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You are here: Home / Menu Plan / How to Meal Plan as a Working Mom

How to Meal Plan as a Working Mom

March 27, 2017 by Glitter On A Dime

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It is strawberry season in North Carolina and that makes me happy! We stopped by the produce stand this weekend to pick up a bucket. One of my favorite breakfasts during the week is a bowl of berries and yogurt topped with granola. I try to prep this the night before by putting the fruit and yogurt in a bowl so that I only have to add the granola in the next morning.

This post does include affiliate links. That means I could earn a tiny portion of any sale that is made through clicking on any of these products with no additional cost to you. All support is greatly appreciated!

Farmers Market Strawberries

What are the benefits of meal planning?

Over the weekend I read a great post about a family that was able to save $100 a week by meal planning. That was very motivating to me. I know that meal planning saves money and enables us to eat healthier. I never really thought about how much it could be saving us.

I am hoping to start making more of our snacks. This past weekend I made granola bars with chocolate chips, almonds and dried cherries.

How to Meal Plan as a Working Mom

As a working mom, I find it very important to have a meal plan. There isn’t a lot of extra time to think about what meals everyone will be having throughout the week.

Let me just share the process I find that works well for me as a mom that works Monday through Friday. I do all my meal planning and grocery shopping on the weekend.

For the meal plan, I plan for Saturday through Friday. When I am on top of my game, the meal plan includes weekend meals that can be repurposed for Monday and Tuesday dinners.

Cooking on the weekends and utilizing leftovers are two important strategies for meal planning as a working mom.

Being able to use leftovers works great for my family. If I know I can repurpose leftovers those days, I plan for simple meals on Wednesday and Thursday. This could be whole wheat pasta with a jar of sauce. Using the crockpot is also a great way to meal plan as a working mom.

On Fridays, we usually have a school event or try to have a quick dinner out as a family. We also use this as an opportunity to order pizza or have make your own pizza night at home.

Quick Breakfast Ideas

As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy prepping my breakfast of yogurt, granola, and berries the night before. I also prep smoothies since the kids enjoy that for breakfast. Another great breakfast prep is Overnight Oats.

Healthy breakfast yogurt parfait

Simple Meal Plan for Working Moms

Using these simple tips and strategy, here is an example of how our meal plan will look for the week.

  • Saturday – Crock Pot Barbecue Pulled Pork, Roasted Potatoes, and Green Beans
  • Sunday – Oven Baked Fajitas served with Black Beans
  • Monday – Barbecue Sliders with Baked Potatoes and Peas
  • Tuesday –  Rice Bowls made with meat from Oven Baked Fajitas
  • Wednesday – Marinara Pasta served with Tossed Salad
  • Thursday – Spinach and Mushroom Quiche served with Salad (The kids probably won’t eat this so I will make sure we also have some leftover pasta.)
  • Friday – Food Truck Friday at Gavin’s school
Rice Bowls with leftovers for easy meal planning.

This week we are trying a recipe that we haven’t had in a while, Oven Baked Fajitas. We love Mexican food in case you have not already noticed. We also love being able to use a meal from the weekend to make rice bowls. Rice bowls are so simple to make. I can use a Steamfresh bag of brown rice that cooks in 5 minutes and add the meat from the weekend with a can of black beans for a quick and easy dinner that the whole family enjoys. You can top it with shredded cheese, salsa, avocado, corn, lettuce and/or sour cream.

That is our plan for the week! I would love to hear what’s on the menu at your house! Also feel free to join my Healthy Meal Planning on a Budget Facebook Group for more meal planning inspiration.

Meal Planning as a Working Mom

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Filed Under: Menu Plan Tagged With: crock pot, granola, granola bars, meal planning, menu monday, menu plan, recipes, strawberries

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Comments

  1. Leah says

    March 28, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    This menu sounds fabulous and those strawberries look amazing! I really want that for breakfast!!

    • stampgirl.hj@gmail.com says

      March 28, 2017 at 7:38 pm

      Thanks Leah! I love strawberry season!

  2. Wendy Sprous | Moments For "Me" says

    March 28, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    We do meal planning at my house as well. My 19 year old has taken over the meal planning the last two weeks! We usually have leftovers night once or twice a week to help clean out our fridge. Part of our savings with meal planning is to use what we have available and when we need to buy food try to get it on sale and possibly with coupons if we have some.
    – http://www.momentsformeonline.com

    • stampgirl.hj@gmail.com says

      March 28, 2017 at 8:45 pm

      These are great tips Wendy!

  3. Angela says

    March 28, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    I used to be really good at meal planning, I bought a planning note pad, but it is stuck to my fridge and blank now!
    I am doing a healthy eating challenge in April so I will get back into it!
    Any stategies to make it easier to plan? I found myself surrounded by recipes and buying way too many groceries!

    Love strawberries and yogurt! I make my own yogurt – it is soo good!!

    Xx Angela

    • stampgirl.hj@gmail.com says

      March 28, 2017 at 10:02 pm

      Hi Angela! We try two recipes on Saturday and Sunday that we can also use leftovers for at the beginning of the week. Then we just do something really simple the next couple of days. That strategy has been working for us. It is overwhelming with all the great recipes out there! Good luck on your healthy eating challenge!

Welcome!

My name is Heather and I am a thrifty mom who loves sharing ideas on preschool activities, kids’ crafts, meal planning, scrapbooking and dollar store DIY. I like to keep things simple and love to create, cook, and make things special for my family.

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