Time-Saving Meal Prep for Busy Moms: Tips & Hacks

Whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, your job is never easy. There is really no end to your work day. From the moment you open your eyes until you go to bed – you’re in charge of keeping the house together, doing chores, taking care of the kids, and on top of that possibly juggling a job. Where do you get the time to cook food?

Preparing meals, regardless of your skill level is time-consuming and not always easy.But cooking and food prep don’t have to be a problem for you anymore. All you need to know is the easiest way to go about meal prep. And to help you out we made a list of tips and hacks for time-saving meal prep for all you busy moms out there. Let’s check it out.

1. Go shopping first

Before you ever start meal planning and prepping, you need to go shopping. And shopping first can save you a lot of time and money. This is what you need to know to be able to make the most out of your shopping trips.

First, never go grocery shopping without knowing what you need. Make a list of all the groceries you need for the following week, and only then hit the shops. Also, make sure you always stick to the shopping list you made. Buying things that are not on the list will certainly increase the shopping budget.

While we’re still on topic, to make things easier on your wallet, don’t be ashamed to look for discounts, deals, special offers, or coupons. If you need to, shop around, don’t just stick to one store.

Remember that you can always buy in bulk but without overbuying or hoarding. Buying in bulk while convenient, isn’t always cheaper, so be careful with that.

2. Plan the meals on weekends

For busy moms, the ideal time for meal planning is on the weekends. By making a meal plan on Saturday or Sunday, you’re saving time and reducing stress during the work week. Planning meals in advance also allows you to make healthy and nutritious meals and avoid buying fast food and takeouts. To optimize your weekend meal planning, start by choosing recipes and making a grocery list. Involve all your family members in this process.

3. Make a meal plan schedule

When you first start making a meal plan, you’re bound to be overwhelmed. But don’t give up. To make things easier on yourself, make a meal plan schedule. Write down all your meal ideas, and how much time preparing them might take. Also, write down a budget for each meal and create a grocery list. 

For busy days, make sure you plan simple and easy-to-make meals or explore alternatives. You have the option of ordering healthy home-delivered meals from My Fitness Kitchn. You can rest assured that all their meals are fresh, healthy, and nutritious.

If you’re out of ideas or want more options, don’t be afraid to look through recipe books or look for recipes online. Organize the recipes with potential and make them sometime. 

4. Prep your ingredients

The most time-consuming part of cooking is ingredient prep. Having all ingredients prepared is an essential part of making meals, plus it can cut the meal prep process significantly.  If you aren’t as organized in the kitchen as you’d like to be, there are some things you can do. First, you can develop some kind of strategy – label containers, get the ingredients ready in advance, and double or triple their quantity so you can have them for more days. Then, use kitchen machines and gadgets to save time on meal prep.

5. Be smart about which meals you’re preparing

Making a meal plan for three meals per day, every day of the week is too much. It’s not only too time-consuming, but it can be pretty expensive and stressful. Instead, you should focus on creating a plan for only one meal per day. That meal can either be dinner or lunch. If you choose dinner, then you can eat leftovers for lunch or vice versa. This is why cooking meals in bulk is a smart move. You will have leftovers for the next day, or you can freeze them and have them for later.

To be able to store leftover food, you’ll need to invest in good storage containers. Also, if you’re going to prepare food this way, make your meals the day before or on weekends when you have more time.

6. And breakfasts?

Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we shouldn’t forget it. For breakfasts, make sure you stock the pantry with healthy and nutritious foods such as nuts, seeds, whole grain cereal, oatmeal, fresh, dried, and frozen fruits, and different healthy oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, and so on. These oils will come in handy not just for breakfasts, but when you’re cooking your meals as well.

7. Involve kids in the meal prep process

Involving your kids in the meal prep process can not only be a great way for you to spend more time with them, but also it can be quite educational. Helping them develop a cooking skill early on can only benefit them later in life. Plus, you’ll be teaching them to be creative and enjoy and celebrate their accomplishments once the meal is done.

While it may seem like meal prep is overwhelming and takes a lot of time, in reality, it’s very time-saving. As a busy mom, you’ll love meal prep once you get the hang of it. At first, it will take time to get into it, but once you start meal prepping, you’ll see how much more time it will save you over the week.

By Erin Lane

Erin Lane is a creative writer and lifestyle blogger from Canberra, Australia. She is a hard-working, organized, dedicated professional interested in learning new things. With five years of experience in writing, Erin has covered numerous topics, including health, fashion, fitness, makeup, home improvement, decoration, business, and finances. Author mail: erin.lane9104@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091358659318 Twitter or X: @lane9104