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I love to feed these people yummy healthy food. However, in the past the idea of meal planning and prepping really gave me anxiety! (It still does a little bit).
If you have been following along this past month, you have noticed that I have been pretty consistent keeping food stocked in my house the last few weeks (big accomplishment for this girl)!
What’s changed??
Well, I have fallen into a bit of a rhythm, these last few weeks. The key has been planning ahead. Thinking about the next week before this week is over. I’ll share my basic schedule and maybe it will help you too!
Allison’s Meal Planning Rhythm:
- Wednesday: Plan out next week’s menu (or save yourself time and use mine). I like to plan out 5 dinners and then have 2-3 breakfast, lunch and snack options on hand. I don’t plan out EVERY single meal because that overwhelms me!
- Wednesday or Thursday: Make a grocery list and order groceries online for curbside pick-up on Friday. This has been an absolute game changer! If you have a curbside pick-up in your area, it is a must try! It helps me better stay within my budget because you can see the amount being added up while you shop online. PLUS it saves so much time! Often times, my husband pick’s them up on his way home from work and I never have to leave my house! Awesome!
- Friday: Pick up groceries (if my husband can not) OR grocery shop (if curbside pick-up is unavailable). Sometimes I like to shop at Aldi which does not offer curbside pick up. So if I do grocery shop the old-fashioned way, that will take place on Friday.
- Saturday: Meal prep!! On Saturday mornings I set aside a few hours in the morning to get all my meal prep done for the week. This helps us to start the week off with a plan in place. I no longer have those Monday mornings where I have nothing to feed the kids for breakfast and nothing to pack in my husband’s lunch. It’s all prepared ahead of time and it feels so so good!
This might sound like a lot, but once you get in the rhythm it will be second nature. I promise. If I can do it, you can do it. I am not a natural in the kitchen…
So you might be wondering what do I prep ahead of time?? Do I prep every single meal? Do I only cut up produce? Well I generally prep the following types of items…
Items to Prep Ahead
No I do not prep EVERY single meal. That would be craziness and quite frankly, the food wouldn’t really last all week. Some food is just better prepared fresh. I try to focus on prepping the items that can withstand being prepped ahead AND the ones that will save me the most time in the kitchen. I do not like to be in the kitchen for extended periods of time every single day! Once a week is plenty for this girl…
- Proteins
- Ground Beef: I will brown burger if we plan to have a meal that calls for it (Zucchini Boats, Tacos, etc.)
- Chicken Breast: I bake and chop a few up for the week to put on top of my husband’s salads that he takes to work every day.
- Hardboiled Eggs: I make about 10-12 a week so that my husband has enough to take 2 a day to work (plus a couple extra for my son). I prefer warm scrambled eggs, so I don’t prepare any hard boiled eggs for me.
- Meatballs: These are great to prepare ahead one of two ways. Sometimes I will cook them and package them in the fridge to snack on throughout the week. Another option is making the meatballs, but leaving them raw and freezing them instead. Then the day you plan to have meatballs, simply pull them out of the freezer and bake!
- Produce
- Veggies: I always, always, always chop up veggies to be snacked on throughout the week, otherwise they sit in our fridge and don’t get eaten. Some of the types of veggies that I do cut up are bell peppers, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and broccoli. Certain veggies don’t do well cut ahead of time including zucchini, avocado, and tomatoes. So I leave those whole until we are ready to eat them.
- Fruit: Cut up any melon. Wash and de-stem grapes. Have a well-stocked produce drawer filled with whole fruits like apples and oranges. Plus keep bananas on hand for smoothies.
Need help getting kids to eat veggies? Make a veggie tray for the week of their favorite veggies (even if it is only one kind). Include their favorite dipping item in the middle like hummus or ranch. Then create a low-pressure eating environment by pulling it out at each meal. Allow your child to choose the veggies he/she wants to eat. They feel a sense of ownership and independence when we allow them to choose what they want to eat rather than forcing them to eat what is on the plate! Works great for my picky eater!
- Breakfast Items
- Quiche: In the morning I am tired. I do not like to make full meals in the morning. So easy to grab items are a must! Check out my quiche recipes under my Instagram Story Highlight called Meal Prep.
- Muffins: Another staple in our home. These tend to be very sugary so be careful with the recipe you choose. I recently made some that taste like the Little Debbie Mini Muffins (and they are grain free and
sugar free ). This Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin is another great recipe that we love.
- Lunch Items
- Soup: It’s my jam! There are tons of great healthy recipes out there and it keeps well in the fridge all week long. Again, check out my Instagram Story Highlight called Meal Prep for some recipe ideas. This Black Bean Sausage Soup recipe is so easy and delicious too!
- DIY Lunchables: Kids love these and they are so much healthier and less expensive than the ones at the store! My kids like pizza style, so I simply add in their favorite organic round crackers, organic shredded mozzarella cheese, organic tomato sauce
and uncured pepperoni. I use a sectioned food storage container and toss them in the fridge (actually my daughter makes these for me). It is so nice to have them ready for a quick lunch throughout the week! Check my daughter in action making these over on my Instagram Story Highlight called Meal Prep. - Hubby’s Lunches: I love my husband to be able to grab his lunch and walk out the door in the morning (he likes it too), but I HATE making lunches in the morning… I am slow in the morning. So making his lunches and snacks ahead is a must. I typically make a salad in a sectioned container. I also add in chopped veggies to snack on, hardboiled eggs and some sort of nut like (
macademia or almonds).
So that is about the gist of my meal planning routine. It varies slightly from week to week depending on our schedule and what we are eating. You can always see me in action on the weekend via Instagram or Facebook Stories so be sure to tune in! Also, I typically do at least one or two live recipes on both platforms so be sure to follow me in one or both places so you can see me (and my family… they help too) in action this weekend!
What’s on our table this week???
I made it easy for you, you can download our full meal plan right here PLUS our top 3 featured recipes that we are making this week!
Kids are getting tired of the same old, same old so we are trying a couple new things this week:
PB & J Yogurt Parfait
Pizza-wich
My kids are on a huge pizza kick lately, so I have been trying to come up with creative options that taste like pizza but are a touch healthier! The key to keeping this recipe healthier is using a quality organic sprouted wheat bread like this one. Click the button above to download the full recipe!
Jumbo Burger Salad
Last but not least one of my favorite recipes of all time. This gives me the satisfaction of a juicy burger without the guilt and bloating that the bun always leaves! It is so simple it almost shouldn’t even count as a recipe! I love easy! Click the button above to download the full recipe!
That’s all for this week! Any questions or comments drop them below! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook for live meal prepping PLUS Download our Full Meal Plan and Top 3 Featured Recipes Here!
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