Menu Planning
Menu planning is helpful for most homeschool families, well at least for my family. There are some families that menu planning would cause more unnecessary stress. I firmly believe you need to do what is best for your family. What works for one family might not necessary work for another family.
This is how I plan our meals. First, I prepare a menu for two weeks. Breakfast and lunch is fairly simple. I find items that are fairly easy to prepare. Then I plan the dinners. I don’t plan dinners for any particular day. I just plan for 14 dinners and I always have a couple quick dinners for days that are busy. I plan a day for shopping. Then the next day I plan for cooking. The following items I prepare in advance; Spinach Lasagna, Taco meat, Sloppy Joe’s, Hamburgers, Meatloaf. It takes about a little less than 2 hours.
Here is one of our menus:
Breakfast:
- Cereal
- Egg and Hash Browns
- Instant Oatmeal
- French Toast Sticks
- Egg and Sausage on English Muffin
- Egg Burritos
- Pancakes
- Fruit and Yogurt
- Cinnamon Rolls
Lunches:
- Sandwiches (Turkey, Tuna, or Egg)
- Tacos
- Seafood Wraps
- Turkey Caesar Wraps
- Chicken Patty Sandwiches
- Hamburgers (We have a indoor grill. It takes about 6 minutes to grill.)
- Hot Dogs
- Chili Fries
- Grilled Chicken (I buy the Perdue perfect portions.)
Dinners:
- Spinach Lasagna, Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread
- Sloppy Joe’s, Onion Rings, Garden Salad
- Meatloaf, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans
- Beef stew and Bread & Butter
- Roasted Chicken, Stuffing, Broccoli
- Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
- Kielbasa, Rice, Asparagus
- Chicken Pot Pie, Garden Salad
- Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn melody
- Baked Chicken, Butter Noodles, Green Beans
- Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, Mixed Veggies
- Pizza, Salad
- Creamy Chicken, Rice, Broccoli
- Nachos (We top our nachos with seasoned ground beef, pinto beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, sour cream, and salsa)
We have a few guidelines about meals. At lunch, fruit and veggies are required. That usually consists of carrots, cucumbers, or celery sticks. For the fruit, it is whatever is in season. Dessert is after lunch and not after dinner because that way the children are not energized by the sugar in the dessert and not up all night.
