Menu Planning

Having done Weight Watchers successfully once before, I know how to do it well. It takes a lot of planning. It takes organization. One must be prepared.

It means having a menu plan and sticking to it. I make up a list of our weekly meals. Usually we follow it to the letter, but I may switch things around. It also means doing the shopping and having the proper foods on hand. I'm most concerned with dinner, because that's where I spend most my points.

I have typed up a cheat sheet full of my favorite recipes and food ideas. I plan my menus by this.

Weight Watchers 2009
My Basic Recipes

Italian:
Ziti
Spaghetti
Pizza
Chicken:
Chicken and
stuffing
Cheesy chicken
Sweet and sour chicken
Cola chicken
Italian Chicken
Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Beef:
Roast
Hamburgers
Meatloaf
Sloppy Joe’s
Chili
Steak
Other meats:
Ham
Potato casserole
Fish sticks
Tuna
helper
Pigs in a blanket

Misc.:
Nachos
Burritos
Omelets
Breakfasts

Vegetables:
Salad
Pumpkin pie
Corn
V-8
V-8 soup
Carrots
Potatoes
Yams

Fruit:
Bananas
Apples
Oranges
Orange juice
Smoothies
Peaches
Breakfasts:
Bran flakes & Fiber One
Egg McMuffins
Eggs -> scrambled, fried, poached
Toast and juice
Oatmeal

Lunches:
Soups: tomato, chicken, noodle,
potato, veggie ala Vitamix , V-8
Sandwiches : ham, peanut butter and jelly,
lunch meat, tuna salad, grilled cheese
Eggs, egg McMuffins

Snacks:
Frozen pretzels
Toast
Popcorn
Muffins
Sandwich
Jell-o

I then try to plan a varied menu, so we don't get sick of the same thing over and over.

Obviously, my list isn't long and it's sorely lacking veggies, fruits, nutritious snacks...one step at a time for me. I'll add to the list as I go.

I have a 3-ring binder in which I place all my recipes. So as I write my menus, I am able to check ingredients and make my shopping list. I post the menu on the fridge for the entire family to see. I then get off my butt and go to the grocery store so I am prepared.

This helps me stay OP.