
Month Two- Meal Plan
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