Meal Planning Made Easy

In my recent meeting with North Brunswick Moms Club on the topic of How to Get Your Picky Eater to Try New Foods it was discussed and agreed by many of the moms that dinner time can be hectic and stressful.

We all want to spend more quality time with our kids and eat healthy meals together as a family. I put together a few useful resources for busy moms and families to inspire you to plan your meals and be stress free. Well, as much as possible. 

With todays busy lifestyle dinner time is not only a real challenge but also a threat. No wonder they call it the witching hour, the six o’ clock scramble...Family members are hungry, tired, overwhelmed... It's the most stressful time of the day. It’s the end of the day and regardless of the fact whether you are a working parent or a stay at home one you are going to face the dinner time battle. 

A little planning can go a long the way. If eating together as a family and putting healthy meals on the table is a priority for you then this article is for you. 
I know several people who plan, and I mean really plan their meals-rave about it. They take time during the weekend to plan not only the menus but also the grocery lists. And with todays technology you can do everything digitally. There are apps for your smartphones and lots of good online services-some paid, some unpaid. It's like anything else in life-you have to pick what’s going to work for your family and stick with it. With meal planning you can:

• save time at the grocery store
• save money
• be less stressed
• spend more quality time with your kids

And who doesn’t want all of that?

Here are a few online meal planning sources. You might have heard about them but have you considered using them? 

The Six O’Clock Scramble

Food on the Table

emeals

5Dinners1Hour

Relish

The good news is they offer variety of plans, such as clean eating, vegetarian, kosher, gluten free. There is something for everyone. They are affordable. They also offer trial memberships. 

If you are a pen and paper type of person and love planning you can get one these cute already designed products found on Etsy. Just search meal planning. Here are some examples: 

Meal planning and grocery list examples 

                   

This is how planning looks like at my place. 

Big chalkboard wall in my kitchen

Frozen food, drive thrus, ordering pizza or chinese is not the only choice. Do you find yourself frantic, overwhelmed, putting kids in front of TV so you can prepare something? 

Remember you don’t have to be a trained chef to cook like one. 

I want to share one of my online friends meal planning strategy. She is super organized, hence her blog  iheartorganizing. Check out her post on how she plans her weekly meals. 

Need inspiration?

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What’s your meal planning strategy? What's your favorite online recipe resource? Do you plan? How is dinner time at your house? What adjective will use to describe it?

Bon Appétit!    

Two of my favorite online recipe places are:

foodnetwork

allrecipes