Last week I discussed stress and my favorite 4 ways to handle it. I forgot to mention the fact that I also use a schedule, calendar or to do list for almost everything, especially meals.
Meal planning keeps me sane. I really do not like cooking. I’m pretty good but my chicken does tend to be dry. And I just can never master making new dishes. Maybe I am being a bit hard on myself, honestly, my family rarely complains. They are happy with what I give them.
With that in mind, I need to plan my weekly meals or it feels like the whole week can go amiss for me. I mostly plan out dinners but certainly need to be sure other meals and snacks are prepared and ready also.
Dinners at my WAHM house
There truly is an art to meal planning if it doesn’t come naturally to you and you simply do not look forward to it. Like me. Every Sunday or Monday I check the calendar for upcoming family events and appointments this week so I can cook accordingly.
On days I know I will be home for a limited time or maybe even tired from running errands we eat leftovers or crock pot meals (usually Wednesday and Thursday). Days I have time earlier in the afternoon I cook more for the days I may be tired or busy (usually Tuesday). Days I tend to catch up on work or starting a fresh week I cook light or easy (Monday and Saturday). And frankly, by Friday I am tired and don’t want to think of cooking and we tend to order pizza. Sundays are our family dinner nights so many times my husband grills outside because, frankly, he is way better at cooking than I am. We need one night of good cookin’.
Breakfasts
Breakfast is super easy in my house, my kids like cereal.
I know, I wish they would eat healthier most days also and they do- sometimes. I make it up for them with our healthy dinners. (Hey, I may hate to cook but I do make it healthy.)
Lunch
I am in charge of lunches for my family. I have heard moms and dads say their kids make their own lunches, and we are in the process of migrating to that. But until then, sandwiches, fruits and snacks go with them to school.
Mondays I make the sandwiches for the week along with packaging the snacks and placing them in a weekly bin to grab from.
For breakfast and lunch there is little to no planning. We eat pretty much the same things every week. I guess I created a no fuss menu for my family and never realized it until I wrote it here.
Some simple meal planning solutions I use in my busy life:
- Have a master list of foods you always buy and always have in your pantry. Things like pasta, tomato sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and various seasonings and broths.
- Cook double, eat leftovers the next day. And many times buying in bulk will save money.
- Cook double or triple and freeze the rest for a great meal in a month.
- Have about 5-10 “go to” meal you can cook up quickly as to avoid eating out or eating cereal like my family would. I always make tuna noodle casserole or spaghetti if cramped for time. The ingredients are always in my cupboard.
- Crock pot it. 6 chicken thighs, small potatoes and Lipton’s Onion Soup dumped into the crock pot in the morning tastes yummy that afternoon.
Tools that help me meal plan
I have found so many yummy recipes on Pinterest! I keep them indexed in my “Yum” board but I also place them in Pepperplate.
Pepperplate is literally one of my favorite apps. It neatly saves my recipes online, on my iPhone and on my Kindle Fire. Well, the recipes are in cloud based storage and I access them all over the place. (Which includes Nook, Androids, iPad, tablets and phones.) This makes saving, viewing and shopping easy. I always have the list of what I need handy.
Or one of the few cookbooks I have at home like (I keep the recipes simple):
This Week’s Challenge
1. This week I need you to plan out at least 5 healthy dinners for you family. Write them down on your calendar. Get to shopping for the ingredients and make some great dinners.
2. I also want you to come up with at least 5 “go to” meals that are always in your recipe book in your head. These are meals you almost never need to research the ingredients or even measure them, you know these recipes by heart. I have a few: Tuna Noodle Casserole, Spaghetti, Foreman Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon Pepper, Crockpot Chicken Thighs with Lipton’s Onion Soup mix and Soft Tacos.
Did you take the challenge?
Join me each week on Facebook to discuss the challenge of the week. Fellow WAHMs may have the same challenges as you or may be able to help you overcome something you are stuck on.
WAHM Monday Challenge: Meal Planning for the Mom that Works from Home originally published at: Ramblings of a WAHM