I’m here to help you create the perfect meal plan for working mums. You see, I’ve always been one myself, and I have managed to master the art and all the ways we can make it easy.

Mireille, who is a member of The Dinner Plan, works extra-long hours (as does her husband), and she makes it work. She used to wing dinner everyday and it was really stressful and very tiring to decide what to cook on a daily basis. After a few weeks of joining The Dinner Plan she was happy to find she got into a routine and knew what to expect so she spent less time meal planning. Within a matter of weeks, she managed to get super organised. Now Mireille always plans her meals, and the lifting of stress is by far the biggest bonus for her. She now always a plan, recipes to follow and the ingredients at home, so she cooks so much faster.

If Mireille can do it, so can you. Let me share some of my best tips on how to create the perfect meal plan for working mums to get your juices flowing.

1. Keep it simple

Meal planning for working mums is all about simplicity. Don’t overcomplicate things. Start with a handful of easy, go-to recipes that require minimal ingredients and prep time. Keeping it simple is the foundation of a stress-free meal plan. Always pick recipes that do not have a huge number of ingredients (herbs do not count 😀 They’re easy to source, store, and use!), and a straightforward and short method.

2. Straightforward sides

Some meals require a side dish, so plan for 1-2 easy side dishes for any given week. The easiest ever solution is to keep a few frozen veggies in your freezer. Once you add some EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), and salt and pepper, and roast them in a scalding hot oven, they’ll become delicious. Think of a few carbs too that are easy to add to any dish: oven fries, potatoes (you can quickly prep potato wedges and pop them into your air fryer), bread (including naan and pitta), or rice/bulgar wheat/couscous.

3. Double your meals (and not your effort)

Here’s a game-changer: double up on your meals. Or even triple. When you’re cooking, prepare extra portions and freeze them for later. This way, you’ll have a stash of homemade, time-saving meals ready to go on those hectic days when cooking feels like mission impossible. Mireille, who I mentioned in the intro, uses this trick consistently. There are days where she works till 11pm for a week at a time, and her husband is abroad. She says it is such a relief to be able to pull out ready-made meals from the freezer which she’s easily made by doubling or tripling the batch cooking recipes we provide inside The Dinner Plan. 

4. Start planning early

Start your meal planning early in the week. The key is to get a head start, so if life gets in the way and you keep putting meal planning off from one day to the next, you still have time to get it done before Monday rolls around. Consider starting on a Monday for the following Monday. This trick works!

5. Have a backup meal (or 2!)

Life loves throwing curveballs, and that’s where the backup meal comes in. Pick one or two recipes you can quickly make with store cupboard ingredients for when life happens. This is your safety net for those days when unexpected chaos strikes. Your backup meal could be pasta with pesto, topped with roasted veggies, or a veggie and cheese frittata (making use of those frozen vegetables that work wonders in situations like this, too).

6. Embrace digital & online

Consider switching to digital meal planning and start planning your meals using Google calendar. Use a shopping list app in place of paper. Not only will you be more organised and have everything accessible anytime, anywhere, but if you have a live-in partner or spouse going digital will help you team up.
Your partner will be able to access what’s for dinner, and a real-time updated shopping list, making it easy to help with the cooking or shopping. We also have plenty of online shopping options available – something else that can save you a huge chunk of time. Opt for pickup on your way home if your availability for delivery is limited.

7. Team up

You guessed, it was coming. If you have someone available to help, ask for the help. In my case, I prepare the meal plans and shopping lists, and my husband does the shopping. He also goes through our staples to make sure that everything is on the list.

PS: We are 10 days away from kicking of our challenge: The Easy Home Cooked Dinners Challenge! It has been created for busy working mamas who want to feed their family good food, no matter their schedule. It will run from Monday January 29th till Wednesday January 31st (all you need is 20 minutes a day!) We even have recordings for all 3 lives so you can follow any time PLUS a kick a** workbook that you can use over and over to replicate what you’ll learn.
It’s just €12 and will have you completely transform family dinners.
Don’t overthink it…just join…you will not regret it!
> SIGN UP HERE <

Love,

Nakita xxx