Lately our schedules have been pretty jammed packed. I strongly dislike using the word “busy” to describe life because to me it sounds whiny. I mean we all have things to do that keeps us going, and sometimes we are simply more booked than usual.
We are both working full time, E is taking night classes, and I am working at night too so this has somewhat interfered with the usual schedule–especially meal time. Some days we have to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks packed before leaving for work in the morning. This has been an adjustment for us..and meal planning has become a good friend of mine!
On the weekend I have been gathering recipes, detailing our meals out to include meals-on-the-go and quick weeknight dinners. I love making my grocery list from recipes and our weekly menu. I actually have noticed we save money this way–no impulse extras get thrown in the shopping cart.
Here’s what was on the menu:
Greek Bowtie Pasta Salad
Southwestern Wraps
Garden Veggie Spaghetti
Fruited Chicken Salad
I spent 1 1/2 hours on Sunday including prep time and clean up for a week’s worth of meals. The best part was we didn’t have to scurry around at 7:30pm trying to figure out what’s for dinner and then end up eating out= more time, money, and healthy eating!
Does meal planning work for you? How do you manage your on-the-go lifestyle?
Hi I’m Kristina LaRue, millennial mom of two active and hungry boys, which makes me an around the clock milkmaid and cheerio picker upper. Here on Love & Zest, I share (mostly) healthy recipes to fuel the whole family and real life stories of modern motherhood.
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@Catherine ahh, that is a luxury! good for you! @carolina thanks! prepping produce is a time saver and it allows for the grab and go moments too.
What a cute blog, I love it! Glad I found another Orlando blogger, always great to see 🙂 Though I don’t really plan my meals (I’m an impulse eater) I do prep all my produce on Sundays after I get it. Makes cooking SO much easier!
I used to work very long hours (and had a long commute) during the week, and did most of my prep on the weekends, too, when I was cooking for two people. Like you, I found this a lifesaver!
Lately, it’s just been me, and I get off work at 3:00 now, so there’s plenty of time to make dinner. 🙂 While I’m glad I have the skills I developed for pre-planning and pre-prepping, I love relaxing in my kitchen when I get home from work now! (The luxury!)
I bet! Eric made the comment the other day, how are we going to do it with kids?! It’s hard enough to keep up each other.
Life during the week goes SO much better when I prep on the weekends… sadly, sometimes I can’t squeeze out the time for that either. Life with kids is a whole different ballgame!