Meal Planning - For those who don't

Earlier there was a discussion of meal planning, and I was inspired, especially when it was later mentioned that we should keep a food journal and post them for accountability (over at PCOS Challenge).  This has been a huge challenge for me, and I'm not good at it.  If you are looking for help and assistance find the other discussion of meal planning and see if others can offer more assistance, if however, you are looking for support, or even just a chuckle to help you feel better while you are setting up a meal plan yourself, then look no further.  I am here, ready to giggle myself at the idea of setting up a meal plan in the first place.

This is how things started, and here are the worksheets and ideas that I first used:
Two things you should know:
First - I found this on line, free and made some changes.  I went here to find a template www.vertex42.com ExcelTemplates meal-planner
Second - I also found a very helpful blog and have used hers to help me. The meal planner.blogspot.com

Sunday: open for what ever family plans, or going out has to offer.

Monday: Meatless meal
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Chinese
Thursday: Italian
Friday: Fish/Seafood
Saturday: Mexican

And here is how it looked in practical application:

Here is a look at the pretty copy:
weekly-meal-planner with Exercise.pdf
Here is where I have been re-working things.
Beginning Stages of meal Planning

So, now after a month of having another family member in our house, and going back to planning meals on the fly I have to be honest. I'm still lousy at meal planning.  I love the thought, and I really want to do it, but the practical application of it is a bit tricky for me.

I've been looking at the PCOS Diva though, for her inspired take on meal planning. It's much more simple, planning out only dinners.  I'm thinking I should start there instead of going all crazy and planning out every meal.  She has many menus archived, so I think I will begin with some older ones so I can find recipes to use for ingredients I have on hand. 

What I lack in follow through I make up for in continued attempts  and adjustments until I find what works for me. Be tenacious in fighting for your health, and for your families health. 

July Menu from PCOS Diva