As I aim to simplify my life one of the things I started to do was to simplify my weekly meal planning. I used to completely fight meal planning or prepping because I thought it would take me more time, but what I found was that meal planning has actually given me more freedom!
One of the biggest causes of stress in my home was food - what to buy, what to eat and how to cook quickly and healthy. Thanks to meal planning, it has allowed me to be prepared, FREE of stress, free of temptation and free of just leaving our meals up to chance.
Here's how I make meal planning simple and easy for my life:
1. I pick a day of the week to plan meals and do my grocery shopping. For me this is typically on Sundays so I can be ready for the rest of the week.
2. I figure out what our family schedule is for the week and write out meals. For breakfast we are creatures of habit and usually stick with our favorites... oatmeal or eggs and for lunches we usually have leftovers or a turkey sand-which or chicken salad.
3. Then I plan out our dinners for the week. I usually cook 4-5 nights per week depending on what we've got going on, we eat at our fav Mexican spot 1 night per week (a family tradition) and one other night per week we are usually eating at my in-laws or siblings for family dinner.
An average week looks like this:
Monday: Grilled chicken, baked sweet potatoes and grilled veggies.Tuesday: Taco SaladWednesday: Turkey Meatballs with quinoa and green beansThursday: Meatsauce with zuchhini noodlesFriday: Eat out!Saturday: Family Dinner at Grandma's or BBQ with friendsSunday: Grilled Steak with Sweet Potatoes and Salad
I only serve meals that our family really loves and that are healthy and I simply rotate them around! Every couple weeks I will try one new recipe but I try not to complicate it too much. I also try to keep the meals balanced with a healthy protein, carb, veggies and a healthy fat with each meal.
Some of our family favorites are Stuffed Pepper Casserole and Baked Balsamic Chicken.
4. After I've planned out our week which usually only takes about 5 minutes or so I can write down what we need to buy at the grocery store + fresh staples like fruit, veggies, almond milk, cashew milk (this is my coffee creamer), deli turkey, bread, eggs, avocados, salsa (we always have this around).
5. Then we go to the store or I'll use Fry's (Kroger) Clicklist to pre-order and pick up OR instacart - my favorite grocery delivery app if I'm short on time that week.
This whole process takes maybe 1-2 hours max depending on if I go shopping or order. But doing this makes my week so much easier and less stressful! Then I can look over at my meals each day and thaw out any meats or wash and chop up veggies before hand.
Now, when it comes to meal prepping you might be wondering how to make that more simple. I used to try and prep all my meals on Sundays and spend 2-3 hours in the kitchen on the weekend cooking. It worked for a VERY short time in my life before I got sick of it. Now, I try to keep it way more simple and less overwhelming. Because honestly, anything that is overwhelming (more than the chaos of being a mom) I know I just won't do!
So here's my 6th and final step...
6. Batch cook - Instead of cooking every single meal every single day I try to batch cook. So for example if I have planned to cook chicken, quinoa and green beans for dinner instead of just making what we'll eat that night I will make 2-3 batches and cook in bulk. This leaves me room to have healthy food in my fridge for lunches the next couple of days or even for a "leftover" dinner if I'm short on time (or energy) one night.
This makes for zero extra work or time because I was going to be cooking anyways and it still saves me time and stress during the week.
I hope these tips help you to start simplifying your weekly meal planning and prepping as well. The biggest thing I've learned in motherhood is that simplification is key, overwhelm is a choice. If you see anyone and think, "They must have it all figured out." The truth is they probably haven't, they're life is probably just as busy as yours the only difference is that they've mastered the art of simplification and ditching the overwhelm!
If you're looking for more tips and healthy meal ideas be sure to download my free 5 Day Meal Plans here.
You can also purchase my Simple + Healthy Meals for Real Moms Cookbook eBook right here!
Click here for your FREE 5 DAY NURSING MAMA MEAL PLAN
Post a Comment