We have a couple of staple foods we make in large batches on Sunday and eat during the week. For example, I roast 5-6 bone-in chicken breasts. We eat 2-3 and save the rest for quesadillas, enchiladas, pasta or to chop into a quick soup later in the week.

We have seared/roasted salmon one night which we serve with rice and peas. Then the next day we flake the leftover salmon in jarred Alfredo sauce, mix with peas, red pepper, and serve over pasta.

Sometimes I sauté huge pans of mushrooms with garlic and save those for pasta or pizza layer in the week. I make a large batch of couscous or quinoa, which you can serve as a side dish, or combine with tomatoes, arugula and any of the above items for a salad during the week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who do baked potato bars - whats the protein on that night? What are some of the toppings?

From the reading I've done, protein is an obsession that is a taken a bit too far. It's not the end-all-be-all that people seem to make it. My two kids are mostly vegan (I posted earlier) and I added up the nutrition of an average day, to make sure they're eating well, and the protein came in just fine without really thinking about it. A baked potato has 7 grams of protein. If you put on a cup of veggie chili (probably 15 grams) and some vegan cheese (for us - made with cashews and almond milk - 10-ish grams) you end up with a fine nutritional profile. I hope that helps!

Wow, I never realized a potato has so much protein.

Definetly planning a weeks worth of meals help, because you can start to plan for leftovers, or using part of the food for the next night. For example, spaghetti on day 1, and making peanut butter noodles on day 2 or 3 (so you don't have to cook new noodles). Or plan fresh meals for Mon - THurs, and plan either leftovers or something that is in the freezer for Friday.

Also, cooking can cost you more money unless you are careful about the ingredients you use. Make sure to use in season produce. I also switch to using recipes that use more canned things in the winter (due to lack of in season produce).

What takes awhile is getting to know recipes, the amount of food they produce and when to cut back.

A few crock pot recipes we liked, I 've given up making, because they tend to make too much food, its hard to cut back, and we just never eat half of it.

I also try to buy chicken on sale, and cut it into size and portions I need and freeze it that way. I don't always have the energy to do this, but love it when I am stocked up.

Our weekly dinner schedule this week (I admit I tend to be kid friendly)
- Homemade soup
- White chicken chili (in crockpot)
- Black bean tacos (good meal to have on hand, but you can skip if you have leftovers to eat)
- Stromboli - made with pillsbury dough, homemade sauce I premake and freeze and other stuff.
- Chicken tenders (chicken breasts cut up, dunked in milk and breadcrumbs)

I add vegetable, salad and fruit (at least 2 of the 3).

Also, sometimes it is just cheaper to use convenience foods. Those prepackaged chicken breasts are more expensive per pound, but you only use what you need. So when I know I'm not going to have the time/energy to cut up chicken and repackage to freeze, I "splurge" and buy those.

- unstuffed peppers (ground turkey w/brown & wild rice, peppers & mushrooms)
- salmon cakes w/steamed broccoli
- chicken soup
- chicken teriyaki
- fish thai curry
- udon soup w/shrimp

Monday - Baked Cod, Rice, Green Beans
Tuesday - Pasta, Caesar Salad and Bread
Wednesday - Turkey Chili
Thursday - Chicken with Mustard Sauce, Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
Friday - Quiche with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere, Salad

Anonymous wrote:For those who do baked potato bars - whats the protein on that night? What are some of the toppings?

From the reading I've done, protein is an obsession that is a taken a bit too far. It's not the end-all-be-all that people seem to make it. My two kids are mostly vegan (I posted earlier) and I added up the nutrition of an average day, to make sure they're eating well, and the protein came in just fine without really thinking about it. A baked potato has 7 grams of protein. If you put on a cup of veggie chili (probably 15 grams) and some vegan cheese (for us - made with cashews and almond milk - 10-ish grams) you end up with a fine nutritional profile. I hope that helps!