Eating Well When Life Gets Crazy

Dinner Time! How many moms out there dread the question “What’s for dinner”. UGH I hate getting that question from my kids. It’s not that I don’t know the answer. I do. Most of the time. I think I dread it because it means they are most likely hungry. It’s time to start making dinner and I’m not ready to switch gears from Mom Boss – to Mom. Sometimes it’s because life is crazy and finding the time to cook a nutritious meal for my family is difficult. How do we continue to eating well when life gets crazy?

In order to give you some background information and context for my situation follow me on one of my average days. It all begins at 6:00am time to get up and make sure I’m alert and ready to receive my kids when the wake to start their day. If I don’t wake up before them and have that little but of quiet alone time my day doesn’t go as well. Then I spend the morning waking and preparing the kids for school. Sometimes transporting them to school if necessary. 

Get to Work!

I’ve got them ready for school and I can begin my day. My day usually consists of cleaning the house. Though my husband would never know it because he always gets home after the kids. Within minutes of their arrival after school, they will have effectively destroy any evidence that I had cleaned . But I digress back to my day. Finding time to workout is a bit tricky. I am not a o’dark thirty kind of girl. I just can’t workout until I am mentally awake which doesn’t happen before 7am. In order to not cheat my family or business out of prime time daylight hours I have learned to rise before the sun to get my workouts done.

Then it’s time to get to business. Editing photos, emailing clients, creating social media content, blogging and so much more go into my photography business. Staying on top of it all is a balancing act for sure. But things like Dubsado my client management systems and apps like Planoly for Instagram have really helped me become more efficient with my time. 

Now here is where the fun begins. Just as I am gaining traction with work 2:30p rolls around and it’s time for me to switch gears. Work needs to get put away  and it’s time to put on my mom hat. One rolls in from school around 2:40p, one has to be picked up at 4:15p, one at 5:00p and another has practice that doesn’t even start until 6:00p but we have to leave the house at 5:30p to get there on time. Now when exactly am I suppose to make dinner?? 

Knowing that most of my weekday evenings will look like this how on earth do I make sure my family is not only eating well but spending our money well. I want to save us money by avoiding the fast food lines each night?

Here are a few of my go to plans to help keep my family eating well during those times our schedules are running a little crazy.

First, is obviously the crock pot! I use the crock pot for all sorts of things. Chili, Stew, Pot Roast, Pork, Chicken, you name it I have probably tried to fix it in a crock pot. Just don’t do pasta in a crock pot I tried that once to keep it warm and it just turned to mush. Yuk! The reason I love the crock pot is if I can do all the preparing during those hours my kids are at school then when the craziness begins we might not all eat at the same time but I know what they are eating is nutritious and healthy. If anything I just need to warm up a little side dish of something or add a side salad and boom dinner is ready! 

Second, is ready to bake casseroles. I have a few casserole dinners I can prep a day or two in advance and then when it’s dinner time just pop that sucker in the oven on 350 for 30 mins and Voila dinner is served! These casseroles usually involved already cooked meats so the dish simply needs to be warmed up so it can gel together.   

Finally, I learned this trick from my recent meal prepping experience. I cook dinner in advance. I may fix 3 dinners in one night or simply fix a dinner that could feed a football team. We eat one and the other two get place in the fridge for “leftovers” the next few days. This way they can each person is able to warm up what they prefer whenever they get home and are ready for dinner. 

Remember the most important thing is to be present and love your family.

Now for all of you moms out there who say yes but when do you eat dinner as a family?  Trust me I know how important it is to get them all around the table. Those nights are some of our best nights at Hubbard Headquarters! But sometimes it’s just not possible. However, you can bet I take advantage of any opportunity I get to have them in the kitchen cooking with me and then all seated around the table for a meal. To the Mamas who say but it’s so much easier to just stop at the store for prepackaged meals. Rock On! Do what you have got to do to take care of your family! I am by no means judging your choices.  These are just a few ideas I’ve learned over the years to help me avoid the fast-food lines and keep my family eating a little bit healthier. Well there you go a few ways meal prepping has allowed me more time for business and family.