Meal Planning & Prepping to Make the New School Year Easier
If you’re the parent of children who are heading back to school in the next couple of weeks, then you know it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the preparations that need to be made for this time of year.
There is so much to do before that school bell rings!
But at the same time, the promise of a new year and a chance to get organized around meals (both the pack-and-go lunches and family dinners) is something to get excited about.
One important way to lighten your load this school season is having a meal plan and prep strategy.
In this post let’s explore five strategies for back-to-school meal prep that will save you time and energy (those two things we all want more of!) Plus,you’ll love that your family is eating well.
I hope this helps make things easier for you and keeps everyone happy and healthy during these busy days!
1. Delegate
No matter your children's age, they can help at some level with meal prep and lunch packing. My kids especially loved helping me to make sandwiches in cookie cutter shapes.
Kids love to participate in food prep. Whether it's cutting up ingredients, packing sections of their bento lunch boxes or stirring muffin batter, giving them some responsibilities appropriate for their age will help your child to eat their meals since they’ve had a role in their creation!
Kids are also more likely to try new foods - even fruits and vegetables - if they’ve helped to prepare them. [I’ll never forget the time my child ate raw carrots and hummus because we had so much fun peeling them and using the food processor to watch the dip ingredients blend together.
2. Plan and prep in advance
This sounds simple, but so many of us fly by the seat of our pants with no plan. I had one client tell me, “when I’m tired, stressed,and out of ideas, we just eat whatever we can get our hands on.” It’s hard for any of us to make the best decisions when we’re tired or frazzled. Having a plan A and even a plan B helps to keep meals running smoothly, no matter how the day unfolds.
Using a meal plan as a guide can be REALLY helpful. It doesn’t mean that you have to make every meal on a meal plan but it can give you a framework with ideas to get started with preparing healthy meals the whole family can enjoy.
Select three dinners and a few snacks for each week of the month. Stick with it until you have a repertoire of at least 10 dinner meals you can put into rotation - this can take up to 4-6 weeks. Dinners such as soups, stews, and roasted proteins make excellent pack-and -go lunch leftover appearances when paired with non-prep items such as fruits, vegetables, cheese, and crackers.
Some favorite dinner leftover combinations include:
● Shredded chicken tacos with salsa and prepared guacamole
● Vegetable chili with cheese and crackers
● Beef stew with rice
● Tofu or other protein kabobs with yogurt sauce
● Broccoli Cheddar soup with whole grain toast wedges
A helpful tip for leveraging dinner as lunch is to scale your recipes to ensure you have enough for lunch the next day. Also, pack lunches BEFORE you eat dinner to avoid adding burden to your already busy morning schedule.
3. Batch your kitchen prep
We talk about batching work with tasks at the office, but what about in the kitchen? The same time-saving principle applies!
For example, if your kiddos love smoothies for breakfast, batch prep your smoothie packs in cups or bags in the freezer so that breakfast is as simple as dumping the ingredients into the blender and adding their favorite milk to blend.
Or, if your child loves having crunchy red bell pepper or carrot sticks in their lunch, don’t cut up a new pepper or carrot each and every night. Once or twice a week, cut up the veggies (or have your child do it!) and store them in baggies that are ready to toss into the lunch box. Or store all of the sliced peppers in a container so that packing their bento lunch box is that much faster.
And if you know that you’re cooking two different dinners this week that call for chopped onions and celery, chop up enough veggies for both dinners. You’ll be thankful for less chopping when the time comes to cook the second recipe!
4. Use a template
How else can you reduce your mental load? Follow a template whenever you can!
If your child uses a bento box to pack their lunch, assign a food group to each section. Whole grains go on the left, fruits below, a protein on the right, and so on. Discuss what “counts” for each section of their lunch and brainstorm choices that fit into each category. From there, your child can pack their lunch with less input from you.
Now, for dinners, have some regular meals that you can depend on to be quick and delicious, without needing too much brain power. For example, Taco Tuesdays! Use the crockpot to cook your favorite taco filling and dinner will be mostly ready when you and your crew get home hungry. A few other ideas are breakfast for dinner, Pizza Fridays or a Meatless Mondays pasta dish.
Here’s one of my family fave quick dinners, the Easy Burrito Bowl.
5. Adjust your expectations
When your circumstances change, so too does your patience and bandwidth. This is completely normal! In this back to school season, remember to go easy on yourself. If you have more activities to attend and more to-dos each day, it’s reasonable to look for ways to simplify and delegate. You do not have to do everything yourself, or create meals in the same way as when you have more time. You can have a happy and healthy family, even with a few shortcuts.
If you’re ready to connect and get some support to make your back-to-school meal planning and prepping a success, I am here to help. Schedule your FREE CONSULTATION today!
I can’t wait to meet you!
