Mom Goals and Resolutions: Meal Planning
January 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Being a mom is a rewarding job, but it’s also a difficult one. Between all the cleaning, homework help, laundry and motherly advice, we struggle to find time to cook meals that are both nutritious and appealing to the kids. If we don’t have a game plan, it’s almost next to impossible.
That’s one reason that meal planning is often overlooked in favor of convenience foods. While kids often like frozen pizzas and microwavable items, they are usually low in nutritional value. If we plan meals in advance, we can reduce the amount of convenience foods our families eat, improve the amounts of important vitamins and minerals they get, and save time and money shopping at the grocery store. So why not make meal planning one of your New Year’s resolutions?
How Do I Go About Planning Meals?
Meal planning does take a certain amount of time and thought, but it makes things much easier when it is time to cook. When you plan ahead you know that you’ll have all the ingredients you need and you can plan simple meals for several days when you know you won’t have much time. Here’s how to do it:
1. Start your meal plan the day after you plan to go to the grocery store. You don’t have to go by exact calendar weeks, but planning for 7 days at a time makes it easier to keep up with.
2. Decide what you will serve for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Be sure to include at least one of everyone’s favorite foods each week. You could make a separate list of favorites for easy reference.
3. Don’t forget to add some variety now and again. Trying new things is good for us!
4. Make sure that each meal is nutritionally balanced. If you’re not a nutritional expert, locate a food pyramid chart online and print it to refer to for the proper number of servings per day of each food group. You may not be able to hit a perfect balance every day, but you should be able to come reasonably close.
5. Once you’ve planned the meals for the week, make your grocery shopping list. Go through your menu plan and decide which ingredients you need to buy for each meal.
6. When you go to the grocery store, don’t forget to pick up some healthy snack options. Fresh fruits are popular healthy snacks among kids and they are loaded with beneficial vitamins.
Simple meal planning allows us to feed our children healthy food with less fuss. It also saves us time and money in the long run. Of course, the best part is that it helps make everyone happy because they’ll enjoy their favorite foods on a more regular basis. Planning meals is a great way to start off the New Year… make it one of YOUR resolutions!
Christmas Gift Ideas for Your Husband
November 26, 2007 | 1 Comment
"What do you get for the man who has everything?" is the question on most women’s minds during the Christmas shopping season. It always seems like it is harder to buy for those closest to us. All to often, wives resort to the old standbys: a tie or aftershave.
Take some time, plan ahead and think outside the box. Think about your hubby’s hobbies and interests. Is there something he used to love to do, but just stopped, either because of lack of time or money? Find a way to incorporate those things back into his life and give him a gift that will allow for him to participate again.
Here are a few more ideas to point you in the right direction this holiday season.
Many men enjoy sports. There are tons of different gift ideas that can be connected to his favorite sport. Does he like to watch the races? Why not let him try racing himself? There are many places where you can either drive or ride shotgun on the track. The price for the ride-along in a NASCAR stock car is just a little over $100 up into the thousands for racing schools. If you’re not comfortable with him getting behind the wheel, get him tickets to a local racetrack instead.
If your husband considers 18 holes of golf to be the best way to spend a day, why not indulge him? Even if it’s the middle of winter, he can enjoy a great day of golf. He can even put a round on a famous course or two. In addition to driving ranges, many places have added golf simulators. These machines recreate the actual courses on a video screen and sensors register where the ball flies and it is shown on the screen. The rental prices are quite reasonable. If you want to really spoil your husband there are home versions available as well.
Is your man handy around the house? Does he complain about having old, worn out tools? While you may not know the difference between vice grips and wrenches, the people at your local home improvement store can help you pick the best gift. Take one of his tools with you to the store and ask questions about the best brand to get for the kind of work he does (electrical, wood, etc). If you are still unsure about what tool to get, get him a gift card and let him pick out what he needs.
The outdoorsman in your life might like some new gear. If you’re unsure of what to get, ask some of his hunting or fishing buddies. They would be able to help you know what he needs or wants. Some things, like lures, you can never have too many of, but certain ones are preferred for catching certain fish. Another idea is to rent a cabin and make plans for a get-away weekend for the two of you, or the whole family. Find an area that has things to do for those who don’t want do the outdoor activities.
The best gifts come from the heart and take some thought. Give him something that shows you appreciate all he does for your family. If after going over all the different options, you still aren’t sure what to get for your husband, ask. Most men aren’t as concerned with a big surprise gift to open. The fact that you care enough to get him something special is gift enough.
For more great gift ideas for Husbands and EVERYONE on your list, read our free guide on Holiday Gift Ideas: Guilt Free Gifts with Minimal Re-Gifting Opportunities
Christmas Gift Ideas for Grandparents
November 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
It can be hard to find the perfect gift for grandparents, especially if they don’t live nearby. However, the best gifts for grandparents focus around the grandkids. Here are a few ideas that will put a smile on any grandparent’s face as well as a warm, fuzzy feeling in their heart.
Photos - Get all the grandkids together and take some fun photos. There are some studios that have special group sitting fees that are quite reasonable, especially if split between family groups. Once the pictures are done, select the best ones and then buy a multi-picture frame to display all the kids. If someone in the family is good with a camera, you could even do your own photos. Find a good location for a background (maybe even somewhere that has special meaning to the family) and you have a less expensive gift. It could become a tradition each year, as the children get older.
Along the lines of the group photos, make a small portable "brag book" for a one of a kind gift. Find a nice album that can fit in a purse or pocket and then fill it with favorite snapshots. They can be of the children’s accomplishments over the past year in things like sports, music or other activates.
Handmade gifts - Not much says you love someone more than a handmade gift. Grandparents are especially fond of things made by their grandchildren. Even if you aren’t a crafty person there are a few easy options. There are kits at any craft store and some department stores that come with everything needed right in the box to put together a nice gift. There are businesses that specialize in helping create a masterpiece, such as a paint-it-yourself ceramics shop. Select a piece, paint it with glaze and then it is fired for you. Just pick it up a few days later when it is finished. Even a young child, with a bit of help, can paint an interesting design on a mug or bowl using sponges and a couple colors of glaze.
Another handmade gift could be a shirt with the grandkids’ handprints on it, with ages and names. It’s also pretty easy to make photo transfers to iron on to a shirt and have pictures of the kids on the shirt as well. Some fabric paint could be used to decorate around the pictures. Have them make mini-frames or flowers around them. A necktie with the children’s picture printed on it can be a nice gift for grandpas.
Jewelry - Jewelry for grandma also makes a wonderful gift. Many companies will add the birthstones of the grandchildren to necklaces, bracelets or rings. You can also find charm bracelets that can have a different charm to represent each child. The charms can either be a silhouette head, with the name and date engraved, or something else to represent each child.
The best gifts, however, are the ones the kids come up with themselves. Give them some time to think about it and they may surprise you with some very original, loving ideas. Handmade gifts always touch a grandparent’s heart like no other as well.
For more great gift ideas for Grandparents and EVERYONE on your list, read our free guide on Holiday Gift Ideas: Guilt Free Gifts with Minimal Re-Gifting Opportunities
6 Tips for Sticking to Your Budget This Christmas
November 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Every year there are reports on the news about how deeply in debt people become every Christmas. It is possible to have a nice Christmas without maxing out the credit cards. Here are a few simple tips that could save you a bundle.
- Hide the credit cards - By not using credit cards you are already a step ahead of the game. There’s no worry about the interest and all those payments that come due after the first of the year. If you are already using credit cards carefully you might be able to continue using them for Christmas gifts, just be sure to pay it off when the bill comes due.
- Make a list - Sit down and make a list of all the people you would like to give gifts. Once the list is made, stick to it. Decide how much to spend on each person and write it beside each name. Then when you go shopping there will be a price range for each gift. It will help avoid overspending. Even a dollar over expected spending can add up if there is a large shopping list.
- Draw names - Many families help cut back on holiday spending by drawing names. Each person in the family only shops for one other person whose name they have drawn. Instead of buying several gifts, even if they are inexpensive, each person can get one nicer gift. This makes shopping easier too. Instead of trying to fill a huge list, just take your time and focus on getting that "perfect" gift for just one person.
- Shop ahead - Get organized and have good hiding places. By doing this you can purchase Christmas gifts all year round, taking advantage of after Christmas sales, out of season and clearance sales. Go ahead and wrap and label the gifts. This helps keep people from seeing what was purchased and you won’t forget which gift was for whom.
- Lay-away - Some stores offer a lay-away program, so you can pay a little at a time each month. By doing this, you can budget things out over a period of time. By combining this with the list and budget plan, you can cut out the interest incurred using credit cards and still make a monthly payment.
- Gift cards - While gift cards are convenient for gift giving, many people feel they are impersonal. Gift cards can also help you shop on a budget, if shopping ahead of time. Purchase the gift cards in the amount you can afford each week or month. Tuck them away in an envelope in a safe place until you have the amount needed to purchase the gifts. You can keep an eye out for sales on certain items this way, as well. Be sure to check to see if the cards have an expiration date. Some expire after a certain time once activated and others have no expiration date at all. Some are even "rechargeable" and more money can be added as needed.
No matter what plan you choose, the best thing is to get organized and plan ahead. Spur of the moment shopping is the worst for anyone’s budget. It’s too easy to just grab something on impulse and blow the best of intentions.
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