Episode 13: Meal Planning

Welcome to the Beauty of Better Podcast, where we help moms thrive in health and fame.

Good morning, ladies.

We're so excited that you've joined us this morning on our Beauty of Better Podcast.

Today, we're gonna be talking about meal planning, and just how meal planning can really just help bring some ease to dinnertime, mealtimes, and kind of just help take some of that pressure off that we feel as moms to just have the head space to think through how we're gonna feed these kids.

So we're just gonna talk through some tips today, and just hopefully you pick up some tidbits of how to help ease things in that department, in your homes.

But some of the reasons that we meal prep is, just looking at the nutrition that we're giving our kids, and we're in no means pushing that you have to be all-organic.

I know there's so much pressure as moms, that everything has to be made from scratch right away, and all-organic.

But it's like, looking at your situation in life, what is attainable for you in your home?

And so what can meal prepping look like for you?

When in your weeks do you have time to meal prep?

Whether that's big batch cooking, or it doesn't have to be that Pinterest-worthy refrigerator that has all the perfect glass jars, and you have your week's supply of everything pristine.

Maybe that works for some of us, but maybe it just looks like doing a big batch cook of something that you know that you can use a couple times for meals that week, or maybe it means just ingredient prepping.

So getting a bag of carrots and taking them out of the bag, having them washed and ready in the fridge, or like apples so that your kids can go to the fridge and grab an apple, and less whining at you.

So even setting up a station that's like, okay, that's your prepared snack foods.

Like you can go to that and they know that these little things, little tips can help just take some of the stressor's office as mom.

So finding what works for you in your home.

So we're just going to jump in and have some just raw conversation of how we do that in our homes and just some practical tips we have.

So does one of you ladies want to jump in with some ideas that have worked in your homes?

I can share.

Yeah, I think I started embracing the concept of meal planning more after having my second child.

So my first two kids are about 19 months apart.

And there's just a very full season becoming a parent and then welcoming another one and full season our careers.

And I had read this thing about how the average American at that time, my kids were at that age, would eat at least one meal out a day.

And I was just really struck by that.

And I'm like, oh, that's so expensive.

And we had a pretty tight budget at that point.

And I was like, we can't afford that.

And we can't really make sure we're fueling our kids well.

So I discovered this great app that I still use today, 11 years later, that I can...

It comes up with new meals every Wednesday.

And then you could pick it based on clean eating, you know, if you're a diabetic or 30-minute meals or kid-friendly meals.

And then you just click Add to My Meal Kit for the week.

So if I'm gonna cook four meals, it adds it to my menu.

But it also says you need one half of a white onion.

You need 14 ounces of this.

And so I don't end up over buying, which helps us.

And then once I put it in the cart, I'll look through my kitchen, see what I have, check them off, check off what I already have.

And then I can send that shopping list to Instacart.

That's amazing.

So if it's a week, then I just cannot get to the store.

I need to try this.

The game changer for me was going from three to four kids where I felt like, okay, it was worth having that Instacart membership for our family when we added that fourth child because just getting all the kids loaded, the amount of button clicks for all the car seats in and out of the car, the amount of time at the car was really challenging.

So that automatic process afforded us more time to be able to cook, making sure what we were eating healthy.

Something that we've done now that our kids are a little bit older is now looking at the sales when they come out each week and saying like, okay, we're going to build our mails around like the proteins that are on sale.

And we do grocery pickups on Fridays, because you get more fuel points if you do it on Fridays.

So it's adapted over time, but using resources that weren't there decades ago have been a really big blessing and also taught my kids how to get involved with the cooking process and the planning process.

And it's been a positive thing for our family.

Not easy.

I won't say it's easy.

What's the name of that app?

Yeah.

What's the name of that app?

The app is called Emails.

And so we learned about it through, we were doing some like Dave Ramsey, like real hard look at our budget when we were wrapping up grad school and becoming parents and whatnot.

So it was recommended through that avenue.

And it's pretty affordable per month cost, less than maybe Netflix subscription.

Yeah.

And so I have it on there.

And then I have all my recipes that my kids love in like a recipe box on there.

So if I'm like, okay, this week, I just want to go with their favorites, and I just add it to my meal plan for the week, it simplifies.

And then even if you have like something in your freezer, like I have a bunch of frozen chicken, and I'm like, you know what?

Like I don't have time to go to the store in the next two to three days.

I have frozen chicken.

It can suggest meals based on like putting in two to three ingredients and quantities.

So I don't have to do the searching because that's where I was losing time.

Isn't that so good?

I know.

I think I did check out the app and they have a 14 day like free trial.

So like I'm in that free trial right now, just like testing out because I tend to be more of a like throw it together cook.

And I've always been like that.

I mean, I was actually like it was growing up in my best friend's house.

They always just cooked with whatever they had in their cupboard.

So I learned how to do that from them.

But I know not everybody can do that and like have it turn out edible.

So, you know, so having apps like that is just like so helpful.

I love that you can actually store the recipes that you find are like wins with your kids because I did like look through the app and like to be able to just click on a recipe and just add the ingredients to the shopping list and then just like check out the ones you don't need because you already have it.

It was like, oh my goodness, this is amazing.

Like the headspace that it just frees up because you can just do something like that.

So yeah, that's definitely a good tool, I think, for mamas out there who maybe need that help with coming up with recipes and stuff.

So thank you for sharing that, Christiana, because I'm loving it.

I feel like our go-to is, I used to have a calendar on the fridge, and it was like this day of the week we're having this, this, this, and this, so the boys would know what to expect.

And then in this season, I just, I think I shared this in another episode, like I just can't do that right now.

And Saturday was my prep day.

And I've actually changed our whole routine around grocery shopping.

But we just try to have obviously like a protein, a vegetable, and or fruit, and a starch with every meal.

And we focus the most on dinner, right?

Because the kids are usually at school for lunch, and then breakfast is usually pancakes right now.

So I think with that, it's just making sure we have enough meat for every day of the week, the protein.

And I mean, we see what's on sale.

I also love Instacart.

Maybe Instacart should like sponsor Beauty of Better or something.

Because I feel like it's made me survive in this season, where it's like, I can do grocery shopping on my phone, and then it comes to my door.

I also use Costco same day delivery.

So that way, it's like, I maybe go to Costco every other week, because I don't need those giant bulk items every week.

But just like it gets delivered every two weeks, and then it's like you're stocked up on things.

But we are more of a throw it together in this season.

But usually, I feel like grilling has been our best friend.

So it's like, grill a meat, I make a salad every night.

And sometimes I'll bulk make the salads, like you said, Kathleen, where it's just like, there's always salad in, it's easy to throw it in a bowl.

And then we've got our meat on the grill.

And then either like rice or potatoes, or like some kind of starch to go with it.

But it's usually like pull it together.

But I always have those staples in that I know my boys will eat.

Like we always have zucchini in the house.

We always have broccoli.

We always have cucumbers.

Like I just know we're not going to have a fight over this.

Like it's not the season.

But I also think like ordering with Instacart or other apps like that, it can save so much time.

Like if you don't have time to just, and especially where we live, where it's like, if I go to Costco and I just want to get one thing, it's going to take me an hour because we're in such a densely populated area.

And it's like that, like I just can't do that right now.

But I want the bulk items and to save money on that.

So it's like give or take.

So yeah, I feel like that's helped a lot and to just be able to add things to my grocery cart during the day when it's like I have time to do that and I don't have to walk through a grocery store.

Yeah.

But Kristina, I want to try that app so bad.

Yeah, and I think the idea was like using...

So we've done a pick up for a local grocery store.

So Ralph's is the grocery store close to us.

And so my mom actually told me this, she raised four kids.

So a lot of times I'm like, okay, you did this.

And I saw it modeled well, but now I'm trying to figure this out in this season.

Can you give me some tips?

So a lot of times I'm calling her.

And so she actually told me about the Ralph's app.

And that has been my new Friday routine, where I'll talk with my kids and say, hey, what would you like to eat this week?

You're just like, okay, these are the things on sale.

And each of them are chiming in, or, oh, we're looking at it together.

And I save money by not taking my kids with me to the grocery store even like...

And it's kind of like target pick up.

So you pick your pick up window, and then they just bring it out to your car.

And it's this beautiful thing that I feel like I'm buying time back.

And then I can invest that in the areas that may need it for that day or for that week, right?

Yeah.

And I think with raising three daughters, I feel that even my son, he actually was really involved with chopping.

So I wouldn't say just gender, but it's a time for us to spend time together in prepping a meal.

And so they're taking some ownership.

And then one thing that I felt like a sense of, like I wanted to teach my kids is to be exposed to a variety of different foods.

And I just naturally don't have the mental capacity and creativity to come up with, like, let's try this Thai food.

Now we're going to try this Indian dish.

And through this, I could just look at it, and I'm like, okay, we're going to add curry into our meal this week, and that will be our experimental meal.

Or we're going to not have a protein.

Like, last night, we made this really big quinoa salad.

And quinoa is a complete protein.

So I'm like, here we go.

We're saving money with using a complete protein without having the cost of an animal protein.

So it's just been fun to have those conversations around our table and try to give my kids that skill set that hopefully they'll carry on to adulthood.

But it's been fun, but it's been like an 11-plus year process for us.

It's been varied a lot in different seasons.

I love that.

Well, I feel like we're plugging all these other companies.

But I did just want to speak like something that's been fun for our family is like, it's called Misfits Foods, and it's at least here in this area.

And so it's like an organization that they kind of, you know, foods that are maybe rejected from the grocery stores, because they're like slightly like odd shaped or whatever.

You know, here in California, we do have the luxury of like lots of farms and stuff around us that, you know, have, we have access to like organic produce and all of that.

So we get that shipment comes on like Monday mornings, and it's like these big boxes.

And for Jeremiah, my two year old, it feels like Christmas morning.

We like open up the door Monday morning and the Misfits food box is there.

And like, we bring it in and open it up together.

And he gets all excited, like, zucchini!

And like, you know, where it feels like a Christmas morning package delivery every Monday.

And that's been something too, about like, just how that helps, like, engage that generation in the excitement around food.

And also, you know, telling the kids about the value of like, oh, you know, this would have just been thrown away if we didn't rescue it.

And it has the same nutrition as the ones that look like perfect.

And, you know, and just, so that's something that we've really liked.

And also that company, like, all of their foods are like, ones like, even their snack foods are the ones made with more like, whole, like, better ingredients.

And so I'm feeling less like, I need to like search like, okay, what are the ingredients in this?

Like, that company as a whole has good ingredients in their products, ones that I would, don't mind my kids eating.

So even things like that, finding companies that, you know, source really good products, that helps take some of the guesswork out of like, is this going to be okay?

Like, or, you know, all of that.

And so that's something that's really like, helped us that we've really liked.

I have a question around that.

Is it a surprise what you get?

Or do you get told like, what's coming in the box?

Yeah, no.

So we have done veg boxes like that before, which has been surprise foods.

And then like, I remember once getting, you know, I had to look up the name of it.

It was like this weird, it looked like a sea creature.

And it was called Romanesco, which maybe people know what that was by the time I like didn't know what it was.

And it just looked like a sea creature.

And our kids were like, I'm not eating that.

And so anyway, no, with Misfits food, you literally pick everything you want.

And there's no subscription fee on it.

Like you don't pay a monthly fee.

And so like, and you can skip weeks, you can cancel anytime.

It was like the easiest thing.

And so you have like a shopping window from like Wednesday to Friday.

So you just click through what you want.

And then, you know, and then they would send it to you on Monday morning.

So you very much get to pick everything that you want.

But you know, the one caveat was it wouldn't have things like laundry detergent and like toilet paper.

So, you know, it's not like one stop shop in that sense.

You know, whereas some of the other apps are, but yeah.

I never have a one stop shop.

I feel like I always have minimal two to three, like either delivered or pickups a week, because you can't get like laundry detergent at Ralph's or Vaughan's or a lot of those food delivery places, but you can at Costco and Target.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

I like that idea of the delivery.

I know there's been seasons where we've done like Every Plate or HelloFresh or like Blue Apron, those things, they've had their promotional ones.

So sometimes in different seasons, we've done that too.

But the idea of rescuing foods that might not be used.

Yes, yes.

And honestly, we haven't had issues with like stuff like stuff's not showing up moldy or anything like that, like perfectly fine condition.

And another thing I love about them too is like, it doesn't come in loads of plastic.

It's literally just like they have all just in this big brown box, and it kind of just all comes in there together.

I mean, it doesn't break and stuff, but like, it just minimizes that plastic waste and stuff too, which is kind of a value to us as well.

But yeah, and it does, it saves money.

Honestly, I was finding it saved us about 30% like per week on like our on our grocery costs and stuff.

So yeah, I really like it.

So you're welcome, Ms.

Fitzpood.

But I did want to talk a little bit just on like, even as moms, like fueling ourselves, because oftentimes we, you know, we're so busy caring for our little, making sure they're nourished, that we forget about ourselves and we end up running on coffee throughout the day, or, and then we're like, oh yeah, and then you get exhausted, tired and kind of burnt out mid afternoon, because you haven't fueled yourself well.

So something that like, you know, I'm not like a real planner, as far as like all the meals with my kids, I'm definitely growing and getting better at that.

But something I've learned for myself is like, I batch cook sometimes like breakfast and lunch for myself.

So like, I got into like soaked oats and Bercher Muesli, like Bercher Brenner was like a Swiss physician that came up with these like soaked oats, finding that it healed a lot of ailments in his patients.

And so anyway, lots of health benefits in soaking oats.

So I often will make a big bowl of like these kind of soaked oats, and there's a bunch of different recipes online, but having that and then you just scoop it out in the morning and it's just ready for you, which I don't mind cold like oatmeal, but maybe people don't like that, but it has like nuts and seeds and fruits in it, you know, so it's a little, it tastes good in that way.

But, and then for lunchtimes, you know, I just know that like, okay, I need to get some protein in me to be sustained throughout the day.

So, this is another thing that I'm not sure people love, but like sardines, I like love sardines.

People always like look at me like weirdo, but you know, it's kind of one of those foods that like 110, which is a serving size, like get into your full daily value of omega-3.

Wow.

You know, and so, and like in this culture where people are concerned a lot about seed oils, like, it's not so much seed oils as the imbalance of omega-6s to omega-3s.

And if we just find ways of increasing our omega-3s, it can just help our overall health.

And so, that's something I made like a pasta salad with and threw in sardines in there, which honestly tastes like tuna to me.

And you know, I threw some like cooked kale in there and carrots and just got in a bunch of veggies.

And I had that just in the fridge and over a couple days, like that's just what I had for quick lunches.

And so, sometimes batch cooking just for you as a mom, for fueling you as a mom to have that ready, can just be so helpful to get your energy.

Yeah, I definitely agree with that.

I think a lot of times what we'll do is we'll double a lot of recipes in the evening, and then either I'll take it to work, my husband will take it to work, or sometimes the kids will even pack it in their lunch.

And so I think, yeah, just like when you have everything out, and you're making the mess in the kitchen, just like expand about how much you're making, and that will save you time of, you know, down the long run, because it can be used for maybe another meal.

Yeah, depending on the appetites.

Yeah, I do that too, where it's like, if I'm cooking dinner, and it has the oven involved in a recipe, I'll throw in an extra pan of chicken, even though it has nothing to do with dinner, just to cook it at the same time.

So then I have that to go on top of salads for lunches, and then my salad bags are already made, because I make those for dinners.

So it's just like that easy grab, you've got protein and vegetables, and go out the door.

I've been on a sourdough kick lately, so if anybody knows how to make really good sourdough, I really want to learn to make it, because I'm like, I'm consuming way too much, but I love it.

I want to make it at home.

Daniel makes it, my husband makes it, so I'll have your starter.

Let's chat about this later.

Yes, we do.

I know, we have our starter from Devil in Ireland, so it's pretty awesome.

So yeah.

I need to learn.

We'll have to post that for our mamas listening.

The recipe for making sourdough.

I've been having that whole wheat sourdough with an avocado on it, just like for breakfast, and it's just good to, like if I have to drive and drop everybody off, it's good to have on my way to work, so.

So good, I love that.

That's awesome.

Just, yeah, one other, I think just some tips that are helpful for moms is like when it comes to our kids too, just of, like I think through like the nutrition in our kids, sometimes planning things out when you know are like, like tough areas for your kids for getting a nutrition, like something with me, actually, like my kids are sort of have been picky eaters, like just turn their nose up to like any vegetables and stuff.

And that, and being a nutritionist at times, I've been like, what do I do?

Like, you know, and but I feel like, you know, I've found little tips here and there from different moms with picky eaters and some things that we have done.

And it's, you know, required a little bit more planning.

But so one tip that I thought was really helpful is, you know, when kids are like watching a show, like if they get, you know, showtime, they'll often just like munch on whatever is in front of them.

So that's when I like sneakily like incorporate like, oh, here, everybody have this fruit and veggie smoothie.

I can like do that too.

Yes, right.

Just like they're not paying attention, but just like, I'm like, yes.

So, you know, I honestly, I sneak every day, I put spinach, bananas, like almond milk, like all the things in there.

And they'll just drink away at it as they're like watching a show.

And I'll often do that even like before a meal, so that I know that, okay, they're getting the like nutrition filled up on something good.

And then maybe I'm giving them their like chicken nuggets and potatoes that they prefer like during the meal, but they like already got that other stuff.

So, you know, something like that.

And I know we're going to do a picky eating like episode at some point.

But, you know, just like having these little, like planning out something that you know is a way to get nutrition into your kids, especially if they're picky eaters.

Like, you know, that's going to be helpful to take some of the stress out of the meal times.

Like, so that's something that's helped us in our home.

I feel like what I do a lot is along the smoothie line is I'll buy frozen berries when they're on sale.

Like, I'll stock up and put it in our deep freezer because our boys ask for smoothies almost every day.

So, like, I'm constantly making smoothies, but there are some foods you can sneak in there that they want, like an avocado.

Yeah, they don't even notice.

I feel like, I hope they're not watching this episode.

Because it's like, you can put in all the berries and it's super sweet, but like an avocado just blends right in and it has almost no taste.

And so it's like, oh, you're getting like these good fats and fiber and like all this stuff.

So I feel like that's one thing I try to not say no to with my boys is like, if they want a fruit smoothie, it's like, yeah, you're going to get these fresh berries, you're going to secretly get an avocado in there and just help pack that.

But it's so funny, because I just was thinking back to, it must have been like a month ago, my husband came to me and he's like, you know what, people never tell you in parenting classes, that you have to cook for your kids every night of the week.

Like you have to provide dinner every day.

And it's so hard.

I was like, it's so true.

They don't talk about, like they talk about parenting and behavior and all those things.

But when you become a parent, it's like, you gotta feed your kids to keep them alive.

So I feel like meal planning can be so hard.

But I feel like, you know, what our heart behind this to mamas is to just have grace.

Like you don't have to have the perfect meals.

You don't have to have like photo ops for your dinners.

Like they can be messy.

They can be on paper plates.

And it really is just about taking those steps to just make sure that you're incorporating as much nutrition as you can for your kids.

Or tricks like what Kathleen said about doing a smoothie before dinner, or whether it's using Instacart, whether it's to save time or save money.

But it really is, again, going back to our last episode with Smart Goals, like what is one area you can improve with meal planning, with dinners, maybe it's not going out to eat one last night a week or something where it's like you actually know what you're fueling your bodies with.

Or maybe it's a goal for yourself personally, just around prepping breakfast or prepping lunch for yourself so that you know that you're getting the energy that you need for the week.

Does anybody else have anything to add?

I felt like I was going into an out-trip.

I was saying, one other thing we've been doing too, just we have a child who's very fact-oriented.

And so maybe they wouldn't want to try a food, but if you give them like, you know, this child would say, hey, Alexa, why is this good for you?

Because they think it's just, you know, just me asking.

And then they're like, did you know, did you know?

And then they go around saying all the facts, and then they'll maybe try something, you know?

And we're like, okay, at least we're developing those taste buds to like not fully reject it, maybe just like still give it an attempt.

But seeing like how your kid's oriented, whether it's the smoothie where you have to hide it at that point, we're like, okay, we're gonna get some kale in here, you know?

Or if it's, let's just talk about facts.

Yeah, so we call it, we have our little foster boy who's three, and then our son, Jeremiah, who's two.

And what I've been doing with them is like, oh, this food gives you this superpower, and like, I'm not the immune system and stuff like that.

And then the other day, I like, what did I eat in orange?

And it was like, oh, I'm turning into Hulk.

And I actually got our little foster boy to eat, like, he licked, he licked two fruits that he usually would just be like, not even touch.

And so I was like, yes, we'll consider that a win.

He licked them.

And so, you know, because he wanted the superpowers.

So you do have to find little funny, creative ways sometimes to get them interested.

So I love that.

I'll try that.

He calls the Alexa, Rolexa.

So I was like, let's have Rolexa, what she says about this food.

That's awesome.

I think it's helpful to, like, when kids do start to get a little older, just having them be part of the conversations.

And, like, Cristiana, you said your kids are very deeply involved in the conversation with food and meal prep.

But I just think that that helps train them at a young age.

And something I've done is I've had my boys go grocery shopping, like, be completely in control of the week of groceries.

And it's like, here's your budget, here's the flyer for the grocery stores, and we need to plan this many meals.

And so it teaches them, it was like a homeschool math thing that we did.

But it taught them to look and see like, oh, this is what's on sale, this is not, this is how expensive things are because they're so expensive here.

And this is how I plan to prep meals, and I let them be in charge of the grocery shopping for a week.

And that just helped engage those conversations just around like budgeting, but also eating nutrient-dense foods, and what do those look like, and how do you put them together?

So I feel like incorporating kids, like I feel like at a young age, Kathleen, like letting Jeremiah open the box and see all the fruits, like small steps with incorporating kids throughout the years is helpful too, and just training them and being an example, but then preparing them so that when they're off to college, they can hopefully have some good habits.

Yes.

Okay, well, I hope you ladies listening, we're just encouraged today and that you can find some helpful tips in our conversation today.

And we just bless you in taking those little steps towards becoming better for yourself and your family.

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Oh, yes.

How cute is that?

That's fun.

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