With 4 kids that are getting older by the day, we find ourselves strapped into extra curricular activities – practice, lessons, and even youth group at church. And here soon we will have five to take care of.
Combine with our own busy schedules it is relatively difficult each week to keep everyone well fed with real food, and resisting the urge to roll through the drive through.
We could easily say to hell with the prep work and effort and roll through a drive through, but we opt not to – not only is it super expensive to feed 6 of us, it’s a budget buster – not to mention unhealthy for all of us. Thankfully there are ways around that – but lets just say that it requires effort and discipline on your part to make it happen ;)
With everyone moving at light speed these days, and the struggle of daily responsibilities, it is difficult to avoid looking around and seeing everything from commercials to magazine articles telling you to eat healthy – cut your expenses, spend time with your children, help them with their homework – and more.
Combined with the fact that most of us work (hello?!) when are we supposed to sleep?
We all have our strengths and weaknesses – and while I may have some weakness areas, one of my strengths is definitely time management. I’m thankful for that. Although I do work at home, it takes considerable time management skills to be able to get everyone where they need to go, on time, well fed, and still be able to take care of the work I have to do for the day as well. Everyday is a new opportunity to improve, too.
Here are 6 Quick Tips that I have found helpful in making REAL Food Meals happen in our home despite work schedules, children’s commitments and life in general.
#1 – Prep Foods in Advance
This is probably one of the most important areas ~ it’s essential for me. To eliminate the need to pull out stuff daily I prepare food and take care of my shopping on one day: Sunday.
We pick up our CSA on a Thursday evening – and we spend an hour the next day planning our meals for the week around those veggies. Then, on Sunday, I cut up that produce and set out the items we will use in lunches (Snap Peas, Cherry Tomatoes, Carrot Sticks, etc.) I make a plate of extra items for my smaller two so they can grab what they want from the fridge from the lower shelves.
The items that I cut up I keep in small containers or ziplocs in the fridge so I can pull out and go during the week to make soup or sauteed veggies. We don’t eat meat much at all (1/month perhaps) but if you do, then it would be a smart idea to cook your chicken or ground beef ahead of time too – whether it be through the crock pot or on the grill so you can have enough to last you through the week.
We avoid the grocery store at all costs – and we make one Costco trip on a Sunday each month; we get our produce from our CSA on a Thursday and our Milk on a Thursday too – without even needing to go to the grocery store. Between the three, we have our pantry staples covered, our produce is our main focus and our milk is a great way to make our yogurt, biscuits and have whey for making quick breads during the week.
#2 – Cook Breakfast for the Week
We love Steel Cut Oats. They are our go-to for breakfast for all of the kids – aside from yogurt it’s what they ask for every morning. They also love hard boiled eggs.
To make it easier on ourselves during the week, we take Sunday afternoon to make a dozen hard boiled eggs and keep in the fridge in a huge gallon bag. We make Steel Cut Oats Sunday night – enough to last a week – and we keep it in a large container in the fridge so that we can reheat and eat in the morning with a little bit of cream.
Our Instant Pot makes it relatively easy to make yogurt once a week – we keep that in jars in the fridge so they can dish out their own in the morning with fruit before they go to school.
#3 – Invest in Appliances that Help your Cause
We invested in an Instant Pot late December, and it arrived in early January– this pot isn’t just another kitchen appliance but truly works wonders to eliminate the need to eat out. You can cook potatoes in just a few minutes, beans in 30 minutes, have soup ready in as little as 7-10 minutes and more.
We always keep specific recipes handy that work for us and bookmark some that we know would be great in a pinch – by having lots of produce on hand at home all the time, and Organic Chicken Broth from Costco in Bulk in the pantry, we can literally make almost any soup we want ANY time. In minutes.
#4 – Look past one Meal
It’s important to look past one meal and make enough for 2-3 when you are cooking. If your Instant Pot can whip up Curried Carrot Ginger Soup in 10 minutes. then there is no reason that you shouldn’t be able to make at least double of the recipe.
We love doing this and we freeze the extra – we have a line up of soup in the freezer that we can literally thaw and serve that works for dinners in a hurry. Not only does it help save on those busy nights, it’s also helpful for leftovers for work lunches too.
#5 – Always be Prepared with Snacks or Sides
Snacks are essential for after sports, for a long Sabbath service or even for a long car ride. Use that once a month Costco trip to bulk up on staples that are inexpensive to keep in your pantry in bulk, and when the weekend rolls around, use those staples to whip up muffins, biscuits, granola bars, and more.
You will save some big money by avoiding the grocery store altogether.
If your children like almonds like ours do, they are a great bargain at Costco and a little go a long way – divide into snack size baggies so they have when they need a pick me up. Always keep Yogurt handy in the fridge (we always have plenty) and every Sunday try to make a double batch of biscuits – not only do they work great for dinners with soup, they are great to eat for breakfast with a little homemade jam.
#6 – Be Unconventional
Sometimes dinner won’t be at the conventional time of 6:00 p.m. If Dad has to work late, if the kids have Youth Group or if practice is in the way, then prepare early. Instead of feeding the kids at 6pm, then feed them when they get home from school.
Keep Organic pasta sauce on hand in the pantry so you can throw Organic whole wheat pasta on the stove (unless you make that ahead of time too!) — it’s a great way for them to eat something that will fill them up, and if you have carrots pre-cut in the fridge, you can steam them quickly in the Instant Pot as a side.
One thing that really helps me is always being on the move- always planning, thinking ahead and searching for easy and healthy recipes that will help our cause.
By having Healthy Pantry Staples available from a shopping trip you make once a month, and plenty of veggies available you can literally make anything you want in just minutes – without any need to roll through the drive through at your favorite fast food restaurant.
Lastly, I’d be fooling you though if I told you that it won’t take work on your part – you have to be willing to put forth the effort to forego the convenience of processed food for food that’s better for you AND your family.