Working Mami: Meal Planning for Peace of Mind
I'm trying to keep up with the Working Mami series, y'all! Today we're talking meal planning and my struggle. I hope this serves you. You wouldn't think that something like food would cause so much stress. I mean, it's food! And yet I have found a great source of stress in trying to answer the age-old question "what's for dinner?".
I don't have it figured out yet but I have realized that if I organize my grocery shopping and meal planning, the week goes by with less stress which affects my overall mood and productivity at work AND at home.
Related Post: Organizing For a New Month
A lot of times we think working from home will mean that we'll have this food situation better settled but, I haven't found that to be the case. Because I'm "here" I think I slacked in planning ahead a bit. I'm changing that (it's a work in progress, people).
I love going to sites like 4 Hats and Frugal where Amiyrah Martin talks about her $64 grocery budget and some pretty great recipes along the way. The key is planning ahead. She's got loads of tips and tricks to get you there, too.
I got myself a copy of the Living Well Life Planner and I am ashamed to admit that I haven't been using it to the best of my abilities. Again, this is changing and I am showing myself some grace instead of coming down on myself for not being on top of things. I told you a little about this planner before and it's still one of my favorites.
Using the planner means I get to write out the meals for the week (breakfast, lunch & dinner). From there, I go to my grocery list and put down what I need to purchase in order to make those meals happen.
The one BIG thing that I have missed in the past was prep. My sister preps all of the meals she's cooking during the week on Sunday. I think that's amazing. I'm not there yet but, this is my goal.
I spent some time yesterday meal planning and grocery shopping. In the evening I made my version of Chicken Gloria and I prepped the veggies for a Thai chicken soup.
Mondays tend to be naturally hectic. I think a crock pot meal is ideal for us because it gets thrown into the pot when I get up for lunch (this forces me to get up for lunch so I don't skip it...win-win!). And today, because I prepped in advance, it means that I am literally just putting all the ingredients in the crock pot, turning it on and continuing about my day. It's a beautiful thing.
Food is important. Living life stress-free is important. Planning and organizing at work is important but let's not forget to also do it at home. Okay?
What's your pain-point at home that you feel affects your overall mood and productivity?
Note: I keep some pretty awesome recipes to help me with this planning. Check out my Pinterest page!