7 days in a week. 5 of which include work on varying levels, more if you save laundry for the weekend, right? Preparing meals for the family is no simple task and no one likes it worse having to prepare multiple meals for one family on a single night than the one having to do the work. 

First, decide on what your goal for meal planning is. More variety? getting your kids to eat more veggies probably on every mom’s list), eating healthier, or just maybe picking decent leads the whole family will eat. 

The fun part! Start picking your meals! Play on Pinterest, search through different bloggers, take recipes you already love and adjust them to make them healthier! Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, that’s just exhausting. 

Decide how many days each week you want to cook. 

Plan ahead for the nights you may be busy or working late to have a crockpot, instapot, or one-pot meal. 

Shopping for your ingredients has never been easier. I don’t know about y’all but I utilize Alexa for my shopping list that I plan to acquire in the store, so I don’t forget anything. She keeps me organized! Another tool I love is the Kroger app or Instacart. Throughout the week ill slowly add to the list and then have it delivered right to my door!

If your kids are human they will without a doubt not want something you make, or make a fuss, that they don’t like it or are sick of eating it. This is Monville. However, don’t let this deter you or drop your spirits. They’re kids, complaining what you cook is what they do. Every time I make spaghetti squash, my kids say ‘eww, I don’t like this.’ I have to remind them, they said that last time and then they loved it. Previously posted a video of my son saying “mom this is so good, we should have this every night.” Hang in there mama!

Organize your mind and meals with a calendar. Many moms I know choose to keep weekly or monthly. They keep it as a decorative chalk or chalk pencil or a dry erase that hides on the fridge. I have the former, but I only set the recipe goals on weeks I know will be extra stressful. 

 

TIP TIP: While you’re waiting for your meal to finish cooking, prepare quick-grab items that serve as meal prep. Baking some sweet potato, making a chicken salad, putting together some side salad ingredients. This is an easy way to have food already prepared to help avoid, quick grab snacking, or reaching for the wrong items.