Looking for a meal plan that covers all three meals PLUS snacks? This complete plan for the first 2 weeks of October is totally free. Why work so hard??
My kids do this thing where they wait until I’m distracted…
Then they put a snack package in my hand, knowing I’ll automatically unwrap it and hand it back to them.
Basically giving them permission to snack all the time.
But I’m not one of those moms that lets her kids snack all the time. (Hence the need for deception.)
Hey, I give them an A for effort and creative use of their resources!
But most of the time I snap out of it and withdraw my passive permission before they’ve scarfed down their candy (or whatever they’re after).
I try to keep snacking down to a minimum. It’s too expensive to feed this crew whenever they’re “hungry”.
But more importantly, I want them to recognize the difference between real hunger and boredom (or whatever emotion they’re trying to eat).
So you’ll see snack ideas listed in my 2 week meal plan, but we’re talking about an after-school snack and a bedtime snack.
Read on to see all of the meals and snacks we’ll be feasting on for the next couple of weeks. Expect a simple and frugal plan for our family of 8.
Our 2 Week Meal Plan
Breakfast
- cereal (My personal rule is to TRY to buy cereals that are 9 grams of sugar or less plus under 9% of our daily sodium value. It also needs to be less than 16 cents per ounce. Obviously, I have to bend these rules here and there.)
- pumpkin bread
- frozen waffles
- bagels
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole (yum!)
- Let’s be totally honest…generic pop tarts (for those days we all get out of bed late)
Lunch
We pack lunches pretty much every day. (Read how we’ve taught our kids to pack their own lunch here.)
Besides a main course from this list below, we also pack a fruit or veggie, yogurt or cheese, and one junk food (chips, cookies, pudding, etc.).
- sandwiches
- leftovers
- homemade blackberry muffins (from the berries we picked and froze this summer)
- salads (I planted lettuce that hopefully will grow before the frost sets in.)
- hard boiled eggs
- chips and salsa
Supper
I supplement these main dishes with a side of potatoes, rice, or pasta.
We nearly always have fresh cut veggies and sweet tea with our suppers.
Fall is a great time for roasted veggies, so that will be on the menu, too!
Another fall favorite is carmalized apples. I just fry them up in a skillet with a dab of butter and a heavy sprinkle of cinnamon. (drool!)
- tacos X 2
- pizza
- ham & beans
- Cincinnati style chili spaghetti FYI, any recipe that doesn’t call for boiling the ground beef isn’t real Cincinnati chili and should be shunned. 😉
- leftover chili on cheese coneys
- Honey Mustard and Rosemary Chicken
- grilled chicken x 2 (This is what our birthday boy requested.)
- black bean casserole
- Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
- grilled pork chops
- chicken slop (chicken breasts topped with stuffing, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup in the crockpot)
- fish sticks and fries or other frozen food for a crazy night
Snacks & Desserts
- banana cake (as requested by the birthday boy!)
- homemade salted caramel dip for our apples
- Speaking of salted caramel, these Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars are begging to be made!
- Oreo Cheesecake Dip w/ Chocolate Wafers (I’m making this for a Tupperware party. But I’ll omit the mint extract, because chocolate and mint should never be combined. I can’t be the only one who believes that!) 😉
- fresh fruit
- popcorn
- cheese and crackers
- cookies (Possibly pumpkin snickerdoodles.)
Keeping up with my menu plan really helps me to feel organized in the midst of a crazy schedule.
That’s what we’re eating in early October!
Now I’ve got to run and chase down the 2 year old who tricked me into unwrapping a sucker for him. Again.
Check out this complete resource for ALL of your meal planning needs!!
Important question: Are you a chocolate purist? Or do you like chocolate mint and other combos?
Meal planning is something I need to get into. It makes it all run so much more smoothly when planned ahead!
That black bean casserole sounds really good. I think I’ll put it on my menu next week. I plan a week at a time. Here’s mine for the week:
http://lifewithdee.com/menu-plan-monday-october-10-2016/
I followed you here from I’m an Organizing Junkie. I’d love to have you pay me a visit at Life With Dee. Have a beautiful day!
That’s a great meal plan, it’s something I’m doing more but I’m not as efficient yet as I ought to be. That’s a great example that you’re setting for us all.
Mint and chocolate is a divine combination to me – each to their own taste! I’ve been spending some time in Italy and you rarely see that combo here, though it’s very popular in Britain.
🙂 It’s definitely a popular combo! Just not one I particularly enjoy…
My wife loves to meal plan. Especially in the winter time when she loves to utilize the crock pot. I have to admit coming home on a cold winter day from work with the house smelling amazing from the slow cooked food makes me long for winter at times.
This is great thanks for planning. I think a lot of families (including mine) struggle with meal ideas that are healthy and economical.
what a great menu plan with every meal and snack as well. Sounds great for our busy family as well
thanks for sharing come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Having a meal plan at least for a week, is the only way to keep the grocery-shopping under control. I really hate shopping of any kind (yes, the dream of any husband for a wife to say)…, so I usually make my meal-shopping for only a week.
I have to admit that I’m not great a baking from scratch, and make my cakes and cookies from boxed items…. Great ideas here Jamie!
Joyful Savings recently posted: Simple Ways To Ease Your Work In The Kitchen