Last updated on February 15th, 2019 at 02:57 am
Well, dear ones and lovely readers, here we are with Tip Of The Week #4!
So far, we have started to pare down our stuff by getting rid of excess and unnecessary items in both your kitchen and one other room of your choice (office, guest room, mudroom, etc)….
Didn’t that feel sooooo liberating?
It did for me, too!Â
More on continuing with that progress of paring down later….
We also got ourselves some zen (Ohmmmmmmm……..) by signing up for a FREE TRIAL of Headspace in order to start really getting ‘right and organized’ upstairs in the ole’ noggin’ department. C.R.I.T.I.C.A.L to our own personal sanity, to the sanity of those around us, and just one step closer to leading a more substantial and meaningful life.
BUT, you’ve gotta do it every day!
LOTS of answers come to you when meditating. Trust Me….
Then, we worked together toward finding your passion and figuring out (while being SUPER honest with ourselves!) JUST WHO WE TRULY ARE.
Without really tapping into what your life’s purpose is, it is extremely difficult to move forward with a more effectual, significant, and purposeful existence! Even if the steps you are taking are super small, you’re taking them! That is the important part!
Here’s the thing: if you are always routinely working towards things that make your heart go all aflutter, you will in effect automatically be making yourself happier and more content. And, who DOESN’T want to be content these days??? So, don’t you just LOVE how that inevitably happens?
Yeah, that’s what I thought!
So, as we head into the 4th Tip Of The Week in our journey towards a more substantial life, let’s tackle an area that I know negatively affects MOSTÂ families:
Here’s the scenario we all know SO well: it’s the end of the workday, you gotta go pick up the kids, (or, take the dog for a walk, or complete some type of post-work responsibility) then you finally get home and it’s now almost 6 pm and how-in-the-heck-am-I-supposed-to-get-dinner-on-the-table-again-anyway scenario….???
Can anyone say…..
I SO hear you!!!!
But that’s expensive, and just not healthy….and, there IS a better way! How, you ask?
YOU, my lovelies, are going to start MEAL PLANNING.
I know, right? Doesn’t seem all that enlightening or genius. Except, it totally is both. I speak from experience, here. Meal Planning is absolutely going to make your life and evenings, like, a gazillion times more sane. I totally promise you! It will!
NOW:Â my version of meal planning isn’t trying to sell you some handbook that ends up just being…
ONE.MORE.THANG.YA.GOTTA.DO.
Nope. No way!
Here is the difference towards your journey today, my dedicated ones: you are actually, like, going to DO IT — you are going to MEAL PLAN THIS SUNDAY! (or, whatevs day works best for ya….)
Yes, it’s work. Yes, it’s prep time in the kitchen.
And YES it is going to make your weekdays EASIER!
I have purposely sent you this post today so as to allow you plenty of time to get your cute self to the grocery store, get all that is needed (remember: NO over-buying and only shop for 1 week-at-a-time!) for your meal planning, and then once Sunday (again, or whatevs day works best for you!) rolls around y’all will be SUPAH READY!!!
You will spend a few hours most likely doing this prep (I always try to get my meal planning down to an hour, but life happens and I end up not caring that it takes a wee bit longer because I know how much easier all this work will make my life next week!) – – but it is sooooooooo worth it!
Here’s a list of what you need to figure out before you head out to the grocery store:
- What type of meals should I choose?
For example, I eat mostly Ancestral and my husband is a Vegan. YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. Oh, and did I mention that my 7-year-old is perhaps the pickiest human being on the planet — so, my dears, I soooooo have some authority on this totally legit meal planning thang….
CHOOSE MEALS THAT WILL REALISTICALLY FIT INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE.
- Hit up Pinterest for some lovely ole’ recipes and inspiration! If you don’t have a Pinterest account, I highly suggest you start one. It’s FREE and highly informative for just about any and all subject matter! Oh! And don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest!
- If you know there will be leftovers from one of your meal choices, take this into account and don’t over-shop/over-prep/over-cook! This can lead to frustration and keeping a routine each and every night with meal planning is super important!
- Optional but NOT by any means required: Write, type or spreadsheet to your heart’s content what meal you will have each evening. This will keep you on schedule, organized, and also allows you to customize easier meals for historically difficult days of the week (after school sports that go into the late evening on Thursdays? Plan for that with a 30-minutes-or-less-meal, also totally searchable on Pinterest)Â so you can remain a happy wife/mother/partner and ensure some serious glass-o-wine-and-Netflix-binging later on!
- I have to admit — I am not much of a ‘write down my meal plans’ kinda gal. So, if that doesn’t seem realistic for you, I totally get it! My advice? Stick to the 10 or so SAME RECIPES and do NOT deviate from them. It will really surprise you how narrowing down your meal options will make your life easier! You don’t need to pretend your Julia Child or Martha Stewart. Really…..you DON’T.
- Choose recipes that make sense for your family: big family? Choose easy and quick. Single? Choose a recipe that will make for instant leftovers so you have LESS to do each week. Couple sans kiddos? Make a pact with your partner that you’ll cook chosen recipes together 4 days a week, and clean up together. Then, make sure some of those recipes make leftovers so you can have easy-peasy nights where cooking isn’t required! Trust me…..these little steps will make your life SOOO much easier and less chaotic!
- Lastly, if you want to REALLY make your life easier, check out this awesome app Mealime — y’all: this app allows you to set up a FREE ACCOUNT (key word: FREE!) and choose the type of meals you desire the most! This app also then lets you accept those entree suggestions or not, and then move on to other choices until you’re happy (sometimes difficult when one family member is a cave-woman and the other is a bird, but I manage to make it work by adding or subtracting certain ingredients) and then……are you ready for this??? It automatically creates your grocery shopping list!!!!! YOU GUYS!!!!! I’m in love, Mealime……..♥
That’s it! Now you’ll be totes ready once Sunday shimmies in and you will feel SO satisfied/proud/excited/accomplished!
My friends,  just you wait, you’ll immediately see how impactful this meal planning thing is for your life! I swear to you, you’re gonna feel like a professional chef!
Here’s you, all bad-a#@ in the kitchen….
So, why is this meal planning step towards a more substantial life so important and effectual? Because this time you are actually not going to just say you’ll Meal Plan …. this time you are ACTUALLY.GOING.TO.DO.IT!
Every.Single.Sunday. (or, whatevs day works best)
What does this all have to do with leading a more substantial life, you ask?
What’s MORE important than the food we put in our bodies and feed our families?
See? Genius! We’ll get way more into food, gardening, and the food we ingest in later posts….
So, instead of becoming grumpy, overworked, unappreciated, and dialing for that unhealthy pizza delivery that you’ll regret later – how about throwing together a slew o’ already prepped healthy and satisfying ingredients together and presenting a Michelin-star-rated dinner for your peeps?
Oh, and just because you are so organized and ready to face supper time each evening does NOT mean the rest of the family doesn’t have to do the dishes! Put ’em to work! Trust me, with the dinners you’ll be (cough, easily, cough) providing, they’ll think you slaved away for hours and hours! Don’t worry —
it’ll be our little secret!
That’s all, for now, my sweeties. Until next week for Step 5 towards A Substantial Life! Â
You SO got this!
Always Here,
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