Mom Hacks

Meal Planning

I do not always meal prep. Sometimes Sundays are being spent with the family or I have other things to catch up and I just don’t have time. When I do meal prep, I am always glad that I did. It is a huge commitment to spend most of the day Sunday cooking (especially for someone who doesn’t love cooking) but it’s always worth it.

If I am not meal prepping I do find ways to save time. One big way is to organize my pantry and fridge. I wash, clean, and cut my veggies and fruits. This saves time if I am using these items for meals during the week and also makes them accessible for snacks for the boys. I also make sure that snacks for the boys are organized in a way that is just grab and go.

Lunches

For lunches for the boys, I usually make those in advance. I’ll make a weeks worth of lunches Sunday night and I have a system down so it goes quickly. Here are the basics for what I include:

Sandwich or Wrap: with applegate meat, swiss or cheddar (a good dairy brand like stonyfield), and either dave’s killer bread or a whole wheat wrap

Fruits and Veggies: I always give at least one fruit and one veggie. Usually either apple, strawberries, blueberries, banana or grapes. For veggies either carrots, cucumbers, or spinach (in their sandwich)

String cheese (babybelus) or small yogurt drink (stonyfield)

Snacks including: goldfish smiles, pirates booty, annie’s homegrown crackers.

Nuts: wonderful pistachios or almonds, cashrews, or a mix of all three with some craisins.

Treat: I’ll sometimes give them a small treat like stretch island or trader joe’s oreos or a homemade cookies.

Snacks

I use a WINE BAG! Grab a wine bag and then you have six compartments to store snacks. I might include some apple sauce, some shelled pistachios (I portion out into snack bags), fruit sticks, greek yogis, goldfish, sometimes I’ll include a dessert treat like chocolate covered almond.

For Rowan when he started solids I would give him two solids a day so I usually get the Happy Baby Organics pouches. I use a small infant bottle and I squeeze in the pouch and add some oatmeal.

I put everything in a big cooler bag so it is just one bag to grab from the car.

Packing / Outfit Planning

To avoid mismatched outfits I choose matching outfits and then layout the shirt with the neck facing me. I put the pants inside the base of the shirt. I also include a diaper if needed and a pair of sock. I fold the shirt and tuck the arms in like a burrito and then make a small pile with all the outfits pre-arranged!