Duh, Jodie. You have to plan your meals

Our dinner tonight. I cooked the bacon this weekend
and the chicken yesterday with our taco chili.
I chopped veggies and cooked the eggs today during
nap time. So, all I had to do was cook the corn
before dinner. It was delicious and stress free thanks
to planning ahead. 

I remember when Bob and I were going through our pre-marriage counseling and we were discussing how hopefully one day I would be able to stay at home with our children. Part of that discussion was about expectations if I was a stay-at-home mom. I remember telling Bob not to be surprised if there were days that I would call him and ask him to grab a pizza on his way home because my day was crazy. While Bob did not care about this, he just was a little surprised because he kind of expected that dinner would be made because that is what his mom did (thanks mother-in-law). However, I am proud to say even with all the craziness, dinner has been made more times than not. 

I am sure other mothers know and have already figured out that planning meals is a lifesaver, but somehow, it took me having a second child to figure this one out. Now that my time is limited and grocery shopping has to be an in-and-out kind of experience, I have really had an AHA moment that making a weekly meal plan is the only way to get good meals on the table. 

I don't even have to think about what to have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner because I already know what we have and what is planned. It makes getting everything together 100% easier. The meal planning isn't anything grand. I just use the iPhone notes app to just make quick notes of what we should be eating each day that week. I don't spend too much time on details of the meals. I just jot down the basics. It takes me about 10 to 20 minutes to set up our meals and grocery lists, but that 10 to 20 minutes saves me at least an hour of standing in my kitchen debating what to have at each meal or having frozen meat or missing ingredients or any other obstacle that stops dinner from getting to the table. I already know what we are having days before we have it. Like I said, I know that others have already figured this out, but for some reason, I was a little slow. 

Dinner is my craziest time of day. By planning ahead, I can also do things through out my day instead of trying to do everything at dinner time. I can chop veggies early, marinate meat, or cook what I can during their naps instead of doing it while they are up and needing my attention. 

I organize my grocery list by the aisles
of grocery store. It saves me tons of time.

Two iPhone apps have really helped me. I use Cozi family calendar to set up my grocery list. It is completely flexible and can be customized for your needs. I have it organized based on my grocery store aisles, so I can just go through the store once and not need to back track. The next app is the one for the website All Recipes. I combine some new meals with family favorites to get a great variety. On my phone, I have the Cozi calendar right next to my All Recipe app, so it is so easy to flip back and forth when I am setting up my grocery lists. 

So, I am sharing a mother secret. Go forth and enjoy dinner time again.