Meal Planning Tips for Stay at Home Moms

Just because you are home all day, doesn't mean you have lots to time. We all need help scheduling our days sometimes, so everything gets done on time. Planning a meal is no exception.

Here are some quick tips to help you manage supper time a little better:

1. Try planning for supper the night before. While it's alright to thaw meat in the sink or microwave, it tastes the best when thawed in the fridge. Planning the night ahead also gives you time to make slow-cooker meals.

2. If you can't plan the night before, make lunch time your dinner planning time. If you are like me, your freezer is usually stocked with meat which needs to be thawed by supper time. If you pull those items out of the fridge around lunch, it will be ready to cook later.

3. Start making supper afterschool. Usually kids get out of school between 3pm and 3:30pm. By the time you get them home, search bags for important notes, and discuss the day quickly, it will be time to cook. I try my hardest to only find recipes that take an hour or less. If I start at 4pm, dinner is done by 5pm or 5:30pm at the latest.

4. Learn to use your crockpot on the busy days. Sports and other after school activities can have you running from 3pm until bedtime. If you've only got a small window to eat, cooking for an hour might not be an option. I'm not in love with my crockpot, but I've adjusted.

The bottom line is avoiding fast food and unhealthy meals when possible. With proper planning, you can make sure your family is fed home-cooked healthy meals every day of the week, no matter how full your schedule may be.