I get questions all the time about how do I balance work and family. The truth is that it's hard anyway you slice it but doable. It's been a journey for me and I will say that there's a lot of trial and error on my part. The biggest practice that I live by is planning. I always felt like I could wing it most of the time but when I became a working mom that traveled, that was when I knew planning was going to be my best friend.
Meal planning is the one item that has reduced my stress the most. I do this on the weekend and it takes me about 15 mins because I have just gotten really efficient and then I make my list and go to the grocery store to fill in what's needed. I buy big items like meat, frozen items and can goods maybe once a month but I buy all the perishables weekly to keep from wasting food.
So, this is not about meal planning everything you eat, This about making some small adjustments that might make a difference in your meals through the week. This works really well when the activities take over and family dinners all together only happen about once or twice a week. I get it. I have two girls that played lacrosse and we were always going to something. This is why I do these simple things that really help us eat at home and not take out.
So, here's what I do if we have a really busy week ahead and meals are going to be difficult.
- I grill chicken breasts (maybe thighs too) and cut it up and add to an airtight container.
- I precook 6 baked potatoes and just leave them in the tinfoil in the frig.
- I premake quesadillas (cheese and cheese/chicken). I cut them in triangles and put them in a ziplock bag for the frig.
- I was and cut up crisp lettuce and put this in an airtight container.
- I also boil 3 to 4 eggs and leave them in the shell till read to eat.
By having these items ready to go in the refrigerator, I can have a meal together pretty fast or we can make our own meal if needed when we are ready to eat. All that is needed is a little heating up. The baked potatoes can get dressed with all the fixings including chicken. The quesadillas can get warmed and eaten on the go if needed. The boiled eggs are great added to a salad or on their own. You get the picture.
I know what you are thinking.....what about the left overs? isn't that wasteful?
We rarely have anything left by Thursday and if we do, I make a meal using what is left. Keep in mind that I work from home when I am not traveling and my kids are always hungry after lacrosse. So, this food is stuff they love and will eat up before the end of the week.
Also, pick things your family really likes and mix it up from time to time. I sometimes make grilled cheese sandwiches and cup them in half rather than quesadillas. My kids rather have quesadillas as they are easy to warm up and take on the go.
I have also created raw veggie containers with ranch or peanut butter but that never gets eaten like the other items.
Here's a few other options my family likes:
- Taco meet (ground beef or chicken)
- Pinwheels
- buritos
- veggie, cheese and dried meet (or nuts) box
The best way to make things that your family will eat is to ask them if they would like to have it ready in the frig and create the list of items with them.
Maybe try one or two items and see how it goes. You learn and then adjust and try again.
Once you get that list of 5-6 things they eat on repeat, then it's much easier to execute.
Happy Meal Prepping!!