Family of 4, that includes 3 boys that are human garbage disposals, and always on the go, requires some meal planning to stay organized and on budget. Here is a little snapshot of how I plan my week:

1. Weekly grocery online grocery orders to pick up on Sunday
   • Matt and I are both paid bi-weekly, opposite weeks of each other, so we have some type of income weekly. I budget for groceries a week at a time.
   • I “add to cart” throughout the week and check out to pick up on Sunday morning.
   • The reason I do Sunday is mainly because trash day is Monday, so while I’m stocking the fridge and pantry, I’m simultaneously cleaning it out (throwing out expired food, etc)
   • Sunday afternoon/evening, maybe even after kids are in bed, I do some meal prepping
2. Menu for the week
   • Midweek when I’m adding to my grocery cart for the week, I’m looking at schedules to figure out what we need for meals the following week
   • I have a few go-to meals that are healthy-ish that the kids like, and some that are good for on-the-go
   • I post the Menu for the Week on the fridge so everyone knows what is coming
3. I don’t make gourmet meals
   • I try to do well-balanced meals most of the time
   • I don’t make stuff my kids hate. The only veggies they really like are carrots, broccoli, and green beans. And that’s great! So I stick to that. Sometimes if I’m low on veggies I’ll add a fruit. I make one meal for everyone.
   • Most of my meals for the family are quick and/or easy. I use my crockpot a lot. And if I’m not using the crockpot, it’s usually a meal I can make in 15 mins or less
4. I plan with reasonable expectations in mind
   • My husband is no cook. There are about 2 things he is able to cook. So if I’m working in the evening and he is handling the kids, I plan for him to cook one of those things. On OT days, it runs till dinner time and I either have something prepared ahead of time or they have a pizza night
   • I save cooking for days when they’re in school and I’ve had time to maybe prep before they get home. And I don’t plan to cook on days I work. I either prep something ahead of time easy to heat up, or use my crockpot and let it do the work.
5. Leftovers are ok to have as a meal
   • some weeks, especially if I’m working a lot, I will plan meals specifically because they make good leftovers and we can get a couple meals out of it.

I’ll share with you one of our on-the-go meals – Chicken Quesadillas. On Mondays, we leave for hockey around 4:30pm and get home around 7:00pm which is about the time Logan starts getting ready for bed. I make chicken quesadillas and he eats half on the way to hockey, half on the way back for hockey. It’s an easy finger food with minimal mess.

Ingredients:

• chicken (I use frozen)
• taco seasoning
• shredded cheese
• tortillas

Directions:

I usually keep a bag of frozen chicken in my freezer. I put frozen chicken in the crockpot with about 1/4-1/2 cup of water and taco seasoning (I season generously). I let it cook on high for 3-4 hours. It is usually easy to shred at this point. *Sometimes I cook extra to keep in the fridge and use for quick easy meals throughout the week. I use my quesadilla maker – place a tortilla in it, cover it with cheese, cover with chicken, cover with another tortilla – and cook. I use a pizza cutter to cut it up in triangles. For riding in the car I usually pair it with a fruit like apple, pear, or something like that easy to eat. I have a thermal container to put half in for Logan to eat on the way home from hockey.

I hope you found this helpful. Let me know if you’d like to see more meal tips/recipes!