Wednesday Lunchbox - September 18, 2013

My dinner menu has been tossed around this week, so I had some extra bacon on hand and decided to make breakfast for lunch!
I cooked up a batch of applesauce pancakes while the girls were at school Tuesday. I wrapped 4 of the smaller ones and put them in the fridge to stick in their lunches today, and froze the rest for quick breakfasts. I threw 2 pieces of bacon in a pan, then all I had left to do was wash and cut up fruit for fruit kabobs and spoon some yogurt into the cups, then top with sprinkles. I wrapped up two pancakes for each kid in plastic wrap so they didn't get soggy, and just laid the bacon on top. Isis's kabobs have green grapes, peaches, and pears, and Joplin's are the same minus grapes. I'm skipping the messy syrup, and hoping they eat the pancakes without fussing. They will both, get plastic spoons, and choose milk and juice from the cafeteria.

Mobilizing My Meal Plan

There are many advantages to meal planning. They are a great way too save money and time, reduce stress and waste, and avoid expensive restaurant and take out meals. Purchasing all the ingredients you'll need for a week's worth of meals means less trips to the store, and more time with your family.

I don't always write down a formal meal plan, but usually have a good idea of what we will eat for the week. Lately, this has been a struggle for me, though. Perhaps it's adjusting to our new school schedule that has thrown me off. Whatever it is, I decided to try out an app to keep track of the groceries in my fridge and pantry, and create meal plans. I downloaded Food Planner to my Android phone today.

So far I have added a few of our favorite recipes and the groceries that I'm currently stocked up on, and made a plan for tonight's dinner.
I love that I can add recipes from the web, making it really easy to keep track of everything in one place instead of trying to jump from page to page for the recipes I need. Adding ingredients was simple, and allowed me to adjust quantities and add notes. I can't wait to use the bar code scanner to add additional groceries with no typing out descriptions.

 

Creating the meal plan was as simple as tapping the recipe I wanted to use!

I'm on a tight budget for the next two weeks, so hopefully this app will make it easier to stick to a meal plan. I'll definitely write an update and report how it goes.

Do you meal plan? What tools have been helpful to you? Please share any tips you have for making meal planning work.

Momma on-the-go breakfast

Weekday mornings are always hectic no matter how much I prepare ahead. I spend my evenings packing lunches, laying out clothes, and going through homework, notes, and papers, but still find myself rushing in the morning. I'm no early bird, and not one of those ladies who gets up at dawn to exercise or do yoga before the kids wake. I get up about 10 minutes before my kids, which is just enough time to get a quick breakfast on the table for them. While they eat I dress and get ready to take them to school. Fixing hair (one of the "joys" of being a mother to 3 girls) and finding shoes, putting ice packs in the lunch boxes and getting the baby changed and dressed takes up the remainder of the morning. So I find myself short on time and starving!
Thankfully my husband is usually pretty good about getting a travel mug full of coffee ready for me to grab as we run out the door. Unfortunately, coffee is not considered a good breakfast for anyone, especially a breastfeeding mom.
I'm still working on ideas for easy and healthy take-along breakfasts. After realizing that smoothies are NOT quick (gathering 5+ ingredients, blending, pouring, then washing the blender...no thanks) I started thinking about less conventional options.
My favorite so far is this lightly salted rice cake drizzled with honey. Not everyone enjoys rice cakes, but the honey really adds good flavor, it's filling, and soooo easy. Add a piece of fresh fruit, and you'll have a few hours of energy, and none of the fat and processed sugars in other grab-and-go breakfasts.