Andrew and I don't have
kids yet, but we are both busy just the same, so when we get the opportunity to
have a quiet weekend, we enjoy it. I know this coming weekend will still be
filled with grading papers and grocery shopping, but an open weekend to me is a
chance to pursue some goals.
I decided as of January 1st, 2014 that I was going to get healthier, exercise
more, be a better friend, listen more, become a better Christian, and make
my husband breakfast in bed, which I
did on New Year’s Day! (It was awesome to check off one of
my goals on day one!) On these free weekends I try to accomplish steps
towards some of the goals I listed above,
whether it's exercising one day, making a healthy meal or sitting
down and opening my Bible another day, it's all about the little triumphs
that we make towards achieving a greater goal.
In February, Andrew and I went to the grocery store 7 times..... 7 TIMES!! UGH!
So March 1st I sat down and meal planned so that I would only have to go to the
store twice a month, and so far it's worked, minus an impromptu trip to the
store to get ingredients I needed to make something for work. So this
weekend will be my second planned trip for the month. For those of you who have
yet to try meal planning, it's kind of addicting! Here's how I did it.
1.
Find a few recipes that
fit your cook-time schedule (On busy nights we have a good
20 minute cook-time window, so I try to get meals that I can cook in
under 20 minutes)
2.
Print out a calendar and
write what meals you hope to eat when (It's okay if you end up switching meals
during the week, this is meant to help you see how much food you need to buy!)
- I planned to have some of the meals twice in the two week span so I doubled
the quantity of ingredients
3.
Inventory what
ingredients you may already have at home before assuming you need to buy some
at the store
4.
Make one giant list of
all of the ingredients you need to get at the store
5.
add other miscellaneous
items if needed
6.
Print coupons if you use
them
7.
Find a block of time, probably
an hour, to go to the store (this may be a long time for you, but I actually
spent two hours in the store because not only did I have a longer list than
usual but I was also trying a new grocery store for the first time)
8.
Good Luck!
What goals have you set
for yourself that you could take positive steps
toward accomplishing this weekend?
Happy Living & God's Blessings!
J.M.
