The biggest resistance I hear to cooking at home is: “I don’t have time!”
Fair.
Busy family, work schedules, mom-taxi duties- all of these things take priority over meal prep sometimes. I could talk about the 17 reasons why it’s important to put meal prep first, but I know that most of us are just doing the best that we can. So let’s talk about how to make it easier using some grocery store shortcuts.
Grocery stores have really upped their game in the last several years and I for one am here for it! Using a comination of prepared proteins and letting the store workers doing some of the work for you will save you some time and take the burden out of home cooked meal prep.
My all time favorite “home-made” hack is the pre-packaged meal kits. At least once a month I grab a fully seasoned, ready to cook roasting chicken and pop that sucker in the oven while I’m working. Not only does it give my home a lovely Sunday dinner vibe while roasting, but I can toss some potatoes in the Instapot, open a bagged salad and have a full meal with only about 20 minutes of work on my part. Bonus- the cook in bag feature makes clean up so easy even hubby can manage it.
Here are a couple of other ideas that can save you time & labor on nights when you just can’t.
Canned beans. Protein in about 5 minutes- heat the beans, season with your favorite seasonings and sauces and use for tacos, beans and rice, or in a yummy egg & bean burrito. Rinse your beans and they are just as healthy as if you had soaked them yourself.
Frozen veggies ( and fruits). Technology has made this a dream. Fruits and veggies are now flash frozen at the peak of freshness (sounds like a commercial) so that you can save time and money while still meeting your fiber quota. You can microwave them in about 4 minutes, making sure that you always have a serving or 2 of veggies at your meal, or if you are concerned about microwaving plastic just do what I do. I cut open the bag, pour the veggies into the steamer, or a pot with about an inch of boiling water and steam them myself. Easy. Peasy. For frozen fruit, usually leaving them on the counter to thaw for 20 minutes is enough.
In-store soux chef service. Sounds fancy right? It’s not, I just like that I can get veggies already chopped. For a small bump in cost (that’s totally worth it) you can buy pre-cubed squash or potatoes, spiralized zucchini, or even chopped peppers and onions! If you don’t have the energy to pre-chop your squash but want a nice fall themed meal let the grocery store do the work.
Prepared proteins. I’m lucky in that my grocery store has a huge prepared protein department. I can find prepped chicken parm, pecan crusted fish, or literally any kind of protein I can think of (hello meatloaf) ready to slide into the oven. Again, side with a prepared salad and #5 below and voila- dinner in 30!
Cooked grains. Not sure how to make quinoa? Let someone else do it. Meeting ran long? No problem, your rice is already cooked. Keep a few packages of prepared grains on hand for in-case-of-emergency. I find them in the rice aisle and even the frozen food section.
Sauces. This one might seem tricky don’t over think it! Keep a couple of favorites on hand for weeknights. I usually have some kind of asian sauce, a pasta sauce, and a simmer sauce in my cabinets at all times.
If you’re thinking that these short-cuts are going to ruin your plans to eat healthy- think again! They can be a balanced and helpful way to check all the nutrition boxes on days when you’re too busy to think about it. It just comes down to having a plan and being prepared.
Now you have no more excuses to eat family dinners :)
