Menu Planning

For me, I eat much better when I’m prepared. On the go eating and/or not having dinner planned along with going out for dinner are always the downfall. In order to be successful in our new diet, I’m planning ahead. I am a planner by nature. I pack for trips a week ahead of time. I plan my work days to be sure I get my work done and can enjoy my evenings. I’m even starting to plan our first family Disney vacation… for 2016 or 2017. 😉

In order to be prepared for our start next week, I created some worksheets that would help me. We’ll be tracking our food and how we felt throughout the day in order to recognize any reactions to food or other situations. I also want to keep track of what the kids liked and didn’t like since they are VERY picky eaters (and I have a terrible memory). I’ve designed the food journal pages to do just that. As far as menu planners, I wanted to have options to plan by week or by day or whatever. Below is an example of the first three weeks. I fully realize that this may change and we’ll have to go with the flow, but it at least gives us a jumping off point and some kind of plan that will help us get through the days.

Next I need to make my grocery list and hope it doesn’t break the bank! I’m going to try and avoid the convenience foods as the gluten/allergy free versions are so much pricier. So we’ll be making our own convenience food (like chicken nuggets, etc.) as my schedule allows. Sundays will likely be planning/prep days for the rest of the week.

Even though the worksheets are really customized to OUR needs, why not share? I borrowed a lot of ideas from a lot of different sources to put them together so feel free to check out my Pinterest board for my inspiration! Or click here to download our food journals & menu planners!