My "Good Enough" Single Parent Meal Plan
You know what I feel like must be really nice about being married? You either 1) have two incomes to pay for things so money isn't super tight, or 2) have one partner that doesn't work, and therefore has time to plan your meals. I'm sure there are many many exceptions to this rule (like dual incomes but maybe you have a lot of kids) so hang with me...but sometimes I feel like the HARDEST part about being a single working parent is keeping everyone fed on one income.
I can absolutely afford to buy groceries...but then I also have to plan things. I've noticed that if I just go to the store without a plan, we buy a whole bunch of stuff that makes nothing in real life, or is gone in about two days. I do not make enough for us to eat out (good food, not McDonalds) anytime I'm tired and don't have a plan. When you work it's really hard to find the time to plan, then the time to go to the store, and when I do go, it needs to be one store, not the farmers market and Aldi's and the meat market and the seafood place and then also someplace that has the good toilet paper. It has to be one place.
I've tried a lot of meal planning services, and the simple fact is, most of the food sounds meh. Making my own always ends up being really complicated, because I put a lot of pressure on myself. I'd want to plan super healthy well balanced meals and it would get complicated and expensive, and I'd give up. Our natural pattern is that some nights we'll eat chicken and broccoli and some nights we'll have hot dogs and potatoes. We love BLTs, and fish and sometimes I'll find new healthy recipes along the way, but for now, we do a combo of unhealthy/healthy and it's all fine. One thing at a time, am I right?
My solution for now? "Good enough" meal planning. What I do is figure out how to stretch the food I do have time to make and always have something on hand for nights (and mornings) when I'm tired and in a rush. Did you know that hamburgers and hot dogs from the grill are DELICIOUS reheated? They keep that yummy charcoal flavor and take about 30 seconds to reheat. Faster than McDonalds or a frozen pizza, and super easy to pack for a work lunch.
I almost didn't write this post because it seems a little silly to me. I don't have a perfect method at all. But you know what? It works. And I thought maybe some of you might want to settle with me somewhere down here below perfect, but above super stressed out. So here are some of my make ahead on Sunday meals that are helping me survive the rest of the week!
Breakfast
Make ahead oatmeal
Fruit/Greek Yogurt cups. I use this recipe and make a fruit compote on Sundays. Then I fill up small glass containers with the fruit, spoon some plain greek yogurt on top, and they are ready to grab and go. Sometimes I throw in some granola I keep on hand to make it even more filling. This also makes a great snack.
Breakfast burritos. I make up a bowl of egg/sausage crumbles/cheese and mix it all together. Then I spoon it over some tortillas, wrap them up and freeze them.
Sausage biscuits/english muffins. My grandmother does this and buys sausage biscuits from Braum's (oh how I miss Braum's!) and then freezes them to reheat all week. I like to make my own and wrap and freeze. Either way, these are great to freeze and reheat quickly.
Biscuits and gravy. I was really excited when I figured this one out, because it's Cash's favorite. I make a few extra biscuits when I make this on the weekends, throw them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the fridge. I scoop out the extra gravy in individual portion sizes and store them in Pyrex containers. When it's time to make it, I reheat the biscuits for about 20 seconds, the gravy for about 1-2 minutes. The gravy thickens in the fridge, so usually I add a splash of milk to make it the right consistency.
I'm gonna be honest...sometimes I have two breakfasts. I like to heat up the oatmeal once I get to work, but on the way I get hungry. So I keep individual baggies of almonds on hand to grab on the way out the door. Healthy AND they tide me over until it's my turn to eat real breakfast!
Lunch
Crab Salad. This recipe is really delicious. It's great on it's own (that's how Cash likes it) but I like to be evil and scoop it onto Ritz crackers. I make this ahead on Sundays and have it ready in small containers to grab for lunch.
Baked Potatoes. I grill a batch of either white or sweet potatoes on Sundays then keep them wrapped in foil in the fridge. Easy to grab and reheat (minus the foil of course) in the microwave for a quick snack/meal.
Dinner
Stir Fry. On Sundays, I make a big batch of rice, and throw it in the fridge. I also cook a chicken breast, usually on the grill because I already have that fired up, and shred it. I buy a frozen bag of mixed veggies for about $2.50 at Walmart, and I'm good to go. When it's time to make dinner, all I have to do is throw the ingredients together with some soy sauce and dinner is ready super quick.
Hot Dogs/Hamburgers. This works for lunches as well. I grill a bunch of burgers and hot dogs and then put them in bags for the rest of the week. When I go to take them in a lunch, I put a slice of cheese and hamburger bun in the bag with the patty. I keep small containers of condiments like ketchup and mayo in the mini fridge at work. You can do this, or even keep fast food condiments handy and throw those in your bag the morning of.
There are a million frozen meals you can cook a double batch of, and store the rest. Soups and chili are my favorites. My mom freezes her amazing spaghetti sauce and always has some of that on hand to warm up.
That's really it. Combine this with days that you actually feel like making a whole meal (I made BLTs on Monday, and I'll probably make something else Friday night), and you're covered. If you feel like cooking a new recipe, awesome! If you're exhausted, heat up a hamburger and call it good. We win.