Home educators are teachers on steroids.  Not only are home educators responsible for the education of their children, but they are the cafeteria workers, the custodians and much much more.  So how do you balance all of this in 24 hours?  Planning… lesson planning and of course meal planning.

One of the ways I keep my meal planning to a minimum is to create a system of special days.  A disclaimer… I am vegetarian so add meat to your pleasure :-).

Mondays are my rice dishes days.  These are the days I do my family favorite, rice and beans with a vegetable (okay, this is actually only my favorite).

Tuesdays are Taco Tuesdays.  Our Tacos consists of soft tacos, vegetarian re-fried beans, diced tomatoes, onions, salad, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Wednesdays are Wacky Wednesdays.  On Wacky Wednesdays we do breakfast for lunch so our lunch consists of  waffles /pancakes, eggs and fruit.

Thursdays are  my pasta dish days or my sandwich days if we have a field trip.  Thursdays are my flexible days.  It is the day that I have reserved for field trips so my menu on these days changes the most.

Fridays are Haystacks.  Haystacks are truly a family favorite and by far the quickest meal to throw together.  After a long week it is nice to look forward to this day.  Haystacks is a term used to describe a meal that consists of layers.  On the first layer (the bottom) you place plan corn chips; on the second layer you place salad;  on the third layer you place your choice of beans (we use baked beans).  Finally you put on your toppings, as you like them: cheese, sour cream, salsa, onions, black olives, tomatoes.

Having special days during the week makes meal planning and grocery shopping a lot easier.  Do you have special days in your family?  What is your family’s favorite meal?