Family meal prep is the glue holding your health together!
Family meal prep is not the most exciting and fun part of the food world. Yet, meal planning and prep are key pillars for foundational health for busy families. Wholeheartedly, I would argue family meal prep is the most important piece for taking care of you and your family’s health.
This post is all about the Not So Boring Truth About Family Meal Prep.
Simple Family Meal Prep
Pick your Family Meal Prep Day
While every family schedule is unique, deciding on one day of the week to meal plan and tackle meal prep will be key to your success. This day of the week is used for planning meals and snacks, creating a list for shopping, and preparing some grab-and-go items. Because shopping is another step in the meal planning and prep process, it may or may not be included on your meal prep day.
At my house, family meal prep occurs on Sundays. Because weekends are meant for house projects and family, meal shopping happens mid-week. Unless the weekend is jam-packed, I follow the simple steps listed below for getting nutritious family meals on the table.
Clean Out the Kitchen
What’s the first image in your mind when you read “clean out?” For me, visions of bright yellow gloves and a hot, soapy rag pop up immediately. In addition, scrubbing shelves, throwing out old condiments, and tossing the meat, in the freezer, from a decade ago play like a movie in my mind. Hit the pause button! To clarify, clean out means open the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry doors and see what’s in there.
The Refrigerator
Whether you choose paper and pencil or a wipe-off board and markers, grab something to write down what is already in your kitchen, garage, and/or basement food storage spaces! First, begin in the refrigerator because these are the most perishable items. Honestly, I grab my hot washcloth and wipe the shelves and drawers as I go.
Starting on the top shelf, write down the items on hand, by category. Highlight or circle the food when you realize it needs to be used NOW. Move through each shelf and drawer.
For example, on my top shelf, these are the items on hand: eggs, tempeh, pesto sauce, feta cheese, hummus, and pizza sauce (don’t fret, there is more). I write the items by category and circle what I want to use NOW – proteins: eggs, tempeh, feta cheese and sauces & dips: pesto, pizza, hummus.
Click here for your FREE PRINTABLE – Family Meal Prep
The Freezer
The next stop is the freezer. Similarly, in the freezer, start at the top and move your way to the very bottom. Most of the freezer items are proteins, quick fixes, and breakfast items.
For instance, in my freezer, the top shelf has chicken, beef, and pork, the middle shelf houses breakfast-related foods like frozen fruit, hashbrowns, bacon, and sausage, and my bottom shelf is filled with frozen pizza. I add the items to my list: proteins: chicken breast, pork chops, ground beef, bacon, sausage and fruits: frozen.
My home is filled with four active children. Therefore, quick fixes are a necessity. A few of the foods listed under quick fixes include pizza, taquitos, and egg rolls.
As a reminder, if you own multiple refrigerators and freezers, use the clean-out process for all of them. All of your spaces are filled with food, waiting to be eaten.
The Pantry
Last but not least, swing open the pantry doors. What’s hiding in the dark? Here are some examples of what’s in my pantry cabinets and drawers: beans, pasta, rice, cereal, bread, crackers, nuts, granola bars, applesauce pouches, chips, popcorn, and baking supplies, like almond flour, chocolate chips, honey, and coconut oil.
Thankfully, the food in the pantry has a longer shelf life. The categories for the pantry include carbohydrates, grab & go, and sweet treats.
Although the kitchen counter is not the pantry, do you have a fruit basket? Remember to list all the things you have already! This step alone gets the creative juices flowing and most often, I realize my shopping list can be cut in half.
Repeat Meal Ideas
Many times meal prep dinner ideas for your family are left untouched. As a result, these unmade meals become a blessing for the following week. It’s this simple – move the unmade recipes to the current week. Remember, your clean-out list already has the ingredients. Repeating the meal ideas already created keeps family meal prep simple.
Use What You Have for Family Meal Prep
Do you find meal prep fun? Overall, this simple process opens the flood gates of possibility. Currently, you are holding a list of ingredients waiting to create millions of recipes! Pull out your favorite recipe books, log into your Pinterest account, and/or check out my Health On The Run Facebook group.
First, plug in the ingredients you have to find mouth-watering, nutritious, and simple meals. Second, write meals in your calendar, meal planner, or a simple print-off calendar to hang from your refrigerator. Third, always plan for one night of leftovers or clean out the fridge night. And, Fridays are perpetual pizza night! Finally, make a grocery list and fill in the gaps. What ingredients do you need for meals later in the week? What are the staples you buy every week to keep your kitchen stocked and simple?
Think Ahead for Easy Meal Prep
Thinking ahead is a game-changer with meal prep for families. What exactly is thinking ahead? This step begins while perusing recipes. What recipes caught your eye? What ideas flashed across your mind to make that will keep you focused on your health goal? What fun is on the calendar that involves food?
Thinking ahead means writing down a few future recipes, adding the ingredients to your list, and knowing you have a few tricks up your sleeve when necessary. For me, thinking ahead also means I add ingredients to my shopping list for future “make-aheads!”
Other Easy Meal Prep Ideas
Make Aheads
Every two or three weeks, I invest a couple of hours to make ahead a few of our favorite grab-and-go items. However, flexibility is key for the extra time investment. What works best for you – after dinner on a weeknight, or a Sunday afternoon? Superhero muffins, from Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky, are a must for my post-run nutrition. In addition, trail cookies, protein balls, and energy bites are part of the rotation.
If eating more vegetables is a goal for your family, creating a vegetable tray is the perfect make-ahead. For instance, pull out the vegetables in your refrigerator on Sunday. Wash, cut, and place them in individual containers or a veggie tray. Lastly, prepare a dip. Veggies and dip are a great appetizer for hungry kids, especially while you are frantically preparing one of your fabulous new recipes!
My Meal Prep Resources
Keeping things simple and nutritious is my motto. What’s your motto when it comes to meals?
My favorite cookbooks include the Run Fast. Eat Slow. series, by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. In these pages, you will find superhero muffin combinations to create fast breakfast options, as well as, a roasted chicken recipe that is mouth-watering.
In addition to cookbooks, Pinterest always sparks creativity for me. Check out the Health On The Run Pinterest boards for new recipe ideas.
Lastly, Yoli’s 28-Day Transformation Guide provides simple tips, meal prep ideas, and food combinations. This guide supports a healthy lifestyle and empowers you to create meals for your health goals.
{You might like: How This Simple System Can Change Your Life}
In summary, family meal prep opens the door for food possibilities. When following the simple steps to clean out, create with what you have, and prepare a few grab-and-go items for the week, you may find more in the bank, less stress, and less food waste.
Print this FREE CHECKLIST for your meal planning day! Meal Prep PDF Checklist
What questions do you still have about family meal prep?
This post was all about the Not So Boring Truth About Family Meal Prep.
Other Posts You Might Like
5 Things To Ask Yourself Before Starting your Health Journey AGAIN
How This Simple System Can Change Your Life