How I meal plan and prep

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Meal planning and prepping is something I have a love hate relationship with. My heart says “let’s do this to have more free time” but my motivation says “chicken nuggets are always easy.”

When I first started out, I was pretty intimidated. It seemed like a lot of work for nothing. Boy was I wrong! I started meal planning and prepping when I was working two jobs and attempting a go at weight watchers. The coach made it sound really easy, gave everyone a bunch of tips and shortcuts. This mama is all about time saving shortcuts or life hacks! That evening as we were eating tacos, probably, because tacos are life and my super easy go to, I decided to break the golden rule of no phones at the table and hopped to Pinterest! Ahhhh, Pinterest it is my love for many things, it actually serves as a form of Google for me now.

I soon found everything I needed: recipes for all sorts of things; including freezer meals and crockpot meals, menu plans that included all three meals and snacks and grocery shopping lists. I admire those that put those lists together! One day I will be that organized and badass, for now though, I will share with you how I meal plan and prep. It looks different for everyone because everyone’s family and schedules are different!

Meal planning and prep are both necessary because they save money and time, they also help to cut down on eating out. This is especially helpful if your a busy parent with kiddos going from soccer to ballet and toddler tumbling time, if that’s a thing? You can come home to a house smelling like a nice home cooked meal rather than a greasy bag of french fries.

Meal planning:

First: I gather my supplies, planner, note book, coupons, laptop, booze and snacks. Those last two are a joke… Sometimes.

(I use this planner and this journal in place of a notebook, in case you were wondering)

Second: make a list of the things you already have in the freezer and fridge, be sure to add the produce you have that needs to be used! This step helps cut down your grocery bill because you only buy what you need.

Third: make a menu off of what you already have. For us, we try to add at least one new meal a week. Don’t forget to make a spot for left overs. Another helpful tip is to make a menu for all three meals and snacks if you’re home a lot. The reason I do this is because if I don’t we end up with endless boxes of popcorn and these white cheddar puffs that Luke’s makes. Then use that menu to create a grocery list!

Fourth: use your coupons, in my case I use my laptop because wasting paper is whack yo.

Real talk: that’s only partially true, where we live now, we don’t get circular ads. Before I would scour those little papers that showed up every week. If you use paper coupons, please be kind and recycle or repurpose the rest! I’ve also heard that there are some pretty awesome apps out there for clipping the deals in a digital way! I’m not balls deep into this yet, so I haven’t had a chance to check them out. Moral of this tangent? Recycle or reuse your news papers please, k good talk!

Five: plan your grocery shopping day, in case you need to go to multiple stores to hit a few sales. Some people go on Saturday or Sunday to prepare for the next week. I usually go on Friday after the girls get home from school. This way we have most of the weekend free!

Meal prepping:

First: gather up everything you’ll need: food, freezer baggies, cutting boards, pots and pans, knives, bowls, tin foil, Tupperware, whatever you will need to store your meals and snacks!

Second: I like to get as much done as I  possibly can at once, with as little mess as possible. Here is the method to my madness:

• Fruits and veggies first. If blanching veggies for the freezer or for a crock pot meal, I get those going. Then chop fruits and veggies for snacks and place in baggies. This step also includes chopping things like onions, peppers and mushrooms for easy access to throw them into dishes made on the fly. Trust me. This cuts down on your cooking time during the week! Just grabbing the container with your onions, or what have you, and being able to toss them into what you’re cooking is a life saver.
• Then I move on to grating cheeses
• The meat is the last thing that I handle and prepare.

Third: assembling the freezer/crock pot meals. This means adding the right proportions, seasonings and sauces or broths as needed.

Fourth: label and store!

That’s basically all I do for meal prep and planning. Be careful to not get stuck in a meal planning rut. I always ask everyone in the house what they want for dinner. Jacob usually says he doesn’t care, Shelby says spaghetti or tacos and Emory says chicken fried steak. Again, I use Pinterest a lot for new meal ideas and new ways to prep food! If you want to know more about how I save money on groceries my other post explains it more! Eventually I will write up a list of my favorite meals to put in the freezer or throw in the crock pot, for now I hope these tips helped!

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