Parameters

I have had a revelation.  Or something.  I decided to give myself a better framework for my meal planning and for this blog, to give some shape to what I'm doing here.  Knowing me, the framework won't restrict me much; I'm a coloring outside the lines kind of girl.

So, what will this framework look like?  Well, as I've explained on here before, our meal planning already has some basic rules, and so essentially I'm just adding a little to them and deciding to live by them and write by them for a few months.  I am not necessarily recommending them to others... there are hopefully going to be some good recipes, some tips and tricks, and some funny bits that might help you, but we are planning meals for our preferences, our budget and our time constraints, so our plans might not make much sense for others.

In any case, here are the rules:

1. The meal plan must include 5 dinners
2. One vegetarian meal per week
3. One main course salad  per week
4.  No mammals (just because I don't eat them, no other reason)
5. Only crockpot meals can take longer than 45 minutes to prepare (since I commute and get home late in the evenings)
6. The whole meal plan should cost less than $40, except special occasions
7. I will post the meal plan on Sunday and try to give recipes reviews and updates throughout the week.

Generally, we try to spend about $200-$250/month on groceries.  The $40/week for dinners gives us $10/week to play with for breakfasts and lunches and beverages... not much, but doable if dinner leftovers can double as lunches and if you don't buy much soda or alcohol.  Wish me luck!