*CONFESSION* I used to be terrible at meal planning. I watched hundreds of RU-vid videos looking for that perfect approach to meal planning until I realized I needed to just focus on who I am, how I work, and our family's needs. How are YOU going to customize your meal planning strategy this year? ⤵️ DROP A COMMENT BELOW!😁
Ariel of That Awkward Mom has a very realistic meal planning system, in which you use a main ingredient for the first night, use it different ways for the next two nights. Like roast chicken -> chicken casserole -> chicken tacos.
Thank you, I'm glad this was helpful 😉. My husband does a great job holding me accountable, so it's definitely a team effort! I appreciate him so much.
Oh I’m so glad to hear this was helpful, and thank you😊. Yes, it definitely takes some time but it’s so worth it! The kids enjoy being able to just grab and go…makes life way easier for me too lol 😅
When I was living with others, I found a way to freeze parts of meals, or leftovers, that took up less space in the freezer. This works especially well for leftover jarred spaghetti sauce. Take a gallon freezer bag, mark the contents and the date, put it in a two-cup measuring cup, folding the top part over to form a cuff. Add your ingredients (sauces, soups, grains, rice, small pasta, rice and beans, even ground beef) to the bag, only going to the rim of the measuring cup. Pull the bag out and start to close the bag, pushing out all the air, on the counter. It should flatten to about an 1/2-1” thick. For runny foods like soups, press closed on a slight incline (like a baking tray, a little raised at one side). Freeze flat. When frozen, you can either stack that way, or put vertically, like a file, in a container (if you have the height). The beauty of this method is you can easily break off just what you need, seal the bag, and put back in the freezer.
My goals are to help my husband incorporate intermittent fasting. So we need meal planning help to streamline our meal planning process to accommodate these goals.
@@ana-yael I’ll join him if he finds it to be helpful. So it involves about 12 to 14 hours of fasting per day. So, when he’s not fasting, he needs to eat his meals and can’t be running out to the grocery store to get food. It is very important to have everything prepped and ready.
Ahh, I see. So he'll be eating the same meals you do, just incorporating the fasting right? Meal prep is really helpful for sure. I encourage leftovers too 😁. Something I recently started doing was making a little extra of whatever it is we're eating for dinner, and saving some for "just in case" situations, like if something comes up and we can't cook. Maybe you could have some "just in case" freezer meals prepared like that so when hunger strikes, he doesn't have to run out and get something!
Remember when the lockdown started and meats became almost as scarce as toilet paper? My (then) partner gave me $100 to buy meat, mostly chicken breasts. But how to store to last and not get freezer burn? This is our (ok, my) method…he helps. On one side of the prep area, place your packages of meat. Next, cling wrap (the one with the slide cutter is invaluable!). Then a baking tray. Last, your freezer bags, marked with contents and date, and opened. This is your assembly line. Here we go. Let’s say six boneless chicken breasts can fit in a gallon freezer bag. Stack six layers of cling wrap, the length of the baking tray, on the tray (don’t worry, they won’t stick to each other). With this stacking, you’re not going to contaminate the cling wrap with chicken juice between each breast. Take one breast, place in the center of the top layer of cling wrap. Wrap tightly, pushing out the air. Put it in the freezer bag. Repeat with the other five breasts (this also works with pork chops and salmon filets). Once the bag is filled, push out the air and close. When you need three chicken breasts, or two, or just one, pull out just what you need. After three years, still no freezer burns!
