By Stephanie Scott
ith school, work, sports and extracurriculars, modern families are juggling a lot each day. And when time is tight and schedules are crazy, cooking is often the last thing on a parent’s mind. The solution? Taking time each week to do some meal and ingredient prep can save you money, improve your health, and make for some great family bonding.
Stop picky eaters in their tracks. Having a colorful array of fresh fruit and veggies and dips prepped makes it much more enticing for little snackers to make healthy choices. Choose a day a week to wash, cut, peel and prep small containers of fruits and vegetables – and consider adding a fun pre-prepped yogurt-based ranch or sweet dip.
Make it a family affair. Remember that with meal prepping for kids, involving them is half the fun. Having little hands to help with easy and safe tasks like peeling oranges, measuring ingredients, or making compost from scraps. Kids enjoy this and it helps them learn the value of cooking and nutrition.
No more meal fights. Have each family member have a say in their favorite meals and prep the week according to their likes. Make extra of each meal during prep day. If the kids don’t like the next day’s choice? Enjoy the leftovers of a favorite meal you choose earlier in the week.
Choose foods that hold up well. Meal prep only works if the food tastes fresh daily. Choosing the right foods to prep allows you to make meals days or a week in advance and keeps it fresh. Beans, sweet potatoes, rice, hard-boiled eggs, kale, oats, pulled chicken, roasted veggies, canned tomato and corn all do well in the fridge. Plan meals with those ingredients for lunches or late week meals. Eat less fridge-friendly foods, like salmon or fresh veggies, earlier in the week.
Local chef and mom Megan Chavez understands the power of easy and stress-free prepping when dealing with a family and shared this incredibly simple recipe that transforms a one-pound bag of almonds into 132 ounces of almond milk. Chavez, who owns the healthy meal prep company Prepped Up Meals, called this recipe “the best dairy alternative I’ve had.”
