It’s no secret that the last few months of the year are busy. Back to school, fall sports, holiday prepping, it’s so much. My family also has a bunch of birthdays, and it’s the busiest time of year for my work. Every year, I’m working extra hours, and the urge to order out creeps in, and my wallet feels it.
To combat the convenience of takeout, here are some tips for meal prepping and planning to save your sanity:
Starting with the obvious: weekly meal plan.
Before grocery shopping, look at the week ahead. On nights you have plans, select easier meals. Sometimes that’s pulled chicken in the crock pot or sandwiches for the family to eat at the soccer field. I appreciate the break from the oven, and we’re not tempted to order something on the way home. Having permission to do something simple helps ease my mental load and saves my effort for another night. I plan on times for us to order out. That planned takeout or dining out night helps ensure I stick to my meal plan on the other nights of the week. We don’t dine out or do takeout every week, but this helps us budget better and eat what we have at home.
Grocery lists: keep it simple.
Buy the same staple ingredients and then try a few new recipes using those staples every week. Whether you make the chicken differently or try using the veggies in a new way, that helps keep it fresh and not eat the same old thing night after night. We eat a lot of chicken. But I also make sure we’re having other proteins in the week. This helps get us excited for the “special” meals mixed in the week.
I take a few hours and meal prep for the weekend ahead.
My husband makes his lunches, I make sandwich bread, muffins (or whatever else is on the plan), and wash and chop veggies. Having the veggies prepped makes weeknights so much easier. Chopping a million veggies is annoying, but effective when time is limited. I also use this time to plan out what we’re having and marinate meat if needed.
Tracking your meals and waste
Every night, I write down what I actually made. I look back at what we had and add that to the coming weeks’ plan, or not, if we didn’t like it. Additionally, I keep a note of all the food we waste and the cost of what we’re throwing out. Since I’ve been keeping track, it helps cut down our waste since we buy less, but also helps us realize what we do or don’t like. It’s oddly satisfying to use up an entire container or use the last of something, and it makes me feel extra scrappy in the kitchen.
Keep your freezer stocked
If you are making one recipe and have enough, just go ahead and make two. Your kitchen is already dirty, so cook twice and clean once. Keep extras in the freezer, and your future self will thank you. I make sure we have frozen pizzas or appetizers on hand for quick meals or when a meal needs a little something. I only have our kitchen fridge and freezer, so I’m not working with a lot of space. Having a few meal options in the freezer helps tide us over in a pinch and has been so helpful.
How do you prep and plan meals for your family? We would love to hear what works for your family!
