Are you a parent gearing up for the back-to-school season? With the hustle and bustle of preparing for a new school year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the tasks ahead. One key area to streamline and reduce stress is your meal prep strategy.
As we head into fall, one thing I’m excited about is optimizing our meal prep to make busy school days smoother. In this post, we’ll dive into five effective meal prep strategies designed to save you time and energy. Not only will these tips help you manage your schedule better, but they’ll also ensure your family enjoys nutritious, delicious meals.
I hope these strategies make your back-to-school season easier and help keep everyone healthy and happy during this hectic time!
Delegate Tasks to Your Kids
No matter their age, children can contribute to meal prep and lunch packing in various ways.
Kids love to get involved in food prep! Whether it’s cutting up ingredients, packing sections of their bento lunch boxes, or stirring muffin batter, giving them a role in the process can make mealtimes more enjoyable. When children participate in preparing their meals, they’re often more inclined to eat what they’ve helped create.
Involving your kids in meal prep can also encourage them to try new foods—yes, even fruits and vegetables!
Plan and Prep Ahead
It’s tough to make the best decisions when you’re tired or frazzled—even for a dietitian! Having a Plan A and even a Plan B ensures that meals run smoothly, no matter how the day unfolds.
Using a meal plan as a guide can be incredibly helpful. While you don’t have to stick to every single meal on the plan, it provides a framework for preparing healthy meals that the whole family can enjoy. Start by selecting three dinners and a few snacks for each week. Aim to build a repertoire of at least 10 dinner meals that you can rotate through; this may take 4-6 weeks. Dishes like soups, stews, and roasted proteins are great for lunch boxes when paired with easy additions like fruits, vegetables, cheese, and crackers.
Here are some of my favorite dinner-to-lunch combinations:
- Shredded chicken tacos with salsa and prepared guacamole
- Vegetable chili with cheese and crackers
- Beef stew with rice
- Tofu or other protein kabobs with yogurt sauce
- Broccoli Cheddar soup with whole grain or gluten free toast wedges
A useful tip for leveraging dinner leftovers for lunch is to scale your recipes so you have enough for the next day. Also, consider packing lunches before you eat dinner to avoid adding extra stress to your already busy mornings.
Batch Your Work
Just like batching tasks at the office saves time, applying the same principle in the kitchen can streamline your meal prep!
For instance, if your kids love smoothies for breakfast, prepare smoothie packs in advance. Portion the ingredients into cups or bags and freeze them. When breakfast rolls around, simply dump the pack into the blender, add their favorite milk or juice, and blend!
Another example: If your child enjoys crunchy red bell pepper sticks in their lunch, skip cutting up a new pepper each night. Instead, chop peppers once or twice a week (or involve your child in the process!). Store the sliced peppers in baggies or a container, making lunch packing quicker and easier.
Additionally, if you’re preparing two dinners that require chopped onions and celery, chop enough for both recipes in one go. You’ll be grateful for the time saved and the reduced chopping when it’s time to cook the second meal!
Click here for a FREE Guide to Batch Cooking!
Use a Template
How can you further lighten your mental load? Embrace templates!
If your child uses a bento box for lunch, assign a food group to each section—whole grains on the left, fruits below, protein on the right, and so on. Discuss what qualifies for each section and brainstorm options that fit into each category. This way, your child can pack their lunch independently with minimal input from you.
For dinners, rely on a few go-to meals that are quick, delicious, and require little thought. Consider adopting themed nights like Taco Tuesdays! Use a crockpot to prepare your favorite taco filling, so dinner’s almost ready when you and your family get home. Other easy options include breakfast for dinner, Pizza Fridays, or picking up a rotisserie chicken on Mondays.
Adjust Your Expectations
As circumstances change, so do your patience and bandwidth—and that’s completely normal! During this back-to-school season, it’s important to be gentle with yourself. With more activities and a longer to-do list, it’s reasonable to simplify and delegate where possible. You don’t have to manage everything alone or prepare meals in the same way as before. Shortcuts can still lead to a happy, healthy family!
Key Takeaways for Back-to-School:
- Change often brings stress, and back-to-school is full of it! Be patient with yourself and your family as you adjust to new routines.
- Focus on what you need to eat to thrive. Plan ahead and always have a Plan B in place.
Ready to streamline your back-to-school meal planning? If you’d like to discuss personalized strategies for your family’s meals and snacks, I’m here to help! Click here to schedule your free consultation—I look forward to connecting with you!
