Menu Planning

I've been really sucking on the food front this past week or so, and I think I've got it figured out.  I need to plan out our menus.  This new way of eating isn't like the old way, where you can open the cabinet or refrigerator and 20 minutes later have dinner heading to the table.  It is a pain in the butt.

Tonight, we had the funniest dinner.  In the freezer, I had a tupperware bowl of alphabet soup in a tomato base (carrots, celery, onion, spinach, pasta, tomato sauce, basil, garlic and oregano).  In the refrigerator, I had a spiced pumpkin soup with quinoa (pumpkin, onion, curry, cumin, nutmeg, garlic, quinoa, salt and pepper).  Neither dishes were totally well received.  Okay, the kids were fans of the ABC soup, and I thought the pumpkin soup was okay.  But, let's be honest, they were both kind of just blah.  I guess that's what happens when you don't add fat to the meal.

The biggest problem is the uncertainty of it all.  What to make?  Will it be well received?  Ugh!

And, because I don't have a menu planned out, I don't know what to buy.  My goal is to reduce our grocery bill and get back on track with healthy eating.  

I've seen a variety of menu planning boards on pinterest: here, here and here.  My goal this next week: to make my own board.

I've already listed my menu items to include on the board.  So far, I have:

veggie burgers (any kind, like beet-y burgers, Morgan's Veggie Burgers, or these Veggie Burger Buns with a portabello mushroom as the meat)

sweet potato and quinoa chili

soup (yellow split-pea/lentil soup, African kale/sweet potato soup, carrot soup, Marakesh stew, curried lentil with cauliflower, roasted beet)

rice and beans (Almost Chipotle, Cuban rice and black beans, Cafe Rio)

bean and veggie burritos...I really want to try this Mexican Slaw in them

homemade pizza

Spaghetti

quinoa and veggie salad type thing (Heather's, Superfood salad, Tabbouleh)

I've decided to keep it simple for now.  After we get this down a bit better than we have it now, I'll start adding one new menu item a week.  Who knows?!  It'll probably be spring then and time to change up the menu.  Grrr!