Remember when I used to talk about food?
Yeah, me neither. The whole baby thing has a way of filling up your life (in a wonderful way!) and since I only know how to write about what is going on in my life at the moment, it’s been pretty mom-centric.
Still, food is so much of who I am and what I love it’s slowly making it’s way back into my life. Last week I even managed a little meal planning …
Sunday was steak kabobs, roasted asparagus and sweet summer corn.
Monday I used one of our last freezer meals (yikes!)- Stuffed shells with a spinach, strawberry, avocado, goat cheese and pine nut salad.
Tuesday was chicken fajita tacos.
Wednesday I used previously frozen pizza dough and mine and Hailey’s afternoon project (making pesto from our enthusiastic basil growing on the porch) to make a pizza topped with pizza sauce, pesto, zucchini, onion and mozzarella. It was awesome!
Then… David left.
For 5 days… and 4 nights.
I know some moms do this every week and for much longer stretches of time and I am in awe of you.
Somehow we did better than just survive; we actually managed to have some fun, too! Play dates, birthday parties and even the farmers market.
But dinner flew out the window.
I made this Newman’s Own Skillet Meal on Thursday night and it was ‘eh.’
Friday night I ate half of this Papa Murphy’s pizza… and Saturday I ate the other half.
By Sunday evening, I was exhausted. It was as if I had mentally prepared myself to make it to Sunday and not a minute longer. I was ecstatic when David got home!
Luckily we had plans to watch the world cup game (talk about a deflating final minute), with some friends.
Isn’t their backyard is amazing?!
So all I did was whip up some salsa…
and then I got to eat all the amazing chicken, coleslaw and other deliciousness they had set up.
And now another week begins!
Meal planning… does it stress you out or make life easier?
Lauren says
Meal planning both stresses me out and makes my life easier. I need to have a meal plan but sometimes I am at a loss for coming up with new ideas. I’ve also found that if I don’t have my prep finished on Sundays I feel like I’m starting my week on the wrong foot.
laura says
i found your blog a few weeks ago via jenna’s instagram page and i’m loving it! i have a little girl too, she is 8 weeks old. yours is so precious!! i’m with the commenter above me–love meal planning but i basically repeat the same 10 dinners over and over! my husband and i love them but we are doomed if we ever grow tired of them, haha.
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for the kind words! And we are meal repeaters too! In fact, I could probably have some form of Mexican food and pizza every week and never grow tired of it 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for the kind words! And we are meal repeaters too! In fact, I could probably have some form of Mexican food and pizza every week forever and ever and never grow tired of it 🙂
Ali says
I love when you talk about baby stuff!! It’s so hard when husbands are gone. I’m lucky that mine isn’t gone all that often, but single parenting is no walk in the park (even with one!).
Heather says
I think meal planning both stresses me out and makes my life easier. I think if I stuck with more basic go-to’s rather than trying to come up with new ideas every week, it wouldn’t stress me out as much. I think I also talk myself out of it saying it’ll take too long on the weekend to get it ready, completely forgetting how much time and stress it will save me the rest of the week. Time to pull out the notebook and come up with an effective way to meal plan (because what I was doing isn’t really working). 😉
Brittany Dixon says
Yes, great point! I try to limit myself to one new recipe a week (if that). It’s so easy to get excited while planning the meals, then the time comes to cook the new recipe and it’s just exhausting…
Marjorie says
Meal planning makes my life easier. It minimizes trips to the grocery store. I plan our meals around our life, so if it is a hectic week I will pull out freezer meals or quick/easy options.
Tip: One thing I have started doing is building a “universe” of options. It lists out previous meals that I have made in the past (in MS Excel – Nerd alert! I am a spreadsheet enthusiast). That way if I am drawing a blank, I have some built-in options to choose from. I include saved links to recipes we liked, so that I can access them easily (plus post them for my readers). Now that I think about it, I should do a blog post on this! 🙂
Posting my meal plan each Monday actually helps me to stay accountable to doing one. And the feedback I have gotten is that it is helpful and valuable to others. Plus it allows me to share other great bloggers/recipes with my audience, or link old recipes of my own.
Brittany Dixon says
Teach me your excel ways! David makes spreadsheets for everything, but I’m pretty weak with excel. It’s on my need-to-learn list 🙂
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Meal planning definitely HELPS me. It makes life so much less stressful around dinner time. I know I have the food to make said dinner, and I don’t have to think twice about it. All of your food looks delicious – per usual! 😉
Paulina says
Meal planning saves my sanity each week. The weeks that I fail to plan, I honeslty dread dinner time. Getting home from work and knowing exactly what to make and knowing that I have all the ingredients on hand is so much better than getting home and staring at the pantry/fridge and trying to figure out what I can toss together while also breastfeeding a baby and negotiating with a toddler to play outside instead of watching Dora.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I’m with you on dreading dinner time decisions if I’m not prepared. And no worries about Dora- we are once a day watchers over here 😉 SWIPER, NO SWIPING! Oh mannnnnn….
Lindsay@Fuel My Family says
It’s totally about how long you mentally prepare yourself! My husbands last deployment was schedule for 9 months. He was on his way home, 4 days from homecoming, when a crisis happened and he had to go back for another month. Messes wih your mind! Doing it alone is tough for sure especially without family around! And our meals are much simpler with just me and the kids too!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh, you strong women that survive deployments are my hero, just as much as your husbands are too. Seriously, my hats off to you!!
Sabrina says
That is NOT someone’s backyard. Looks so so beautiful and fun. What a nice space to hang out in.
You’re doing really well. Keep up the good work as a mom of 2! You’re showing us all up.
Jaclyn @ BumpSweat says
Overall, meal-planning helps immensely. But, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t stress me out just a little, especially after we’ve been out-of-town all weekend and then have to play catch-up to have food to eat Monday. Any tips for that?
Laura @ FitMamaLove says
OMG, I want that outdoor fireplace! So cool!
I am so impressed with your meal–planning skills! Sounds like you held up great with hubby away for so long. That’s so hard with a newborn, especially when you have multiple kids. Good job, mama! I hope you got a nice break when he got back.
Lauren B. says
Congrats on surviving Mama! I feel like I would die if my husband left me alone for 5 days with a 22 month old and a very pregnant belly! I can’t imagine what it would be like once I have two to juggle.
Your meals always look so delicious! Meal planning totally makes my life easier, and saves me extra trips to the grocery store during the week! I actually feel lost if I don’t meal plan…
Nicky @ Little Family Adventure says
Meal planning makes things easier for me. I used to plan it out day by day. Now I create a list and go from there. Your steak kebabs look really good. I’ve been grilled more with the warmer weather.
emily says
Both! But at the moment meal planning seems to be a bit more on the stressful side, a challenge when working within a budget. 😉 I’ve been meaning to ask ( if you don’t mind sharing) what is your monthly food budget for your family of 4?
Brittany Dixon says
I used to be really great at tracking our budget but have really fallen of the wagon in the last 2 months. I plan to take a closer look and track it on the blog again, but if I had to guess, I’d say we spend about $140 a week on groceries. Again, this is just a rough estimate, as I haven’t looked too closely lately!
Marie says
We LOVE to have a meal plan. It works really well for us. The weeks that we wing it are much more stressful and much more expensive — not to mention not nearly as healthy. Our family operates much steadier when we put some time management into it. To me, that is a win-win.
Lauren @ Fun, Fit and Fabulous! says
I know meal planning is essential for us having a smooth week full of healthy meals, but sitting down on Sunday to meal plan can definitely stress me out! I feel like I get in a rut pretty easily. I’m working on that for sure!
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Meal planning eases my stress right now. It just makes things easier. BUT I can see how it could either make things easier or harder come baby. You’re doing a great job…and congrats on being sans hubby for 5 days and not only surviving it but having fun!
Matt @ Runner Savvy says
Yum stuffed shells! One of my fav meals.
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
You survived! ha Kevin left for a week when Ethan was about 3 months old, and it made me sooooo glad he doesn’t travel for work on the regular. How do mamas do it?!?
Meal planning makes my life much easier. (Wo)man with a plan!
Jillian @ Baby Doodah! says
The act of meal planning stresses me out. My husband and I both sit down to plan, and rarely do we get through planning w/o bickering about something. This veggie or that, I’ve provided more ideas than you have, etc.
BUT
Having that meal plan, once the week rolls around, saves us a ton of time figuring out what to eat each night. Seamus comes home, and starts cooking. Works for me!!
PS: That back yard is AMAZING!!!
Sarah B says
I’ve become a meal planner since battling with PPD. It really helped take the panic out of part of the day. I think with baby number two imminent it is something I will continue on with, particularly as the other half works overseas for several weeks at a time – eek. With one it was a challenge, with two, it will be crazy 🙂
Gcroft says
I don’t know how you do it. Yesterday, after work, I picked up the little one (LO) from nursery. Once we got home, I made sure she was fed and watered. I then had to get dinner going. Whilst it was a simple meal, all the neighbours heard was ‘LO, no’ LO..hot hot hot..no!’ ‘LO, don’t eat the yoghurt off the floor’…. When her dad came home, no wonder she was eager to get away from me. 🙁 Leftovers tonight, so quality time to look forward to.
Sarah@creatingbettertomorrow says
I love it! In the craziness of my week it helps keep me focused and a bit calmer a few times a day. AND I just finished making 2 of your recommended freezer meals for when our twins arrive! Dan (my hubby) loves the Enchilada one as I did take one, freeze one 🙂
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
Totally makes my life easier! It stresses me out when I don’t know what I’m having. lol. Good job on being alone w/ the girls for that long!
marleen says
Beef and brocolli in one packet? Meat and veggies in one packet aren’t something you find here in SA at all.
I love life at home as well with my son and his Homeschooling, outings and markets 🙂 Enjoy.