Hi everyone, look at me, early with the May 2012 Monthly Meal Plan! LOL! I know I’ve been posting these right at the last minute, but this month I actually had a little breathing room so thought I’d get it out a few days early for you! I haven’t had a whole lot of time to add in our Weight Watcher’s meals, so I apologize for that. Maybe I can get to it this summer once school’s out and we’re on break.
Download the May 2012 Monthly Meal Plan:
Each time I post this, I get a few of the same questions, so I wanted to answer them for you all:
How strictly do you follow your plan?
Honestly, the answer varies from week to week! I do try to do my grocery shopping using my list on the weekend, so that I’m prepared for the up coming week. But there are days when I simply don’t feel like having what I have on the list for that day, or when I just straight up don’t feel like cooking!
On those days, I’ll usually just swap that meal out with another day’s so I don’t get too far off track. Sometimes we’ll order out, or have left overs depending.
My meal plan definitely keeps me on track, but I also allow myself some wiggle room! After all, I’m only human ;o)
Do you have a good smoothie recipe?
Yes, I do! I’m kind of lazy when it comes to smoothies, I buy the family packs of Yoplait or Jamba Smoothies they have in the grocery store for days when I need a quick breakfast. Just add milk or orange juice and voila!
For days when I have a little more time…
Fruit Smoothies:
Ingredients:
- 1 banana (frozen is better, but I will work at room temp.)
- 2 cups frozen strawberries (Again, room temp is okay)
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (We prefer frozen yogurt)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- Optional: 2-3 tablespoons honey to taste (The plain fruit can be a bit sour, but the orange juice helps with this, so try it before adding honey)
Directions:
Add all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth! Pour into glasses and serve!
This usually serves my 4 kiddos and me, but they all get half glasses. If I need a little more, I’ll just add in some more milk or juice. It makes the smoothie a bit runny, but no one seems to mind and it’s cheaper that way!
Note: Really you can use any type of fruit you prefer! Some of our favorites alternatives to above:
- Mango, peach, & banana.
- Raspberry, Blueberry, and Strawberry
Hope the meal plans help relieve a little bit of mom-stress this month!
Thank you so much for posting your meal plan every month. I am in a rut – especially when dealing with lunch. I’m going to follow your plan 100% this month to switch things up a bit 🙂
I love your menu! I was wondering what you did for Saturday & sunday’s breakfast, lunch & snack? All leftovers?
Hi Lauren,
Sometimes our weekends are left overs, I don’t plan much on my calendar because weekends are always up in the air here! Some days we’re running around, sometimes we’re home, so I just leave those days open kind of.
Just curious what size family is this meal plan for and how much do you spend on groceries? and do you have most of this stuff in your house?
Hi Lori,
There are 6 of us and I tend to spend around $00 per month on groceries, sometimes more depending. But I’m not the best with coupons and stuff, so that’s just me! I have basic supplies in my pantry, then just purchase whatever else I need each week, mostly produce since it goes bad quickly.
Also, we get our beef from my husband’s grandma’s farm, so I don’t buy my meat there.
Just wanted to let you know that when I clicked the May 2012 Monthly Meal Plan link, it brought me to the April meal plan…
Thanks for letting me know. I fixed it.
We’ve started making “green” smoothies by adding spinach or kale to our fruit smoothies – you can’t taste the veggies but you get all the benefits – I also add flax seed oil or milled flax seed for the omega 3’s.
I just discovered your site/blog this past week and just discovered the menu plans today. What a relief/blessing this is!! Also, THANK YOU for creating a monthly plan that is budget-friendly for a large family, free of charge!
Thank you so much for posting your meal plan, especially the editable calendar. I began using it this month. YEA! Going to try to make the pretzels, too!
~Jada
Just wondering what you use in your bread crumb mixture for pork chops and marinade for grilled pork chops. This meal plan is a life saver. So many family favorites!!
Thanks,
Caterina
Have to say thank you x 100000 for posting these. I’m a stay at home mom and I tend to get in a rut. You have helped sooooooo much! 🙂
Hi, I couldn’t see what your grocery budget was per month, but were limited to certain amount $ a month so I want to make sure I don’t go hog wild. We have 5 kids and I’ve been loaded with guilt lately about the “sugar” they’re getting in cereal etc. I think these ideas will really help. Thanks so much for posting this, especially the editable one! I’m so excited to have some more options that seem to be somewhat healthy. I was paying for one that only provided a dinner menu although they gave a shopping list for whatever store you pick with prices.