I have been fortunate enough to enjoy these gorgeous flowers for the last week.
Expect a full review on my experience with The Bouqs soon here on the blog.
I have been focused on making my new place feel like home. I know it’s not the things that make a home, but more about the people and experiences. So far, I’ve had a few visitors over for dinner. My goal is to have one guest per week to try out some of my meals. I’m also slowly but surely adding little bits of decor.
I set a goal to eat in every meal of the week and take my lunch daily. I allow myself one lunch and one dinner “out” per week. That’s it. This really helps me stay on top of my spending on food and I have been able to try new dishes and entertain guests ;).
My plan is always to hit the grocery store on Sunday, then make all of the food after that. SO far, this plan hasn’t gone as expected. Usually, after hitting 1-3 grocery stores to get everything on my list, I’m hungry, tired and ready for a nap. This week I went Monday since it was a holiday. This worked out fine, but instead of cooking while it was 95 degrees out, I decided to hit the pool. So yeah, meals didn’t get made.
I’m not sure if my plan is too solid or if I need to think things through on Friday or Saturday and hit the grocery store right after church Sunday, have break time for lunch, then make everything. Perhaps I’m overthinking things…I will give myself credit for the fact that this “plan” has gone really well and I have in fact eaten what I make with the exception of two meals a week ovevr the last three weeks. I’ve made it work. **Pats self on the back**
This week’s list
Here are a few tips that have helped me stick to it over these last few weeks:
1. Fit Men Cook – I saw this video where he talks about how to make your food budget happen. He explains the importance of selecting quality proteins first then everything else after that. This was so helpful for me because I usually spend the most money on the “fluff” as opposed to buying quality proteins.
2. Pinterest – This Monday, before my grocery trip, I took inventory of what I already had and also the pins on my board of recipes that I wanted to try. By doing this, I realized that I had a surplus of qunioa and I planned a few meals around that
3. Invite a friend – By inviting a friend/guy to impress 😉 over for dinner helps me get feedback on my cooking in addition to preventing me from getting bored with leftovers.
4. Experiment – By the end of the week, I’m drained from everything. So the meals need to be easy to make and simple. Last week, I got creative with the ingredients that I had left.
5. Be flexible – Of course, schedules are not permanent. I’ve had to adapt or move things around. That’s life. As long as I have my plan set prior to the week, it helps me remain flexible throughout.
I definitely plan on improving my process. I want to reduce my spend as soon as I have all of the essential kitchen items. I also plan on creating a list of staple products and an inventory. Seems like so much, but I’ll get there. I’m working on my fall bucket list too.
Do you meal plan? What works best for you?
