Working full time and still trying to get a homemade dinner on the table most nights of the week? Yes, that is me. I have discovered during the last year that If I reframe this daily struggle into a challenge, I’m both more successful at meeting the task and less mentally stressed.
Elements of success
To be successful, I have learned that a little planning, inspiration, and creativity can go a long way in meeting this challenge before me. Everyone will need to define what success looks like for themselves, but for me it means having less stress about what I’m I going to serve for dinner. My second mark of success is that I’m not wasting food, or letting it spoil before use it. To accomplish this second goal, planning is most important. My third goal for meal preparation, specifically this summer, is to avoid heating up the house during meal preparation. For example, I avoid baking and plan to use a minimal amount of electricity during the peak rates from 1-7 pm on weekdays.
Planning
Planning helps reduce stress, saves money, improves nutrition, and saves time. To reduce food waste and thus saving money, shop your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer first. Look for items that will expire soon. These foods can inspire an entire menu. Use grocery store ads or apps to buy what you need and what is on sale. But remember just because it is on sale doesn’t mean you need to buy it, especially if it is not nutritious or you can’t use it before it expires.
Inspiration
My battle cry used to be “Just tell me what you want for dinner!” Or “Give me ideas!” These requests rarely resulted in a menu. So, I have moved on to other strategies such as, looking at blogs, YouTube videos, magazines, watching cooking shows, or typing into a search engine “recipes using zucchini”, etc. When all else fails I rely on alliteration to inspire a week’s worth of menus. For example, Meatless Monday, or Taco Tuesday, etc.
Creativity
Never one to follow a recipe exactly, I tend to do well at this, given I have a few guardrails. For instance, if I have a few ingredients I need to use, or theme I can usually meet the creativity challenge. I’m not saying all my creativity yields tasty “I want More!” results, but that’s creativity for you.
What’s on the Dinner Menu this Week
Since it is hot outside, I’m planning lots of chopping, very little cooking, and no baking. On Sunday I will clean, trim and chop red bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, celery, carrots, yellow onions, summer squash and green onions (scallions). Each chopped vegetable will be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, ready to be used as I decide. Later in the week I will clean, and chop mushrooms and avocados as needed. Also, I will steam hard boiled eggs for the week, drain a can of garbanzo beans and red kidney beans. I have thick slice of precooked ham I bought earlier that needs to be used. I will thaw boneless skinless chicken for a quick stir-fry on Tuesday.
Monday – Chef Salad (lettuce, chopped vegetables, hard boiled eggs, cubed ham, cold beans, salad dressing)- Tuesday – Stir-fry (cooked rice, chicken, chopped vegetables, soy/teriyaki sauce)
- Wednesday – Omelets featuring chopped vegetables, any scraps of cheese and toast or roll
- Thursday – Cold pasta salad (cooked and cooled pasta shells, chopped vegetables, leftover ham cubes, hard boiled eggs, or beans and a light vinaigrette dressing)
- Friday – Quick cook soup (all the leftover vegetables, beans, chicken, herbs/seasonings, and a can of diced tomatoes)
In conclusion, getting dinner on the table can be stressful, but don’t give up! It is normal to experience a lack of inspiration or motivation from time to time. Find strategies that work for you. Maybe you only want to plan nightly dinners 3 nights a week. Give yourself grace. Ask for help when you need it. Every step you take toward creating a more balanced diet, reducing food waste, saving money, or reducing stress is progress in the right direction.
For more inspiration plan to join the Meal Planning with confidence online class, offered by CSU Extension on October 9, 2024, 7-8:30 pm. Tickets must be purchased 5 days before the class, cost $5.
Hello Sheila,
This post was a great read because it gave me more ideas of planning meals and using leftovers! Thank you for sharing what you have learned as a Mom who has a full-time job and needs to plan, shop, and prepare the meals for the famil!
Thanks Anne! Having foods like all the vegetables cleaned and chopped ahead of time, not only saves time, but also encourages me to include more of them in my meals. All that said, I also plan on having nights when I let someone else in the house be in charge of the meal, or I plan to pick up a pizza, etc. I have learned (over many years) to give myself grace when the week does not go exactly as I planned.