Menu Board and Menu Planning

It seems that Pinterest is all the "rage" at this time, and I must say I like being able to keep my ideas in one specific organized place. I've used a few of the recipes I've found, made several things I've "pinned", but I wanted to share the latest project, a menu board! I've wanted one for years - an easier way to make better use of our meal choices and stop having the same thing ALL the time.

I found my inspiration here and was super inexpensive, about $6 when I used a 40% coupon at Michaels for the frame.  Meal planning is a little easier these days.  I like it because all of my menu choices are kept in the red Menu Bank and once are used I place them in the smaller pocket above. Each menu card has the needed ingredients listed on the back, so I can just look there and see what I need for my shopping list! We're finding we're having a bigger variety of meals and the family has more input. I think the kids really like being able to walk over to the board, at any given time and know what we're having and can even get started on cooking if I'm not home.

Later in the month...
I've been working on our menu for the week, and trying to add a few more items to our "myriad"of choices. Usually I'll narrow it down to about 10-15 menu choices, ask each family member to pick their favorite and then narrow down to five, put them in order of days of the week (because some nights we're just not all here, literally, and then it's 'O.Y.O.' (On Your Own)), and make my grocery list from that. Each menu card choice has the list of ingredients listed on the back for easy reference. One reason I love Leftovers card is not simply that with menu planning, we frequently have leftovers, but I live with three males...  They are not known for being the most aware of food they can eat and would pick cereal or something else.  This way, they know they have "permission" to eat the food in the fridge ("Oh, we didn't know if we could eat that or if you planned to use it for something else." no longer cuts it!)  Most of the time it is a cinch to get this done, but for some reason, the thought of cooking this week doesn't excite me. I'm thankful for the menu board at this time, because though I don't want to cook, the Board sure helps to make planning so much smoother.  Love it when the kids walk by and arrange it for me!  Sometimes they rearrange things or try to add their favorite meal back into the mix just to see if anyone is paying attention.

So, with my menu in front of me, I sit alone with my jar of WowButter (like peanut butter), a spoon, and a small handful of dark chocolate chips... Not my finest moment of indulgence, but it is mine...

We had company on the 14th and the husband looked at it and said they got "jipped" because they didn't get all the items listed! We had a good laugh over that.

Have you ever made something from an idea you've found on line, Pinterest, or a magazine?  I'd love to hear about what you created.

Lynnet