More Tips on Quarantine Meal Planning

We’ve been at this quarantine thing for about 2 months now and it seems that I’m still expected to prepare 3 meals a day for my whole family. Meal prepping and planning looks a little different and in our previous blog, we broke down the basics of meal time to help you manage stress. Here are some other tried and true go-to tips.

1. Cook Once & Eat Twice - Double that recipe so that you can either have leftovers this week or freeze it to have a meal at a later date. This is a no brainer. 
   
2. Stock the Pantry & Freezer - If you are stocked up you will always be able to throw something together. I love these printables from Real Mom Nutrition to help keep track of what we have on hand in the freezer, fridge, and pantry. The last page gives you space to map out meals you can make with things you already have on hand. 
   
3. Be Confident in Very Minimal Meal Planning - I know this one sounds crazy but, if you've used tip #2, you can relax knowing you have all the components to make a balanced meal. Here’s how dinner time has been going down: In the morning I do a scan of the fridge to see what leftovers we have. Sometimes there’s enough to make a whole meal, sometimes there are components to a meal, and sometimes I find that I’ve got to start from the beginning. If you're starting from scratch, begin with the protein. Go to the freezer and pick something out. After that it’s on to the veggies. Depending on the day of the week the fridge may be full of veggies or I may need to open the freezer or pantry and grab something from there...all of these options provide the same nutrients (there is no one form of produce that is more nutritious than the others).  Next up is my favorite: the carbs. It may be some starchy veggies, grains, mac and cheese or fruit. This is definitely my favorite tip so far but you’ve got to have that stocked pantry and freezer to make it work. 
   
4. Keep It Simple - For the most part stick with recipes that you are familiar with and are easy to make. Breakfast for dinner, sandwich + soup/salad, tacos, and pizza night are all easy and allow for you to still get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. If you have more free time than usual this can be a great time to play around with new ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques. Just be sure to go through the ingredient list a few times to make sure that you get everything you need at the store and you don’t have to make an extra trip out just to grab 1-2 things. 
   
5. Order Takeout - If the budget allows, order takeout once a week to give yourself a break and to help support a local business….it’s a win win!