Listen to Meal Planning Hacks HERE
Today, we dove into a topic we have only touched on in the past. Meal planning helps so much with taming the chaos in a busy household. Whether you’re the kind of person who has every meal for the next two weeks planned or the kind person who just keeps the ingredients for your most made dishes in the house, this episode is for you. Knowing what is for dinner early in the day can make the whole day more peaceful. It is so stressful to have dinner hanging over your head.
Neither of us are firm meal planners. But we both like to have an idea of what is for dinner during the week. We also both like to, at least, have the protein for dinner planned early in the day. Just figuring out the protein is half the battle.
A few months ago we did a series of doubling recipes. Doubling a recipe is a great way to have a meal ready to go on a busy night. Check out THIS post to learn a little more about our method. We are big believers in making life easier by doubling our recipes. Another thing we did in this episode is talk a little about how we are cooking rule breakers and rarely use real recipes. We are big believers in being creative in the kitchen. Give this episode a listen to see what we mean.
Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores
Recap
Keep easy heat-up-and-go meals on hand to avoid the temptation of takeout.
Maintain a well-stocked pantry with dry goods for easy meal planning.
Utilize frozen ravioli and other convenient foods for quick and easy meals.
Explore new recipes and cuisines to add variety to meal rotations.
Teach kids to cook for their independence and growth as a family.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: The Importance of Meal Planning
01:08 Easy Heat Up and Go Meals
04:23 Frozen Ravioli and Other Convenient Foods
06:30 Starting Small with a Well-Stocked Pantry
08:06 Meal Planning Apps and Online Resources
09:17 Creating a Rotation of Recipes
10:26 Trying New Recipes and Cuisines
13:57 Meal Prep: Preparing Ingredients in Advance
15:34 Grilling Extra Meat for Future Meals
18:48 Hiding Vegetables from Veggie Hounds
19:40 Cooking Food from Other Countries
25:17 Using Up All Purchased Food
26:37 Letting Kids Cook and Learn
30:02 Teaching Kids to Cook for Independence
30:35 Conclusion: Growing as a Family through Meal Planning
