May 15 2009
Healthy Meals for Busy Moms on a Budget
May 15, I have the opportunity to present for the MHEA (Mississippi Home Educators Association) Spring Conference. As promised at the conference, below are the recipes & menu I referred to during my presenation with a monthly menu below.
Week 1
Sunday – Simple Savoury Pork Roast with Green Beans, Butter Beans, Brown Rice, French Bread
Monday – Chicken Spectacular with Salad & Bread (chip extra lettuce, slice extra tomatoes for tacos tomorrow)
Tuesday – Tacos with Low-fat Black Bean Dip (brown extra meat for Spaghetti on Saturday)
Wednesday – Breakfast Night – Scrambled Eggs, Grits, Toast/Biscuits, Fruit
Thursday – Chicken Breasts Grilled with Lemon Pepper & Seasoning Salt (Save 1-2 (1-inch thick) chicken strips per breast & freeze), Steamed Frozen Vegetable Blend, Baked Potatoes, Bread
Friday – Pizza with Salad
Saturday – Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (using leftover beef from Tuesday)
Week 2
Sunday – Ham (save leftovers for Wednesday) with Macaroni & Cheese (Double for Wednesday), Steamed Broccoli, Pineapple Souffle, Bread
Monday – Taco Soup (Double & freeze leftovers for week 4)
Tuesday – Chicken Pot Pie (Make double and freeze half for week 4 dinner) with Sauteed Squash & Zucchini, Bread
Wednesday – Leftover Ham, Macaroni & Cheese, Green Beans, Bread
Thursday – Lemonade Chicken (Save 1-2 (1-inch) chicken strips per chicken breast), Brown Rice, Grilled Shish-Kabob Veggies, Grilled Corn on the Cob, Bread
Friday – Pizza with Salad
Saturday – Hamburgers with Salad
Week 3
Sunday – Apricot Glazed Pork Chops with Salad, Squash Casserole, Bread
Monday – Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Carrot/Celery sticks & Ranch Dip
Tuesday – Beef ‘N Bean Burritos with Green Beans and bread
Wednesday – Honey Garlic Chicken (Made with Chicken Strips frozen from previous dishes – add more if needed), Salad or other Vegetable, Bread
Thursday – Lentil Soup (Lentils have protein, but you can add chopped, cooked chicken for extra protein) with Bread or Crackers
Friday – Pizza with Salad
Saturday – Meatloaf with Turnip Greens, Corn on the Cob, Mashed Potatoes, Bread
Week 4
Sunday – Red Beans & Rice with Sausage or Pickled Pork, Green Beans, Bread
Monday – Parmesan Chicken & Veggie Pasta, Stuffed Zucchini, Bread
Tuesday – Taco Soup (leftovers from Week 2)
Wednesday – Italian Fish Bake, Coleslaw, Turnip or Mustard Greens, Cornbread
Thursday – Chicken Pot Pie from the Freezer (Made in week 2), Steamed Frozen Vegetable Blend, Bread
Friday – Pizza with Salad
Saturday - Hamburgers with Terrific Taters
I like this idea and I think you should do a book for busy moms to go along with your cookbook.This helps with healthy menu plans without a lot of trouble.
Years ago my son bought me a book called The Messies Manual, why I’ll never know! Anyway, one good suggestion, that I followed with some success, was to make out six weeks worth of menus on 3 x 5 cards. Then you entered all the ingredients for those meals on the back of the card. When grocery shopping you just took a card and bought what you needed. I had six weeks worth of winter-time menus and six of summertime. You just keep rotating the menus and the system works fairly well.