It’s week 3 of my November Meal Planning self-challenge. So far, it’s been going well and every week the plans have changed. Wanna know if I stuck with last week’s meal plan for the second week of November? Did I have to do a mid-week grocery trip? Want a sneak peek at my Thanksgiving Menu? Don’t worry, I’ll give you the Mommy Scoop! Just keep reading.
Here’s a look at my Meal Plan for the week of November 9th and as you can see, our plans definitely shifted around a bit. Starting with Monday, we ended up have extras from our Sunday Soul Food, and so that became lunch. However, for dinner, we switched out the planned casserole dish with Tuesday’s planned Gyro meal because I was not feeling well that day. So my husband stepped in and the gyros were much quicker to make than the casserole, which we ended up eating on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I decided to make hot dogs for lunch because I did not have enough bread for sandwiches later that week. (I was really trying not to run to the grocery store and make things work with what we had.) When Thursday rolled around, we ended up having to do some unplanned errands and instead of eating at home, we grabbed some lunch at Chick-Fil-A. For Thursday’s dinner, I pulled from my Meal Options Bank and we ate the Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes that I bought at Target. We did a similar thing on Saturday afternoon but instead grabbed lunch from Wendy’s. The only change to Sunday is that I made bacon instead of sausages. Also on Sunday, we actually ran out of our normal pancake mix and I found a box of Trader Joe’s pumpkin pancake and waffle mix. I decided to make the whole entire box so that we could have some leftovers for this week. (If you head over to my Instagram page, you can see the IG Reel I made showing how I made “the tallest pancake stack ever”!)
Here’s a look at this week’s Meal Plan, the week of November 16th. First is a look at my notes as I worked through it all and then next is the final list that I put up on the fridge. It actually was fairly simple to create this week’s meal plan because I just used up the rest of the meal in the Meal Bank I created as meals for this week.
This is what I am hoping we will eat this week:
Monday
Leftover Sunday Brunch
Leftover Soul Food
Philly Cheesesteak Bao Buns + Baked Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday
Cereal
Lunchmeat or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Chicken Parmesan + Garlic Rolls
Wednesday
Waffles + Eggs
Spaghettios + Fruit
Orange Chicken + Veggie Fried Rice
Thursday
Oatmeal + Granola
LEFTOVERS, Sandwiches or Take-Out
BBQ Meatballs + Rice
Friday
Cereal
Leftovers or Sandwiches
Frozen Pizza
Saturday
Oatmeal + Granola
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Burgers + Sweet Potato Fries
Sunday
Pancakes + Sausage + Eggs
Sandwiches
Dumplings, Eggrolls, Steamed Rice
I am planning to do an online order for curbside pick-up this week because we ran out of some non-food items that we will need right away. Also, I am going to take this opportunity to plan for December a little and purchase some items (grocery and household items) that can last us through the end of the year. I’m really trying not to go to the grocery store much at all in December, especially as COVID-19 and Flu Season spikes. Besides, it will be too cold outside and I would rather stay cozy at home! Above is a look at the “All Out Of” list that I created to help our family keep track of the items that need to be replenished. As you see here in this photo below, the kids’ snack drawer was looking kinda thin!
Speaking of planning ahead, I also decided to take a look ahead to Thanksgiving by thinking of some dishes that our family might wish to enjoy on that day. Of course, we are not going to be having a large Thanksgiving dinner with extended family, but I traditionally like to create a big meal on Thanksgiving, which can then become meals for us throughout the following week. After asking my husband and children for their requests, this is our tentative Thanksgiving meal plan.
Thanksgiving Dinner – Mains
Ham
Crab Legs
Baked Chicken
Thanksgiving Dinner – Sides
Mac & Cheese
Cornbread
Cabbage
String Beans
Thanksgiving Dinner – Miscellaneous
Apple Pie
Apple Cider
On my YouTube page, I go into even more details about some of these things. I even talk more about why there are “crabs” on my Thanksgiving Menu and a sneak peek into what we will probably be eating on Christmas! *Yes, the Christmas season begins as soon as those Thanksgiving leftovers are gone.)
What’s on your Meal Plan for this week? Would sharing the recipes of the Trader Joe’s-inspired meals that I’m making be something you would be interested in seeing? Let me know down below! I can’t wait to see how this week goes!
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