Winter, like all of the seasons, is a busy one for us. And unlike summer, where my kids can live on smoothies, fruit, and crudite, winter calls for warm and comforting foods…Which means I actually have to cook. However, with less sunlight and Vitamin D, I have less patience and energy to think through and cook dinner every night. Full meals take much more preparation and forethought. For my mental health, I need to rely on a simple plan and one prep day to make it through this season. The less thinking I have to do, the better. The more able I am to create a rhythm or routine that I can ease into, the less stress I feel. This desire for ease and simplicity runs deep because I’ve found myself in the scramble to prepare dinner each night more times than I can count. I don’t enjoy that – my peace is easily disturbed by 3 hungry children asking me what’s for dinner repeatedly while I frantically scramble to come up with something only to find it won’t be done before practice.
It took me a while to refine this habit, but what I have found works for me is a single preparation and cooking day each week. It may not be the same time every Sunday, but I will stay up late and get it done rather than live with the consequences of not doing so. Every week in the winter I make one meal from each of these categories:
Make-ahead Salad
Casserole
Sandwich Filler
Soup
Bread
I keep a small list of 5 or so foods in each category to choose from so we don’t get burnt out on any meals. Then each Sunday I also throw together 2 or 3 breakfast items like protein balls, hard boiled eggs, breakfast burritos, etc. I try to vary those each week and make extras of the items that I can freeze for future weeks as well. Then, as a last resort (in case I mis-judge quantities or a meal gets eaten super quickly) I also have 5 dinner ideas that everyone enjoys which I can throw together in 10 minutes. I check to be sure that I have all of the ingredients for those on hand before each grocery trip.
Not much else changes. We all eat the meals on the same day, ideally as a family (when kids’ sports aren’t making that an impossibility). But surprisingly, I’ve also found that when I follow this rhythm, I take the time to eat and enjoy meals with everyone instead of running around cleaning up or serving seconds. Since the prep and cook part of the meal is already done, my brain can relax and enjoy the family time rather than stay in “get it done” mode. This simple little tip has changed the way I think about meal time, and has given me back so much peace during my winter struggle.
If you want a copy of the meal planner page I use each week, here is a black and white version ready to download and print! I also have a color version (with and without meal suggestions) available in my shop – this is the version I use and laminate so I can check mark each meal, grab the right ingredients at the store, and post it so everyone knows what’s in the fridge each week.
Leave a Reply