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Easy meal plan for working mom?
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<blockquote data-quote="klmno" data-source="post: 375431" data-attributes="member: 3699"><p>I was a single working mom and understand these stresses. It might not have been the best plan or approach in the world, but here's what I did: I planned three meals for the following week and bought groceries on Saturday- allowing that each meal had to serve us for two different evenings. Sat. evening I cooked whatever was the most time consuming meal (usually involved casseroles) and we ate it on Sat. and the leftovers on Monday. (Anything still remaining got frozen.) On Sunday I cooked another meal but it would be a little quicker- usually something on the grill- and include whatever produce needed being washed off so I could get all stuff clean for salads, fruit for the week, etc. We ate that meal on Sun. and leftovers on Tues. evenings. Wednesday I cooked something quick and easy- fried chops, canned vegies, baked potato, for example. If there were leftovers from that meal, we ate them either on Thursday or Friday. I also kept leftovers from big pots of chili or spagetti and such in the freezer to pull out and cans of soup and the better store bought frozen lasagna, etc., as back ups. I called this "wing it night". I tried, but couldn't always afford it, to have Friday night as a night for pizza to be delivered or a run thru captain d's. But more importantly- ALWAYS keep some "back up" food because there will be days when she comes home late or sick or exhausted and overwhelmed and if there is something like chicken noodle soup and sandwiches that can be fixed quickly and easily, it will save the additional stress and guilt which can lead to more emotional distress. I never considered that anything to feel guilty for. This approach allowed me to get back into the weekly work routine without having to worry about anything but heating dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. I think some people felt I was skimping, but I thought this was healthier than constantly pulling chicken nuggets out of the freezer.</p><p></p><p>And of course, if her husband or child can pick one of the meals that will be served two nights that week, the family will not moan and groan too much. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I know some peopl spent a great deal of time on weekends prepping food to be cooked thru the week to avoid so many leftovers and that's good if she has time. I was single with a young child so I had to do yardwork, laundry, clean, etc, and simply didn't have that much time to devote to cooking. Plus, I did try to block out time just to spend with my child. I was told, and firmly believe, that when a mom works she can't be perfect at all of it and it's better to spread out your time to address what you can in each area (cooking, house cleaning, quality time, self time, etc) rather than get caught up into trying to be perfect in one area. Forget it- you won't get caught up. LOL!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="klmno, post: 375431, member: 3699"] I was a single working mom and understand these stresses. It might not have been the best plan or approach in the world, but here's what I did: I planned three meals for the following week and bought groceries on Saturday- allowing that each meal had to serve us for two different evenings. Sat. evening I cooked whatever was the most time consuming meal (usually involved casseroles) and we ate it on Sat. and the leftovers on Monday. (Anything still remaining got frozen.) On Sunday I cooked another meal but it would be a little quicker- usually something on the grill- and include whatever produce needed being washed off so I could get all stuff clean for salads, fruit for the week, etc. We ate that meal on Sun. and leftovers on Tues. evenings. Wednesday I cooked something quick and easy- fried chops, canned vegies, baked potato, for example. If there were leftovers from that meal, we ate them either on Thursday or Friday. I also kept leftovers from big pots of chili or spagetti and such in the freezer to pull out and cans of soup and the better store bought frozen lasagna, etc., as back ups. I called this "wing it night". I tried, but couldn't always afford it, to have Friday night as a night for pizza to be delivered or a run thru captain d's. But more importantly- ALWAYS keep some "back up" food because there will be days when she comes home late or sick or exhausted and overwhelmed and if there is something like chicken noodle soup and sandwiches that can be fixed quickly and easily, it will save the additional stress and guilt which can lead to more emotional distress. I never considered that anything to feel guilty for. This approach allowed me to get back into the weekly work routine without having to worry about anything but heating dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. I think some people felt I was skimping, but I thought this was healthier than constantly pulling chicken nuggets out of the freezer. And of course, if her husband or child can pick one of the meals that will be served two nights that week, the family will not moan and groan too much. :) I know some peopl spent a great deal of time on weekends prepping food to be cooked thru the week to avoid so many leftovers and that's good if she has time. I was single with a young child so I had to do yardwork, laundry, clean, etc, and simply didn't have that much time to devote to cooking. Plus, I did try to block out time just to spend with my child. I was told, and firmly believe, that when a mom works she can't be perfect at all of it and it's better to spread out your time to address what you can in each area (cooking, house cleaning, quality time, self time, etc) rather than get caught up into trying to be perfect in one area. Forget it- you won't get caught up. LOL! [/QUOTE]
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