Meal Prep For My Family Is Not Negotiable. Ever.

I am upon my absolute busiest time of year. My workload is through the roof. I'm up at 4 a.m. when Lisa gets up for work. Lisa takes the kids out and feeds them breakfast while I make her work lunch and a hot breakfast. We chat for a bit while she gets ready for work. After she leaves for work at 5:30, that's when my Work At Home Dog Mom Life begins.



This time of year is when I am most tempted to gravitate back to our old ways when it comes to meal prep for Lisa and myself.

Our kids always get homemade meals and snacks every day. Their food and treats are not pre-made, store-bought.

To back up a bit, when Lisa and I moved into our home in 2012, I had an overwhelming amount of clients. I was working over 100 hours a week.

As our family got bigger, I still continued to make homemade meals and snacks for our kids.

However...

Lisa and I ate a lot of takeout meals.

Not only was our food bill through the roof every month, but we felt shitty.

Little by little, we made changes.

Lots and lots of changes.

Instead of ordering takeout 3-4 times a week, we indulge ONCE a month...if that.

We very seldom rely on convenience products such as jarred spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, bread, pizza crust, pie crust, jams, work snacks, etc. Instead, I make it all homemade.

In the here and now, I spend a considerable amount of time in the kitchen. Meal prep for Lisa, the kids, and myself is a big part of my work schedule.

It doesn't matter if my workload is blowing through the roof.

Meal prep is not negotiable.

Neither is utilizing seasonal ingredients.

I was reminded of this last week.

I lost track of time in the workshop.

Lisa had arrived home from work earlier than usual.

I was caught off-guard.

We ordered pizza from a local place.

Lisa got sick in the wee hours of the morning.

During our early morning coffee chat time, she told me that she is so used to my homemade pizza, that her stomach couldn't handle takeout pizza.

Enough said.

So...

Throughout the day, when I get the urge to slack with meal prep for Lisa and myself, I don't.

I'm not going to lie.

Some days I'm in the middle of working on something and I don't want to stop.

Or, I have to set the timer to remind myself to begin meal prep.

I mutter obscenities as I pound out homemade pizza dough and tend to fresh made pizza sauce simmering on the stove. 

But, at the end of the day...

It is worth it.

I always make enough dinner for Lisa to take to work for lunch the following day.

And, she's snacking on homemade granola bars and other baked treats instead of the crappy store-bought loaded with preservatives.

Tonight, I served up homemade apple pie egg rolls with my fresh made cinnamon vanilla ice cream.

Time. Well. Spent.