Meal Planning for Busy Families
The part of my day that used to take the longest was making dinner. I thought that I had to spend time following a recipe that involved lots of chopping and putting ingredients together. Since having kids, I have made dinners so much easier. I normally have about 25 minutes of a tv show to get dinner ready and on the table without going into too much screen time for my kids. Now, I typically finish what I need to do in less time because I have developed a plan that works well for our family.
Meal Planning on the Weekend
On Saturday, I take some time and look in the freezer to determine what meat we have. We order our meat through Butcher Box each month so I don’t usually have to buy any during my weekly grocery shopping. It has actually made cooking at home easier because I already have an ingredient that I need.
Meal Rotations
I typically try to do at least one beef, one fish and one other meat dish. My husband is the pickiest when it comes to protein – no fish or chicken – but when I cook one of those, he just has to figure out protein for himself. Luckily, he will totally eat sides for dinner without complaint. When I plan, I plan three meals that we will definitely eat that week and one that has more freezer ingredients or an optional meal. This meal can be pushed until next week depending on my cooking mood. I am currently the only chef in our house, so if I don’t want to cook, we are ordering out. And I have found 3 – 4 meals a week is manageable for me.
After I plan out our meals on the calendar, I create our dinner grocery list. I look at the ingredients needed and determine what to buy at the grocery store. The key to making a list is look at what you already have. This is where having an organized fridge and pantry can save you money! You’re not overbuying and letting ingredients go to waste.
Weekly Meal Planner
Here is an example of my weekly meal planner. The template is super simple, but it works! I use different colors for my kids (light blue) and me (green). I don’t plan my husband’s breakfast and lunch because he figures that out on his own. This week, I just created my grocery list in AmazonPrime so I didn’t write it down on my planner. I don’t like doing double the work! Send me an email at hello@wildelyorganized.com I’d be happy to share my planning template with you!
Grocery Shopping
By grocery shopping, I mean ordering my groceries and getting them delivered. This has been the biggest change since having kids. I rarely go to the grocery store and it saves me so much time!
I can also make my grocery list right in the Instacart or Amazon Prime app (depending where I’m ordering from). After adding in my dinner options, I add in breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast and Lunch
For my children, I have at least two breakfasts offered during the week and trade off. This makes my mornings so much easier. And lunches for my eldest are always nut butter and jam sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. The two-year old gets the fruit and vegetables and either leftover protein or roasted chickpeas and some crackers (he’s a nut-free school). Snacks are easy to come by in our house as well. My eldest is currently into a yogurt pouch and crackers. The youngest will get pretzels and some fruit. I keep things easy for kids to make it easier to get out the door in the morning.
For my lunches, it depends on the week. If I’m working a lot, I plan out lunch so I don’t get too hungry. I love chicken salad and will make that some weeks. Other weeks that are more flexible, I rely on leftovers and what I have in the kitchen. I notice I pick up lunch way more those weeks, but just something to realize.
Meal Prep on the Weekend
After ordering my groceries to be delivered Sunday morning, I spend a couple of hours Sunday afternoon doing some meal prep. I try to get everything chopped, if needed, and pull meat out of the freezer to be thawed. Anything that takes longer than 20 – 30 minutes, I cook ahead of time. Afternoons at our house are hit or miss, some days the kids are playing together and not fighting, other days are full of meltdowns and I need to sit with someone for a while. I don’t have an hour in the kitchen during the week to devote to cooking.
Most meals I choose don’t take long, but sometimes I like to get things done ahead of time. It just gives me a moment to sit down and watch a show with my kids rather than cooking the entire time.
For example, from the week on my meal planner, I took about an hour total to prep chicken salad and egg cups. Then, I had my breakfast and lunch ready for the whole week!
Cooking on Weeknights
As I’ve mentioned, each night I spend up to 30 minutes cooking dinner. As a mom with two young kids, this feels manageable and doable (it does help that the two year old will now watch a show!). I did this same structure while holding him and cooking for a while though. That’s why I would chop on Sunday when my husband was home.
My main goal with systematizing and creating a routine in our home is to have more time to play with my kids. I don’t want to spend hours each night creating dinner (that my kids probably won’t even eat). I would rather spend the afternoon with them and throw dinner together quickly. Then, I get the chance to sit down and eat dinner with them. This also helps them eat more of their dinner, when they see I’m eating the same thing.
Hopefully these tips will help save you time and money when it comes to creating dinners for your family. Comment below and let me know how you like to meal plan or if you do at all!
