Frustrated with menu planning - HELP

[ml2620]

Hi MRoseB, congratulations on your new baby! I'm a new mom myself and breastfeeding. Honestly, I feel like I could eat all day. Plus, if you are home by yourself with two little people, exhausted and not sleeping, your could be mindlessly munching (i certainly was!)

My suggestions are definitely keep unpopped popcorn on hand (and a popper, a stovetop model like we have is about 10 and pays for itself very quickly. Popcorn is a semi healthy filling mindless food. I put mrs. Dash or shake cheese on it sometimes and its very good.

Another helpful thing someone else mentioned is breaking down portions when you buy your food. If we make a meatloaf, we are going to eat it for sure. So, I make up meatloaf muffins and freeze them, only taking out a portion at a time. I also keep cookie dough in the freezer and break or slice just enough to fill my craving.

Lastly, I know its a hard time of the year, but get out of the house and away from the food. I found two mothers support groups near my house, one was for breastfeeding and one just babies 3 and under. These got me out of the house for 2 or 3 hours a day sometimes, and most of the time people brought snacks to share (bonus).

I feel like I'm saying you are the one eating all the snacks. I'm not, I'm saying I ate all the snacks when I was at home with a newborn! HTH!

[Dancing Lotus]

I plan for some *bonus* meals and snacks.
i.e. I always keep a jar of salsa and a bag of tortilla chips in the pantry. I always keep extra cans of beans. And I always have extra jars of spaghetti sauce and pasta. These are things that aren't planned for and just sit unused unless we need them for back up.

Keep a box of pancake mix too. Excellent for a cheap meal when all else fails, or even a midnight snack.

As for your things like bread , milk and eggs. I'd say someone is eating more then you calculate for. You either need to buy more of it or have a chat about what a serving size is. Assign a cup that's the right portion size for drinking milk. And or learn what substitutions might work for family.
Out of eggs for baking? Try using banana instead or corn starch or ground flax. Substituting is the key to staying on budget.

[Ramona]

I plan for some *bonus* meals and snacks.
i.e. I always keep a jar of salsa and a bag of tortilla chips in the pantry. I always keep extra cans of beans. And I always have extra jars of spaghetti sauce and pasta. These are things that aren't planned for and just sit unused unless we need them for back up.

Keep a box of pancake mix too. Excellent for a cheap meal when all else fails, or even a midnight snack.

As for your things like bread , milk and eggs. I'd say someone is eating more then you calculate for. You either need to buy more of it or have a chat about what a serving size is. Assign a cup that's the right portion size for drinking milk. And or learn what substitutions might work for family.
Out of eggs for baking? Try using banana instead or corn starch or ground flax. Substituting is the key to staying on budget.

I just saved a recipe for chocolate pudding and one of the ingredients is 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Can I substitute 1/4 cup of a mashed banana? We'd like the flavor if it does the same job.