How I Save Time: Meal Planning & Groceries

 

 

Ask a mom what time of the day is most stressful for her and she’ll probably tell you, hands down, that it’s dinner time.  Those last hours before bedtime can feel like an eternity and the thought of cooking a decent meal with a hungry, overtired toddler pulling on a leg of your sweatpants is just way too much.  It’s the time when you need your spouse’s help the most. I gotta admit I’ve stood staring at the clock on the microwave, trying to will it to say 5:00 because that’s the glorious time when my husband gets home from work.  It’s amazing how the hum of a garage door opening can sound oh-so-sweet.  

Dinner time doesn’t always have to be this way.  The nights when I’m well-prepared give me the head space to entertain Gemma while anticipating Matt’s arrival home.  Especially now that I am working mornings, preparation is crucial; Gemma really needs to nap by the time we get home from school which makes a mid-afternoon run to the grocery store out of the question.  So how do I put a healthy, delicious meal on the table before 8:00 pm?

The first thing I do is avoid the grocery store as much as possible (I love to shop, just not for food).  In addition to meal planning (which I’ll address in a minute) I make a thorough list throughout the week of anything we are out of, immediately when I notice we’ve run out of it. I use this cute checklist on my fridge to keep track. 

That way I only go to the grocery store, at most, once a week.  And one of the best decisions I’ve made recently is ordering my produce through the Organic Box.  Once G started eating solids I became determined to avoid feeding her the non-organic “dirty dozen” fruits and veggies.  But, since we live in a smallish suburb of Edmonton, decent organic produce is tough to find.  In fact, every time I drive home from the grocery store I consider throwing a for-sale sign on my home and moving into the city.  Let’s just say that the lack of choice/availability makes me a tad cranky.  Now that I order from the Organic Box I’m much happier, which is good because we really do love our town J. On Tuesday nights I order my groceries online, while I’m wearing my sweats and drinking my evening tea. On Fridays a nice delivery guy brings my organic produce to my door, and guess what, I’m wearing my sweats and drinking tea.  Not a bad way to grocery shop I’d say.  But, the Organic Box is only really a time and money savings if you organized enough to prepare/eat your produce before it spoils, which makes meal planning even more important in my world.

Gemma helping Mommy unload the Organic Box

OK, so now on to meal planning.  The way I see it is that meal planning is a no brainer -- it saves you time and money.   Instead of wracking your brain for what to serve for dinner, and then taking the time to go to the grocery store to pick up what you need, meal planning ensures you have it in your kitchen, when you need it.  And it also helps to limit those expensive, impulsive dinnertime decisions (I don’t feel like cooking, let’s just order Chinese food).

Here are some key things to remember when meal planning:

Keep it simple – Just plan 2-3 meals a week but make LOTS of whatever you’re cooking.  And make sure that no more than one of those meals involves a recipe that you are unfamiliar with.  Stick with old favourites that you always seem to stock the supplies for and you can make without thinking.  For us that includes: A variety of recipes from the LooneySpoons cookbook (some favourites include: Wowie Maui Chicken, Better Butter Chicken, Unrolled Cabbage Rolls) Quinoa and Black Bean Quesadillas, Pork Fajitas, Buffalo Chicken Chilli, Kale & Eggs (Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook: It’s All Good). By cooking just a few favourite meals you’ll have lots of leftovers for the rest of the week. On those other nights when you don’t have a specific meal planned and aren’t eating leftovers, fill in the blanks with simple, no-recipe meals like grilled cheese, tuna melts, hamburgers, stir frys etc.

Keep it routine: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cooking and I LOVE eating a variety of food.  But I could easily spend way too much time trying to find new recipes.  So, to make meal planning quicker, we’ve started a family tradition that Friday night is pizza night. Some Fridays I pick up pizza on the way home from work, or we grab the frozen pizzas we stocked up on at the grocery store on sale, or we do pita pizzas.  It’s always different and never fancy, but it takes the pressure off on Friday night.  And by Friday, even I, who really finds cooking enjoyable, am in no mood to cook.  Pair it with a yummy fruit salad and we don’t feel too bad about the calories J.  Another idea is breakfast for dinner on a certain night. We tend to do that on small group nights when we are in a rush to eat and get out the door.  This is also a great way to delegate cooking to other members of the family.  If your husband has a specialty (my hubby’s are egg wraps and pita pizzas – he perfected those in his single days) then he can cook that for dinner.  And depending on the age of your kids, they might participate in cooking.  You could do grilled cheese sandwiches and soup and guide your older children in making them.  When you keep meal planning somewhat routine, it really helps to minimize the time and effort involved in preparing dinner.

Keep it Frozen:  After having Gemma, I remember thinking that I would never cook again.  I figured I’d never have the time.  Fortunately, that eventually passed and I now do have time to cook, but I certainly don’t have time to cook each night.  So, whenever I do make up a family favourite recipe that freezes well, I always try to double or triple it.  Invest in a big stock pot or a couple good sized pots that you can cook these large batches in.  I use my freezer meals whenever I have no time to cook or grocery shop.  A couple weeks ago on spring break I got together with a few friends and we each made a huge batch of a family favourite meal.  It took all day to do, but we each made it home with 9 MEALS EACH.  My freezer is stocked full.  Last week when I was super busy with marks and parent-teacher interviews, I didn’t cook once all week.  We just dug in to all our great freezer meals. Another good idea is pre-prep slow cooker meals (like pulled pork or a yummy chicken thigh in sauce), freeze it in freezer bags, and then thaw and pop in the slow cooker the morning you need the meal.

Keep it handy:  Select one day of the week, for me it is usually Sunday night or Saturday afternoon during my daughter’s nap, and put together some handy breakfast items/snacks.  Here are some great ideas:

-          Egg McMuffins

-          Egg Frittata (cut into pieces – quick and easy breakfast)

-          Homemade granola bars

-          Peanut butter protein balls (I’ll post a recipe soon)

These fill up your lunch bag if you brown-bag it or can be a quick breakfast on the run!  With our busy lifestyle these quick breakfast items are a life-saver on many a morning.

I hope these meal planning ideas inspire you to get cooking without much hassle!

From one crazy busy mom to another. YDion