Eating Well When You Don't Have the Time

As many of you  know, I work a butt ton.  Well over 50 hours each week in addition to homeschooling.  What you might also know from following me over on the Facebook page, is that we don't eat a ton of junk.  We are Flexitarians and eat a plant based, homemade meal just about every night.  In addition, I pack all our lunches for work or classes.  I do not rely on convience foods and cook almost entirely from scratch.

But seriously- when you're supa dupah busy, how in the world do you make this happen?  Here's a few tips on how I make it all work.

• Planning is key.  When I'm completely on top of my game, I do a monthly menu plan.  But many times, I like to keep it to a weekly plan- MUCH easier that way.  I do not assign meals per day but choose to have 6 dinners and 2 breakfasts planned out and can then simply decide what to make each day.  I also try to think of one yummy dessert each week- although this doesn't always happen.  Be mindful of planning a variety of meals and try not to make two similar entrees one right after the other.  Meaning, don't plan Pinto Bean Tacos and the next night a Quinoa Enchilada Casserole.
• The crockpot is your best friend!  On extremely busy weeks, I try to always have one or two meals that I can simply dump 'n go.  Take it one step further by prepping your crockpot the night ahead so all you need to do is pull it out and turn it on before heading out in the morning.  If you aren't going to be using it right away, you can always prep your crockpot meal in a ziplock bag and then simply write any further instructions (how much water to add, how long to cook etc) on the outside of the bag.
• Double up!  When cooking a meal, make a double batch and either use this as lunches for part of the week or freeze it for another week.  Things like homemade burgers, soups, casseroles all freeze beautifully!  Try to plan on making a double batch for at least one meal each week and then freezing it.  This will help you begin your freezer stockpile of healthy and homemade entrees.
• Take a day.  I like to simply take one afternoon and do the majority of my prep work and baking.  You can slice and dice, prep pancake mix, throw things in your crockpot for tomorrow, bake a loaf of bread etc.  You can also take this one step further by having a baking day for all your breakfast goodies, breads, desserts etc and then having another day for your actual meal prep. 
• Become a fan of the one pot meal.  Years ago I changed the way I cook.  With that came the concept of cooking everything in one pot- Ok, sometimes I need two.  But rarely do I ever have all of my pots and pans littering my kitchen.  One pot meals are faster and there's less clean up. 
• Eat your leftovers!  When you are cooking 6 meals each week, you will inevitably have leftovers.  We eat ours as lunches throughout the week and if we have enough, by Friday we typically pull it all out of the fridge and finish everything off.
• Keep a few quick and easy meals on hand.  Sometimes you simply don't want to make what you had planned or life gets in the way.  When this happens, it's always nice to be able to throw something together fast.  This is where your freezer meals will come in handy.  Pasta is another quick, 20 minute dish.  Teach yourself how to make a few quick and healthy meals from scratch so that you're not reaching for the yellow box of mac & cheese or the frozen pizzas.
• Casserole it up!  On nights when I'm working and won't be home for dinner, I love to put together a healthy casserole that my boys can just throw in the oven.  This makes dinner super easy for my cooking challenged guys and makes enough for leftovers the next day.  Plan on having one or two casseroles per week and simply prepping them on your "day".
• Two For One Special.  This one will take a little more planning but the idea is simple.  Make something once and use it twice.  My favorite way to do this is to cook up a batch of homemade refried beans in my crockpot and then eat off it all week long.  One night we will have it as a side with Veggie Fajitas, then make bean and cheese burritos for lunch and finish by using it in my Mexican Casserole.  See what I did there?  I made it once and in this case, actually used it three times!!!
• Soup Day!  Even in the summer time we have a designated soup night.  Soup is seriously SO easy to make from scratch and its an easy dish to convert if you're trying to eat less animal products.  Plan on making a big batch of soup and then eating it for leftovers during the week.  To stretch your soup to a second dinner meal, you can make a batch of steamed rice and then pour a little over the top of your rice.  This works especially well with lentil chili!
• No cook night.  Every so often we will have what is referred to as "Snack Night" in our house.  This is simply the idea that Mama's not cooking tonight so you get to forage for healthy snacks and foods.  Things like cheese, smoked salmon, a big green salad, olives, homemade hummus, air popped popcorn, cut up fruit- even chips and salsa has graced our "Snack Night" table.  And because it's supposed to be easy and fun, we will usually sit in the living room and watch a movie.
• Give yourself a Freebie.  All things in moderation right?  Everything now and then, you just want to go out and eat french fries.  It's OK.  Go for it!  Give yourself a break from the kitchen and allow yourself a junk food treat.  We typically have one meal out per week- usually lunch while out running errands.  While we do our best to pick a healthier option, (ie Chiptole vs Taco Bell) we really don't worry too much about this meal.  When you're eating well at home, you simply don't need to worry about the occasional junk food.
• Don't forget your foods on the go.  Like everyone else, most weekends are pretty busy around our house.  The husband works about 2 weekends each month and I work all of them.  Yes, all.  Add in the kiddo's activities and normal chores and errands and we are seriously loaded down.  Having quick and healthy foods that we can "Grab n Go" are essential.  All lunches are packed for the weekend, I will usually mix up some homemade hummus, the  fridge is stocked with plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, there's lots of salad mix, nuts/seeds and Kombucha.  And if you've done all your menu planning ahead of time, you should be able to come home to a great meal at the end of your long day. 

So that's how I do it.  Some weeks are certainly busier than others but I try my best to make feeding my family a priority.  When you eat right, you feel right.  And when you feel right- you can accomplish so much!