9 Tips to Make Dinner Prep Easier on YOU

I really enjoy making dinner for my family.  I almost always rely on grocery pick up to make my life easier and rotate between Sams, Walmart and running in Aldi or Schnucks. I do a menu once a week and shop every week.  I cook 5-6 nights a week + Door Dash/eating out the other nights.  

I know that not everyone enjoys this task or that meal prep is stressful for many.  I'm here with some simple dinner tips to take the guess work out of meal prep!  I hope our dinners give you some inspiration for new meals or new ingredients or new routines to try for you family.

Tip #1: Divide up dinner duties

We divide up dinner duties and Kevin always does the grilling.  I marinate meat and he grills it.  Then I make sides to go along with it.  We love grilled chicken, burgers, brats or steaks.  He grabs steaks when he sees good deals on them and I make sides that are in season to go with the meat.  I always try to have him grill some extra meat to use for lunches that week.

Some nights the kids help me set the table.  Everyone helps clear the dishes.  Sometimes the big kids chop fruit for me.  When we have friends over for dinner, we divide up duties.  Or maybe your spouse picks up the groceries and you do the cooking.  Divide up the duties so that you aren't doing everything.

 

Tip #2: Mix homemade and convenience foods

I love to make homemade bread and my kids prefer boxed mac & cheese.  So I spend my time making the things I enjoy and then find shortcuts with other side dishes.

Tip #3 Make Your Plates Colorful

If you include a fruit, a vegetable (crunchy veggies and dip or a simple salad or roasted veggies) then your dinner will be healthy and filling.  If your kids aren't adventurous eaters, make a game out of trying to new things.  My kids love games so I can usually get them to try new foods that way.

Tip #4 Let everyone customize their own plates.

I set out all of the dinner foods buffet style some nights then we can all go through the line and make our plates how we like them.  I opted for loaded potatoes and all the veggies.  The kids wanted potatoes with ketchup to dip in and skipped the cherry tomatoes this night.

Tip #5 Offer new things with things they love

My kids love chicken and rice so I tried a new green bean recipe this night.  That way if they didn't care for it, they could eat fruit, roasted broccoli or extra chicken and rice.

I haven't cooked brussles sprouts in a while so I planned a dinner with several sides the kids would enjoy and one new item.  None of the kids loved them, but the adults did.

Tip #6 Make your own take out

If your family enjoys Chinese take out, try to find a recipe you can make at home for a healthier and cheaper dinner option.  My crew loves a good teriyaki marinade, anything with hoisin or soy sauce.  I like to make this shredded steak from Aldi, rice and roasted broccoli for a take out alternative.

 

 

Here is another take out alternative that we like: Lo Mein with veggies, teriyaki chicken and fruit.  I love the frozen Lo Mein from Sams, canned chicken, teriyaki marinade and usually pineapple or apple slices.

Tip #7: Prep your food whenever you have time

Look at your schedule and see which day you might have a little extra time to prep food for the week.  Maybe it's the weekend or one set night a week.

Right now, nap time is a really good time for me to get ahead on dinner prep.  I like to cook my taco meat or saute my veggies during nap time so that when dinner rolls around I just have to reheat them.  My next best time is after homework is done around 4:00 and the kids are playing together.  I chop and prep all the things for dinner so that when 6:00 rolls around it is easy to pull things together for dinner.

I used to stress when I have breakfast for dinner on the menu.  Everything cooks at the same time and needs tons of attention to get the eggs just right, the pancakes flipped and the bacon cooked to perfection.  The last time I made breakfast for dinner I tried a new strategy.  I made the pancakes and eggs in advance and put them in glass containers to pop in the oven.  Then I cooked the bacon right before dinner.  The pancakes and eggs reheated in the oven while I cooked the bacon.  Everything was delicious!  And breakfast for dinner was much less stressful.  Keep this in mind of a particular meal that your family loves is stressful for you!

 

Tip #8 Make a big dish to eat twice in one week

My kids love any kind of pasta.  They love this combination the best - meat, noodles and marinara with the littlest bit of cheese.  I love cheese so I usually add ricotta and mozzarella to the adult side and just do their side with meat, sauce and noodles.  We eat it one night then have it again another night that same week for an easy meal.  No one complains about leftovers as long as I don't serve them two nights in a row.

Tip #9 Find sides that your family loves and repeat those

My crew loves these roasted red potatoes.  I roast them at 425 for 30-40 minutes with olive oil and seasoning salt on them.  Then we all top them differently - cheese, sour cream, ketchup or plain.  The whole family loves them so I know they'll eat it.

They also love a side salad or crunchy veggies or fruit.  I can always serve a salad and know it'll be well received.

Figure out your go to sides - pineapple, grapes, apple slices, cucumber slices, roasted potatoes, salad, homemade bread, bread sticks, etc. - and it'll make your meal planning easier.

Wow, that was a lot of food!  I hope that you found those tips helpful and have some new dinner ideas for your family!