When making our Monday menu, we look to fit meals together and use similar ingredients in different ways throughout the week to avoid waste. We also benefit from a well-stocked pantry.
Mindfulness is the act of being aware, of paying attention in a particular way. It’s being aware of the underlying intention that drives our actions. I’m not perfect. Often my actions are driven by fatigue and stress, by trying to fit it all in, by life getting in the way of living.
The return of the Monday menu. It wasn’t so much that I had misplaced my menu or that we hadn’t been writing one down and planning our meals out, but that I wasn’t being as conscious of it as I had been in the past. Changing schedules and a shifting workload made it difficult, and so I let it fall away. I wasn’t being mindful of it.
I’ve been working on taking time to appreciate the small moments more, when the kids are excitedly helping with dinner, when we sit in humid pools for hours to see Kiera swim across a handful of times, and in that showing my children that I love them beyond just saying the words. With Valentine’s Day approaching, there are several ways to show your children they’re cherished. I share a few ways I work to do just that over on I See Me! with a Valentine’s Day treat and sharing how you can personalize a book for your child, too.
Monday – Barbecue Chicken Nachos
Tuesday – Broccoli, Ham, and Mozzarella Egg Bake
Wednesday – White Chicken Chili
Thursday – Sicilian Spaghetti with Pan-Roasted Cauliflower
Friday – Ham and Split Pea Soup
The Preparation Shortcuts:
- Roast a fryer chicken for your nachos, and then use the leftover meat for the chili, and the bones for the stock.
- Use the extra chicken stock for the ham and split pea soup on Friday.
- Start your week off with a roast ham dinner or Sunday. Save leftover ham and the ham bone to use later in the week.
- Ham stock for the soup can be made ahead and then reheated Friday for the soup.
Last week from Eat Well Spend Less was all about heading back to the basics:
7 Lessons Learned from a Pantry Challenge | Life as Mom
How to Boil a Husband | Kitchen Stewardship
How to Cook Pasta Like a Pro | Denver Bargains
Food Goals for 2013 | Keeping the Kingdom First
Roasted Brown Chicken Stock (and a love story) | Simple Bites
Back to the Basics of Feeding a Family | here on Food for My Family
With that, here’s to a week of school spirit with pajama days, crazy hair days, and school colors.
I love this post. We have been working on mindfulness as well, and while it’s not always easy, it is making a HUGE difference. The picture of M & L is the essence of it.
Thanks, Bri. I’m glad to hear things are going well at home. We miss you.
I recently started meal planning, and I’m so hooked on it. But, sometimes I still go overboard at the grocery store and buy things that I don’t need. I get so down on myself about it.
Anyway, thanks for your meal plan 🙂
It definitely helps me manage waste better, and as a bonus, I end up spending less at the store, too.
Good for you for being more mindful.. its so much easier to disconnect sometimes! I may be speaking for myself there. 🙂
This was a really good post. I think, especially with this economy, we could all use a few lessons in mindfulness. With spending, with wasting food and with how much we eat. This is a nice reminder post!
I think the important thing is that we try our best. To be honest I would not want to be around a “perfect” person,
I try to do the same.. We are mad about Quiona and use it to make little bites with chicken in them, as a rice substitute in stir frys, apricot chicken etc and we also buy a lot of chicken, chicken is very versatile!!