One cannot live on pizza alone. Believe me, the Flowers family has put that statement to the test on more than one occasion. I crawl into the house at 6:00 p.m. after a long day at work. My feet ache, my back hurts, and I’m pretty sure I smell like urine (nursing occupational hazard). Ah yes family, let me whip you up a gourmet meal that meets all your daily nutritional requirements, said no working mom ever. Cue the pizza! Sure we’ve had it three out of four nights this week, but who’s counting.
Well people, I started counting. Counting the ever increasing circumference of my backside. While my ten year old son may be able to inhale an entire medium pizza three nights a week and not gain an ounce, my husband and I are not so lucky. To top it off, the man I love is being treated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. And yes, I’m a cardiac nurse. Wow!
But if your week looks anything like mine, picking up the phone to order that pizza is all you feel like you have time for. Between work, being on call, Boy Scouts, school (me and Taylor), blah, blah, blah; where do I find the time to give my family and myself the healthy meals we need?
We’ve all heard if you want to get something done you have to be “intentional”about it. Well, I had to get “intentional” about dinner. I started by planning out a weekly menu. I look at what’s filling the calendar that week, and figure out which nights I’ll have time to cook, and which nights I won’t. On the rare nights we are home, I plan out a simple meal. Nothing fancy, something that only takes about 30-45 minutes to make, and doesn’t require a lot of thought on my part. For the nights I know I won’t be able to cook, I choose something I can make ahead, crockpot and casserole type stuff. From the menu I can make a grocery list for the week. Meaning I only have to brave the crazies at HEB once a week. Which is great, because I have a serious grocery aisle rage issue.
Seems like a lot of work. Well, at first it was. But practice makes perfect. Now, I poke around Pinterest and find recipes while I relax after teaching a classroom full of rambunctious 5th graders on Sundays. My husband and I talk about the week’s to do’s and I make my menu and grocery list. All while sitting in my comfy recliner with my feet up. Ta da!
Still seems impossible. Nah! Here’s this weeks menu and meal prep plan. Look it over. It can be done.
Sunday – Grocery store obstacle coarse and mix up Diced Ham and Potato Soup
Monday – A crazy ten hour day at work followed by a lovely Diced Ham and Potato soup in the CrockPot with a side of Communications and Leadership Class from 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Tuesday – A day of studying linear regressions (yeah Healthcare Stats) followed by mixing up CrockPot Sloppy Joes and finishing it off with Chicken and Mushroom Patties with Mushroom Cream Sauce and a side of Wild Rice
CrockPot Sloppy Joes
Side note on this one. I only use 1 lb. of extra lean ground beef. Ground turkey works great too. Whole wheat slider buns are my favorite.
This recipe is a bit time consuming, which is why I made it on my day off. Don’t have a day off, just substitute in something simpler.
Wednesday – Another fun ten hour day at work with CrockPot Sloppy Joes, a side of frozen Green Giant Broccoli Tots, followed up by another exhilarating edition of Communication and Leadership from 7-9 p.m.
Thursday – Ten more hours of hustling and bustling, probably followed up with a few more because I’m on call. But when I finally do get home a fantastically easy Chicken Enchilada Bake made by my amazing husband will be waiting for me.
http://www.thepinningmama.com/healthy-enchilada-chicken-bake-recipe/
Friday – A final ten hour push and a whole menu of leftovers from the fruits of this weeks labor with another helping of Communication and Leadership from 7-9 p.m. for dessert.
Whew! We did it! Nothing special, nothing fancy. But hey, it’s not pizza. So come on all you tired, over worked moms. Let’s support each other and do this dinner thing! I’ll do my best to share my weekly menu with recipes. Will you share your’s?
One more helpful hint. Don’t feel like this is enough green stuff. Buy a large tub of baby spinach, chop it up fine and hide a handful in each of these recipes. My boys have no idea how much spinach they consume!