Do you find yourself debating a drive-thru run after work and activities on busy evenings? If you answered yes, you are not alone! As a mom of two young kids, I feel like I spend quite a bit of time during the week as the family’s taxi driver. Occasionally we pull into a quick restaurant for a convenient meal after activities, but I have really tried to prioritize meal planning at home. Cooking at home is more cost effective for my family and ensures that my kids are eating well balanced meals.
It’s not always easy to plan for family meals, especially when you are short on time and have selective eaters! Below are a few ways that I handle meal planning at home with a kindergartner and a preschooler.
- Start small! I find that taking it one week at a time makes it easier for me. I also only plan meals for dinner. Breakfast options tend to stay the same throughout the week (cereal, yogurt, smoothies, eggs) and lunch is often leftovers or sandwiches.
- Use MyPlate as a guide. My kids are at the perfect age to understand the different food groups. This is helpful when I ask for their input on what items to buy when it comes to fruits and vegetables for the week. They also can create a well-balanced plate when we sit down for mealtime with some guidance. The Spend Smart. Eat Smart. webpage has a kids tab with great resources to help the little ones in your life become familiar with MyPlate.
- Get everyone involved. When I first started meal planning, I didn’t ask for a lot of input from my family and found that mealtime would become a fight trying to get my kids to eat. The more input I get from my husband and kids on what meals they would like for the week, the easier it is to get them to eat it! This even goes for the actual preparation of the food, too. Check out this previous blog that shares helpful tips on how I cook with my kids at home.
- Utilize your slow cooker. I try to plan at least 1 meal a week that can be placed into our slow cooker in the morning. This is especially helpful on the evenings I know I won’t have enough time to cook a full meal after walking in the door. Try one of these One Pot & Slow Cooker recipes when you are short on time!
Even with meal planning, the occasional need to pull into a drive-thru comes up, and that’s OK! I at least know that for the remainder of that week, I have a plan in place to get back on track.
What tips or tricks do you have to meal plan at home?
