Here in Georgia, we’re back in the full swing of the school year and sports craziness. That means that we must be extra diligent about meal planning and planning ahead so we don’t have to buy takeout while going from baseball practice to dance practice.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a firm believer in eating the food you buy. It’s pointless to try to lower your grocery spending if you aren’t eating up the leftovers or actually making the food you bought to eat.
But I’m a mom of three kids who are all active in various sports and church activities. I know firsthand how challenging it is to get dinner on the table when you’re out of the house most nights of the week.
Because I know that, I also know that a little bit of planning and prep can save a whole lot of struggle and dollars later on.
So here are my best tips for making meal planning and, most importantly, eating at home a reality even when you’re in a super busy out-of-the-house season of life.
1. Different Ways of Meal Planning
Obviously, this is a must, but I also know that it can be overwhelming. I’ve used many different versions of meal planning in different seasons of life. So, if your current method of meal planning isn’t working, try a new one!
Google Calendar:
When my kids were smaller and less involved, I used to use Google Calendar to plan our meals (who here has been following me long enough to remember when I used to share our monthly Google Calendar meal plan? 👋).
Basically, I created a new calendar in Google for our monthly meals. Then I would just list out the meal and/or include the link to the recipe for that meal in the description. I would set meals that were family favorites to repeat either every week or every 4-6 weeks. I even set it to where the calendar would remind me at 2pm every day so I would remember to thaw the meat if need be! This was a wonderful plan for that season of my life.
Meal Planning Service:
We used a meal planning service when we were first becoming debt-free. That service no longer exists, but we’ve bought several of The Passionate Penney Pincher’s meal plans, including the slow cooker one mentioned below.
Slow Cooker Meal Plan:
I use my slow cooker meal plan from The Passionate Penny Pincher religiously during the busy baseball season! I’ve even been known to bring my crockpot to the ball field so my family can have hot food and not beg for the ballpark food that’s a million dollars. 😒 (PPP Also now has a Budget Friendly Meal Plan that she just released – check it out here!)
List of Family Favorites:
If you’ve read my book, you may remember me mentioning this. I keep a list of our family’s favorite meals inside our cabinet, where our nonperishable food is kept. This list is super helpful for those nights when I just don’t want to cook anything, and I honestly don’t want to even think about dinner. It has all of the easy-to-make meals that my family already loves and uses simple ingredients that we usually have on hand.
2. Make Dinner Early
You can batch dinners over the weekend if you have the time. But I have found that making dinner at 3 p.m. works well for us during a busy season of sports. Granted, I homeschool my kids, so I’m home at 3 p.m., but if you’re someone who likes to make a hot breakfast in the morning, maybe consider going ahead and making dinner for that evening. That way, all you have to do is heat it up.
The thing here is that we aren’t necessarily eating at 3 p.m., but by having dinner already done, it’s much easier to either heat and eat when we get home or pack it up and take it with us.
For us, doing this has been so helpful because even when my son has an early baseball practice, by the time we get home, we’re usually all starving, and the last thing I want to do is cook. That’s when it’s tempting to grab food to go, but if dinner is already cooked and waiting at home to be warmed up, then it’s no big deal.
3. It doesn’t have to be fancy
I have to remind myself of this all the time, but dinner does not have to be some fancy sit-down affair at the table. Yes, I know that it’s important to sit down and have meals as a family, but the meal doesn’t have to be fancy. I’m constantly reminded of this as we do our read-aloud and study history in homeschool. Many families had very simple dinners for centuries.
The meals most of us have for dinner today would have been considered feasts 100 years ago! So it’s totally fine to have a mac-n-cheese dinner with a side of sausage and a veggie or fruit. If that’s all you’ve got time or energy for, go for it! P.S. Homemade mac-n-cheese made in the Instant Pot or Dutch oven is amazing.
Alright, here are my three simple tips for making meal planning and eating at home a reality when you’re busy!
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