What's For Dinner?

                                                    Hello My Sisters in Christ,

Today I would like to shift gears a little and discuss a topic that is very important in my home.
                                                      SAVING MONEY!

Yes, this is a topic that seems to be at the top of my to do list just about every week and definitely on pay day. I know that God has called us to be good stewards of the finances that he has given us and at times this can be challenging. This has become a special mission for me due to my large family size. I have dedicated much time and effort to learning HOW to save money. One of the first areas I addressed was meal time.

Meal time is always a hot topic in my household. In my first year as a blended family, I tried my hardest to figure out ways to stretch meals and dollars, only to be disappointed at the fact that I was unsuccessful. Adjusting my meals from feeding 3 people to feeding 8 was a challenge but as I prayed God helped me to become better at this task. I am grateful for all my failed attempts because each one equipped me to become successful later. In failing, I learned the importance of planning my meals, from the smallest meal and to the smallest mouth. In this, God allowed me to develop a meal plan that worked weekly and gave us variety. What was even more of a blessing was that by creating a meal plan, our grocery bill was lowered by about 50 dollars bi-weekly. That adds up to nearly 100 dollars per month. Mission Accomplished!!

Today I want to share with you the weekly meal plan that I work off of in hopes that you will find this to be helpful when planning your weekly meals. I encourage you to use this as a guide to your shopping experience and watch how you are able to shave a few dollars off each time. 

Rachel's Weekly Meal Guide
Sunday- Moms Cook Day (A nice Sunday dinner)
Monday- Moms Reheat Day (A nice way of saying "Left Overs")
Tuesday- Taco Tuesday (Homemade Tacos, Nacho Grande, Quesadillas, Chipotle) 
Wednesday- Grab and Go (This is church night so we often make or grab something quick before we head off to have our spirits fed)
Thursday- Dad or Mom's Cook Day (A nice hardy meal)
Friday- Frank Friday or Burger Friday (Hotdogs, Bratwust, Kabosi, Turkey Burgers)
Saturday- Crock Pot Meal (Something that you can toss in the crock pot in the morning and let cook until dinner, No Pressure cook day)

I am a firm believer in having veggies with every meal, so I have found creative ways to incorporate veggies into each dinner. For example Frank Friday is a good time to try Sweet Potatoe Fries or Green Bean Fries and on Taco Tuesday replace Iceberg Lettuce with Fresh Spinach. These are just a few additional suggestions you can try.

Moms, one of the best things about this guide is that it takes a lot of stress off of you, especially during the week. I also noticed that my children seem to be a little less impatient after school now that they know what to expect for dinner. They have even developed their own favorite days of the week based on the dinner menu. Now that's exciting!!!

My last piece of advice would be to have fun and be creative. This is just a guide but feel free to expand upon it to fit your household size and culture. You can even change it up from winter to summer (If you are like me, you may be adding a BBQ day to the menu). Overall, this minor change can have a huge impact on your sanity and your shopping experience.

Do you have any additional ideas you would like to add? Do you already have meals planned for a particular day of the week? What about recipes that you'd like to share? If so, please share them in the comment box or on our Facebook page.   

Be Blessed and have a wonderful weekend.