meal planning Archives - Nesting Story

This post was created in partnership with Kids & Company.

Feeding four kids has been a journey for our family. Before having kids, I had high expectations: everything would be cooked from scratch, my kids would love vegetables from the beginning and we would always have sit-down family meals.

Then real life hit.

Four kids, picky eaters and juggling six family member’s busy schedules later, has thrown more than a few wrenches into my idealistic picture of family meals. But over time I have figured out meals and schedules that work for our family, and our schedule.

For the first couple years following our twins being born, (which were our third and fourth kids), I was always scrambling. Mike had a long commute to work at the time and was often home after our kids were in bed. Our kids meals were usually a variety of healthy snacks thrown together with the TV blaring in the background.

I was just trying to survive.

But as the dust settled, and Mike started making it home for dinner, family meals started to emerge. Our big kids have shocked us recently, by not only trying new vegetables, but enjoying healthier options as well.

Our twins, who are now three years old, are entering the picky eating phase, and I know that it is just a phase, so instead of obsessing about each meal and snack each day, I look at the day as a whole, and relax… a lot.

Here is an example of what our twins eat in a day.

This is a weekday, when our twins are at daycare all day. At Kids and Company, Mia and Everly are served a home-cooked lunch planned by a nutritionist, and two healthy snacks a day. This is what I consider my nutrition safety net.

Breakfast

Out of our twins, Everly is the more adventurous eater. She loves fruit, and well, most foods for that matter. Today Everly is having a muffin, apple slices and skim milk for breakfast.

Mia, on the other hand, is a pickier eater and consumes a lot less food than Everly. Today Mia is having peanut butter on whole-wheat toast, dipped in ketchup, (yuck, I know but she loves it), and a muffin with skim milk.

Snack Time

For morning snack at daycare, Mia and Everly had a whole wheat english muffin with Wow butter and cantaloupe cubes.

Lunch Time

Today they are eating chicken souvlaki with a whole-wheat pita, cucumber and tomato.

Afternoon Snack

For an afternoon snack at daycare, Mia and Everly had peach cobbler and grapes.

Dinnertime

For dinner, I had planned to serve leftovers, which were whole-wheat pasta, sautéed vegetables and pasta sauce.

Like many weekdays, Mia and Everly were exhausted and not interested. So, as a fallback, this is what they had instead…

Everly had a peanut butter sandwich made with whole wheat bread and blueberries.

Mia had leftover macaroni and cheese, with a squirt of vegetable puree mixed it.

Despite the dinner-fail, we had a great family meal together. I knew that Mia and Everly had a variety of healthy foods throughout the day and they were tired.

You see, with toddlers, I’ve learned to choose my battles. This was a very typical day for us, and knowing that Kids and Company takes a bit of the “mealtime battle” weight off of my shoulders makes all the difference.

With locations all across Canada, Kids & Company is a high-quality care and early development centre that parents can trust and kids will love. It started under the leadership of two moms (one with 8 children!), who felt there was a need for flexible care options in a setting with amazing teachers, community, proven development programs and an understanding of today’s families. You can find out more about the Kidco Kitchen here.

Whether it’s their Grab ‘n’Go snacks, parent workshops, or their complimentary care for date nights and shopping days outside of regular hours, nothing has been forgotten.

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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kids & Company. While compensation was provided, all opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily indicative of the opinions of Kids & Company.

This blog post was created in partnership with FreshCo.

It took me a long time to find my groove when it comes to grocery shopping and preparing meals for six people. It’s not an easy task. But when you add on trying to prepare fresh healthy meals for your family, and not breaking the bank, the entire process can feel overwhelming.

For a few years there, my husband and I were just in survival mode. We had four young kids and would reach for what was convenient over what was healthy and probably more cost effective. But as the dust settled, and we had a closer look at our bank accounts, we knew something had to change.

One of the biggest changes our family had made over the last few months is ordering in less and actually meal planning and getting what we need at the grocery store. I may not be so far out of the trenches that I am cooking gourmet meals for our family, but I have mastered a few healthy, family-friendly meals that I can make in bulk and then reuse the leftovers in other meals.

What is my number one go-to meal? A roast, including roasted vegetables, which I cannot get enough of, especially during the winter. Now with Christmas over, it is time to reel in the spending and be very strategic when it comes to feeding my family.

Here is how I typically approach my meal planning and grocery shopping for our family of six…

For us, I have found what works best is for me to only plan for three days at a time. This is less daunting, and then if something derails us, like illness, I won’t be wasting a week’s worth of food. I am starting to base more and more of our meals around what is on sale at the moment, using our local grocery store’s mobile flyer to help build my list. I find that FreshCo not only has great deals, but will even price match.

I don’t mind popping out to the grocery store a few times a week either, I think that’s because I can wrap my head around a small grocery shop rather than a massive shop, which can take up hours of my day to shop and then put away the groceries.

These mini grocery shops can also make it more manageable when I have all four kids in tow.

I have my staples that I stick to, and always buy our produce first. I will typically plan out two fresh meals and grab an easier back-up meal like frozen lasagna, just in case, well… life happens.

Roasts are one of the easiest meals to prepare in my opinion. It is a meal in one, but the best part is, it’s easy to make a large quantity without extra hassle. This is a must when you have four kids. I always go to the recipe my mother passed down to me and I will share with you.

Start by pre-heating your oven. You will have to check the weight of your roast and determine how long to cook it for. Often a quick Google search can answer this question for you. Take your roast, (either pork or beef), and lay it in a roasting pan, fat side up. Although I have a nice roasting pan, I have been using disposable tin pans for easier cleanup lately.

Cut up your vegetables and place them around your roast. I highly recommend carrots, potatoes, onions and my personal favourite… parsnips.

Here’s where the magic comes in… you quickly season your roast and vegetables with pepper and salt, toss on a few dabs of butter and then squirt your favourite steak sauce all over it. Yes, you heard me right; the secret is the steak sauce. I love using HP sauce on my roasts. It has a great kick which really compliments the flavour of the vegetables. Yum!

Then cover and cook for the recommended time.
Afterwards, you have a beautiful roast that will most likely last you a few meals…

…and an abundance of roasted vegetables that I love to add to pastas and salads for days to come.

I am excited, as my kids get older, and life becomes a little easier, I cannot wait to add more and more meal ideas to my arsenal. It is exciting finding ways to shop and meal plan that actually work and save us money.

Disclosure: This post has been generously sponsored by the makers of FreshCo but the opinions expressed are my own.

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