Menu Plan - October 15 to October 21

Sorry for the delay in posting this week's menu plan.  It's been busy over here finally unpacking most of our stuff.  More on that in a new post later this week.



Menu Plan - October 15 to 17



 



Menu Plan October 18 to 21

The Start of a Healthier Lifestyle

I have been sick for way too long! I feel like as soon as I get over one illness, I get another. I have now been well for only 10 days during the past month. That is not a good ratio. To combat my seemingly sickly constitution, I have decided to make a conscious effort to eat better and to make time to get more excercise. I am also going to be meeting with a nutritionist next week to help me figure out what else I can do to boost my immune system.

My first step as I am finally feeling better from my recent Flu, was to menu plan for the following week and create my shopping list. I do have a number of healthy cooking cookbooks, as I love to cook and I do try to cook healthy meals. I just had gotten off track of late so need to refocus on this. I pulled out my Heart Smart cookbook by Bonnie Stern and started leafing through the recipes. I decided on the following recipes for this week (as we had a lot of the ingredients already in our freezer):

1. Sweet Chili Chicken
2. Moroccan Meatballs
3. Cod Baked in Tomato Sauce with Onions
4. Penne with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Bocconcini

Most of these recipes are fairly easy so are a good choice. I also want to introduce new flavours for the girls to expand their palate.

Wish me luck on my first week towards eating better. Next step: Join a Gym!!!

Glow Baby's First Holiday Promotion

Buy 3 Notepads Get 1 Free Holiday Promotion

Glow Baby (me) is offering a special holiday promotion this year. Buy 3 notepads and get 1 free. This promotion will start Nov 30th and run until Dec 31st. To select your free notepad you will be asked to select one from a list upon check out (in the same section as your billing details).

Use these pads to stay organized this holiday season with Glow Baby's To Do List and Shopping List.

The Benefits of Menu Planning

I have been grocery shopping for over 15 years. It’s a weekly chore and for some it is not a favourite task. I however, love grocery shopping. It’s is partly because it is a form of shopping (I’m a bit of a shopaholic), but mainly because the little organizer in me loves the whole process that leads up to the weekly shop.

My favourite part is the menu planning. I love sifting through my many cookbooks to plan what mouth-watering meals I will be making for the week. I usually plan for three to four recipes for each week and write out all the ingredients I will need. I check the fridge and cupboards to figure out what we need to buy and what we already have. I then make sure I have the staples in the house. I always have pasta, spaghetti sauce, hamburgers, hot dogs and other kid friendly items. I then check to see what snack foods we have left and write down what we will need for the week.

This process of menu planning is very important to make sure that I have the right amount of food for my 10 month old, favourites for my 2 ½ year old, lunches for my husband and the right amount of food for our dinners. Aside from my enjoyment of menu planning, there are some very important benefits.

1. Planning saves money – If you stick to your list, you will buy only what you need. You can also plan around coupons and store specials to help with a budget.

2. Making Healthy Choices – By planning ahead and listing healthy options it is much easier to avoid the barrage of unhealthy choices you are faced with in the store

3. Efficiency – By doing a bit of prep work before your trip to the store, you can make your shopping experience much more efficient. You spend your time getting what you need, you have a focus and you won’t waste time trying to decide what to get.

4. Avoid multiple visits to the store – By menu planning, you will only need to go to the store once saving time. This also saves money as the opportunities to buy extra items are limited.

All in all, menu planning may seem like work up front but in the end it saves you time and money. It is definitely worth it!

New Note Pads

I just realized that I haven't posted pictures of the new note pad series now available at www.glowbaby.ca. If you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone who likes to stay organized in style check them out.

I love using lists. They help me stay focused which is especially important when my attention is often divided between Ainsley, Juliet, my husband and the business. To make sure that everything gets done I rely on a to-do list and so I wanted to make a pretty list that would fit on the fridge so I would always know where it was and what needs to be done. It's also great for listing chores for Brett.

The Shopping list is great as I always do a list each week but I would often loose it so having the list on the fridge works well. We haven't been sick yet (knock on wood) so I haven't had a chance to use the medication pad but while it was in the design phase I desperately needed it. Both girls were sick and Ainsley can take medicine that Juliet cannot and it would have been nice to have had something to keep all this straight without having to explain this to my mom and husband multiple times.

Check them out and tell me what you think.

Have a great day!