A few weeks ago marked the start of something wonderful: Weekend Food Prep!
That’s right. Instead of just living in survival mode and trying to figure out meals on the fly, I have been spending a whole 30 minutes on Sunday afternoons chopping up fresh fruits and veggies to be used for snacks + meals during the week.
It has been great and super handy to have all of that freshness prepped and ready to go. So the next practical step is meal planning (eek – talk about scary!)
The thing is, we all know making healthy choices while grocery shopping is a bit of a challenge. But trying to make healthy choices at the grocery AND purchase foods your family will enjoy is a complete nightmare. Like holy cow!
Of course, there is the whole distraction thing too. Without fail, I will go to the grocery store for milk, eggs and bananas but come home with chicken and asparagus instead. Hey, it happens. And just as I pull in the driveway, all of the things I should have bought hits me like a ton of bricks like oh my gawd I forgot the milk, eggs, and bananas again!
So this week, marked the start of another something new: meal planning!
And the best part is that meal planning does not have to be super specific. I simply jotted down what our main meal would be each day and any specific ingredients we needed for those meals. I also planned to make extras for dinner so that we could eat leftovers for the next days lunch. Cook once. Eat twice. Genius!
This week’s meal plan went a little something like this:
Sunday: cheeseburgers + roasted veggies
Monday: quick chicken fajita bowls
Tuesday: buffalo chicken wraps + fruit salad
Wednesday: turkey meatballs/marinara + roasted broccoli
Thursday: stove-top chili + baked potatoes
Friday night is usually a pizza night and Saturday night is usually out and about so I left those two up in the air.
This little bit of meal planning definitely made the grocery store a lot less overwhelming. Since I had a general meal plan jotted down, I had a clear vision of the groceries I needed to buy. Oh, and of course, the usual milk, eggs and bananas!!
We would love to hear any other tips and tricks you guys use for family-friendly food prep and/or meal planning! =)
Thanks Meghann for sharing your healthy and great ideas. Your meal planning is amazing.
You’re welcome, Nitin! So glad you found it helpful.