Meal Prep + Typical Eats

I was reading a working mom message board I belong to, and one lady was commenting on how her entire Sunday is taken up with meal prep for the week.  As you know, I do a lot of meal prep on Sundays, but I don't feel like it's too much, and putting together healthy meals for the family during the week seems pretty manageable, so here is a basic outline of what our week in food looks like:

::Sunday::
I typically shop during nap time in the early afternoon.  I roughly plan meals, make a list of pantry items we are out of and go!  I typically spend between $120 and $140 each Sunday at the grocery store.  I do not buy all organic, but I do buy healthy convenience foods that make cooking easier on me.  Organic apples sliced in the bag, frozen brown rice that steams in 4 minutes, etc.  We eat at home a lot, so I buy things that taste good and are more satisfying.

When I get home, I make:
-2-3 meals worth of a protein in the crockpot.  Enought for Sunday night and 1-2 meals during the week.  This might be shredded chicken breasts, pork loin, chili, stew, etc.  This means that during the week, I only have to add a veggie, or us the pre-cooked meat to make tacos, casserole, etc.
-5 lunches for myself consisting of meat/carb/veggies all together in 1 container
-1 breakfast casserole for husband to eat throughout the week in the am
-a few lunch options for H.  This might be ravioli, turkey meatballs, or a portion of what I made in the crockpot
-1 batch of no-bake energy balls

Sunday night we will usually eat whatever I made in the crockpot, a big salad with seared steak, or breakfast for dinner

::Typical Weekday::
Breakfast
Me: shakeologoy shake and 1/2 thin begal, in the car during my 1 hour commute
H: carb in the car on the way to school, fruit or yogurt once we get to school

AM Snack
Me: oatmeal or granola bar
H: school provides

Lunch
Me: whatever I made for the week + fruit
H: packed in her ziploc container the night before

PM Snack
Me: yogurt mixed with granola
H: school provides

PM Snack 2
H: likes to have a snack at 5 when she gets home

Dinner Options
-Using whatever protein I made in the crockpot
-I use lots of frozen steam in the bag sides, including brown rice, green beans and broccoli
- If you are short on time, breakfast for dinner, frozen lasagna or grilled turkey and cheese with soup are easy options!

::Tuesday::
H eats PB&J in the car on the way to gymnastics at 5:30.  We then eat together when we get home.

::Thursday::
Husband has softball, we usually do a thin crust California Pizza Kitchen pizza + salad, or if he has an early game, we might grab Chick Fil A and go watch him play!

::Friday::
Tired from the week, I usually get something tasty for us to make at home on my way home and we have cocktails, play outside, snack on apps, and eat a little later.  Maybe shrimp, fish or a homemade pizza!

::Saturday::
Breakfast
Husband usually makes a big breakfast, a combo of eggs, french toast, bacon, fruit and coffee!

We will eat out either lunch or dinner on Saturdays, but not typically both.

::Sunday::
Depending on how well we ate during the week (taste and calorie wise) we may go out to lunch after church.  Then it's nap time and grocery shopping all over again!

Hopefully this inspires you to get organized and cook a bit more, and shows you that it is really not that hard if you do a little thinking ahead!