Easy meal planning with nutrient dense food is possible any time when you settle into a rhythm and keep things simple. Simple wholesome ingredients, tried and true favorite recipes, and a prepped kitchen can have you handling meals with ease no matter what life throws at you.
Life comes with many seasons. I’m not just talking about spring, summer, winter, and fall either. Rather, I’m talking about the busy season, the baby season, the illness season, the full schedule season, the productive season, the out-of-the-house-a-lot season.
Those can throw our weekly meal planning for a loop and cause us more stress. Here are some ways to make meal planning easy any time.
Items to Keep on Hand for a 30 Minute Meal Any Time
This can look different in every family because every family has their own favorite dishes, tastes, and nutrition needs. Keep that in mind as you consider each of these tips.
For easy meal prep in minutes you should keep on hand:
Frozen left over casserole of some kind
Frozen or canned vegetables
Pasta sauces
Simple frozen protein (more in the next section)
Simple spices
Dry staples your family enjoys
From those kinds of meal items you could have lasagna or casserole to throw in the oven, or a quick pasta dinner with a side of broccoli. A quick taco dinner. Or even a breakfast casserole.
Example: Last night our plans changed due to illness. I didn’t have a dinner planned because we were going to friend’s for dinner. I had to think on the fly of what I could prepare. We had a broccoli stir fry blend in the freezer, Simply Asian ramen noodles in our pantry, eggs in the fridge, and a mostly empty peanut butter jar in the cupboard. I added honey, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and garlic to the peanut butter jar and shook it up. Then I fried up eggs in sesame oil. After sautéing the stir fry and cooking the noodles I tossed it all together and dinner was ready!
When you have meals your family enjoys, just make sure that you keep the main ingredients on hand so you can whip something up in a pinch.
Frozen Meals for Meal Planning
Frozen meals can be very helpful in certain seasons. They are nice to have already in your freezer when someone you know could be blessed by a meal in illness or post-partum. Or they are helpful when you have a busy weeknight that you need to be able to heat something up in the oven while you are busy with other things.
You can build this up in your freezer by doubling recipes as you do your regular cooking. Eat one of the meals and freeze the other for a later use. Be sure to label and date it with any reheating instructions you may need.
Or you can take a day to intentionally prepare some freezer meals. There are many great lists and recipes on Pinterest, but it ultimately comes down to choosing recipes that freeze well and recipes that your family will actually eat. Don’t waste your time or money on the list of stews and soups if your family doesn’t like soups.
Tip: As much as you are able, freeze these flat in Ziploc freezer bags so they can be stacked like books and take up less space.
Batch Cooking
Cook Once, Eat All Week was my teacher in this process. This was a GAME CHANGER for our family in a time of nutritional needs meeting our need for maintaining a budget. We learned that our son has a gluten triggered eczema that develops on his elbows. We needed to modify some of our foods, but I knew we couldn’t afford to start buying everything that was labeled “gluten-free.” Part of my research brought me to Cassy Joy’s cookbook and we haven’t looked back. We can manage our son’s gluten sensitivity at home and he is free to eat whatever when we are at friends’ houses or dining out.
The premise is that you prepare a main protein, vegetable, and carb one day a week to be transformed into three different meals. The meals taste fresh, you don’t get bored, and they are very budget-friendly.
I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone and everyone. I do not receive any compensation for it, I just LOVE the recipes and the concept. It makes my meal planning easy for sure.
Another thing I have done with this concept is use the same approach for lunches and breakfast. I can batch cook a breakfast protein, roast some vegetables and bake a carb. Then those can be mixed and matched and served up in a variety of ways. For lunch, I like to pick a second week of recipes. Then I can switch up the meals, serve up leftovers, and feed our family of 5 plus our 3 daycare kids a week of delicious and healthy, budget-friendly meals.
One of my other favorite foodies to follow is Lisa from Downshiftology. She has great YouTube videos in seasonal meal prep that uses the batch cooking approach as well.
Making the Most of Leftovers
I don’t know about your fridge, but by the end of the week we have a few containers of leftover components or half-servings of meals. One solution for this is to have a leftover lunch or dinner. Pull out all the food that needs eaten up and let everyone choose what they want. Maybe add a salad or fresh fruit, but the idea is that no food gets wasted by just getting tossed in the trash.
Another way to use leftovers is to transform them into new meals. Just add a fresh ingredient or rethink it for just its flavors. The leftover sheet pan dinner can be served up as a fancy frittata. Leftover grilled cheese sandwiches can be turned into Monte Christos by adding ham slices and dredging them in a French toast mixture. Have fun in the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to try things. Experiment with flavors and textures.
Have you ever watched the show Chopped? Chefs are given a basket of seemingly random ingredients to create a fresh appetizer, main dish, or dessert. It is fun to approach your fridge with the same concept. Who knows, you may create a new family favorite!
Meals for the Road
This one can be very tricky sometimes. Busy weeks that have you running this way and that can often lead you straight to the nearest drive-thru. If you are a family of 4+ or have kids that eat like adults, it can get VERY expensive, very quickly. Not to mention that the food you end up eating isn’t that nourishing, and dare I say is unhealthy. No judgement from me. We have our fair share of greasy burgers and fries.
By planning ahead a little bit, you can do some easy meal planning for these times. When you calendar is filling up, think of meals that travel well. Dinners that don’t get to be sit-down-around-the-table style, can be served up picnic-style from the back of the van or a near-by park. Opt for fresh wraps or walking tacos. You can invest in a Stanley thermos to keep your protein hot if desired. Pack the rest in a cooler and you are ready to go!
If you have to catch food on the road, maybe consider picking up a pizza from Casey’s or hit the local grocery store for a rotisserie chicken, salad, and sides. These can be quick, filling, and little better for your wallet. You can even keep a baggie in the back of the car with napkins, plates, and utensils for these dining out scenarios.
Planning for a Change in Seasons
There are times you will feel overwhelmed as a mother. Taking care of a parent or loved one. Illness in your home. Overscheduled calendar. Pregnancy. Anything that can throw you off your normal rhythm. As much as you are able to, plan ahead in some of the ways mentioned above. Don’t be afraid to ask for help either. Your church or dear friends would likely love to support you and your family in this way.
Life wasn’t meant to be lived alone. And no one really expects you to have it all together all of the time. It is okay to be vulnerable and invite others in to be beside you and your family in a difficult season. This is how the body of Christ bears one another’s burdens.
Seasonal Seasons
The change of seasonal seasons makes easy meal planning fun and those seasonally fresh ingredients add so much color and flavor to our favorite times of year! Fresh berries and salad greens in the spring, garden tomatoes and watermelon in the summer, squash and grapes in the fall, and Brussels Sprouts and oranges in the winter.
Use this time to change up your family favorites and your food rhythms. Make the most of what is readily available to you and at a better price point when it is in season.
Repetition is Your Friend
In today’s age of Pinterest, the Food Network, and grocery isles full of exotic ingredients we are tempted to turn our kitchen into a 5-star restaurant offering a 10-page menu. In reality though, we should be eating regional foods that use simple, whole ingredients. I often like to think of how the women in the Bible did things when I am contemplating how I manage our home. Yes, preparing international foods is fun and tasty, but when I stick to simple foods and staples that we grow in our own area, life is simpler.
Try keeping most of your meals on a short rotation and saving one day a week for trying a new recipe or going for a more exotic dish. For example, you may have heard of Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Wacky Wednesdays, Pizza Fridays, etc. Try to create a rhythm like that in your meal planning; with or without the fun alliteration. Keep each person’s favorite dinner on the rotation in some form so everyone stays happy and you have minimal complaints over dinner.
In a Cooking Rut
“That is all great Casey, but what about when I don’t want to cook at all?”
I get it. There are times where you might feel uninspired or just plain tired of being in the kitchen. My advice to you is to shake things up. Put your kids in charge of dinner for the night. Give them the meal plan sheet and ask them to fill in a square that they want to cook.
Take the cooking outside. What can you cook on the grill? How about a hot dog roast around the fire pit!
Or go nostalgic and cook something from your childhood. The smells and textures will take you back. Maybe even give you all the warm and fuzzies if it brings back memories of a loved one or a special time in your earlier life.
Often changing up the norm will give you that boost you need. Then you can build back into an easy meal plan using the earlier tips.
Meal Planning with a Grateful Heart in Any Season
No matter the season of life or the meals you prepare, remain thankful. God provides all of it. He sustains Creation that grows the food and feeds the animals that we eat. God gave you the ability to cook and prepare the food to feed your family. Your Heavenly Father gave you the family to love and care for. There is so much to be thankful for, no matter the circumstance or season.
Don’t forget your FREEBIE!!!
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