Every Sunday afternoon, I sit down and pre-plan my week. I make a list of things that need to be done, errands, etc. and also plan our meals which results in a grocery list at the same time! It really doesn’t take long and although sometimes I dread it in the beginning of the week, every weekday I’m SO thankful it is done. The week goes so much smoother when I have a plan for each day and I know what I’m doing for dinner each night before 4:30pm comes and I need to start prepping the meal. Grocery shopping happens whenever I’m able to do it during the week. I have never had a set day, I just like having the grocery list done on Sunday so it’s ready whenever I get to the grocery store that week. I know everything I will need for dinners is on my list that I’m planning on having in the next week.
I wanted to give you some ideas of meals that are easy and that our family enjoys. There are also a few easy tips on how to pre-prep food for the week, so it really doesn’t take long to make dinners each night. We rarely eat out because 1) I can’t deal with how expensive it is to eat out when I can make the same thing for so much cheaper at home and 2) I feel healthier knowing what is going into our meals, limiting sodium, etc. Every once in awhile we will go out to eat to get something like Chicken Parmesan from our favorite local restaurant that’s absolutely amazzzzing! Otherwise, we usually eat meals at home and might go get a special treat like ice cream or a donut for the kids instead of a full meal.
Meal Planning:
When planning meals for the week, I try to have a variety of recipes. Sometimes I like to incorporate a couple of new recipes, but I also like to have a couple of our typical meals so it’s not a full week of just new! It’s nice to have a simple meal or two in there for those really busy nights, too! Meal planning for the week does not mean you can’t stray from what is on that menu board. There are days I just don’t feel like making what I have on that day, so may switch it up and that’s ok! Sometimes, a fun “breakfast for dinner” night is perfect (and always a crowd pleaser!). For me, meal planning is just a way to know that there’s a plan in place, especially on those mornings when you’re frazzled trying to get yourself and the kids ready and out the door. You at least have taken something out of the freezer with a dinner plan in mind for that night. Meal planning is also great for making sure you have all the ingredients you need without having to run to the store on your way home from work. Who needs one more stop after a long day!! And, it’s saving you money, because you have shopped those ingredients when they’re on sale, rather than at the last minute!
Any meal that is freezable or crockpot friendly is a double win here! I love being able to cook double the amount and have two dinners ready, one for that night and one to freeze for another busy night!
Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas:
- Pasta Fagioli recipe from Iowa Girl Eats. I freeze the soup without the noodles and then just cook noodles when you’re ready to eat!
- Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes from Domestically Creative.
- Teriyaki Chicken from Crunchy Creamy Sweet. I make it even easier and pre-cook the rice earlier in the week and then buy a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies from Walmart and toss it in with the chicken after it’s cooked through!
- White Chicken Chili from Averie Cooks. Freezable!!
- Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Crockpot Chicken from Genius Kitchen. Freezable!
Prepping food for the week:
In addition to meal planning our dinners, here are some tips on how I pre-prep food for the week. By spending a little extra time prepping food, it’s creating less work during the week, providing us with healthy options, and also helping us stick to our budget!!
Breakfast foods– We do a lot of simple breakfasts (oatmeal, cereal, eggs, and these oatmeal pancakes with yogurt) for the kids. However, I like to switch things up sometimes and make a baked oatmeal dish or breakfast casserole on the weekend and then we can just slice and warm it up through the week. This is especially helpful for my husband, who otherwise will skip breakfast. I always tell him “It’s the most important meal of the day!” I personally could never skip breakfast (pretty much the first thing I think about when I wake up! haha) and I love starting the day with a filling, hearty and healthy breakfast! We like this easy breakfast casserole, especially on weekends!
Make snacks– I usually choose a variety of the following to make: hard boil eggs, granola bars/muffins, protein balls, trail mix. So easy to do each one of these and then there are healthier options to grab when you’re feeling hungry.
Cut fruits/vegetables– My boys eat strawberries with yogurt almost every day. So when I buy a carton of strawberries, I wash and cut them and then they’re ready to just throw on a top of a bowl of yogurt. If we have salad planned for dinners a couple days during the week, I wash and cut all the vegetables so the salad is ready to go. The before dinner hour is always the most difficult here with kids…anyone else?! My kids turn into HANGRY monsters and my one year old always wants to be held exactly when I start prepping dinner, so any way to make cooking dinner easier, is wonderful! This is where it really helps having a meal plan ready to go, because you know what fresh produce you are using and are able to wash and cut beforehand instead of doing it every night of the week! Other ideas: cut peppers/onions for chicken fajitas or to go on top of sausages, raw vegetables for snacks, wash and cut fruit for a fruit salad.
Marinate meat– This I usually do with chicken for our family because that’s what we eat most of. When I buy a big pack of chicken, I will pre-cut each breast into slices, strips, and chunks. Then you can marinate the meat BEFORE putting it in the freezer in individual bags and it’s DONE when you take it out the day you are ready to use it for dinner. I make sure to label what it’s marinated in and whether they’re breasts, strips, or chunks. I cut the chicken into strips so they’re ready to bread for chicken strips and chunks of chicken we use for Asian stir-fry or sesame/sweet and sour chicken! DELICIOUS! You can use the marinated meat to grill, put on top of salads, or in wraps! Every time we have chicken that’s been marinated pre-freezer, my husband RAVES about how well done it is, and I haven’t done anything special to it. I think it’s just the extra time it has to marinade both while freezing and then unfreezing. So easy!
Cook rice- Rice is such a great budget-friendly and versatile side dish. I always get bored with sides so I try to find different ways to use the same thing as much as possible. You can buy a huge bag of white/brown rice for so cheap, but sometimes the downside is that the rice takes 45 minutes to cook (who has time for that?). So, I pre-cook a large batch of rice and plan 2-3 meals that I could use it for during the week then it’s ready to just be warmed up! We use rice as a side dish with tacos, throw it in wraps with meat for burritos, add salsa for a quick spanish rice dish, steam broccoli and add a cheese/milk mixture for broccoli and cheesy rice, and I recently found a great chicken and rice soup where leftover rice is used! So many ways to use it! If I use rice a few days one week, then we might skip rice the next week just so we don’t get bored with it.
Meal planning and prepping really does help make our week seem so much less stressful. I also find that when healthy options are already made and available, I’m much more willing to choose those rather than if I have to put something together during the day when I’m already trying to feed two hungry little boys!! I hope you’ve found some helpful tips to start meal planning and prepping.. Happy planning!
XO, Steph
Life with a Latte 