No matter how you slice it, food prep takes time and planning! There’s time spent planning out weekly meals, prepping the foods for your meals, and then the dreaded clean-up. Slice, Chop, Dice, Mince, Weigh…here are some of the many ways I prepare my family’s meals on a daily basis.
In this week’s blog, I would like to share with you how I have learned to incorporate healthy cookin’ and eatin’ on a daily basis. I’m not going to lie, it can be time consuming, but over the last 8 months I have found some tricks that work well for my family and me. Tricks of the trade that help to keep me on track! The first thing I always think of is Dr. Kristen saying, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Her words are so true! And why do I think of that particular saying, because I always start to plan each day the night before – one of the number one tricks I have been doing for over 8 months now and it keeps me right on track!
#1 Looking at the bigger picture. I first start out by looking ahead at the whole week. I look ahead at my family’s weekly schedule so I can figure out which days we are definitely going to be home for meals and snacks and which days I may need to find quicker cooking meals because of a hectic schedule.
#2 I plan my grocery list for the whole week (of course there is the exception to those grocery items like fresh fish or delicate veggies I run back to the store to pick up the day I need them). With Kristen’s weekly meal plans planning your family’s weekly meals can be a breeze! She even provides a print out copy for each of her meal plans!
#3 Pick a day of the week that works for you to grocery shop. For me, it’s the weekend; I love to call it my family date at Wegmans!
#4 When I am back at home with my groceries and have them all organized, I write out a little list for myself as to what meals and snacks I want to have on which days of the week. I do this for two main reasons: First, to make sure I use all of the quicker to spoil foods earlier in the week. #2 when having my meals and snacks written out for each day of the week, I am never left with the age-old question “What am I going to make for dinner?” (I think we can all relate, sometimes when we need to ask ourselves this question it can only lead to bad food choices).
Food prep 101 (at least for me)…Since I am a full-time working mom, I plan out each day’s meals the night before, I know it may seem a little OCD, but it honestly works wonders in a busy household! After my boys are down for the night I start preparing the next day’s meals. First I take care of everyone’s lunches and snacks, and then I see if there is anything I can prep for breakfast or dinner. Now when I say “prep” I am talking about chopping, slicing, dicing, weighing, and/or measuring foods. Doing these little things ahead of time saves so much time the next day when I am rushing out the door or chasing around my two little boys when preparing dinner. Another reason this is important is because if I come home after an exhausting day of work, I am not going to be as tempted to call for take-out or to just make “whatever” (and “whatever” usually will not be as healthy as I had originally planned).
So, no matter how you slice it, get a plan & make those healthy choices that are going to nourish you and your family at every meal.
