It's the most wonderful time of the year! (Unless you're in charge of dinner)

Well it's that time of year again.....back to school, and now that the hustle and bustle has started we are left with the daunting task of figuring out how we are going to accomplish everything and have dinner ready at a reasonable time! With early mornings and multiple extra curricular activities, how can anyone manage and get a healthy supper done in time for homework and early bed without caving to ordering out several nights a week? Well, for many families this is a struggle and we are no different. Over the years however I have developed certain techniques to help the process along and today I'm happy to share them in hopes of helping others as well. 1. Meal plan! Meal plan! Meal plan! I can't say this enough, fail to plan, plan to fail. It's an old adage that carries a lot of weight because it's very true! When I started meal planning I used to do it a week ahead of time meaning every Wednesday or Thursday I'd sit down and plan the meals for the following week. This was great but I found that as we became busier with activities it became harder for me to find the time to plan every week, so I've taken to doing it on a monthly basis for the month ahead and leaving my self some wiggle room in case things change. 2. Your not alone! I'm pretty sure last I checked the person doing the planning and even cooking is doing it for everyone in the house, right?! Well....then they can all pitch in! You shouldn't have to wreck your brain on your own trying to come up with thirty different meals in one shot, get everyone to come up with ideas! This is a great idea especially if you have a few picky eaters because now they get some of their favourite meals in there and you know they will be more likely to eat. I always keep an area where everyone in the house can write down meal ideas and when it comes time to plan I have plenty of suggestions to work with. 3. Take it easy! Planning meals isn't about having a five course gourmet meal every night, It's about making life easier for already over loaded moms and dads. When planning your meals look at your calendar and schedule and then match the meal to the day it fits in best. An example of this is if you have a day when the kids have activities and you work late then scheduling steaks and risotto might not be the best game plan but, having a leftover night or soup and sandwich meal might just be a great approach. This goes the same for planning big complicated meals, you can have those on days where you have more free time. 4. Make a list and check it twice! Now if you do decide to do a month of meal planning......your obviously not going to shop for the whole month, so you'll have to pick a day per week to go shopping. The day before your shopping day you can look at your meals for the week make a list of what you need and check if there is anything else needed then your ready to go. If your on a budget this is a perfect way to stay on point since you will have precise knowledge of what you need. This also cuts down on your shopping time because you won't be wondering aimlessly through the store trying to decided what to make and what to buy. If time is really tight take advantage of the online and delivery services that many grocers offer now. Think about it... you can shop on your sofa from your iPad while drinking a hot cup of tea and the next day you just need to swing by and pick up the groceries or make sure your home when they drop them off, it's convenience at its finest. 5. Prep time! Now if your week schedule is especially harrowing on certain days, you may just want to try and find a couple of hours to prep. You can do it on the same day as shopping for example. You can take those couple of hours to pre cut veggies or make salads that only require dressing on the day served, maybe pre marinade meat items and even prepare slow cooker meals that you can just toss in on the day of. Get the whole family involved with the prep to make it go faster and keep everyone active in the kitchen and just remember the more you do ahead of time the less you have to worry about when its time for dinner. 6. Leave some wiggle room! Let's face it, life happens and sometimes no matter what you do or how much you plan things go wrong....so....plan for when the plan fails. Pick a couple of easy meals that can be pre made and frozen and tossed into the oven or slow cooker last minute just in case and when you go shopping bring home the ingredients and prep it, label it, freeze it and the next time the kids get sick or you get stuck at work and you run out of time for what was planned just pull out a frozen easy meal and voá-la..... fast food still home made! Another idea is when making meals such as chilli, stew or soups make extra, freeze the leftovers and on a night when your desperate you always have a back up. 7. Have fun! Whether you try just one or all of the suggestions, remember this, the whole point of meal planning is to make your life easier in the long run and the more you do it the easier it becomes. However it's important to remember that this should also be fun and a fun way to get your family in the kitchen helping so there is less stress on you and more free time for the important things....like snuggles, movies, games or whatever your family loves. Happy cooking!