How To Make Meal Planning Easy For The Busy Mom

Meal planning can be super quick and easy no matter how hectic your schedule is. These 10 excuses show you how to make meal planning easy for the busy mom. 

I have been meal planning every week for the past 10 years. Sure, there are some weeks here and there where it doesn’t happen, but usually there is a little piece of paper on the fridge displaying the dinner ideas for each night. 

I never really understood meal planning until I took more of an interest in my health. I would just buy whatever looked good at the grocery store, or whatever I knew how to make (pasta), and cook what I wanted at night if I didn’t opt to get take out. 

When I joined a CSA, I had to get serious about planning my meals. 

When I started budgeting my money, I had to get serious about planning my meals. 

When Rob and I opted to try vegetarian eating for a month, I had to seriously plan our meals. 

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Meal planning is just a part of what I do every week and it saves us money on our grocery bill as we don’t buy extra items, lets anyone start dinner when they can because we all know what is on the menu, and keeps us on track with our nutrition goals whether we are eating for an Ironman, a race season, or trying out vegetarianism.

Meal planning can feel super overwhelming in the beginning. It certainly did for me as I spent hours scouring Pinterest for recipes that were easy to make. As a beginning cook, many recipes were entirely out of my wheelhouse. 

Once I got the hang of how to plan meals for the week by taking my schedule into account, recognizing how much time I had to cook, and being honest about what culinary skills I lacked, my food budget dropped, my evenings became less stressful, and my time in the grocery store went down. 

Even though it works for us, I have heard quite a few objections to meal planning. Knowing how beneficial it can truly be, let’s dive into the 10 most common ones I hear. Then, I can show you how to make meal planning easy even if you are a busy mom. 

You eat the same meals

Yup, meal planning can get boring if you are not searching for new recipes on a semi-regular basis. If you do not get bored, great! If you do, then you need to mix it up. 

• Research new recipes the whole family will enjoy. 
• Change up your regular recipes by mixing in new spices, making it a bowl instead of a bake, or buying 1-2 new vegetables to put in it. 
• Freezer Feasts has over 40 freezer-friendly recipes for you to test out. They have been vetted and tested so you do not need to spend hours scouring Pinterest.

You have picky eaters

Picky eaters seem to be the rule these days rather than the exception. This is above and away the most common excuse I hear besides time as to why a busy mom cannot meal plan. That picky eater label is not just limited to the children either. 

• Involve the picky eaters in the meal planning and the cooking. They will be able to make sure some of their favorites make it to the list and they can get a front row seat on how to make it all. 

• Start a “No, thanks,” “Like it,” “Love it,” chart to rank new foods they try. Stickers go a long way. 
• Read books about trying new things like Green Eggs and Ham and I Really Like Slop. 
• Try not to draw attention to it. You can recognize that he does not want to try something right now, but you can always offer it again later. Telling your child he is a picky eater might encourage him more since it gets him some attention and makes him unique. 
• Avoid the, “Eat all your dinner and you get dessert,” trap. It is too much of a power struggle. 

You cannot plan that far ahead

I hear you. Deciding what you are going to eat on a Friday night on the previous Saturday has a boxed in feeling. You might find this feels different over time, but until then: 

• Plan meals for the week that can be adjusted for what you want. The goal is really to shop once and avoid too much eating out. 
• Plan only 2-3 days ahead. It just means you have to actually plan more often during the week. 
• Keep a well-stocked pantry and a list of meals you can make with mostly pantry items on hand. This makes it super easy to change it up on the fly without wasting food. 

Your husband and kids are not on board with you wanting to be healthier

This is a super popular topic of conversation. You are ready to make a change to your eating habits, but your husband would rather mow a lawn filled with pebbles every single day for a year than eat spinach. (I could have said kale here, but kale is gross.)

• Make small, healthier changes to family favorites. If you love pizza night, add some peppers on top. If you adore hamburgers, try turkey burgers. Do not just shock the family into quinoa walnut meat tacos. Build up to it gradually. They might still refuse to eat it, but at least it is not out of left field. 
• Have the hard conversations with your family about why you want to eat healthier. 
• Encourage them to make their own meals if they truly refuse to try what you would prefer. You might get more whining, but at least you do not have to cook two dishes. I will say that I tend to have an unpopular opinion here as I go the tough love route when it comes to making two meals or whining about what is for dinner. 

Your budget is very tight

I feel this one deeply. Especially now with these very uncertain times, the budget is critical. I have found that meal planning actually helps us stay within our budget since we know exactly what we need and are not buying random items that will go bad or just sit in the pantry for years (I see you coconut cream.)

• Have a family budget meeting and truly nail down your current grocery spending and what it should be. 
• Write a grocery list for each shopping trip and stick to it. 

• Limit grocery trips to just once per week. If you forgot something, find an alternative at home instead of running to the store again. Going out for one item inevitably turns into more than one. 
• Use grocery apps, in store coupons, and receipt apps to save even more. I love Fetch (use god QE9PD to get 2,000 points on your first receipt), Ibotta, and Receipt Hog. They do not offer a ton of money back, but a $5 gift card a few times a year feels pretty good and is insanely easy to get. 

You follow a specific diet

There are so many allergies and different ways to eat, it is no wonder that finding what to put on your plate can be a bit paralyzing. I would argue that being on a specific diet is even more of a reason to meal plan each week so you know your home is filled with foods that are diet friendly. 

• Keep a running list of meals and snacks that are specific diet friendly. Refer to it each week to quickly make your meal plan for the week. 
• Keep your specific diet friendly foods in the house at all times so you have an easy way to make a quick meal when your time is short. 
• Check out the list of 33 Gestational Diabetes friendly meals that are easy to make if you have GD. 

You have no time to shop, cook, plan

Oh, I feel this. We have three children ages 4, 2, and 6 months and our time is not our own. To that end, you do have time to do something. 

• Make a few meal plans that you can just rotate through. Write the grocery lists for the full week of meals and save it to use so when you choose that meal plan, you have the list done. 
• Order your groceries online and do grocery pick up. Better yet, get them delivered. 
• Batch cook. If you are including rice in dinner tonight, make an extra portion to have in lunches the rest of the week. 
• Fill your freezer! Having a stocked freezer makes it easy to eat well from home without stressing about dinner. Freezer Feasts includes 40 freezer-friendly recipes that are organized in sets of 10. Each set includes a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack with a shopping list and plan of attack to get it all made. 

You don’t know what to make for dinner

It can be super overwhelming to find a meal the whole family will enjoy, will not take too long to cook, and is nutritious. Not to mention avoiding spending all those hours scanning Pinterest. 

• Find some of our family’s favorite recipe ideas here.
• Keep a running list of recipes you know everyone likes. Refer to it when you meal plan. 

• Start a Pinterest board of recipe inspiration. 
• Build your dinner plate with 50% vegetables and fruit, 25% lean protein, and 25% whole grain as a basic start plan. You can learn more on how to build your dinner plate in the Healthy Meal Plans, Confident Meal Prep course. 

You fear making the wrong nutritional choices

If you are working to actively cook healthier meals, then there is no wrong choice. 

• Make vegetables the highlight of the meal. This ensures you get closer to that 50% of your plate goal. A few vegetable-loaded family favorites around here include:

Italian Chicken Zucchini Boats

Simple and Filling Rice Bowls 

Dinner Egg Bake

Quicker Than Take Out Chicken Lo Mein

• Do more learning about the best nutrition for your body.

You do not even know where to start

Meal planning can definitely be clunky and awkward in the beginning. It can take entirely too much time, but after a bit of practice, it will be second nature. 

• Plan your most difficult meals to eat nutritionally for the next 2-3 days. 
• Add recipes you know you already love and know how to make. 
• Follow some done-for-you meal plans to take the guess work out of it all. 
• Take the Healthy Meal Plans, Confident Meal Prep course to learn more on how to build a nutritious plate, how to easily meal plan in six simple steps, and how to organize your meal prep to maximize your time. 

I will be honest that in the 10 years I have been actually meal planning, there are weeks when it just does not happen. Those are the weeks we tend to eat more convenience foods like chips and salsa, we inevitably order some take out, and a pizza will make an appearance. 

No meal plan weeks are also the ones that we end up more tired and with a lot of food waste. Having that meal plan just makes our week so much healthier, easier, and less stressful. 

Take the guesswork and stress of what to eat each day out. You know you do not have time for that. Instead, take the Healthy Meal Plans, Confident Meal Prep course and learn how to plan nutritious meals for the entire week, save money on grocery bills, limit food waste, and save time by planning ahead and prioritizing kitchen tasks.