I have to firstly thank my very kind eldest sister who looked after my children (yes all 4!) from 10.30am Sunday until midday Monday. And she didn’t take it easy either and took them on a “awesome” day out at Moomba. Whilst she was looking after my children, I was able to attend a farewell party and I also had some extra time up my sleeve to be able to add my shopping list, as well as my menu plan for to this week’s Menu Plan Monday post.
I have previously mentioned that I have created a menu planning tool in Microsoft Access for myself, so that I can generate quickly and easily, menu plans for the family and the associated shopping list.
The attached excel file below contains three separate spreadsheets. The first is named “Complete Shopping List’ and it lists by supermarket aisle all the ingredients that are needed to cook the family meals for this week.
Menu Plan Shopping List 080310
The second spreadsheet is named “Ingredients By Meal’ and it lists the ingredients that are required for the each of the family meals this week. The meals I have included are deliberately easy and I have put the links to meals where I have previously posted the instructions.
The third spreadsheet is named “Menu Plan” and is a modified version of the menu plan which I print and place on the fridge. I have a notes section, that I like to populate with any activities that are likely to impact the evening meal routine.
This is what we have planned for this week:
Monday: Fried Rice
Tuesday: Left Overs
Wednesday: Pizza Margherita
Thursday: BBQ Sausages And Steamed Vegetables
Friday: Pasta With Chicken And Spinach
Saturday: Chicken Lasagna
Sunday: Chicken Schnitzel And Salad
If you use the shopping list, drop back and leave me a comment to let me know how you found it.
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15 comments...read them below or add one
mmm…
the pasta with chicken and spinach sounds yummy, thanks!
slouching mom’s last blog post..Limericks
it all sounds so yummy.have a great week.
Michelle’s last blog post..Bloggy party..Sticky Post Will Stay At the Top Of The Page
I would be interested in hearing more about this wonderful Access menu planning tool!
Thank you for sharing your spreadsheet.
Good idea! I have a basic shopping list for when I do online orders from Woolies so I should re-organise it to be more useful.
Penny’s last blog post..Weekend creations
I appreciate you posting your xls file, it gives me a better idea of how I need to adapt my own to make it work for me =)
Kim’s last blog post..My defective ankle update
I am amazed at your organization!!
Monica’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday – March 10
Ooooo Access data base. I miss working with Access. (Mercy, I feel my geek showing.)
Love the Excel spread sheet. My menu planning is done in Excel. It started out as a spread sheet page that inventoried the contents of my freezers (chest freezer and refrigerator freezer) with a few columns off to the side for days of the week, dates, and meals (based on what I had in the freezers). It has since expanded to several pages that include an ingredients list, a “when was the last time we ate this” sort of history (along with notations of how well they liked a dish), pantry inventory (which needs updating today), recipe location notations (which book, file name, URL, etc.; working on compiling frequently used recipes into a notebook), and a list of “recipes to try” along with recipe location notation.
My actual shopping list is done in Word. I have two files, one for the 1st half of the month and one for the 2nd half of the month. I have it divided by section (dairy, dry goods, canned goods, produce, personal/hygeine, paper products, feline, etc.) with a legend listing the various stores I shop at. I use the ingredients list from Excel as a pantry/freezer inventory checklist and add whatever didn’t get crossed off to the shopping list. When I add items to the shopping list (either from the marked up ingredients list or from me just noticing something is low) I make notation of which store it will most likely be purchased at as well as if it’s on sale, if I have a coupon, and so forth.
It’s a lot simpler than it sounds. *laughs* Really.
A Simple Wife’s last blog post..Menu – March 9 – 15, 2008
It sounds great! And — wow — how organized are you? Kudos to you!
Angie @ Many Little Blessings’s last blog post..Noah’s First Communion Banner
Great menu plan for this week.. yummy!
Your menu looks great!
CanadianSaver’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday
You sound very organized! I’m snagging your xls files but I won’t be able to use them until I get my other laptop working again. That’s is where my Excel is locked away at, but thanks for sharing!
GinaLaughed’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday
Your menu looks great! Chicken lasagna sounds divine!
It’s so great to have some me time. Kudos to your sister.
Terrific menu. Oops, I gotta get back to the Young & the Restless online episode.
Rona’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday – March 3, 2008
Thanks for the feedback every one. I’ll try to get organised and post the shopping list again next week.
#2 often works for us, even if we just move into a different room in our house.
Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah’s last blog post..Randomness Part 107