Dear Friends,

We are the queen of procrastination! Our perfectionism stops us from doing just about everything. Yesterday I asked a question on Facebook about your reasons for not menu planning. It boils down to “I DON’T HAVE TIME!”

Menu planning is not difficult if you don’t go crazy with your perfectionism. I discussed this in my new book CHAOS to Clean. I gave you several ways to do a Basic Weekly Plan for Menus.

When my son was little, I came up with a five week plan that only duplicated pizza one day a week. This helped me save a lot of money because we didn’t have money to waste on take out and eating out.

Sunday was my day to cook a big meal. I worked outside of our home for six days a week. I needed to keep things simple. So, my plan was easy.

Sunday – Big beef pot roast. I wanted plenty of left overs to make other things.
Monday – Open roast beef sandwiches and mashed potatoes and gravy
Tuesday – Turn leftover Roast beef and veggies into beef stew
Wednesday -Make a pot vegetable soup by adding tomatoes, mixed vegetables
Thursday- Pasta day Spaghetti with meat sauce.
Friday – Homemade Pizza
Saturday – Hamburgers on the grill with baked beans

Do you see how I was able to stretch that Pot Roast for several days and make cooking after I got home from work easier? I can do this with a ham, roast chickens, turkey, pork roast, and pinto beans.

I have been picking everyone’s brain on this. My son fires up the grill and cooks a bunch of chicken breasts, thighs, wings, and legs. They get used during the week for Mexican Quesadillas, chicken nachos, hot wings, and burritos. He also likes to cook marinated flank steak on the grill and use it for fajitas. They eat a lot of Mexican in their home.

Tami does something similar with ground beef. Hamburgers on Monday, Tuesday Tacos or Cheeseburger Bake, Wednesday Spaghetti meat sauce.

I like to cook a ham in a slow cooker; when it is finished, I will cook some pinto beans in the juice from the ham and more water. On Sunday we will have ham and sweet potatoes. Monday, we will have pintos, ham, and cornbread. Tuesday, I will take the leftover beans and make bean dip/refried beans and put together a Mexican casserole. I take the leftover ham and make ham salad for Robert’s lunch. He loves it.

Pork roast is a favorite at our home. I cook it with potatoes and carrots first. Then I take the pork and shred it and put a vinegar sauce over it for Eastern Carolina BBQ. Before you cook the roast you can slice off a couple of steaks.

If your excuse for not menu planning is that you don’t have time; then just sit down for two minutes and write down what you have eaten in the last week. It doesn’t matter if it is was something you fixed or ate at a restaurant. This could be the beginning of your menu plan.

Another excuse I hear is I don’t want to fix what I have on my menu plan. To this I say; be strong and stand your ground. Your budget depends on you being consistent with your meal plans. Start your cooking process earlier in the day and it is much harder to give into the urge to procrastinate/make excuses; then hit the drive through. Your thighs and pocketbook will thank you later.

Then there is the excuse, it is only me so why even bother. This is the toughest time to Finally Love Yourself. You deserve to eat healthy food that blesses your body. Please take care of yourself. Fish takes no time at all to cook; add a salad and you have a wonderful meal fit for a queen. I remember what it is like to be alone. If you don’t take care of you who will!

You can do this. Stop making excuses! Stop procrastinating. Stop being a perfectionist by making a brand-new recipe each night! Stop piling on by trying to be super mom. Keeping your menu planning simple. Take babysteps and before you know it, you will be a menu planning and saving big bucks.

FlyLady