Tag Archives: jillconyers.com

Let’s Meal Plan

Happy Monday! I truly mean that, too. 🙂 I am off both today and tomorrow and couldn’t be more excited!! However, despite being off, we are still making our meal plan, it’s our easiest way to save money and not go off the rails when we’re grocery shopping.

Our Fall Meal Plan - Baby Doodah

How was your weekend?

Ours was pretty good! Saturday we spent a good deal inside, going between watching movies and cuddling to play with cars and trains – oh and of course being loud!! haha Yeah, Emmett’s new thing is to shout everything, even when he’s singing. It’s a good thing he’s cute! In the morning, I did get to go for a Pedicure with a friend and then out for brunch. Boy did my feet need some TLC.

Sunday, was equally as easy going. Since we have today and tomorrow off, we decided to hold off on grocery shopping until today. So, instead of needing to rush out the door to the store, we all enjoyed breakfast together and then Emmett and I headed out to do some shopping. I had intended on going to a few different stores, but Emmett had a different idea, we only made it to JoAnn’s and Trader Joe’s – better than nothing, I suppose.

After nap time, Seamus went to the gym and Emmett and I played outside. Our weather was decent, chilly but dry, so we pulled out his Little Tikes Cozy Coup (affiliate link) and rode it around the neighborhood. He was in heaven! Of course, after our walk we had to take it in the backyard, where Emmett tipped the car no less than 3 cars. haha He was so muddy, but he was having a blast, so WHO CARES!?

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, we had dinner, finished watching a movie we started on Saturday, gave Emmett his bath and then it was to bed. What an awesome whirlwind of a weekend!

Now for our Meal Plan

Sunday: Balsamic Pork & Baked Potatoes

Monday: Homemade Pork Fried Rice

Tuesday: Steak & Chick Peas & Tomato Salad

Wednesday: Rotisserie Chicken & Asparagus

Thursday: Fettuccine Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Greek Meatballs

That’s a seriously yummy week, right there!!

If you share a meal plan on your blog, you should join me at either Mommy, Run Fast or jillconyers.com! Link that post up and make some new friends.

Your turn!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun!?

What’s on your menu for the week?

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Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan

Making our meal plan was pretty easy this week, but before I get to that, I want to share Emmett’s costume – he was Flint Lockwood from the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies.

A few weeks ago, Seamus was at Kohl’s shopping and came across a t-shirt that had the tuxedo print on it. He obviously bought it, because what’s cuter than a 2 year old wearing a tuxedo shirt. HEHE At this point we still were unsure what Emmett would be for Halloween, he had mentioned being Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, but it has a head piece and Emmett isn’t fond of putting things on his head. So, we kept thinking…

One Saturday morning when Emmett decided to sleep in, Seamus and I were just laying in bed brainstorming ideas and he had the brilliant idea for Emmett to be Flint Lockwood. With his tuxedo shirt, and a pair of jeans, all we would need is a lab coat! Did you know you can get them in child-size lab coat and at an affordable cost?? This is the lab coat (affiliate link) we purchased for Emmett and it fit him perfectly.

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan - Baby Doodah7

This worked out perfectly, because to Emmett it felt as though he was just wearing regular clothes not a costume so there was no fighting to get dressed. Plus, he loved that his labcoat had pockets and he could hide his many necessities (ie: his hot wheels, binkie, Percy from Thomas and Friends). It was really the cutest thing!!

We made it about 6 houses down the street before we decided to call it a night. I wasn’t expecting to get far, it was chilly and drizzling, but I thought we’d at least make it down the street, oh well. At the first house, while we were waiting for Emmett to grab his candy, the family dog ran out to sniff Emmett. Very sweet dog, Emmett was not in danger, but because Emmett doesn’t have a lot of experiences with dogs, he was freaked out. So, every house going forward we had to coax him to come up, that they didn’t have a dog, that it would be okay – it got to the point where he was just crying. Poor guy! I kept asking if he wanted to go home and he’d tell me no, I asked again and he said yes. So home we went. I’m glad we got out and got to experience everything – next year will be even MORE fun. 🙂

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan - Baby Doodah6Now our Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs & bacon

Lunch: Salad with ham and chicken, blue cheese crumbles, sunflower seeds and honey mustard dressing

Sunday: Pot Roast

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesday: Tacos and Guacamole

Wednesday: Homemade Steak Subs

Thursday: Scrounge day

Friday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Balsamic Pork & Asparagus (Seamus found this recipe, I need to get it from him so I can share it)

It’s a pretty easy week, but one that will be super yummy!! Have you seen my post with tips to make your meal planning easier? You should check it out, these are my TRIED and true tips – they really work.

Join me and link-up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

What were you or your children for Halloween? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

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Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

The Long Lost Meal Plan

5 Tips to Make Meal Planning Easier - Baby Doodah

Though, I’ve been absent, making our meal plan is STILL just as important!

So, even though I haven’t been around all that much the last few weeks, Seamus and I have continued to meal plan. For us, it is a necessity. When we don’t, chaos ensues, which leads to us eating out WAY too much – which is never good for the wallet or the waistline.

Meal planning has never been one of our favorite activities, because we will tend to go back and forth on what to eat. I’ll suggest something, then Seamus will and the other one won’t want that meal. We would go back and forth and tend to just get overwhelmed with the process. We’d dread Saturday nights!

After WAY too many annoyances when making our meal plan, we decided to change some things up.

  1. We started making the list earlier on Saturday, instead of after Emmett was in bed. This allowed us to avoid the times when we both like to do our own personal work. This is probably the #1 reason why meal planning isn’t such a chore any longer.
  2. We both want “our” meals to be the ones made. However, that sometimes just isn’t feasible – now, instead of pushing for our meal to be the one chosen, we both take it in stride if it isn’t, and we decide to make it the next go round. Because of this we now have more meals in our “master list” and it makes next week’s planning easier because we already have one meal queued up.
  3. We focus our attention on making the list. Previously, we would sit at our desk with our computers open and would BOTH be distracted. It would take ages to the get the meal plan done and we’d just get annoyed. Now, we do it either at the table or on the couch, while Emmett is watching some of his TV. Don’t get me wrong, we do occasionally still have our computers or phones around to look for recipes, but we aren’t doing other things during this time.
  4. We aim to have an arsenal of different recipes or food ideas ready, before sitting down to make our list. It doesn’t always work, and can backfire, if all of the meals you have in mind are turned down by the other person, but this has helped at times.
  5. Institute one scrounge day a week! This is so important, in my opinion, it is one less meal you need to plan for. It leads to savings at the grocery store and savings of your sanity. 😉
  6. And finally, easing up and not taking the whole experience so seriously. There are people who LOVE to meal plan and I am sure that is because they view it as a very relaxing activity. So far, with this new method, things are going A LOT better, and while I cannot say I enjoy making a shopping list, it isn’t quite so unbearable.

Now, on to this week’s meal plan

Sunday: Rotisserie Chicken & Asparagus

Monday: Pork Tacos

Tuesday: Cornell Chicken (Seamus has shared this recipe with me in the past and it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!)

Wednesday: This is our 3 year wedding anniversary, so we’ll be going out for a family meal, since it is a work night. Not sure where we’re going yet

Thursday: Homemade Pizza

Friday: Scrounge Day

Saturday: Fetticini Alfredo Spaghetti Squash (recipe to come)


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs & 2 slices bacon

Lunch for me: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (recipe to come)

If you’re looking for more meal plan tips & tricks you can check-out My Recipes, Week Night Dinner Arsenal or Cooking Light’s Meal Planner (this one is awesome, you drag and drop your meal choices).

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com – you should join us, there are even MORE meal ideas over there!

Your turn!

Do you enjoy meal planning? What are your tips, if you do? Share in the comments below!

A Meal Plan & A Confession

Sunday Meal Plan and a Confession

[photo source & license]

Confession Time

Hi guys! I have a confession to make – I’ve been super lazy with my posting lately, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy posting or that I don’t want to post, just that I’ve been lazy. Lately, every time I’ve sat down to type, I’ve gotten distracted by one thing or another, time passes, and nothing has been written. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to keep my head in the game.

Last month, I thought the reason was because I hadn’t made my usual monthly editorial planner. When that happens I tend to get overwhelmed with ideas (not a problem for some), and when I get overwhelmed and have no plan, I end up essentially throwing in the towel and wandering Facebook (feel free to like me on my Baby Doodah! FB page) or going through my email. Both pretty easy tasks, but nothing that helps get me closer to accomplishing my goals.

So,if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen a lot of new, fresh content, this is why. I’m sorry about that! I haven’t been absent, I login to Baby Doodah! several times a day, adjusting things behind the scenes, just haven’t been as great about sharing new posts. I’m hoping that by coming here, confessing to all of you, that I will get my head on straight and WORK.

I hope you’ll all be coming along for the ride!! I have some new and fresh ideas brewing and I want to get more professional and focused with my writing. It feels really good to come clean to all of you! Thanks for listening (reading)!

Now for that Meal Plan

We’re traveling out to Syracuse on Friday to go see The Tenderloins (yay! CANNOT wait! We love their show, Impractical Jokers and are stoked to see them live) and spending the night. We likely won’t return until late Saturday, so we won’t need meals for those two days. Hopefully, this will lend itself to a cheaper grocery week.

Sunday: Chicken Shawarma (this is a carry-over)

Monday: Mexican Beef Bowl (crock-pot meal)

Tuesday: Burgers on Romaine & Corn on the Cobb

Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash Bake

Thursday: Chicken Spanakopita Meatballs (this is a new one, and we’re so excited to try it)

Friday: Traveling

Saturday: Traveling

If you struggle to make a meal plan, you should check out my post from last week, with my tips to making a meal plan.

Alrighty, so that right there is my confession and my meal plan. 🙂 As usual, I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com. Join us and link it up!

Your turn!

Do you have any confessions you’d like to make, or get off your chest? Share in the comments below!

What’s on your menu for the week?

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!

Tips on Making a Meal Plan

Tips on Making a Meal Plan - Baby DoodahLet’s talk Meal Planning

It’s been a couple weeks since I join in with the Sunday Meal Plan Link-up, but I’ve decided to join back-up. Really, the only reason I hadn’t posted my meal plan in the last few weeks was laziness. Seamus and I always make a meal plan! It’s our way of attempting to save money and not worry about what we’ll eat each night of the week.

On Making a Meal Plan

As I flip through other blogs and even other bigger sites around the web, I am noticing what a hot topic meal planning is right now. It’s something that Seamus and I have been doing since we started shopping together 6 or so years ago, so it’s really nothing new to me. We haven’t always written it down, but, as with all things, time progresses and improvements are made. Our system works really well for us, and the bickering that used to occur when we’d meal plan, has pretty much ceased to exist.

It’s because of that, that I decided to share our method with you, in hopes that it will help someone else who is struggling to meal plan, or just doesn’t know quite how to get started.

Our Step by Step Meal Planning Process

  1. Make the Meal Plan when You are not in a Hurry – This might seem like a given, or maybe it doesn’t, but my biggest most important piece of advice is to NOT meal plan when you are in any kind of a hurry. That just leads to frustration and irritation when one or both of you can’t come up with ideas or are slightly distracted. Seamus and I do our meal planning Saturday evenings (we shop on Sundays), once Emmett is in bed. We’re not in any hurry and there are few distractions
  2. Choose a Meal Plan Template – There are SO many options out there for meal planners. Heck, if you just use google images, and search Meal Plan templates, thousands will come up. Flip through them, choose your favorite, but as your meal planning evolves, so might your template. So, don’t feel stressed if what you originally chose doesn’t continue to work. This is the link to the one we use, I am a fan of having the days of the week at the top and the meals on the side.
  3. Have a Few Standby Meals – Almost every week, we have one or two meals that we make. These are meals that are quick to throw together, and help to easily fill in the gaps on your empty menu.
  4. Try Out a Few New Recipes – Not every week, but almost every week, we try to find a new recipe to make. Sometimes these are wins, but sometimes they’re EPIC fails!! Either way, it helps to make meal planning go quicker.
  5. Plan For at Least 6 Meals – We always plan for 7 meals, but I recommend doing at least 6. This will allow you enough options to rotate, in case you don’t feel like eating something, or just don’t have the time.
  6. Don’t Assign a Specific Meal to a Specific Day – Our meal plan is very open – we have 7 meals chosen, but none of those are tied to a specific day, unless it’s a more complicated meal, and then it gets saved for weekends. We love having the flexibility to make whatever we want on whatever day we want.
  7. Make a Grocery List – Once you’ve made meal plan, the next step is putting all of the items that are needed in a list. I prefer using apps because then Seamus and I can sync them up. That way we can both add to the list, or delete as needed. Wunderlist is our current favorite for making all of our shopping lists!
  8. Be Consistent! I’m sure you won’t enjoy every moment of meal planning (though, some people do), but do it anyway. You are bound to save money, eat healthier and lose weight by default. And if one way doesn’t work, switch it up and try another. I promise you that after about 6 weeks of meal planning, it will be old hat and you will just do it.

Good Luck!

Here’s our Meal Plan for this week!!

Monday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad

Tuesday: Burgers in Romaine Lettuce & Cauliflower “Potato” Mash

Wednesday: Polish Sausage & Asparagus

Thursday: Fish Tacos

Friday: White Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Saturday: Chicken Shawarma

Sunday: Marinated Chicken and Corn on the Cobb

It’s a week full of tasty eats, that I cannot wait for!!

Your turn!

Have you ever meal planned? If you have, do you like it or loathe it?

What’s on your menu this week?

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Sunday Meal Plan – Week #26

Happy Sunday, readers!!

Another great weekend is nearly in the books. We have had an astounding weekend. Saturday we went to Dunkirk to celebrate my dad’s birthday. His actual day was this past Wednesday the 13th, but weekends are always easier to celebrate on. We had a mini-BBQ, lots of hot dogs, hamburgers and pasta salad. I didn’t eat the greatest but it was really delicious!

One of the best parts of Saturday was that Emmett got to meet one of his idols, Rolley. 😉 He seriously loves Bob the Builder and was so excited when we took a walk by my mom’s house and they had this cement roller there. I wish I had video’d the whole thing, his excitement was ADORABLE!

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And then today has been super productive!! I woke up at 5:30 this morning, thinking I’d get some time to get work done, but Emmett had other ideas. He wanted to wake up at 5:45 and spend some time cuddling on the couch watching Bob the Builder. I can’t say I blame him, I am pretty awesome, but it cut into my work time. haha

Ah well!! In the end it worked out. I pulled my laptop out while he watched TV, I got a few odds and ends done, and then eventually I made him breakfast. After breakfast, we woke Seamus up, mainly so I could get to our hamper and start our laundry. I’ve gotten 4 loads of laundry done, grocery shopping, food prep and some Beachbody stuff all complete and it’s only just 3 pm. Feels good to be so productive!!

Our Weekly Meal Plan

This weeks’ meal plan has some new recipes on it, ones that I am REALLY excited to try!!

Sunday: Chili & corn bread (carry-over from last week)

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: White Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Wednesday: Chicken Shawarma

Thursday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad

Friday: Marinated Chicken with Sauteed Corn with Bacon and Leeks

Saturday: BBQ Bacon Hot Dogs and Baked Fries

The BBQ Bacon Hot Dog is going to be a Seamus creation. He went to a food truck that sold that type of hot dog, but didn’t get the chance to try it, so now he wants to make it at home. We’re saving it for the weekend, since we like to be less indulgent during the week. I’ll be sure to report back on how delicious (or not) it ends up being. 🙂

Like I said, we’re trying a few new things this week and I am very excited about that! We needed to spice up our Sunday meal plan.

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com

Your turn!

How was your weekend?

Have you tried any new recipes recently?

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Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Sunday Meal Plan – Week #21

Hey everyone!! I hope you all had a really great weekend!

It was an awesome weekend here, super active and a smidge lazy. It felt great! Yesterday, I rode 33 miles for The Ride for Roswell, which I’ll be writing about and sharing my story, tomorrow (be sure to stop by). When we got home, I showered and napped while Emmett napped and then we all went out to a yummy dinner at Friendly’s. Most definitely not the healthiest of food (by ANY means), but I feel like I deserved it after working so hard that morning and afternoon. It was delicious, and I don’t regret a bite!

Today, Emmett had us all up EARLY! We cuddled in bed for awhile and then made our meal plan for the week, showered and headed out the door for groceries. I love shopping early because there are few people in the store and you get through everything quicker. We got home, put the groceries away, watched a little Thomas the Tank Engine (Emmett’s newest obsession), had lunch and then Emmett went down for a nap.

While he was sleeping, Seamus pulled out his pool and the hose and we filled it up so it could warm-up for some play time in the evening. While it was filling I read and relaxed, and then went back to doing laundry. womp. womp.

I wrote a little bit, did some professional development courses online, cleaned (a wee tiny bit), and then Emmett was up. We went to Carter’s, then Target to get things for Emmett. Then back home to change and go play in the pool. He LOVED it! I was worried because last summer he was nervous and didn’t like it, but not this summer. This summer he nearly jumped right in! He was psyched!

Now, I’m here writing and getting things ready for the week ahead. I’m excited because it’s a four day week! WOOHOO!

My-Weekend-Link-up-BabyDoodah

This Week’s Meal Plan

Sunday: cheeseburgers & baked chips (we’re avoiding the oven, the humidity is insane)

Monday: Grilled chicken & Zucchini Salad

Tuesday: Teriyaki Pork Loin & Corn on the Cobb

Wednesday: Mexican Pizzas (I hope it’s a cooler day, because these require the oven)

Thursday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad (YUM!)

Friday: Orange Chicken & Rice (carry-over & I hope it’s cool)

Saturday: Mom’s house for a cookout

We’re trying so SO hard to keep things out of the oven. We were stumped this week, probably because Emmett had us up so early and we were tired, but we ended up with a couple oven meals. We’ll just need to watch the forecast slowly.

I am super excited for the cookout next weekend, at my mom’s. It’s always laid back when we’re there, which I appreciate! Plus, Emmett will love seeing his grandma. <3

Here’s the video of Emmett sliding down the slide this evening.

Your turn!

What are you cooking (or not cooking) up this week?

What fun things did you do to keep cool?

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com – please join me and link-up your best meal planning posts.

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