Do you plan your meals for the week? During the one year at home during COVID I had a meal plan every week. Not only did it help me stay on track and organized, but it prevented my kids from always asking me what’s for dinner. All they had to do was look at the printed menu on the refrigerator to learn what the meals for the week were. Now that I am traveling more for work, I don’t have a plan every night for dinner, but I do plan the nights that I will be at home with my family.
Meal planning requires some work up front but takes away the worry and panic of figuring out what’s for dinner the minute you walk into the house from work. You can plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, or just one or two meals per day. For me, I just plan dinner for the week. I usually eat protein overnight oats to break my fast, so I don’t have to think about making anything else. I also make sure to always have chicken or turkey available in the refrigerator to throw together a wrap or snack. Also, I usually stock up on fruit twice per week so that I have oranges, apples, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and bananas.
You do not need to be a gourmet chef in order to meal plan. Make a realistic plan that fits your lifestyle. If you enjoy cooking, go on Pinterest search for healthy recipes to try. Make it a challenge to try recipes that you have never made before. If you do not enjoy cooking, all you have to do is pick a protein, vegetable and starch for each meal. It can be as simple as this: Chicken breast, asparagus, sweet potato OR Pork Chop, Broccoli, Rice
This requires NO cooking skills except to have the knowledge of how to turn on an oven and stove.
Personally I like to mix up my meal plans. if I am working from home and know I will have extra time to cook dinner I like to try new recipes from Pinterest. If I will be traveling or out of the house working and will be short on time I keep it simple. If it’s going to be a crazy busy week I cook my protein and roast my veggies on Sunday so that all I have to do it reheat them during the week.
What type of meals do you like to make?