It’s not uncommon for me to be on the phone with work colleagues while completing a task around the kitchen, and answering one of my toddlers seemingly unending questions. I have to shift quickly and regularly between different hats. I think as mom’s that’s always what’s expected of us – whether we work in or out of the home and no matter the age of our children. That’s why my busy mom meal prep tips come in handy.
We have all heard that meal prep can help streamline feeding our families and take some of the guesswork out of meals but it doesn’t always happen. We had a great conversation about this in my instagram stories not too long ago and I loved hearing from all of you. As promised I’m sharing what items other moms prep as well as my tried and true regimen.
Let’s say that you’re new to the meal prep game and you haven’t seen the books or the hashtags or the social media posts. The idea of meal prep is to make eating healthier foods easier. Usually the #mealprep feed is filled with layered salads in mason jars, overnight oats (also in mason jars) and plastic containers with zoodles and ground turkey and maybe some fruit. In recent months stasher bags have also been a popular vessel for meal prep.
If you look in my fridge there are zero colorful layered salads in jars or overnight oats or zoodles. That’s just not how we eat or what makes sense for my family – and based on your responses it’s not really how you live either. Or maybe you’re like some of the other parent’s who responded and have zero energy for more work or interest in eating the same things day after day.
My busy mom meal prep strategy is to do what I can, when I can. NEVER EVER EVER does this entail a full day or even a half day of work. I just don’t have that luxury, nor do I have the attention span these days. What I can commit to is an hour or so, a few times a week. I also try and squeeze in a few 10 minute jobs throughout the week which inevitably builds up to less work when it comes to packing lunches or getting meals on the table.
This is the EASIEST meal prep technique, ever. There are loads of things we make that take the same amount of effort to scale up – grains and proteins are two biggies. Making extras of things like muffins, cookies, pancakes, or waffles will take a little more time to cook but the mixing and measuring is unchanged. If you’re taking the time to get out the instant pot, cook a double batch of rice or beans and freeze the portions. Maybe you’re making chili or stew in the slow cooker or dutch oven, double it and freeze or portion into a couple lunch containers. **Freezing for future you also counts as meal prep**
I need variety in my foods, I can’t eat the same thing day in and day out. I think my husband and son probably could (depending on what it is), but they’re not doing the work so they get more variety. I rely on leftovers during the week whenever I can so one of my biggest meal prep items is a lunch that will last us for 2 days, maybe 3 if it’s something we LOVE. By getting 2 lunches out of the way, I’ve got a buffer if Sunday night’s dinner gets eaten with no leftovers or something doesn’t turn out the way I want it to and I can’t use the extras.
Pinterest can be great, but some of those recipes suck but have great photos… That’s a huge waste of time and money. Stick with recipes you know or sources you trust. I really enjoy this meal prep book from Toby Amidor. Or you could be more flexible with your prep and go with An Everlasting Meal. I’ve also included some of my favorite recipes to prep below which I hope you’ll try out.
I need variety in my foods, I can’t eat the same thing day in and day out. I think my husband and son probably could (depending on what it is), but they’re not doing the work so they get more variety. I rely on leftovers during the week whenever I can so one of my biggest meal prep items is a lunch that will last us for 2 days, maybe 3 if it’s something we LOVE. By getting 2 lunches out of the way, I’ve got a buffer if Sunday night’s dinner gets eaten with no leftovers or something doesn’t turn out the way I want it to and I can’t use the extras.
Pinterest can be great, but some of those recipes suck but have great photos… That’s a huge waste of time and money. Stick with recipes you know or sources you trust. I really enjoy this meal prep book from Toby Amidor. Or you could be more flexible with your prep and go with An Everlasting Meal. I’ve also included some of my favorite recipes to prep below which I hope you’ll try out.
Maybe you start by packing some snacks that you know will fuel you better than a 3pm trip to Starbucks or the vending machine. Say some fruit and nuts or string cheese or veggies and hummus. You could even start with a crudite tray from the store and literally divide it up into four servings – just bag them up and divide the dip into small containers. You can do that during one episode of a TV show and still not miss any of the high points. Once you see and feel the benefits of having great options on hand and ready to grab in the morning, you’ll be ready to take on more.
This 100% counts as meal prep. If you don’t have clean vessels to put your prepped food in the whole process will inevitably take longer. Making sure that before you start cooking you have the proper bags, containers, lids and labeling tools ready will streamline the process. Here are some of my favorite tools or supplies: glass containers with utensils, stasher bags, painters tape for labeling, and markers for labeling.
Even before pregnancy and motherhood I found shopping, planning and prepping to be exhausting in a single day. I could never get through even 50% of my list when I would try and then foods would be wasted or they’d take up space not being used for their intended purpose. I like to do my plan and grocery list over 1-2 days, then a separate day for shopping and a separate day for the actual prep. It seems like it would take over your life that way, but by doing little bits every couple of days it’s easier to fit all the parts into your busy life. If you loved these busy mom meal prep tips be sure to check out these awesome fruit and vegetable recipes my family loves.
Smoothie Bags: Green Monster, Formula here or here
If you’re excited to dive in to the Busy Mom Meal Prep life, but can’t decide where to start buy my ready made system to take the guess work out. It’s full of 71 family loved recipes, 4 weeks of meal plans, prep schedules and grocery lists. Buy now.
