My Standard Weekly Menu

Planning a menu for the week helps me know what to buy and tracks my cooking.  It also helps me meet my goal to have a home-cooked, healthy meal most nights. By planning ahead, I can also keep prepared ingredients and leftovers to make cooking easier as the week gets more hectic or for those nights when I am not inspired to cook everything from scratch, at least for weeknight cooking, My plan is to have a list of dishes that cook easily using ingredients I can easily find, but that can be changed up each week for variety.

I cook for a vegetarian daughter, an almost vegetarian son and I am diabetic so let's just say it takes a bit of creativity!

Here is my basic menu for a week’s worth of cooking, developed with these principles in mind. I do try to remain flexible to take advantage of special occasions, requests from family members, or the availability of a seasonal ingredient.

Monday - Sunday Leftovers

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday (Turkey Tacos are a family favorite, but tacos, in general, are super easy, fun, and fast. (. Sub turkey with avocado or beans if you are vegetarian and it is just as tasty.)

Wednesday - Crockpot Meal (Prep what you can the night before.  Cook thinking of leftovers for the next day. Turn the Crockpot before you leave for work and add the final touches when you get home .)

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Crockpot Meal (Prep what you can the night before.  Cook thinking of leftovers for the next day. Turn the Crockpot before you leave for work and add the final touches when you get home .)

Saturday - I like to make a hearty breakfast.  Friday Leftovers, Grill, Sandwiches or Special Requests

Sunday -  I take special requests and I cook thinking of leftovers for the next day.

Shopping list: Keeping the pantry stocked is the key to cooking at home. If I open the fridge and see nothing quick or easy to cook during the week, I tend to order out, especially if I waited too
long and I am starving. Here is a standard list of ingredients to keep on hand to make an entire week’s worth of meals:

• Produce: fresh fruit for snacking and breakfast; salad greens and vegetables; seasonal vegetable; broccoli; potatoes or sweet potatoes; onions; garlic
• Meat: boneless chicken breasts; bacon (I get turkey bacon), ground meat and sausage for the freezer (also turkey); other meat that you like for stir-fries or grilling
• Eggs: I buy 1 carton of 18 to make sure I always have enough eggs on hand for a quick meal
• Dairy: yogurt for snacking and breakfast; one or two kinds of cheese; butter, almond milk
• Bread: tortillas (i buy corn for me, flour for others); breakfast bread (croissants are my fave); sandwich rolls
• Pantry: various dried pasta; canned beans and tomatoes; tomato puree; chicken stock; olive oil and vinegar; salsas, sauces, and condiments that you enjoy (I make my own); nuts and popcorn