Healthy Happy Chaos

So here it is, the weekend again. For our family it means sports, errands and prep for the next week. BUT we always find a way to include fun. Family game night, hiking or park playing, etc. Sunday mornings we get up, have breakfast and then off we go for grocery shopping as a family and lunch. Then home to enjoy the rest of the day.

Ok, so what the heck does that have to do with meal prep? I mean, I did title this chaotic meal prep and I told you my blog is about helping you find balance, right? Ok so hear me out. Our family does most things together because it gives us more family time. Plus, when everyone is included everyone is on board when it comes to meals and the food choices we make. So when I put a serving of broccoli on their plates for dinner I typically don’t get the tantrums like I used to. Why you ask? Well when the boys help plan the meal and pre it by breaking up the broccoli heads they have this sense of ownership and actually eat it! Weird right?!?! But it works! Little knives and supervision is all it takes!

Plan the Week – Shop Once

Knowing what you are going to eat and what you need to get from store makes the grocery shopping piece so much easier. so we sit down for like 10 minutes and discuss what everyone wants to eat throughout the week from breakfast to dinner. When we were doing school lunches pre-Covid I made these cards for my oldest to work through and plan what he wanted me to put in his lunch each day.

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Then I take a few minutes and write it out on our white board calendar. I typically have 3 colors of sticky notes, the little ones or the big ones cut into strips about the width of each day box. There will be one color for each meal (ie. breakfast blue, lunch green, dinner orange). I write each meal on the sticky notes and place on the day we plan to have it. Throughout the week I may start adding some for the upcoming weeks as well when ideas come to mind. This literally take 10 mins to do.

Then hubby writes out our shopping list as I go through our fridge and pantry calling out things we need for to make our weekly meal prepping happen. Usually 5-10 mins. Depending on how I am feeling for the day I will do paper list or electronic. So many apps that help with that and make it easier when shopping because they sort by location!!! And when you click on the item you threw in your cart it checks it off! Who doesn’t like checking things off a list?!

Shopping = Fun

Off we go to the store. We go as a family and just have fun. I know, some of you are probably thinking I am crazy because taking the kids in public for grocery shopping never works out, right? How we make it work is by assigning everyone a job. One pushes cart, one reads off list, one hunts down needed items. Throughout the store we will do what we can to make it fun or silly. One time I played a game with my boys where we could only walk on certain types of tiles. At some point I had to climb on the doors of the freezer section to make it through because the gap was too big for me to jump. My boys thought it was hilarious that mom was doing that in public!!!

We tend to go to at least two stores because where we live it is hard to go to just one and get everything you need. Produce is better at one store, meat is cheaper at another, etc. But with it all planned out we still can knock it out in an hour, maybe hour and a half. Not too shabby if I do say so myself! Plus we save money by having a plan because we don’t stray too far from our list.

Equipment

Ok so we have a plan for what food to buy and going about planning your meals, but what about the goodies needed for storage and eating?!?! Well, being the always prepared person I have set stuff I use that makes the meal prep life simpler.

First up, containers. I have tried a few different ones and so far the Good Cook ones have held up the best and are decently priced. We bought ours at Target but found that Amazon has them too. There is a variety pack so you can put together meals and snacks which is freaking awesome!! I have a post on meals/snacks to go where I talk about bento style snack packs for sports and practices where these snack sized containers come in handy.

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We also have some sturdy lunch bags we got from Thirty-one. I love this company because I can order things and get personalization which just makes it all the better since we use them daily!!! To go with those bags I found some travel silverware on Amazon on sale so we aren’t using plastic ware.

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Prep It Up

Once we get home it is all hands on deck to get the food prepped, but with multiple things being done at once. Instapot is going with chicken breast, rice/quinoa, and eggs. As one thing gets done we pull it out and start the next. While it’s going we are doing the other things like:

• Homemade Protein Waffles for freezing
• Overnight oats in mason jars
• Yogurt parfaits (minus granola)
• Vegetables cleaned and cut for easy snacking
• Fruit cleaned and prepped
• Nuts and dried fruits divided into bags or containers
• Condiment containers refilled
• Frozen fruit divided into baggies for grab and go smoothie making

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This helps our weeks move smoothly. In the mornings I literally take 15 minutes to brew coffee and pack our lunch bags. It is AMAZING! I have so many quick recipes and grab-and-go ideas and would love to share with you. Drop me a comment or send me a message!!!