DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE SHEET OF MEAL PREP LABELS FROM MACARONI KID HERE!
Back-to-school season is finally here for the Mon Valley - Pittsburgh East families! Parents and caregivers everywhere are gearing up for the hustle and bustle of school mornings, extracurricular activities and everything else that comes with going back to school. One thing to help ease the chaos of going back to school is meal prepping! By prepping your children’s meals ahead of time, it helps ensure your kids have a well-balanced meal every day and makes mornings way more easy-going! Below are some tips and tricks to meal prepping this school year.
The first thing you will want to do is plan what meals you will be making for the upcoming week. Take a few minutes each weekend to map out breakfast, lunch and any snacks for the upcoming school week. When you involve your children in the planning process, it encourages them to not only eat what you have prepared but also it educates them about balanced nutrition. You will want to make a shopping list based on your mean plan to keep things organized. Another tip is grocery delivery or pick up. By doing your grocery shopping online, it will help keep you within budget but also ensures you get everything on your list.
When it comes to meal prepping, you will need to shop for larger portions so you can spread it evenly throughout the week amongst you and your family. Things like pasta, rice, grilled chicken and vegetables are perfect for meal prepping as it is easier to cook those items in larger quantities. You will want to them divide out the portions into containers. Be sure to get a container that either is easy for your kids to heat up if they have access to a microwave at school or in a thermos to keep their meals warm. Breakfast items to consider are things like overnight oats, smoothies, muffins or even a simple fruit salad and yogurt! Those types of meals are easy to grab first thing in the morning.
You do not want to forget about snacks! Every kid loves to have a quick but yummy snack on hand to keep them fueled for the rest of the day. You can always make things such as mini fruit salads, nuts and seeds or make homemade granola bars or trail mix! Be sure to store these in easy-to-access containers or baggies for kids to grab easily on their own. When you have a designated snack bin in the pantry or fridge, it makes it a lot easier for your children to find something when they need a quick bite.
Last but certainly not least, organize your pre-portioned out meals and be sure to label them. We’ve included this fun label sheet for you to print on your own. This label sheet is presized so you can use labels packs from the store so all you have to do is print and write your child’s name. Be sure to organize your fridge and pantry so that all the hard work you put into meal prepping is easy to find. When you keep your kitchen clean and organized, it makes meal prepping much easier and eliminates any stress!
When you incorporate these meal prepping tips and tricks into your routine, it will simplify your mornings and provides healthy meals for you and your kids. Happy meal prepping and I hope you all have a wonderful, successful and healthy school year!
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