December 2018 Meal Plan

December in our house is a hectic craze before the holidays come. The peaceful schedule we had in November is nothing but a fond memory until January. It’s hectic times like these I’m grateful for monthly meal planning. It saves time, money, and ensures that we’re not eating the same meals each week. If you’re looking to start making your own monthly meal plans, it’s super simple! Just follow these 5 simple steps to creating your own monthly meal plan!

This month we have theater class for the boys two nights a week, and dance class for Lady Bug one night a week, as well as their winter dance recital and recital rehearsal.

There is also a chorus concert and band concert for Bookworm, and Monkey has his own chorus concert. In preparation for the concerts, Bookworm has a varied chorus and band schedule throughout the month — a total of 11 early morning rehearsals, meaning some mornings everyone is up in this house before 6a.

Appointment wise, Bookworm has an orthodontic appointment where he’s hopefully getting his TPA off and some braces placed on his top, I have my annual well exam, and Lady Bug has a sleep study. All of these events take place before the 22nd of the month.

Beyond basing our meals off our schedule for the month, here are some other things to consider while reviewing our monthly meal plan:

I plan only our dinners. Unless it’s noted, sides consist of a fruit or veggie, possibly a grain, and is based on what I have in my fridge and pantry. You can check out my 30+ frugal pantry staples to see what I always have on hand without going over budget.

We try to have one big meal each week, and it’s usually a roast. Throughout the rest of the week I use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals. For instance, a roast beef then becomes ingredients for beef stroganoff, beef quesadillas, vegetable beef soup and so on.

Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast or bagel with peanut butter and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, or yogurt with granola. It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices as simple as possible makes it much easier during our hectic morning routine. Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and kids are on the bus at 7.

Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the kids, while I currently eat at home. Lunches are either sandwiches, salads, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or leftovers as the main course. It’s served with a fruit/veg, yogurt or cheese, a drink and a “treat” {gummies, chips, etc}. Snacks, such as crackers, pretzels and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent to school in smaller snack containers. While packing lunches every day does raise our grocery bill a little bit, it saves us well over $250 every month, making it well worth it. To see what supplies I rely on for our packed lunches, you can check out my 7 must haves for packed lunches.

I don’t stock pile shop –we just don’t have the pantry space– but I do shop for weekly sales, mostly for snack items like crackers, pretzels, and so on. While this may not be the best of healthiest option for snacks, and I far prefer fruit for their snacks, I have found that dry snacks are by far the easiest when divvying out snacks. And they’re also is the least messy/sticky in the classrooms and backpacks.

During the summer and fall, I preserve what I am able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets. It helps me keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limits our preservative and additive intake {I have allergies to multiple things, including preservatives, and my middle gets migraines with certain food additives like MSG}.

Roast Chicken x2
Chicken Fajitas with Rice & Corn
Pizza
Beef & Barley Soup
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Cheese Steaks & Fries
French Toast, Eggs & Bacon
Stuffed Shells
Cheddar Broccoli Soup
Beef Stroganoff
Salmon Cakes & Wild Rice
Nachos
Pancakes & Fruit
Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti & Veg
Chicken Stirfry
Cast Iron Chicken Skillet & Rice
Potato Soup
Tacos
Chicken & Waffles
Baked Ziti
Roast Beef
Peas & Bacon Penne
Homemade Cinnamon Buns — Christmas Breakfast
Christmas Dinner
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Ham, Potato & Green Bean Soup
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Chili
Leftovers x2

Need some more inspiration for your meal plans? You can check out our past meal plans below!

Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I have a whole board dedicated to meal planning, as well as boards for soups, chicken recipes, and so on.