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You’ve probably seen the Meme: “I hate it when I’m waiting for Mom to make dinner, then I remember I am the Mom”! I’m sure you can relate. Every single day you’ve got to feed your family, plus do the million other things on your to-do list. It can be overwhelming and exhausting. These 5 simple tips for getting dinner on the table will make feeding your family a whole lot easier.
You can use each of these tips different days throughout the week to make getting dinner on the table even easier. First, you want to start with a plan of what you’re going to serve every night. My post Meal Planning in 3 Easy Steps will help you plan your meals. You can also check out my Weekly Menus for inspiration. After you know what you’re going to make, here’s how to get it to the table.
5 Tips for Getting Dinner on the Table
1. Prep Ahead
The more you can do before the craziness of the day takes over the better. You can meal prep on the weekends. Even doing little things like chopping vegetables for the week can save you time on busy week nights. Or if you work from home you can cook dinner during your lunch. Then when dinner rolls around you just need to reheat and eat.
2. Slow Cooker
The slow cooker or crockpot is a busy mom’s best friend. Assemble your ingredients in the slow cooker the night before and refrigerate. The next morning take out your assembled ingredients and pop them in the slow cooker to cook while you do ALL the things. You can assemble your ingredients in the morning but we all know mornings can be crazy.
Tip: set a reminder on your phone to remind you to put the food in the crockpot and turn it on. The turning on part is key! Raise your hand if you’ve planned a crockpot meal but forgot to start cooking your food.
Check out my Slow Cooker Meals Board on Pinterest for recipe ideas.
3. Leftovers
We have a leftovers night every Thursday. We actually call it “fend for yourself night.” My family knows they can have whatever leftovers we have from the week or whatever they can find to eat. It makes getting dinner on the table easy and helps reduce food waste. Win, win!
4. Pack Dinner To Go
With busy sports and school schedules sometimes the dinner table is your lap. Be sure to take a look at your schedule and if you’re going to be away from home during dinner pack it to go. This list of favorite healthy on the go meals will give you some ideas. You can pack meals that can be eaten cold like sandwiches or heat your food before you pack it to eat on the go.
5. Eat Out
When you’re running around like crazy and don’t have the time or energy to cook, eat out. I love it when my son’s school does a “spirit night” at a local restaurant because I know I don’t have to cook that night! Eating out doesn’t have to mean burgers and fries. You can grab a sandwich or salad. Just watch the portion sizes.
Feeding your family is an important responsibility. These 5 tips will help you get dinner on the table without losing your mind. But for those nights when you just don’t have the energy, a bowl of cereal will do just fine. Your family will still survive. Trust me, we’ve had many I’m too tired to cook cereal nights and we’re all still functioning.