Back-to-school time means getting back into the routines that work well for you and your family. Oftentimes, that also means planning out school lunches, snacks and easy dinners that can be made quickly at home.
In my holistic health coaching programs, having the time and energy for home cooking comes up as a pain point for almost all my clients. Many view meal preparation as time consuming with the visual of a row of food containers packed at the start of the week.
However, I like the idea of shifting the mindset more toward meal planning. Simply thinking about what your meals will be for the next few days and making practical plans to take the guesswork out during the week.
Here are three practical tips to try:
1. Stock up on your staples
If grocery shopping often feels like a chore, set a time to stock up on the foundational items you need for most of your home-cooked recipes.
A few staples I recommend include brown rice, whole grain noodles, high quality oil, a variety of spices, frozen vegetables and fruit, nuts and granola. Buying in bulk ahead of time allows for weekly grocery runs to be shorter and focused on just buying your fresh ingredients.
2. Habit stack your preparation time
If you have an item that you typically choose for your base in meals, for example, rice, try cooking this in a larger quantity at the start of the week.
Other items like hard-boiled eggs can also be made in bulk for an easy snack. While your base is cooking, consider what ingredients you typically use in meals that take time to prepare.
For example, take a few minutes to dice onions and garlic and slice lemons to store for quick use later in the week.
Finally, what else can you do during this window of time? Turn on a podcast, listen to music or invite your kids to help or be in the kitchen with you.
3. Grab-and-go breakfasts
To allow more time in the morning to get ready and get to school, consider what can be easily popped in the oven, put in a mason jar or easily eaten on the go. A few ideas include a variety of egg cups, overnight oats, chia seed pudding, yogurt cups, banana and peanut butter pinwheels.
A simple way to get started with meal planning is to sit down as a family or household and think about how much of your food throughout the week you’d like to have home cooked.
This is an important step in planning out the week to determine groceries and pro-actively choose healthy takeout options in advance. Taking time to think about it, write it down and inviting your kids into the conversation can kick start making meal planning a habit you start together as a family.
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Livia Marati is a women’s holistic health coach and founder of Ina Wellness Collective. You can send her questions and comments at livia@inawellnesscollective.com.