Meal planning/prepping for a true beginner!

 So this is week 2 of planning seriously and week 1 of prepping...planning is not bad takes a bit of time but it is fun and it is the perfect time to find new recipes! I have meal planned two ways. One where I had every meal and snack laid out and I had to erase and change what I actually ate. That was last week. What I discovered is...I hate it!! I want to be able to eat what I want, when I want. Now this is within reason, but I want to be able to feel like occasionally I am raiding the kitchen and being a rebel...even if it is for almonds or a cliff bar. So when I planned this week, I took it down a notch and planned meals like dinner and breakfast, the two that are the most basic and with proper planning allows for the most success.

Made my list and hit the store...as it says in Luke, how can I plan and work on eating right if I do not have enough to complete it? So I get it all home and yesterday...I prepped. Now in my kitchen right now I have a stack of pans and a mess to clean up. In my fridge, I have breakfast for 6 days, veggies chopped and diced for easy use, fruits washed, cut up, and even portioned out in my breakfast meals. I have overnight oats for 3 of those days...I even have dinner stuff thawing and today will make sauce and taco meat for meals this week. Sounded and looks overwhelming at the moment. Till I realized....90% of my cooking, dish washing, prep work, and guess work is done! I have more time to do things and stuff. I have also eliminated 90% of my excuses for not having the time to make a healthy meal some nights of the week.

How does this all tie into the less of me, more of him lifestyle and devotion I am doing?  Today the reading was on Matthew 14:19-20 and how he fed the 5000. They were all hanging out and listening to Jesus speak and of course, people will get hungry. It was not like He could send someone to Taco Bell for a bunch of their taco boxes, pizza delivery was out of the question...Chinese was not an option either...so he fed them with what he had on hand. What was simple and readily available. 


This is how we are supposed to eat...till we are filled and satisfied. Not only in physical food, but in spiritual needs as well! So we plan and shop and then pick a day and spend it in the kitchen making anything we can ahead of time. Now all week while hubby is in the field and my kiddo is living off of hotdogs and chicken nuggets and fruit snacks...I have healthy meals at my fingertips.




One last suggestion....

Stick with 90% meals your family will eat, 10% new stuff. That way you can add the new and build the healthy and clean meals your family loves. Last night was an out on the limb night...bourbon wing egg rolls, those were a hit! Tonight we are doing turkey burgers and sweet potato (me) and Arby's (them) fries. Simple balance. Till next week...when I have a full run down on how well having a fridge full of prepped food worked out!

Just for today....