{"id":6674,"date":"2022-09-27T10:48:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T10:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/?p=6674"},"modified":"2022-09-29T09:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T09:00:54","slug":"easy-meal-planning-for-busy-moms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/everything-else\/easy-meal-planning-for-busy-moms\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Meal Planning for Busy Moms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharing some tips for easy meal planning for the busy moms out there + a template you can use.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi friends! How\u2019s the day going so far? I hope you\u2019re having a good morning! I\u2019m getting things ready for Fit Team (join us here<\/a> and get your new workouts on the 28th!) and have a podcast interview later today. Thank you so much for letting me know that you enjoy the old school more conversational type blog posts. I will definitely add them more frequently into the content rotation.<\/p>\n

For today post, I wanted to chat a bit about meal planning because it is SAVIN.OUR.BACON right now. (Time-wise and money-wise!) We are in the thick of evening activities and events, and if I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re going to eat, it leads to random hodge lodge meals or takeout. It\u2019s absolutely worth sitting down each week to plan our meals (at least our dinners) and making a list for one big grocery stop.<\/p>\n

Taking some time to meal plan each week takes the guesswork and last-minute dinner stress out of the equation, and is a great way to save time, money and effort. Planning, preparing, and cooking healthy meals takes time, and meal planning in advance can help us make healthy meals for the family on a more consistent basis. It also maximizes trips to the grocery story and makes mom life a bit easier overall! I figured it was time I dedicated a post on practical meal planning for my busy mom friends out there.<\/p>\n

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Easy Meal Planning For Busy Moms<\/h2>\n

Setting aside time to make a weekly meal plan<\/h4>\n

Set aside 30 minutes or so each weekend to create your plan for the week. For us, dinners are the most important, but I also have an idea of what I\u2019m going to pack in the girls\u2019 lunches and make for breakfasts. Plan out as many meals as you\u2019d like for the week, emphasizing dinner and weekly staples.<\/p>\n

Create a master list<\/h4>\n

After you\u2019ve planned out your meals, make a master grocery list including all of the ingredients. Take inventory of your pantry and fridge to avoid buying duplicates, unless you like having backups on hand.<\/p>\n

Keep track of meals that work<\/h4>\n

If you find a meal that\u2019s a home run for the family, hold it in your heart FOREVER. Until you make it again and they don\u2019t like it the next time? (Kids can be a mystery sometimes, I tell ya.) I keep a running cheatsheet in my phone of meals the kids have really loved and will come back to them. We also have some staple dishes (like the ones in this post<\/a>) that I know will always be a hit.<\/p>\n

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Asking help from family members<\/h4>\n

I like to ask the kids if there\u2019s anything they\u2019d like to have the following week and use their suggestions when I craft my list. I\u2019ll also put a few cookbooks on the table for them to choose recipes that look good to them. Sometimes they surprise me with their selections and I love that helps to shake things up and prevent dinner ruts.<\/p>\n

Create meal plans from items you have on hand<\/h4>\n

Before I start our meal plan for the week, I\u2019ll think about any items I have on hand that I\u2019d like to use. For example, we might have meat from ButcherBox<\/a> or veggies from the garden that I want to use. I\u2019ll search for recipes from my fave sources using these ingredients.<\/p>\n

Creating themes on some days<\/h4>\n

This is huge if you have a schedule with extra-curricular and after-school activities that end up being around dinnertime. On soccer nights, I\u2019ll specifically plan Instant Pot or slow cooker meals that can be ready quickly or already waiting for us. If we\u2019re going to be home later that evening, I\u2019ll choose meals that I can prep earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Bulk cooking<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m a huge fan of making anything in bulk or doubling recipes, so we\u2019re able to freeze or use leftovers later. I prefer to cook certain things only once per week, so if I know we\u2019re having rice two times, I\u2019ll make a large batch and save half of it. I\u2019m also a huge fan of eating dinner leftovers for breakfast or lunch the following day, so it makes planning my lunches a little easier.<\/p>\n

Order staples and faves online<\/h4>\n

This really streamlines the meal planning process for us, because usually I have meat and pantry essentials on hand. I order almost all of our meat from ButcherBox<\/a> and I get most of our pantry staples from Thrive Market<\/a>. (<\u2014 both of those links get you a discount if you decide to try it out! Thrive is 40% off your first order and ButcherBox is currently 30% off + free chicken for a year.)<\/p>\n

This way, I only have to get fresh ingredients at the store, eggs, and dairy. Because Thrive Market and ButcherBox<\/a> are significantly less expensive than grocery stores\u2019 current prices, we save a lot of money by doing it this way. I also like shopping at Costco for any of our favorite brands they carry (like Rao\u2019s pasta sauce, salad kids, organic veggies and berries, salsa, avocado oil, syrup, and almond butter).<\/p>\n

Prep protein or anything you can in advance<\/h4>\n

I like to wash fresh fruit and veggies, chop anything I can for dinners and easy snacking, and prep a couple of protein staples. I\u2019ll usually boil eggs and smoke chicken for the week. Anything you can do you set yourself up for advance: do it. I also like to mention that if you\u2019re able to splurge on more convenience items that will make your life easier (like chicken that is already cooked and cut into pieces), do what you need to do to set yourself up for success.<\/p>\n

Use a meal planning template<\/h4>\n

This helps a ton if you\u2019re going to plan out meals for the week! Simply print, add in your meals, and write out your grocery list on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

Free Weekly Meal Plan For Busy Moms<\/h3>\n

Here is a free weekly template I created for meal planning. If you need more help, enter your email address here and I\u2019ll send you a free copy of meal prep blueprint! It has my exact strategy for meal planning, along with some new recipes.<\/p>\n