Meal Planning

How do you meal plan? Everyone who does it has their own way.  For me it is easiest to plan one week at a time…3 main reasons for this. One, because any more than a week and I get a bit overwhelmed. Two because we live in an apartment with very little pantry space so I don’t like to have too much food that we arent using. and Three our fridge is wack (lol) and if you put anything too close to the back it freezes and  it’s just kind of crazy so i only get what we need for the week.  This is how i go about meal planning for the following week.

I usually start about Wednesday, I ask everyone what they want to eat the following week…. I already know what they are going to say most of the time. Husband : crispy tacos Kids: conchitas, enchiladas, ramon noodles, quesadillas.  I think i do this so they feel like they help but really and truly I only sometimes add these things to the menu haha dont tell.   

Next I usually go through pinterest and pick whatever i think i want to try.. my husband doesn't like new things so I try to only make one “new thing” per week or less..  I plan out all my main dishes. The kids are school age and we both work so I really only have to cook once a day and maybe 2 times on weekends.  After I have my list of meals I make a list of groceries I will need for the week. I make sure to get fruit, cereal, waffles, bread, milk← that type of stuff for snacks, breakfast, and lazy weekend meals :).  

That’s really about it. I look at our week and what we have going on as far as after school activities and what not. I get out of work early Mon-Wed so I make more complicated meals on those days. Weekends are usually quick meals, and days that we have lots going on I LOVE to use my crock pot!  My menu is not set in stone. Sometimes I forget to get the meat out of the freezer in the morning to defrost, so I  have no other choice but to change the menu.  Other days my husband will call and say his friend will be joining us.  I have some meals figured out to where I make just the right amount with no left overs. and other meal.I don’t have it quite figured out so I make a crapload and we have leftovers.

I really like my little routine for planning our meals. When I get super busy and don’t make time to plan ahead my whole week i feel rushed and unprepared and usually end up going to the grocery store like every day!

The struggle is real!

So I have been really struggling lately with just staying organized and on top of things and staying focused in many areas of my life.  I feel like I just can’t get things together, like I clean up one room and the next is messy then I get to that one and I’m back where I started! sometimes I wish I had a whole day off just to completely organize, really clean, and catch up on project that I’ve been slacking off on. I always have these big plans for Saturday, then Saturday rolls around and we get a late start, I do breakfast and clean up then before you know it these bottomless pits I call my kids are ready for lunch!! I have fallen way behind on reading my bible and that makes me super sad.

That being said, there are smaller struggles that  should be like oh whatever let me wake up tomorrow and totally change this! But it’s not that easy.. some days are better than others.. One big one is waking up early. I work out in the morning so this means I must be OUT OF MY BED by 5:00am ideally dressed and ready to work out by 5:10am!! this is soo hard for me as I am a night owl. I have to MAKE myself go to bed early so I can get up early. This week i started putting my workout clothes in a little pile on the bathroom counter.  Since my hubby is still asleep when I get up I change in the bathroom as not to bother him. This has helped, but I still spend a good 5 min talking to myself telling ME that I will regret it if I miss this workout. And that I have come so far I can’t give up now, and how can I be a role  model to others if I can’t even do it. (sometimes this process takes more than 5 min :) ) I set my alarm for 4:45 to give myself plenty of time.

My next biggest everyday struggle is FOOD!!!! I love food! The thing is even when I am good and I pack lunch and snacks for work, things happen….. I cover the back desk or the front desk and don’t get a chance to eat.  Thats bad because you NEED to eat!!!! OR my wonderful amazing co-workers bring yummy deliciousness and I am still working on saying NO!  OR being in the medical field, we have reps bringing in lunch ALL THE TIME!!! and how can I say no to fajitas, rice, and beans?!?! or those AMAZING buttery burger buns!!! ugh its soooo hard!! I think  or better yet I know that this is where I need to focus. I know I can just say no. I can go back there and make my yummy lunch that’s packed all nice and neat in my awesome lunch box! It’s not that my packed lunch is not yummy, cause it really is, it’s just that it’s so much easier to go back there and serve a wonderful hot plate of whatever is back there.  OH the struggle is real!  But I know that if i set my mind to it i can do anything! So starting tomorrow I WILL say no to food that is not good for my mind and body.  I WILL pack my lunch box and EAT. I WILL eat my snacks AND my lunch.  I WILL make time to plan my meals AND eat them!

What do you struggle with? How do you handle your struggles? How would you handle MY struggles?!