5 Tips of how to meal plan

1.  Make a plan of how many meals you want to make.  I organize all my dinners.  Lunches are usually the same routine of sandwiches.  Breakfast varies from cereal, oatmeal to hot meals.  For dinner will there be the same weekly theme.

Monday: meatless
Tuesday: tacos
Wednesday: spaghetti
Thursday: breakfast
Friday: Take out, pizza or leftovers
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Sunday Dinner

Skip even labeling the days if that's too stressful and just organize 5 days of meals.

  2.  Stick with what you know.  You don't need to look up recipes.  Make hotdogs and a couple sides, pancakes or soup and sandwiches.

3.  Before you go shopping look in your fridge and pantry.  You don't need to clean it out but utilize what's in there.  How long has that can of ______ been in there?  Confession:  I have some old Hamburger Helpers in mine.

4. Grocery shop with a dollar limit.  Set the limit to $xxx for the month.  This amount is strictly for food only, not pet products or household.

5.  Don't wait for the day before the week begins.  You feel stressed out.  Whenever an idea pops into your head write it down for the following week.  1 day down and keep building on it.

  I find it easy to build around the main item.  I will say chicken is once a week, meatless once a week, salmon one day and soup.  I might not even assign a specific day for the meals.  With this concept then you can focus on a recipe or meal around the chicken.  For example bbq chicken or baked chicken. Soup would be cheeseburger or potato.

  I hope some of these tips alleviate some of the presumed stress when it comes to meal planning.

  I skipped this week but I'm not stressing as we will be ok and once and awhile it's nice to take a break.

#nablopomo

Blogger Challenge

  I do like a challenge.  I don't always take on a challenge nor do I take the easy way out and take a easy challenge.  I selective choose them and sometimes I don't complete it but I don't lose sleep over it.  I just keep it moving.  Recently my lasted challenge was to blog for 30 days.

  30 days is a long time.  Let's be honest it 30 days.  The only thing I would like to say I do regularly for that period of time is take a shower, and brush my teeth but I'm not so sure those happen everyday either.  Following through on something for an extended amount of time takes real effort.  Funny how you could be doing something all the time then when you sign up and make it official is when you start losing power, patience,  motivation and getting more easily distracted.  Sometimes work is no fun.  You were only completing it last time for sheer habit.

  I have officially completed a 30 day blogging challenge.  I signed up obviously 30 days ago with the goal of staying on track. Some days I wrote and uploaded sooner than others but always managed to get a story posted everyday.  Some days are easier than others.  Topics don't always flow.  What's that cold?  Writer's block?  Could be more like lack of motivation or just plain too busy that day.

  This challenge was great for numerous reasons.

1.  It was free.
2.  I received a daily email with prompts tips and motivation. EVERYDAY!!
3.  You belong to an exclusive Facebook group where you post daily, holding you slightly accountable as you just don't want to miss a day.
4.  The Facebook group allows you to get concerns addressed by admin in a timely manner.
5.  The Facebook group also gives you acess to other bloggers with the same experience as you.
6.  Everyone is supporting, motivating and encouraging.
7.  You discover new blogs and well as establish relationships with other bloggers
8.  Bloggers helping each other through immediate,recent experience.
9.  Sharing what works for them.  With so many bloggers open to needing one thing or another.  This group even provides you with comments and critiques; of course solicited.
10.  Your hard work is noticed as you get recognized for the progress your making.  I thought it was so neat to see a badge congratulating me on 14 days of writing!

  This is a great group.  If your looking for more tips to better writing, prompts of what to write, how to incorporate certain items into your post then this is the place for you.  Everyone is at different levels and there are even some seasoned bloggers in there as well.  I never felt out of place and enjoyed reading other blogs that were new like mine.  There was not a stupid question and there was always an answer for a question!

If you know you need the motivation.  If you know you don't know everything about blogging.  If you like a challenge sign up!
http://www.sarkemedia.com/30dayblog tell +Sarah Arrow I sent you.  She will remember me I left a lasting impression. You know not the star pupil type the other one class clown!