New Beginnings, Again.

Here it is July 25th.

Do you know why today is great?

Because it is only 5 short months away from Christmas.

I love Christmas!

I love the music (I listen to Christmas music from October to January).

I love the decorations (I have 2 trees, 6 boxes of decorations, and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment).

I love the food (cranberries, chocolate, cinnamon, ham, mashed potatoes, cookies, soups, breads).

But mostly it is about family and tradition.

Last year I ended up going home to Connecticut for just three days for Christmas.

We did some traditions the same, made some new ones (like calling my sister-in-law in Australia),

and some have been left behind.

It was wonderful and as I think about Christmas this year I want to be sure to have the food traditions I love even though I won't be going home.

I know I cannot possibly make everything at once, nor do I want to.

I have to make a menu planner, that is the only way I will make the things I want.  <--- That thought made me realize that this is true about my day to day eating habits.

I love to make new and interesting things,

but I certainly don't make them as often as I would like because I don't plan for it!

So I am making a "5-months-til-Christmas" resolution.

I am recommitting to meal planning!

It is the only way I will put to use all the flagged pages in my stacks of cooking magazines.  

So, where to begin?

I asked myself the following questions:

1)  How far ahead do I want to plan/shop?

2)  Do I plan for every day?

3)  Where do I plan?

4)  What do I plan?

5)  HOW DO I STICK TO IT?

Then I figured out some answers.

Q1)  How far ahead do I want to plan/shop?

A1)  I am a planner.

I like to know what I am doing roughly two weeks in advance.  So, I figure if I plan my schedule two weeks in advance, I can schedule my menu two weeks in advance.  This schedule is also conducive to the every two week paycheck schedule.

Q2)  Do I plan for every day?

A2)  Yes and no.

Yes, I need to have a plan for every day.  No, that plan does not have to be a new recipe.  I can schedule days to eat out, order in, eat at a friend's house, or have leftovers, I can even schedule a day to "wing it". 

Q3)  Where do I plan?

A3)  I found this great editable PDF monthly meal planner online at http://www.noordinarymomentsblog.com/2012/01/monthly-menu-planner-editable-pdf.html.  I really like it, but I hate to print off things I am only going to throw away.  I suppose I could make a binder of recipes with notes on them, but I figure I can do that fairly easily on my computer.  So I am trying out different methods, as long as they are computer friendly.

Q4)  What do I plan?

A4)  When I was home this past month I ate at a very balanced table. 

I have a father that is traditional "meat and potatoes with a side of vegetables" eater.  My mother is diabetic and likes to have lots of options on the table.  We always had a lean protein on the table, a carb, and at least 2 vegetable options.  I decided to try to follow that model; protein, carb, and vegetable.  Plus, I have a goal to plan lunches too.

Q5)  HOW DO I STICK TO IT?

A5)  I think the first step is to be kind to myself in not feeling like I am bound to the menu or a failure because I have strayed from it for a day.  I also have taken a screen shot of the menu and uploaded it to my phone to be in sight regularly.  That same picture is my desktop wallpaper.  

I am looking forward to trying this!!!!

The notes on days with no numbers are breakfast, lunch, and other cooking notes.
The letters in parentheses indicate where this recipe is coming from.
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