In talking to a friend who likes to do a 3-hour prep time on Sundays for the week’s meals, I wondered to myself…how do meals “work themselves out” at my house without all these big chunks of planning that people speak of? (If you’ve ever met my 3 kiddos, you know that 3 hours of doing one thing in one space does not happen at my house…I have a crew of movers and shakers!)
Here’s how I do family dinners in this busy season…I’ll share just incase I can help keep you out of the drive-through.
Keep in mind:
**I’m a working Mom of 3 kids
**2 out of 3 of my kids have multiple anaphylactic food allergies, just because God knew otherwise I’d be bored and prideful
**I’m an event-speaker, so a quick 24-48 hour trip has to be planned for from time to time
**I’m a recovered perfectionist: I’ve learned done is better than perfect! (“ta-done”) 🙂
How dinner gets on the table is different for everyone…and for many it just seems too difficult to get it on the table at all (think dashboard dining).
Getting that perfect meal plan feels daunting if you’re aiming for your kitchen to look like a Food Network clip where the counters are crumb-free, with no kids underfoot, and your apron doesn’t have last Monday’s dinner residue on it. Let’s instead work what’s workable into your reality.
To learn what that reality might look like for others, I reached out to my fabulous Facebook friends to see what is working for everyone! (I also asked some of my RD friends to share meals we can throw together in 15 minutes or less. You’ll see some of those at the bottom of this blog post :).
-Buy hamburger, cook it, then freeze it in 1 pound packs. It’s faster to thaw it if it’s already cooked. – Cindy
-Rotisserie chickens! Shred and freeze them. They save the day! – Brittany
-Having “go-to’s”…things I almost always have: eggs and potatoes, oatmeal, and protein shakes – Miranda
-Let meat thaw ahead of time. Cook rice and pasta and put it in the fridge until you need it. Cut up vegetables (and sometimes even roast) ahead of time. A little prep a few days a week makes meal times so easy! – Andrea
-Cook healthy crockpot dinner 1st night, eat leftovers for the next 2. – Jena
-Grill out on Sundays to prep/cook all the meat – like grilled chicken you can make 6 ways! – Mandy
-I roast a lot of veggies on Sunday so I always have something to put with a protein. – Wynn
-I make double batches of healthy things like turkey spaghetti sauce, ground turkey or shredded chicken, and then I freeze it so that I can defrost and make a meal out of it quickly. – Brooke
-I make more complicated dishes on nights where we have more time…usually with the plan to eat leftovers on a busy night. Sometimes I double dishes and freeze extras for busy nights too. We also grill chicken and toss with spinach and whatever veggies and fruit we have on hand for salad nights. – Kelly
-Whenever I have to make a meal for anyone else, I double it and freeze one for us. – Regan
Fabulous tips, friends! Perhaps we assume it’s harder than it really needs to be. You don’t have to do all those things at once, but start with a couple of the easier ones over the next few days and then add on.
Progress in this area doesn’t have to be perfect progress. Likely the person making it look easy has been cooking for longer than you have. So just take it one step at a time until you get into a groove that works for you.
Whether you like to do a longer weekend block of prep-time, or 10-minutes of multi-tasking prep-work here and there, make the most of these 10 tools you probably already have!
Crockpot/Pressure cooker
- slow-cook a pound or two of dried beans on low each week (I alternate between black beans, white beans, pinto beans and lentils) – fill to the top with water and turn it on low for the day
- I literally always have a soup or stew ready for leftovers and lunches – it is my secret to surviving busy weeks!
Grill
- once a weekend, fill the grill with lean meats and veggies for roasting (my favorites for the grill basket: baby tomatoes, onions, zucchini, and mini-peppers)
- freeze grilled meat (cut into strips) in freezer-safe zipper bags
Fridge/Freezer
- fill and flatten quart and gallon freezer-bags of aforementioned pre-cooked beans, soups, and meats and freeze
- ready-to-cook frozen veggies
- overnight oats ready in the fridge and a stocked veggie drawer for quick salad-entree’-night
Cutting board/food processor
- what can you prep today for both today and tomorrow? (and you only have to clean up once)
- finely chop spinach or kale to mix into sauces and smoothies
- consider what produce you can buy that’s chopped for you
Grocery pick-up app
- this is an absolute time-saver and helps with streamlining my planning
- I never go one. single. week. without using this benefit (to save time, use the “Favorites” feature as indicated in the image above with the little hearts)
- click here for $10 off your first time
Blender
- our family-favorite smoothie/homemade “froyo” is here (sometimes we have “smoothie game nights” as a family)
- puree steamed broccoli slaw in the blender with water to add to sauces to pack more veggie-power
Stovetop
- boil eggs for the week
- make whole grain pasta and quinoa, and stove-pop popcorn for snacking
Oven
- pre-bake your grains in bulk for the week (or when in a pinch, use the 90-second grains you can microwave – choose the plain ones)
- double recipes for dishes that serve a crowd such as the the Spinach Lasagna pictured here from the Best Body Cookbook & Menu Plan
Microwave
- steam-fresh type veggies (we love prep-free perfect broccoli in 3 minutes)
- red potatoes and sweet potatoes (just wash, poke holes and put a couple in the microwave at a time – start with 5 minutes and check doneness by squeezing it gently while wearing an oven mitt)
Restaurant
- on which night or two of the week do you need/want to delegate cooking/cleaning the most?
These tools can be utilized on different days, or even simultaneously on a day that you have a larger chunk of time. You’ve got to prioritize planning and focused mealtimes just like you do other things that contribute to your wellness as a whole. In summary, below are my personal go-to prep-tips, which are highlighted in the Best Body Cookbook & Menu Plan.
It’s not just your health (and budget) that will benefit from making meal planning a habit — prioritizing mealtimes at the table has its own host of research for strengthening families, too. Below you’ll find a shopping guide and some recipes to help make it happen! Enjoy!
