So as homeschool mothers, not only do you have to teach your children, they always seem to get hungry. You’re responsible for feeding everyone as well which doesn’t have to be a huge chore if you put some planning into it. We’re heading into the home stretch of my 31 days to a better planned homeschool series. I need a break.
So why are we discussing meal planning if we’re discussing homeschool planning. Well, if you don’t have your meals planned out, you spend more and then don’t have any money left over to buy books. If it were up to me, I’d buy books first and think of groceries after. I love my books.
Make a list
As simple as it sounds, you need to make a list, go through your flyers to check out sales, what should you look for and what is on sale. What meals can you make from that? Don’t just make the list, actually stick to it while you are shopping. Or else your budget gets out of whack and there goes your book money, noooo!
Shop for in season items
Seasonal produce is cheaper, look for items that are on sale and see if they can be substituted into your regular meals or better yet, try a new recipe and use those new veggies.
Quick meals during the week
If you family is out all day with co-op or activities, invest in a slow cooker, you can throw all of your ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and then when you come home, you’ll have a deliciously tender meal waiting for you. I also like to cook a double portion of say soup or stew and have it for two nights. The kids and hubby don’t mind and it saves me from having to cook the next day.
I save my more intensive prep time meals for the weekends when hubby can watch the kids and keep them occupied.
Use your left overs
If you had a rotisserie chicken for dinner, use the left overs for sandwiches the next day, don’t let food go to waste. If you’re going to make lasagna, then use the extra meat and sauce to make pasta another night of the week as well.
Meal prep after you shop
Don’t throw that tray of chicken breasts right into the freezer. It will take hours to thaw and add too much time to your weekday cooking sessions. Divide up the meat, portion them out and season them now, then throw them in the freezer. Have you seen the Chicken and Beef Dump Recipes from Sharla on The Chaos and the Clutter? It’s so easy to put together and you’ll have amazing meals throughout the week with very little prep time.
Follow along in my 31 Days to a Better Planned Homeschool series.
You’ll also want to check out the other 26 bloggers in this series as well and join our Homeschool Tips 4 Moms Facebook group if you’d like to connect with other homechooling mothers.
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