Meal planning might be something you have tried when you are a busy mom. With two very active kiddos this family falls into the busy category and we needed to make some changes to the way we meal planned to make it actually work.
When you are a busy mom and trying to make food at home there are a few things that seem to happen. Here are some of those things:
- Make every part of the meal in the moment.
- Cut things up as as needed them.
- Grabbed a snacks as you go out the door.
- Spur of the moment go out to eat.
With kids having activities 5-6 nights out of the week those meal prep tactics just don’t work as well. Especially when you need healthy and fast for busy nights, so recipes might have to change a bit and so does your meal planning strategy.
Busy Mom Meal Planning Changes to Make
When you are a busy mom meal planning these are changes to make:
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- Freezer meals – make a few of them and stash in the freezer. These are meals that can easily be thrown in the crock pot, casseroles that can easily be baked from frozen, or dishes that can be thawed and sauteed quickly. This doesn’t have to be extra prep, if you are planning on making a crock pot meal for dinner, get ingredients for a second recipe and make it in a baggie to throw in the freezer.
- Pack all snacks a head of time for easy, healthy, grab and go options. Buy in bulk so packaging them into single serving sizes in reusable bags like these, individual snack containers like these, or for the family snack pack this awesome container can be quick and easy. This can be done on Sunday nights so anyone can grab them and go. This is also a great time to have the kids help in the kitchen!
- Meal prep breakfasts – this saves so much time in the morning! Check out my recipes for Overnight Oats and Egg Bowls to get some ideas of how to quickly meal prep for breakfast. These recipes last for four days in the fridge, so you can easily prep them all at once and do it again when they run out later in the week.
- Chop veggies and put them in clear containers so you can just measure them for the recipe needed. This also means they are prepped and ready for a busy mom salad whenenever you need them. Just top a bed of lettuce with a handful of them and take whatever protein is in the fridge and put on top.
- Use a meal planner – check out my 6 month meal planner here, this is a journal style meal plan notebook that you can use to write down your meal prep ideas for the week. You will have everything in one place including your grocery lists.
- Double recipes so that you have two meals in one. When you are a busy mom, making the meal that you are making for supper (especially soups or casseroles) you can make a double batch and freeze half of it! This makes for the quickest meal prep the next time you need something!
- Make foods that can be reused in a new way, roast one day is now Philly cheesesteak tomorrow. There are so many proteins that can be used this way, make chicken with classic flavors of salt, pepper, and garlic so you can divide it in half and add new seasonings for the next day.
- Sheet pans – need I say more? Busy moms know that these are a meal planning hack. If you want a no hassle no dishes meal this is what you need to do. Take a protein and any vegetables you have in the fridge, cover in olive oil, seasonings and then roast. You now have a delicious meal in minutes that is healthy and balanced.
- Pick one day (Sunday for us) to dedicate an hour or so to meal prep for the week, this is when you will plan, cut veggies up, and make breakfasts like egg bowls for the first few days of the week.
And one of my most important tips:
- Always have things on hand for tacos – and other quick, healthy, simple meals! Pick meals you know your family loves and will eat no matter what day of the week it is. Tacos, pita pizzas, and the Healthier Chicken and Noodles are recipes we always have on hand because everyone here loves them and we know it will be a quick healthy option any day of the week.
Don’t forget, I love making meal plans for you and would love to help you make cooking at home easier! Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok (@plannedthenprepped), save this blog page, or sign up for the monthly meal plans for the easiest meal planning of your life!