Meal Planning Made Easy
We see it on YouTube all the time. The perfect, do-it-all mom who can somehow work a full day, take care of her children, clean her home and yet still have time to have a nutritious and delicious home cooked meal on the table each night. Those of us moms who just can't seem to find enough hours in the day to make something like that happen shouldn't feel bad. We are human. No two moms are exactly alike and no two families are the same. So taking shortcuts should not make you feel as though you are failing in anyway because you are not.
NEWS FLASH: Not everything you see on social media is real. It's called "editing" for a reason. We edit videos and pictures all the time. We portray who we want to be to the public rather than who we actually are. If that's what you want to do, then fine. You do you. But me? I'm not perfect. I don't always have it all together. Life gets chaotic and messy and I find myself stressed out and yelling more times than I'd like. But that's alright because that's me and that's how life is right now. Crazy! It's Summer and there is very little order in my house at the moment. This morning alone we woke up to a strange bug problem by the backdoor of our kitchen. My normal morning routine was disrupted as my husband and I scrambled to fix the problem before my kids decided to keep these little guys as pets! And as I was trying to complete my Meal Plan for my blog, I noticed my one kid tearing up a waffle into little, tiny pieces and throwing them all over the couch. Screaming ensued and vacuuming commenced. Once again...that's just real life happening.
So if you are not perfect...that's ok. We moms are basically just trying to keep our heads above water most of the time. So any type of achievement is a big achievement in my opinion. Kept your kids alive today? Good for you! Managed to get your kids to go to bed last night? Victory! It's the little things we do that we should be celebrating.
So when you get a week worth of meals planned out for your busy family, you deserve a medal! You are one step closer to getting your family fed this week! And if you're a mom, a working mom, a mom of multiples, a single mom, a married mom, then you know how relieving it feels to have a plan in place for anything...but especially for meals. Kids seem to contract a tapeworm during the Summer. They cannot stop eating. Once they are fed, an hour later they are hungry again. And God help you if you run out of their favorite snack! So, let's try and tackle this one today problem, shall we?
I always like to have a plan for food. I am a working mom and I need to be able to have stuff that's fast and easy for both the kids, my husband and myself. My biggest challenges are deciding what's for dinner every night and what I'm going to bring for lunch everyday. Having a meal plan helps you brainstorm ideas and get everything you need to actually cook these meals for the week.
I like to look through my fridge, freezer and pantry first to see what I already have and what I need to use. I also like to see what I'm running low on or what I am completely out of so I can shop for everything at the same time. (TIP: It helps to have a magnetic list on the fridge for convenience for that last part. More on that in a separate blog.) I also enjoy couponing, so if there are sales I researched or know about and couples to help with the cost, you bet your butt I use them.
After that, I check my planner (also, another blog coming up) and see when I'll be working, when my husband and kids have stuff going on and if we have any plans that will factor into meal prep and/or cooking. Once all of that is determined, I have a spreadsheet already laid out for me in my "pages" program on my Mac. Which is amazing because any shortcuts I can take, I take.
From there I will either go full-on meal planning (where I list every vegetable we will have with dinner, the drinks we will have in the pantry and the snacks we will have during the day) or I will just do a a quick guideline (which I basically focus on just the three basic meals and some other food we need to use before they go bad). Either way you do it, just having a plan at all is a huge help!
From that point on, I make my shopping list. This will consist of groceries as well as household items because the more I get done in one trip, the easier life is for everyone. (Once again that magnetic shopping list comes in handy).
If you're a rockstar and really want to blow my socks off, from here you will pick a day and prep your meals for the week! I honestly do not have that type of time to spare, but I truly admire those of you who do. But any meal planning is a simple get-a-head way of organizing your life, especially for the Fall.
If needed you can always do what makes your life easier. You can casually jot things down, you can make a Pinterest Board, you can even try all of the food delivery services from either your local grocery store or from online sites such as Blue Apron. Anything that makes your life easier, Mom, shouldn't be overlooked. Take advantage of these time saving hacks while you can!
Below is a sample of my meal plan. I find that having bright colors gives me the motivation I need to tackle this task and gives me something pretty to look at at the grocery store. :) Enjoy and don't forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook @mommyisthenewblack
Until next time...
NEWS FLASH: Not everything you see on social media is real. It's called "editing" for a reason. We edit videos and pictures all the time. We portray who we want to be to the public rather than who we actually are. If that's what you want to do, then fine. You do you. But me? I'm not perfect. I don't always have it all together. Life gets chaotic and messy and I find myself stressed out and yelling more times than I'd like. But that's alright because that's me and that's how life is right now. Crazy! It's Summer and there is very little order in my house at the moment. This morning alone we woke up to a strange bug problem by the backdoor of our kitchen. My normal morning routine was disrupted as my husband and I scrambled to fix the problem before my kids decided to keep these little guys as pets! And as I was trying to complete my Meal Plan for my blog, I noticed my one kid tearing up a waffle into little, tiny pieces and throwing them all over the couch. Screaming ensued and vacuuming commenced. Once again...that's just real life happening.
So if you are not perfect...that's ok. We moms are basically just trying to keep our heads above water most of the time. So any type of achievement is a big achievement in my opinion. Kept your kids alive today? Good for you! Managed to get your kids to go to bed last night? Victory! It's the little things we do that we should be celebrating.
So when you get a week worth of meals planned out for your busy family, you deserve a medal! You are one step closer to getting your family fed this week! And if you're a mom, a working mom, a mom of multiples, a single mom, a married mom, then you know how relieving it feels to have a plan in place for anything...but especially for meals. Kids seem to contract a tapeworm during the Summer. They cannot stop eating. Once they are fed, an hour later they are hungry again. And God help you if you run out of their favorite snack! So, let's try and tackle this one today problem, shall we?
I always like to have a plan for food. I am a working mom and I need to be able to have stuff that's fast and easy for both the kids, my husband and myself. My biggest challenges are deciding what's for dinner every night and what I'm going to bring for lunch everyday. Having a meal plan helps you brainstorm ideas and get everything you need to actually cook these meals for the week.
I like to look through my fridge, freezer and pantry first to see what I already have and what I need to use. I also like to see what I'm running low on or what I am completely out of so I can shop for everything at the same time. (TIP: It helps to have a magnetic list on the fridge for convenience for that last part. More on that in a separate blog.) I also enjoy couponing, so if there are sales I researched or know about and couples to help with the cost, you bet your butt I use them.
After that, I check my planner (also, another blog coming up) and see when I'll be working, when my husband and kids have stuff going on and if we have any plans that will factor into meal prep and/or cooking. Once all of that is determined, I have a spreadsheet already laid out for me in my "pages" program on my Mac. Which is amazing because any shortcuts I can take, I take.
From there I will either go full-on meal planning (where I list every vegetable we will have with dinner, the drinks we will have in the pantry and the snacks we will have during the day) or I will just do a a quick guideline (which I basically focus on just the three basic meals and some other food we need to use before they go bad). Either way you do it, just having a plan at all is a huge help!
From that point on, I make my shopping list. This will consist of groceries as well as household items because the more I get done in one trip, the easier life is for everyone. (Once again that magnetic shopping list comes in handy).
If you're a rockstar and really want to blow my socks off, from here you will pick a day and prep your meals for the week! I honestly do not have that type of time to spare, but I truly admire those of you who do. But any meal planning is a simple get-a-head way of organizing your life, especially for the Fall.
If needed you can always do what makes your life easier. You can casually jot things down, you can make a Pinterest Board, you can even try all of the food delivery services from either your local grocery store or from online sites such as Blue Apron. Anything that makes your life easier, Mom, shouldn't be overlooked. Take advantage of these time saving hacks while you can!
Below is a sample of my meal plan. I find that having bright colors gives me the motivation I need to tackle this task and gives me something pretty to look at at the grocery store. :) Enjoy and don't forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook @mommyisthenewblack
Until next time...
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