Evening Chaos: Menu Planning can Help
How often does one get to come home from school or work and have a relaxing evening filled with nothing else to do except to chill out? Ha! Almost never, right?
Usually it looks something like this – 4:00 pm, get home from school, grab a snack, change clothes, start on homework. But then Mom has to run to the grocery store and stop at the another store to get the thing you need for school tomorrow, and little brother needs to be picked up from Billy's house. Mom, I'm hungry. One more stop, then we can go home. Ok, once home, what do you want to eat? Ah shoot, who drank the last of the milk. What do you mean we don't have any cheese left? Ok, we'll just have to have sandwiches because you have to be at Girl Scouts by 6:30. Where's the peanut butter?
The above scene doesn't sound too enjoyable to me. I used to think mornings were about the worst time of the day; getting everyone up, fed, dressed and to school on time. But I've had a change of heart. Evenings can be even more chaotic. One easy method to simply your evenings is to plan your meals in advance. A little menu planning can help immensely.
Whatever day you typically go to the grocery store, that's the day you will plan your entire week's evening meals. Most people need to stop at the store at least once during the week for more bread or milk; I'm not referring to that trip to the store.
Once you know what you're having for dinner each day, you can plan ahead to ensure there is cheese in the refrigerator for the ham and cheese sub sandwiches. One suggestion is to use colored stickers. If you have certain items that you need to have available to complete a meal, put a sticker on the food item. That will let family members know to pick something else to snack on because it's a little hard to make tuna salad if there isn't any tuna.
Prepare as much as you can in advance. Perhaps you'll brown the ground sirloin for the spaghetti sauce and pop it into the freezer for a few days. Or if you have a few spare moments in the morning (ha! What's a spare morning moment, right?) but as I was saying, toss a meal in the crock pot and turn it on low so it simmers all day. It'll be ready to eat the moment you walk in the door.
Simplification is the key. A few minutes of preparation will save you oodles of frustration later!
Check out some useful Back to School Products.
Also check out some useful brown bag lunch tips and thermos lunch recipes.
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- Energy Boosting Breakfast Ideas for Students
- Money Saving School Lunch Ideas
- Working Moms can Help Out at School too
- Get To Know Your Kid's Teachers
- Easy Afternoon Snacks Kids Love
- The Homework Routine That Works
- Teach Your Student Gadget Etiquette
- Dads are Cool when they help out at School
- Friendships at School: A Primer for Parents
- Bully Proof Your Student
- School Fashion Tips
- Make This Year Better Than Last Year
- When You Don't Like Your Child's Teacher
- Extracurricular Scheduling - Are Your Kids Too Busy?
- Evening Chaos: Menu Planning can Help
- Your Child is Never too Young for Chores
- Charts for Bedtime and Morning Routines
- Choosing the Right Afterschool Activities for your Child
- Moms, It’s ok to Say “No”
- Bedtime Routine to Give your Kids a Chance to Tell you About their School Day
- How Much Sleep does your Child Really Need
- Helping your Teen to Make Good Choices at School
- Motivating your Child to Care about School
- Food Allergies: What to Do when Your Child is the One Who Could Get Sick?
