Lily On the Fly

What is Lily on the Fly ? Well, I'm glad you asked!

It is a set of meal planning cards that can make your life loads easier.

Here is how I use this system:

On Sunday night, I go through the food ads and have my pantry and freezer contents nearby. I look through the Lily on the Fly cards and use these to plan my menus for the week. Each card has the recipe name and directions on the front with a picture, and on the back are seven color coded areas: meat/poultry/seafood, produce, dairy/refrigerated, canned/soups, frozen, dry goods and other, and staples. A finishing touches section is also on the back, so you can know what to serve with that item to make the meal complete.

I then make my shopping list for the week based on these food items, knowing what I have on hand already and what I need to purchase. Some people put the cards in the holder and take that to the store, but that's too cumbersome for me, I like to make my lists and hang the card holder on my fridge (see picture above).

This holder also allows me to display the upcoming meals for the week, getting rid of the "What's for dinner" comment each day.

There are a huge variety of recipes included on the card deck. The starter kit has 36 cards, ranging from main dishes to side dishes, breakfasts and desserts. This week in my card holder I have: Pacific Rim Salmon, Easy Does it Spaghetti (made in the crock pot), Chicken and Noodles, Pork Chops, Oh Baby, and Lily's Best Coleslaw.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received the pack that it didn't have too many processed or canned foods as ingredients. And those it does have could easily be substituted--for example, the chicken and noodles calls for canned chicken, I can easily substitute an equal amount of cooked chicken either from a leftover roast chicken or cooked up chicken breasts. It's a very versatile program. My family has enjoyed everything I have made so far!

I got to try this great program thanks to 24/7 Moms You should definitely check out the 24/7 Moms site for more fantastic ideas about saving money, cooking, and just being a mom.