What we eat in a week

One of my favorite bloggers House of Grace is hosting a party! Not just any party but a what we eat in a week party! I love this idea because i think most of us are looking for ideas on what to cook that our families may eat and enjoy. With a busy family of 7 i get stuck in the same ol rut of cooking the same things. There is lots of photos in this post but several are from my phone so ignore the quality =)

First i will talk a little about meal planning.i meal plan but very loosely. Before i head to the grocery store i look through the freezer and fridge and kind of see what  i need to fill in. We keep a lot of the same things on hand and add in a few different things every time depending on what i cook. i used to cook more time consuming meal but now with kids in different activities and my husband and i also having things to do on occasion i try to go the simpler route.

I I try to keep lots of fresh produce on hand but it goes quick all my kids are good eaters so we shop usually every week that works for pour family. I go to Sams club or Costco every other week on payday (or shortly after) and stock up on bread, eggs, milk, veggies that last, meat (i only buy meat from costco) etc  then i go to the regular grocery store about once a week for more fruits and veggies, more milk, and items needed to fill in. 

I usually have a lot of stuff in the pantry which is why i am doing a February challenge for our family. I always have cereal, oats, tortilla chips, canned foods, peanut butter etc. We don't do many boxed/frozen foods so i keep staples like tomatoes, whole beans, pastas and so on 

OK so here are things we tend to eat often:

Breakfast

My boys eat at school Monday through Friday because it costs a quarter a day and they have lots of varieties of breakfast items including fresh fruit and cereal and milk every day so for us it works great

the little kids eat cereal, or oatmeal every day on occasion i make eggs and toast but not very often. Oh Lilly love waffles she eats those a LOT too. 

i usually drink a shake for breakfast I use Isagenix products and when i have a chocolate shake in the morning it sets me up for a successful day

On the weekends we will make pancakes, eggs, breakfast burritos etc but not every weekend. Honestly i don't like breakfast so i don't focus on it much there is food to eat i just don't make it a big deal

John eats oatmeal EVERY day

Lunches:

John eats out every day

boys eat at school $0.40 a day again totally worth it i cant make a sack lunch for that price. 

that leave Liz, Lilly, Jake and I. We usually eat leftovers, I do tacos on these 40 calorie corn tortillas topped with chicken, and fresh veggies this particular lunch keeps me at about 200 calories for the meal, i have a big glass of water with it. I like to make a big pot of veggie soup and i will have that with salsa and lemon squeezed on top. the kids eat sandwiches, leftovers or soup almost every day. 

Snacks: 

fruit

homemade popcorn

cheese and crackers

are usually the go to sometimes the kids have tortilla chips and salsa because i always have fresh salsa on hand

Dinners:

We eat a lot of Mexican food I make a pot of beans and store it in the fridge and use it several times a week, we have burritos of some sort or taco salads at least once a week.  

Stir fry is quick and easy and uses up ingredients that need to be used asap

breakfast for dinner is a big hit around here

we live in California so we grill a LOT of chicken and use it all week in chicken salads, fajitas, quesidillas, add it to soup etc.

i make soup quite often just a veggie soup with whatever looks good at the store, chicken broth, tomatoes and cabbage round it out filling and yummy.

i usally cook about 3 nights a week and on those days i am home all day i make 2-3 meals then we have them on the nights i dont cook a meal just reheat it and it works well. John and I are dieting too which usually means i make some thing for the kids and he and i may eat something different then the kids but we still all eat together, a little unconventional but it works for us

John eats out a lot so i don't need to be too creative at home since he usually eats his big meal at work

(i made some shredded buffalo chicken in the crock-pot the kids loved it in quesidillas, and i made a quick bean and avocado salad to go with it)

there is always a helper around to help =)

kids favorite spaghetti which i don't make often enough since we try to watch carbs =)

I end the day with some cleanse for life i love how i feel with it in my body

i try to drink water unless we go out then i like to have iced tea or soda.