Life can be messy. It can be overwhelming at times, but creating easy delicious meals shouldn’t be. Too many times we are caught unprepared when dinner time rolls around and we take the easy way out and pick up the phone, (door dash), open a box,(mac and cheese) or make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I mean P & J’s are good for you right? It’s a carbohydrate, (bread) a protein, (peanut butter) and a fruit (grape jelly). So, it’s a good choice for a somewhat healthy dinner on the go right? Sundays were always going to be my day to plan, shop, and prepare what I could for the week for my family of five. I truly had the best of intentions, but all of a sudden it was 4:00 on Sunday, and I had not prepped a thing and I was packing backpacks for school the next day. Like most moms, I was working full time and trying desperately to feed my children healthy, nutritious meals. I feel like I failed miserably during the dinner hour so tried to make up for it at breakfast. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal and lots of egg sandwiches. I made a variety of casseroles in the morning before heading off to work. My kids never complained, but they got really good at cooking casseroles when they got home from school. Every once in a while I would throw in some broccoli for some greenery. It was not easy figuring out what to prepare when they were growing up. They all had different likes and dislikes, different schedules, and different nutritional needs.
Fast forward 15 years later…. My children have all survived, they are healthy, thriving young adults, living in their own homes, or in college, or having their own children! Their years of oatmeal and casseroles as teenagers did not have long term negative effects on their health, as far as I know, they certainly were not the most optimal choices when planning family meals, but sometimes you just have to know you did your best with what you had at the moment. I am blessed, my children, today, have a deep appreciation for food and the art of creating wonderful, nutritious well balanced meals. I have created HealthyMenus4Life because I would like to help you do better than I did. Cooking and planning meals for your family should not stress you out. You don’t have to be perfect every day, but you do need to know how to sneak in and add nutrient dense foods that will have a positive impact on your health (think gut microbiome) and your children’s eating patterns for the rest of their lives. The science of food and nutrition is a rapidly changing environment. New studies are being published every day supporting or negating fad diets being posted on social media. It is hard to figure out what to believe. I am here to take the guess work out of what to feed your family and what is “good” for you or “bad” for you.
Here are three simple steps you can do to make your life easier and start to make some healthier choices for you and your family:
First, Commit to menu planning. It does not have to be elaborate nor be seven days a week. Start out with two or three days and focus on dinner. Menu planning can seem time consuming and overwhelming if you have never done it before, but it can really make a difference not only in your weekly food bills, but your overall health as well. Menu planning helps you plan for success. It is really nice to open the refrigerator and know what you are going to be cooking for dinner rather than just standing their blindly with no plan. (We have all been there!)
Second, try to do most of your prep work on the weekend when you have more time. Cut up all your vegetables for the week and put them in the refrigerator in air tight containers. Cook the pasta or rice. If you have a recipe with chunks of chicken then trim and cut them up so they will be ready to go during the week. Most vegetables, meats or dressings can be prepped ahead of time and still be good for 3-5 days. Planning and prepping your meals will help reduce food waste as well. How many times have you thrown out an old vegetable because you meant to use it but never did or forgot about it. (It somehow got pushed to the back of the fridge and became the latest chemistry experiment!) With menu planning you only buy what you need so nothing is wasted and you save money!
Finally, try combining meals. Think cook it once and eat it twice! There are a few different ways you can cook once and eat it twice. One way is to double the recipe and then freeze the extra for a meal later on, this is a great option for the nights you just don’t feel like cooking. Another great option is to double the recipe and take the extra portion for lunch the next day. My favorite go to option though, is to make a casserole or soup out of the extra food. For example, you can roast a chicken or turkey and have that for one meal and then simmer the carcass and use the broth and meat for soup or use the meat from the bone for a nice casserole. (I am the casserole queen!)
These three tips are easy to incorporate into your week. As you menu plan take into consideration time and preferences. Keep it simple. Find recipes that offer variety but can be made in 30 minutes or less. More prep and cook time does not mean more nutritious. Here is a few of my go to meal prep websites: