When I was younger, I can remember my mom taking me to the grocery store with her and she had the menu planned out for the whole week and then we grocery shopped from that, buying whatever we needed for that week. When I grocery shop, I basically just buy whatever produce looks good and go from there. I never had a real rhyme or reason to what I bought except my produce was organic, I try to buy local when I can and all of the meat I buy is free range & grass fed. I don’t eat meat, but I have a husband. You know how that goes. By the end of the week, I was always tossing things that I forgot to make and went bad. Um, money down the drain people. Seriously. So, I’m menu planning. I sat today and picked out a TON of recipes that I liked with the help of Pioneer Woman and Taste Spotting. I planned the next 11 weeks of meals out and decided i’d share with you the first week! I’m going to try to post photos and what not as I cook each thing and hopefully at the end of the week i’ll be able to show you each meal!
Up on this weeks menu is:
Chicken Panini with Oven Fries
Beer Braised Pork and Bean Soup with Grilled Cheese
Meatball Sammies
Now out of those five things, I’ll eat the chicken panini, grilled cheese and pancakes. The other nights, i’ll probably have pb&j, Chicken and rice or cereal. I eat like a five year old. Whatever.
The chicken paninis are made with whole wheat ciabatta bread and cheese. I marinade chicken breasts in salad dressing (Kraft Free Zesty Italian is a FAVE) and then cook them off in the beginning of the week so I’ll have them for the sammies and for salads during the week.
The meatball sandwiches are gonna be made with frozen meatballs because I can’t touch raw meat, it grosses me out. Matt will never know the difference though. 
And just a note about the pancakes? ALWAYS beat your egg whites to stiff peaks and then fold them in. OMG it’s life changing. Seriously people. DO IT.
What are some of your favorite foodie sites? Do you meal plan? If you do, do you have any tips or tricks for a newbie?