Confessions of a Fitness Instructor

Make Meal Time Easy this Autumn

The kids are back to school, and the rest of us are trying to get back into a more structured routine with work, activities, and everything else that life throws at us,.  And then all of us that are responsible for planning and making meals, we’ve got just one more thing to stress over.  I don’t know why, but meals in the summer seem so much easier than the rest of the year.  Maybe because in the summer we tend to do a lot of bbq-ing and quick easy meals, and then with the older weather we start looking for warmer comfort foods that take more time to prepare.

In order to help make the transition to fall a little easier, I had the chance to talk to Anne Marie, dietician for the Atlantic Superstore a week ago to get her tips for making meal times easier!  

Most of us find suppertime to be the most stressful, at breakfast we can easily grab toast, eggs, yogurt, cereal or any other quick breakfast foods and then we are out the door.  

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At lunch time many of us eat leftovers or pack a sandwich making our noon meal easy as well.  And then it’s time for supper.  We’re tired and/or rushed and don’t know what the heck to make and find ourselves staring aimlessly at the cupboard or fridge willing something to jump out at us.  

Here are Anne Marie’s tips for making suppertime easier:

Supper

1. A little effort goes a long way

Set a time aside each week for meal planning.  Look through your local flyers to see what’s on sale and plan your meals in advance.  That way you know what your meals for the week are and all you need to do is choose one each night and get to work!  I like to plan meals for each night and then make sure I have the ingredients for a couple “back up meals” in case we change our mind on what we want to have, or in case something comes up.
 
Once you make your plan for the week you can make your grocery list and you will be sure to have all the items you need for the week ahead.


2. Don’t feel guilty for using convenience foods once in a while

We all know that eating meals out of a box all of the time is no good for anyone, but you shouldn’t feel bad about using a convenience food once in a while as part (not all!) of your meal.  A meal of PC Blue Menu Chicken Strips with cooked vegetables and homemade potato wedges makes for a great meal when you are short on time.  Don’t make it a habit of eating these types of meals every day, but once or twice a week is fine.
 
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Anne Marie’s tip is when choosing convenience foods make sure to choose ones that have less than 20g of fat and 700mg of sodium.  

3. Pre Planning

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If you have your meals for the week planned out, when making supper tonight you already know what you are going to make tomorrow, so while tonight’s supper is cooking, take a few minutes to prepare items for tomorrow’s meal.  For example, if you are having homemade pizza tomorrow night, take a few minutes to chop your pizza toppings and shred your cheese tonight and it will be ready to go tomorrow!
 
4. Meals don’t always need to be fancy

It’s great to have super fancy meals sometimes, but don’t get caught up thinking every supper needs to be a three course fancy affair.  Make sure you have 3 of the 4 food groups covered and your family will eat it and you’re good.
 
A meal is only healthy if your family will eat it.  If you know they won’t touch that massaged kale salad with a ten foot pole, it won’t matter how healthy it is for them!
 
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5. Cook in double

For example if you are making lasagne, make two and freeze one!  Lasagne freezes wonderfully and now you’ve got an extra meal on hand for a day when you need something without a lot of work!
 
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6.  Get the kids involved

If you have difficulty getting your kids to eat at meal time get them involved!  Kids that help prepare meals have been shown to eat those meals with less resistance than kids that don’t get the chance to help.  It might take longer to prepare, but the time (and frustration!) you save during mealtime will be worth it!  Plus you are getting them an early start in learning to cook, a skill they will certainly need as they get older.
 
7. Create a “Family Favorites” Cookbook

Pick up a binder and some page protectors at the dollar store and start to put all of the favourite family recipes in one place for easy access.  Then each time you try a new recipe that everyone loves you can add it to the binder so you always have a collection of the recipes your family loves at your finger tips!
 
Question:
What is/are your top tips for making meal times easier?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!  And don’t forget you can get my FREE Grocery/Meal planner by signing up here

Disclaimer:  I have an ongoing relationship with President’s Choice, however I am sharing this post with you because I felt the information Anne Marie shared was relevant to all of you and I wanted to share, not because I was paid to tell you about it.

Comments

  1. Kim says

    I use my crock pot a lot – I usually have a little more time in the morning than I do in the evenings so I like to have dinner done!!!

    • Suzi says

      Yes I’m in love with my slow cooker too!! There are a couple days each week where I teach a class during supper and in the evening, and without a slow cooker we’d never get to eat on those days!

    • Suzi says

      For sure! I think we get too caught up in “fancy” meals sometimes. Sometimes simple meals are the yummiest!