Meal Planning Solutions | When Life is a Constant Whirlwind

What would you like for dinner? I don’t know. Whatever. Sound familiar? Do you get home from work, nothing is planned and there is no time for the store? Here are 5 meal planning solutions for busy moms.

There were too many nights to count that I was in this same situation. You ask the kids what they want because you are too tired to think of something after a long workday. The kids respond with the ever so helpful.

I don’t know.

Whatever.

Or my favorite response….food.

I was tired of spending money on fast food and having the kids snack an hour later because they were still hungry. I made these changes in our home and now we depend on them to eat healthier and save time at the end of the day.

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5 Meal Planning Solutions

I wanted to keep this list small because I know what it is like to be busy. I also know what it is like to be bored of the same old recipes so even though I don’t have a recipe category on my blog, I’m sharing our Top 5 Family Favorites to our Seeking Simple Life Community Members.

The Top 5 Family Favorites Cookbook (download for free using the form below) includes a mix of recipes from online favorites, adaptations of recipes I’ve found and some passed down through the family. Who knows, I may feel inspired to add another one soon. I’ve been wondering about sharing some cookie and cake recipes that the family has been loving for years.

1. Simple Digital Recipe Book

This was my first solution for simplifying meal planning. I was tired of flipping through cookbooks or losing our favorite online recipes. As a solution, I used Microsoft OneNote to create our Digital Family CookBook. OneNote was already on our computers and tablets so it made it easy to share with the family. I even downloaded the app to my Android phone. When we went to Hawaii with the kids, we had it on our tablet which made it convenient when the family was tired of restaurant food.

2. DIY Menu Board

To stop the kids from asking, “what’s for dinner?” and to help me remember what’s for dinner, I created this simple DIY menu board made with a Walmart picture frame and chalkboard paint. I’ve also seen some cute ideas for a dry erase menu board using a picture frame and a simple printout. Here is one that I DIY’d using an old frame and a printable (A free resource in our library).

3. A Grocery App

No, it doesn’t do the shopping for you, but it does help reduce the clutter of paper lists in your purse. It is also on your phone instead of on the counter at home when you have arrived at the store. Hand’s up if you’ve done that too! Heck Ya!

We started using the Cozi Family Planner after I was stuck out of town with one of the kid’s events and my husband wanted to get the groceries but didn’t know what to get for the week. Now when that happens it is on his phone too, because the app not only includes a shared family calendar but a to-do list and grocery list as well.

We absolutely love it and highly recommend this free app to any busy family. Did you know that Cozi is the #1 family organizing app? Create a free Cozi account and you’ll also get the 2018 Summer Planner Printables!

4. The Crockpot!

I love my crockpot so much that I have two: a larger one and a smaller one. Both of them get used weekly in our house, all year round. We have cooked whole chickens in them while at work. Easy to prepare chili, stew, pulled pork, and endless other recipes were simple solutions for busy weeknights. When we arrive home, dinner is ready and we have time for a family sit-down meal before leaving for that evening kid activity.

We have both a Russell Hobbs brand and a CrockPot brand and love them both. Here is a CrockPot slow cooker that I found on Amazon that looks like a great deal for the quality and the size of the slow cooker.

Crock-Pot SCV800-B, 8-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker, Black

5. My New Love – The Air Fryer

This is the best thing since the CrockPot. Seriously! I absolutely love this appliance so much it has a permanent spot on the kitchen counter. We use it instead of the oven most nights. It cooks food faster, uses less energy and requires zero oil. I’m just testing out recipes to explore beyond our typical foods but have found a few blog posts that use air fryers.

13 Things You Can Make with an Air Fryer

PERFECT AIR FRYER STEAK WITH GARLIC HERB BUTTER

Air-Fried Turkey Breast with Maple Mustard Glaze

Our air fryer is a Power AirFryer brand and it is simple to use, quiet and has given us no issues so far. I found a similar one on Amazon that you might want to check out. Saving on those energy bills from not using the oven as much and not having the oven heating up the house in the summer, might just be worth the purchase!

Power Air Fryer XL 3.4 QT Black

Simple Improvements Made Dinner Easier

Life is busy but when you can find meal planning solutions that help simplify life just a little, then there is more time for fun and family. Meal planning and using the Free Cozi app made life easier when I didn’t have to think about dinner at the end of the day, I just followed the plan.

Having the digital recipe book made it easier to find recipes and I spend less time searching in cookbooks. The crockpot and air fryer have saved my butt more times than I can count, especially on days when my time was limited, or it was too hot outside to turn the oven on.

Are you still stuck for meal ideas? Sign up for Seeking Simple Life Community and receive our Top 5 Family Favorites Cookbook for FREE. I’ve included one of our favorite crockpot recipes in the Top 5 Family Cookbook that you can download today.