Meal planning adds to an already busy schedule and it can be easy to skip to “save time.” The time it takes is why I originally avoided meal planning. As a teacher mom, I felt like I didn’t have time to meal plan. Now that I’ve started meal planning I hate when I miss a week. Our school nights become hectic, we end up eating late or unhealthy meals.
Meal planning for teacher moms not only saves time and money but helps school nights be more relaxed.
As a teacher, you make over 1,500 decisions a day at school. (Check out this Education Week article about teachers and the number of decisions we make a day!) Then as a mom, you come home and need to continue to make decisions as you care for your kids. Decision fatigue hits HARD! It can put us in a hard place if we arrive home hungry and exhausted and realize we can’t answer the question, “What’s for dinner?” We may fall back on take-out or pre-made food that is less healthy or have to eat late as we wait for the chicken to defrost.
Meal planning has helped make our school nights easier. It takes a big decision off my plate and I’ve found I’m more willing to prepare dinner if it’s planned ahead of time. Which then leads to more quality time with family.
Getting Started with Meal Planning
Starting a meal-planning habit doesn’t need to be overwhelming. It can look different for each family and can be adapted as your family’s needs change.
If you’re hesitant to start with a strict schedule that lists what you’re eating each day of the week you can try a simpler version. Brainstorm a list of meals and have the ingredients ready to go. That way you still get the flexibility of picking what sounds good the day of, but you already have what you need.
As teacher moms, our schedules can get busy quickly. After-school meetings, conferences, open houses, kids’ sports, enrichment activities, get-togethers, and more fill in our calendars. This is when a more structured meal plan can come in handy. You can ensure that on busy nights you have quick and easy meals. Then plan more complicated meals for nights you have more time.
This has been the best habit we’ve developed for our family. Even on our busiest nights, we don’t typically eat out because we have a quick and easy meal ready to go. If we do eat out it’s because we planned it as part of our weekly meal plan which is a huge help for our budget.
Whatever level of meal planning you decide to try it will make a difference in your family’s dinner times.
Meal Planning Tips
Set Clear Goals
As you get started, with meal planning, create a set of goals to guide your meal planning. Do you need to focus more on saving money, eating healthy meals, or getting food on the table fast? Now you might say yes to all three goals, but it may not always be possible to accomplish all those goals with one meal. Thinking through your priorities will help you decide how much time to set aside for meal preparation, budget, etc.
Find a Meal Planning Tool
Next, you’ll want to find what you prefer to use to plan out your meals. You can start with a piece of paper, a journal, or a meal planner printable. There are also some planners that include meal planning templates so you can keep all your planning in one place. Another option is a meal-planning app.
There are a variety of meal-planning apps like Cozi or Plan to Eat that can simplify meal planning for teacher moms. We’ve used the free version of the Cozi app off and on over the years because we can store our favorite meals and recipes in one place. You can also schedule the meals on a calendar. We like using digital tools but ended up liking having a menu board on our kitchen wall best. So try a variety of things until you find what works best for you.
Meal Planning Tool Features To Look For:
- Collection of Meals or Recipes
- Meal Calendar
- Grocery List
- Weekly Schedule
- Notes
Another tool that can help as you get started are meal kit delivery services such as Hello Fresh, Green Chef, or Home Chef. These meal kit delivery services and others like them do the meal planning for you. We’ve tried all three of these services and while we had good meals with all of them we’ve had our best luck with Hello Fresh.
Create a Meal Planning Routine
Once you have your goals and tools you’ll want to develop a meal planning routine. I find, as a teacher mom, that meal planning works best on the weekend. Once you decide when you’re going to plan decide on the frequency. You can create a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meal plan based on what works for your family.
We’ve found weekly or bi-weekly works best if your plans change frequently. Especially if you only shop for a week or two at a time.
One thing that has helped us fit meal planning in is that we discuss the meals for the following week over dinner on the weekends. It allows our kids to give their input and doesn’t take up any extra time. Then on Sunday, I shop our pantry, fridge, and freezer before creating a grocery list.
Another meal planning trick is to create your list directly in an online grocery order. That way you can pick it up on a weekend afternoon or after work. Online grocery orders are a teacher mom’s best friend!
The Benefits of Meal Planning for Teacher Moms
- Less daily stress about what to have for dinner
- Save money on groceries
- Saves time
- More quality with family
- Healthier food choices
Meal planning is a beneficial habit for our own sanity and for our families as a whole. This week find some of your favorite recipes and create your first weekly meal plan!