How do you manage food with a crazy schedule?

[lurkernj]

When mine were younger, we used the crockpot alot, and I often made things ahead on Sunday (big pot of sauce/meatballs, lasagna, soup).

We were relatively poor back then and couldn't afford takeout often, so some nights it was just spaghetti and a jar of ragu (maybe some mama lucia meatballs if there was a sale). We all survived

 

[barkley]

lots of great suggestions here, and we did many of them when we were both working and the kiddos were younger. the ones that worked best for us-

cooking up batches of stuff on weekends-eat one tray of lasagna, freeze 2. same with enchiladas and meat loafs. made batches of meatballs, cooked, put on cookie sheets to freeze-then popped them into ziplock bags so I could just take out what I needed in the morning to defrost along w/a container of homemade sauce (and it's no sin to use jarred). made batches of soups, stew.... my favorite was to cook an entire turkey on the weekend (easiest thing in the world b/c it requires little to no attention), we would eat off it, have leftovers AND I would end up freezing some for multiple future meals.

used the crockpot a lot along with the bread maker. set them up in the morning to be done when we wanted dinner served. dd is a busy college student and has developed a serious crockpot addiction-she turned me on to a site called "yummly". you answer questions about family size, if you want enough for more than one meal, food likes and dislikes....then it provides easy to follow recipes (and if you adjust the serving size on the website all the ingredients are adjusted to reflect it). their stuffed bell pepper soup is fantastic!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

This took a LOT of trial and error, but we have a basic meal rotation that works for us (based on my work schedule, my husband's class schedule, our volunteer commitments, and kid activities, which are minimal). I plan out the week's dinners and make my shopping list on Sunday night, with a notation each evening for what we might have going on (e.g., MONDAY: Little League/Fire Dept). Meals are planned with an eye to who is home first to start food prep, or if the crockpot will be the best option, or whatever. I grocery shop Monday morning after I drop the kids at school.

I also have stuff on hand for backup. Sometimes stuff goes wrong: a meal gets burned, a bus gets back late, I get held up at work...an extra night of chicken patties and mac & cheese never killed anyone. Wegmans frozen pizza has also been an occasional lifesaver.

(...and sometimes, I just say "eff it" and I DO call for Chinese takeout and refuse to feel ashamed. Life happens.)

 

[barkley]

This took a LOT of trial and error, but we have a basic meal rotation that works for us (based on my work schedule, my husband's class schedule, our volunteer commitments, and kid activities, which are minimal). I plan out the week's dinners and make my shopping list on Sunday night, with a notation each evening for what we might have going on (e.g., MONDAY: Little League/Fire Dept). Meals are planned with an eye to who is home first to start food prep, or if the crockpot will be the best option, or whatever. I grocery shop Monday morning after I drop the kids at school.

I also have stuff on hand for backup. Sometimes stuff goes wrong: a meal gets burned, a bus gets back late, I get held up at work...an extra night of chicken patties and mac & cheese never killed anyone. Wegmans frozen pizza has also been an occasional lifesaver.

(...and sometimes, I just say "eff it" and I DO call for Chinese takeout and refuse to feel ashamed. Life happens.)

you make an excellent point about planning around who is home first to start food prep. far too often on threads like this it seems that just one person in the household is stressing over doing all the meal preparation. in our household it's always been a shared responsibility. sure-depending on the time of year I may do more (winter usually b/c I make the soups and comfort foods whereas dh carries the load in the summer months b/c he like to use the smoker and bbq) but we've always shared the prep and clean up with each other. it's not uncommon for one of us to be prepping veggies for the next day while the other is cooking tonight's meal. we are both equally capable of pulling out (AND PUTTING AWAY) ingredients, cutting up/browning meats.....heck when my kids were little (like preschool/k) I would be working on some aspect of the meal while they were working on another (we ate lots of meatballs and meatloaf in those days-and if I put all the ingredients into a ziplock bag they could squeeze it and mix the stuff together just as well as I could).

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

you make an excellent point about planning around who is home first to start food prep. far too often on threads like this it seems that just one person in the household is stressing over doing all the meal preparation. in our household it's always been a shared responsibility. sure-depending on the time of year I may do more (winter usually b/c I make the soups and comfort foods whereas dh carries the load in the summer months b/c he like to use the smoker and bbq) but we've always shared the prep and clean up with each other. it's not uncommon for one of us to be prepping veggies for the next day while the other is cooking tonight's meal. we are both equally capable of pulling out (AND PUTTING AWAY) ingredients, cutting up/browning meats.....heck when my kids were little (like preschool/k) I would be working on some aspect of the meal while they were working on another (we ate lots of meatballs and meatloaf in those days-and if I put all the ingredients into a ziplock bag they could squeeze it and mix the stuff together just as well as I could).

YEP. One of our go-tos is jambalaya, because my husband can start it when he gets home before me. Now, this means buying pre-packaged andouille sausage and dumping it into a couple of boxes of Zatarain's, but with a green veg it's balanced enough, stretches into leftovers for lunch the next day, and I am not walking into a complete zoo when I walk in the door!

Posting the menu on the fridge has also been tremendously helpful, because whoever is the first one up can look to see what needs to be defrosted. It also cuts down on "what's for dinnerrrrrrrrrr" questions.

 

[queenofthehive]

My3crazygirls- try cooking skinless boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts in the crockpot as the tend to stay moist and not dry out/overcook.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

lots of great suggestions here, and we did many of them when we were both working and the kiddos were younger. the ones that worked best for us-

cooking up batches of stuff on weekends-eat one tray of lasagna, freeze 2. same with enchiladas and meat loafs. made batches of meatballs, cooked, put on cookie sheets to freeze-then popped them into ziplock bags so I could just take out what I needed in the morning to defrost along w/a container of homemade sauce (and it's no sin to use jarred). made batches of soups, stew.... my favorite was to cook an entire turkey on the weekend (easiest thing in the world b/c it requires little to no attention), we would eat off it, have leftovers AND I would end up freezing some for multiple future meals.

used the crockpot a lot along with the bread maker. set them up in the morning to be done when we wanted dinner served. dd is a busy college student and has developed a serious crockpot addiction-she turned me on to a site called "yummly". you answer questions about family size, if you want enough for more than one meal, food likes and dislikes....then it provides easy to follow recipes (and if you adjust the serving size on the website all the ingredients are adjusted to reflect it). their stuffed bell pepper soup is fantastic!

Looks like a great website! Thank you!!

 

[scrapquitler]

My wife and I are both teachers (135 kids each) and we have three young kids. Each kid has at least one or two things each week that they need to get to whether it be the practice or game for the sport they are playing that season or an extracurricular activitiy for school.

How do yall manage to get good food on the table and not eat out all the time? We have found that most of our budget is going out of the window because we are too tired to cook when we get home and that has to change.

The crock pot is your friend, everyone eats when they can, be it 3:30 PM or 9PM. Cook on the weekend, reheat during the week. Prepare a lot of grab and go things that everyone can eat during the time that works for them. Plan picnic type meals that can be eated in the car or at the ballfield.

 

[barkley]

YEP. One of our go-tos is jambalaya, because my husband can start it when he gets home before me. Now, this means buying pre-packaged andouille sausage and dumping it into a couple of boxes of Zatarain's, but with a green veg it's balanced enough, stretches into leftovers for lunch the next day, and I am not walking into a complete zoo when I walk in the door!

Posting the menu on the fridge has also been tremendously helpful, because whoever is the first one up can look to see what needs to be defrosted. It also cuts down on "what's for dinnerrrrrrrrrr" questions.

if you like jambalaya-cabella's sells a mix that for use in a dutch oven OR crockpot. we tried it recently, and I would say it's on par w/zatarans (but my dh likes the full blown homemade stuff I only do once or twice a year much better). with the exception of the shrimp and andouille that go in about 30 minutes before serving, everything gets done very quickly-is taken to a boil and then just goes into the crockpot. the mix makes a massive amount though-so the next time we buy it we're going to half the package. if the few fresh ingredients were prepped the night before it could be tossed into a pot and come to a boil while the family was getting ready to go out the door-then tossed into the crockpot on low so it would just entail adding the ssg/shrimp upon getting home.

 

[Ava]

We also limit weeknight extracurricular activities to only ones offered at school, right after school ends. I'm sure that will change as kids get older and their activities become more involved, but for right now it works.

Planning out the week's meals made our lives much easier. I grocery shop on either Saturday or Sunday, and DW makes the list. She does the majority of the cooking, so she plans out what she's going to make for dinners for the week while she's making the shopping list. Having a pre-made list of quick/easy meals to choose from, and not having to figure out what to cook at the end of a long day, makes it a lot easier to cook instead of just ordering take out.

 

[Monykalyn]

I have a chalkboard menu board in my kitchen-has 2 weeks worth of meals on it planned out-one big shopping trip/prep day, and I will stop for more frequently used items (try to keep it to 1 more time during the week). The menu board also lets me keep track of leftovers - date meal is prepared is written by the meal and a line is drawn through when leftovers are gone-that way if I see a couple dates but no lines-leftover night coming up!.

The hardest thing is just getting started being organized. Learning how to "cook once, eat twice" concept. Learning which meals need to be cooked first to use up the more delicate items (onions last long time, bell peppers do not). Learning which meals can easily be doubled to have one frozen for later. Having things on hand for quick easy meals that can be made <30 minutes. Learning what your stocked pantry needs to be (what staples to always have on hand-spices etc, I apparently have a fear of bacon running out judging by the 3 packages currently in my freezer...)

I use an app called The Recipe Box-it took some time to set up, but now I have all my recipes at my fingertips, and can set up a grocery list from the recipes.

 

[Mrs. Bob Loblaw]

DH and I are also both teachers and we have 2 young kids - a 17 month old and a 7 week old. While I was pregnant with our first child, I also started my graduate courses and graduated a month and a half before having my second child. To say we're busy is an understatement. My meals aren't the greatest, but this is what I do for some of them - keep in mind we have a large chest freezer in the garage. We also have to eat very cheaply as our health costs have increased dramatically and our pay has been frozen, in addition to now having to pay for child care. We are BROKE (don't come to my district!).

Pasta sauce - I make 2 huge pots of my sauce at once with something like 10 pounds of meat. I then portion it out and freeze it in quart baggies. I serve over whole wheat pasta. I also made 3 large batches of lasagna. I bake them, cut them into serving portions and then freeze.

Chicken - I buy rotisserie chickens (Costco for $5) and take all the meat off. I shred in a food processor for chicken sloppy joes, chicken bbq sandwiches, or teriyaki chicken sandwiches (we just vary the sauce to change up the meals). I chop some into small cubes for chicken tacos (or quesadillas, an enchilada bake, etc.), chicken pizza (with premade store bought dough) or chicken over rice with a sauce of choice (usually a chinese sauce). I freeze all the chicken into meal size portions. I even cook brown rice ahead and freeze. I defrost and warm up in a pan to take out extra moisture.

Hamburger - I buy several pounds and brown it all at once, then portion and freeze. I use it for sloppy joes, chili, tacos, and homemade "hamburger helper" (google can help find some easy recipes that can be prepared in advance, but are much healthier than the boxed stuff).

Veggie sides - Salads, raw carrots and celery, and frozen veggies tend to be what we go for.

Eggs - We keep eggs, cheese, and cubed ham in the fridge. When we forget to take something out to defrost, I whip up scrambled eggs with a little garlic, salt, and ham, then melt cheese over the top.

Steaks or burgers - we have a griddler and it cooks steaks or burgers in 5 minutes or less.

Cooking is always less than 30 minutes and often less than 15.

 

[sk!mom]

We are empty nesters now but we never ate fast food. Our solution once our kids were busy was too eat late dinners (7:30) so that we had time to prepare it and so that we could sit down together. DH and I now workout after work so we still eat that late.

I planned meals with plenty of easy options. Typical week:
Monday: Salmon fillet in the oven, asparagus tossed with olive oil also in the oven, steamed broccoli. 5-10 minutes of prep and then it cooks itself.
Tuesday: Chicken ceasar salad (left over chicken breast or quickly pan fry one with a little pam)
Wednesday: Sandwiches and fruit or pick up HEB sushi
Thursday: Chicken sausage or meatloaf, stir fried onion and squash, cauliflower bake. Again short prep time and then it cooks itself.
Friday -Sunday- More complicated meals as we have time

Quick things my young kids enjoyed:
Quesadillas with chicken and fresh spinach
Grilled cheese and fruit and carrot sticks
Tostados- refried beans, cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes
Black Bean nachos

Plenty of things that can be cooked as quickly as you could wait on fast food and much healthier.

 

[mrsabbott]

Hubs works 12 hour days. I work and go to school. We have 4 kids age 10 and under. So, I know how it is to not have a lot of time to prepare meals. Just about every meal that I make takes less than an hour to prepare.. many of them take about 30 minutes. We eat simply and I try to eat fairly healthy as well. We do, occasionally, use some frozen/boxed stuff though.

My family loves any kind of "breakfast for dinner".. eggs, biscuits and gravy, pancakes or waffles.. I've used a crockpot for chili and potato soups. We do pasta once or twice a week but I vary the sauces. My family loves grilled cheese and soup nights! And we have tacos/nachos once a week. The only thing I do is warm up the seasoned beans (you could brown beef) and the taco shells. I set everything out and they make their own! We do take and bake pizzas or frozen pizzas on Fridays. There are some meals that take a few minutes to prep, then I throw them in the oven for an hour and they are done.. that is all about timing it though. Come home, prep dinner, do homework or help kids with theirs or whatever.. then eat when the timer goes off. We always have fresh veggies on hand for a salad or to steam as a side dish. Lots of fresh fruit on hand as well.

We don't usually have a lot of leftovers and if we do, we have eaten them for lunch. Occasionally, we will have what we call "mish mash" for dinner.. where we just reheat all the leftovers and eat it.

 

[RitaE]

I used to call my crock pot my best friend but now it's really only my 2nd best friend. We often just don't cook anymore. I keep some things stocked permanently in the fridge and cupboards. Trail mix, cheese, apples, yogurt, grapes, raw mixed veggies such as bags of baby carrots and peppers and celery. We eat from those probably 3 to 4 night a week, granola and almond milk. I always have bags of frozen berries and things in the freezer.

 

[HM]

My wife and I are both teachers (135 kids each) and we have three young kids. Each kid has at least one or two things each week that they need to get to whether it be the practice or game for the sport they are playing that season or an extracurricular activitiy for school.

How do yall manage to get good food on the table and not eat out all the time? We have found that most of our budget is going out of the window because we are too tired to cook when we get home and that has to change.

Crock pot
Take-out
Sandwiches and soup
make-ahead and heat up meals
frozen meals (lean cuisine) when all else fails

 

[sk!mom]

It seems that two things keep people from eating at home- no time to cook or nothing to cook that sounds appealing.

For the first, come up with a list of simple things that your family likes. I mentioned a few upthread that my family likes. Some people mention variety as an issue but really, are you getting variety when you pick up fast food?

For the second, don't try to cut you food budget too low. For us, salmon and some steamed or roasted veggies is cheaper and healthier than eating out but it isn't cheap. When we have sandwiches, it's on artisan bread from the bakery and high quality deli meat. HEB will steam shrimp for you. A meal of steamed shrimp with a salad and fresh fruit is a favorite. It's quick and healthy and cheaper than eating out but not cheap.

If we were faced with boxed mac and cheese or canned soup- we would likely be picking up food a lot too.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

It seems that two things keep people from eating at home- no time to cook or nothing to cook that sounds appealing.

For the first, come up with a list of simple things that your family likes. I mentioned a few upthread that my family likes. Some people mention variety as an issue but really, are you getting variety when you pick up fast food?

For the second, don't try to cut you food budget too low. For us, salmon and some steamed or roasted veggies is cheaper and healthier than eating out but it isn't cheap. When we have sandwiches, it's on artisan bread from the bakery and high quality deli meat. HEB will steam shrimp for you. A meal of steamed shrimp with a salad and fresh fruit is a favorite. It's quick and healthy and cheaper than eating out but not cheap.

If we were faced with boxed mac and cheese or canned soup- we would likely be picking up food a lot too.

This is so true about the cost. And can apply to buying things in the convenient format too (like already-cut-up fresh veggies or something).

 

[kaddjr]

Rotissirie chickens from Costco are a life saver. I usually get two. They can become so many things and last so long! Soups, quesadillas, pasta salads, shredded chicken sandwiches, etc. So easy to just pull off the meat you want and use it!

I do this. I go about every two to three weeks and I buy 2. One to put into the fridge for that night or the next, the other one gets the skin taken off and picked off the bone. The meat from the second goes into the freezer for whatever I need it for later. For the price, you just can't beat it. And I don't have to cook it- that's the best part! I also buy a couple of packages of ground chuck while I am there. I make patties with some of it- the rest I just portion out for other meals, then freeze.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Thanks for the chicken/salsa/beans (I was out of corn) in a crock pot over rice idea. I did that this morning and it came out great, I feared the chicken breasts would be too dry, but they shredded into a nice meal! I also now have lunch for the next few days (as does hubby).

Bottom line...you have to plan your meals. They can be quick and easy, but there has to be some sort of pre planning. Of course, there is always the spaghetti with jarred sauce as a fall back...