Ever feel that way? It happens to the best of us. 🙂
Even if this is you EVERY day, there is hope! And a few, simple steps can make getting that food on the table much easier:
- Check your supplies. You don’t need much to cook…a few, quality tools are all you need. At the top of the list is a high-quality chef’s knife. It needs to be sharp and come with a sharpener so you can keep it that way! This will make everything easier and save you from chopped up hands when a dull knife slips. Also needed are quality (heavy-bottomed) stainless steal or copper pots/pans, a large cutting board and good storage containers for food. Not needed, but seriously helpful, are a crock pot or Instant pot in a size appropriate for your family.
- Get your planning session on the calendar. Actually schedule it! Set aside 30m once a week to hash out what you’ll cook for the next 7 days. Sit down with your calendar so you know which days need to be ‘fast’ meals and which days you have longer to cook and plan accordingly.
- Make your grocery list work for you. Make categories on your page (or phone) for each section of your grocery store so you can get everything from that region of the store at once. For example, in Aldi I use Snacks, Produce, Dairy, Meat, Frozen, Baking and Canned/Bagged because that’s the order I walk through the store. We’re in and out in 20m, even with a HUGE shopping trip!
- Cook in bulk and embrace leftovers. They can be recycled (grilled chicken from last night can turn into chicken sandwiches or part of a soup tonight), packed up as lunches or frozen for later. No matter how you use them, they stretch your dollars AND your time. And they give you a buffer for those nights when life just doesn’t work on-plan.
You can do this! And, if you’re like me, your mother is way too far away to come cook you dinner so you better find a new plan. 🙂
