Tips for Simplifying Meal Planning

I always enjoyed planning meals when my kids were growing up, but I think it had to come to me more naturally than for some.

I have tried many new recipes, and still do, and my family probably wished I would have served some things more often.  I would love to share some ideas to help those who tend to have a hard time creating menus for their family.

• Post your weekly menu on the refrigerator door. You don't have to stick to it, but at least you'll have some ideas to choose from when you're hungry for a certain taste.  If you have teenagers or younger trustworthy kids, maybe they could help by preparing a dish, or even preparing an item for dinnertime, like mixing/making muffins from a mix.


• Set your own family traditions - have pasta on Wednesdays or grill burgers every Friday.  We love having breakfast for dinner, on Sunday evenings.


• Come up with 3 or 4 weekly menus and rotate them. Keep them simple and learn to substitute fresh veggies and fruit when they are in season.  To make things easier, plan a week's menu using the same cookbook.


• Cook a double portion and freeze for a quick meal on a busy night.  This website has awesome ideas to help get you going with this great plan... Freezer Cooking


• Don't be afraid to try new recipes. Ask a friend who you know is a good cook, to share some of their recipes and menu ideas with you. I have to admit...I try many more dishes, because I've been given the recipe by someone I trust. They have helped me 'blossom' and grow in the kitchen - literally (teehee).


• I've recently become acquainted online with a new cookbook author, Jane Doiron.  I'm thrilled that she sent me a copy of her new cookbook to review. Check out her website Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms . You can subscribe to her monthly newsletter there and have a recipe sent to your inbox along with it.

If you need some help finding forms to accomplish your meal planning, be sure to check out DonnaYoung.org or Organizing Junkie!

Whether you are someone who relishes your time in the kitchen or spends as little time cooking as possible, just remember that family bonds and memories are made around the dinner table.   Your kids won't remember the meals they were served, nearly as much as they will remember the precious times you spent together.

Signs that make you Smile

Humor is always good for the body, and the soul.  Hope you enjoy these as much as I do....

SIGN IN LONDON DEPARTMENT STORE:

"Bargain Basement Upstairs"

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IN A PODIATRIST’S OFFICE:

“Time wounds all heels”

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ON A SEPTIC TANK TRUCK IN OREGON:

“Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels”

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(My personal favorite!)

ON A PROCTOLOGIST’S DOOR:

“To expedite your visit please back in”

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ON A PLUMBER’S TRUCK:

“Don’t sleep with a drip. Call your plumber”

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AT A TIRE SHOP IN MILWAUKEE:

“Invite us to your next blowout”

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AT A TOWING COMPANY:

“We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows”

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IN A RESTROOM:

"Toilet out of order - please use floor below"

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IN A LAUNDROMAT:

"Automatic washing machines: Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out"

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SPOTTED IN A SAFARI PARK:

"Elephants please stay in your car"

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Chocolate Eclair Cake (Make Ahead)

We've always called this a cake, though it's a simple, no-bake, delicious dessert.

Try it...you'll like it.

(I use sugar free pudding and 50% reduced-sugar frosting, and serve it to company.  No one knows unless I tell them - the only real difference is that using sugar free makes the pudding softer set...frosting doesn't set up as much either, but it's still delicious)

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

3 cups cold milk
2 small pkgs. instant french vanilla pudding mix
1 - 8 ozs. frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 pkg. (14.4 ozs) graham crackers
1 - 16 ozs. can chocolate frosting

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.  Fold in whipped topping.  In a 9" X 13" X 2" dish, layer a third of the graham crackers and half of the pudding mixture.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining graham crackers.  Refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.

Spoon frosting (I rarely use all of it) into a microwave-safe bowl.  Cover and microwave on high for 15 - 20 seconds or until softened, stirring once.  Spread over graham crackers.  Chill 12-24 hours before serving.

Yield: 15 - 18 servings

For a flavor change - use one pkg. of pistachio pudding, in place of one vanilla. This makes a lovely presentation!

God's Incredible Pharmacy

 This is such awesome info! God knows how much I'm a visual person, and need to have these kinds of 'visuals' to help me eat healthier...

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.



A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.



Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.



A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.



 Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.





Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.



Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.





Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.







Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I've been encouraged to share these silly stories that have given us some great laughs. Grandkids certainly DO make life GRAND!

 During the benefit for Caden last weekend, he found a Trivial Pursuit game in the huge toy display.  He sat on the ground throwing his dice, with the cards scattered all around him.  As I walked by, I saw him throw the dice, and keep his hand open.  I laughed to myself that he seemed to know what he was doing. 

It wasn't long and his big sister Charlie came into the garage where many of us were, laughing herself silly.  She told us that she saw Caden shaking the dice in his hand, and then say...

"C'mon Baby - Mama needs (holds the hand with the dice to his mouth and 'huffs' on them a couple of times) a new pair of shoes!'

 Oh my goodness - we have cracked up over that time and time again.  He loves repetition and definitely has watched some things too much on the tv!

Deb & Greg's oldest, Claira, who is 4 also, comes up with the craziest things from a child her age.  Not long ago - she put on a bathing suit and was twirling and 'modeling' it in their home.  She looked over her back at her mom and said

"Look mom...I've got a big butt like yours". 

Kids are just too hilarious sometimes huh?  Had to share the chuckles with ya'll!