Meal Planning Burnout: Finding Inspiration When You’re Feeling Stuck
We’ve all been there. Even those of us who LOVE to cook have had seasons of life or times where we just don’t know what else to make.
We get tired of the same old meals we always cook, but we don’t have time to do all the research to find new things. Or we don’t feel like cooking at all. We get down a path of ordering takeout more than we want, because we don’t know what to do anymore!
Add to that prepping meals and new foods for a baby that’s just starting to eat, and it can feel like a whirlwind of chaos!
Especially when we want our little ones to have very nutritious options!
Moms tell me all the time that they don’t make the best food choices for themselves, but they want to change that for their child. They want to make sure what goes in their baby’s mouth is nourishing, valuable, and going to give them some sort of benefit.
The unfortunate thing is, most people think that this process is difficult and that it takes someone who likes cooking, or a lot of free time to make it happen.
The truth is, it doesn’t take all of that.
What it takes is:
-careful planning
-flexibility
-a touch of creativity
And spoiler alert – even if you aren’t creative, you can still do this!
A huge component of First Foods Academy teaches you all about how to simplify meal planning and how to fit planning foods for baby seamlessly into this process.
The tools I provide are tried and true tools that work side by side to help you easily, quickly plan out your weeks’ worth of meals.
One mom recently shared that she is learning so much about nutrition and planning for herself too, in the process of planning for her baby! So what better way to move toward a more efficient routine for your whole family?
I also use these tools weekly!
Meal planning use to take my husband and I FOREVER when we first started it 5 years ago. Then we got really good at it, and then we had our daughter, so it got hard again with making adjustments for baby-safe options!
But now? I use these tools I created, and meal planning takes me 15 minutes tops!!! And guess what else? I never feel like I run out of ideas.
I’m not able to just hand over the tools to you without the rest of First Foods Academy, but what I am going to do is give you a few simple pointers that keep meal planning simple, exciting, and a process without chaos!
1. Keep a master list of family favorites. Keep this on your phone, in a journal, wherever is best for you! Use this list of family meals as a working document, adding to it each time you find a dinner everyone loves! Refer to this list when planning your weekly meals. Pick several options from it – so it’s less brain power on your part! You already have the options in front of you! I’ll start it off for you – chances are you like some type of tacos and some type of pasta dish. Go ahead and add those favorites, and start your master list now!
2. Choose 1-2 new recipes to try per week! You know that Pinterest board full of food you created 8 years ago? Start making the recipes! If you like a recipe you make, add it to your master list! You’ll have that list growing in no time, which makes it even easier to plan down the road!
3. Plan ahead for new food introductions for your baby. Map out the next few weeks (or months if you want) of what new foods you’ll offer and when. Keeping that document handy when you then plan your weekly family meals will help you choose dinner options! Baby going to try green beans this week? Think of a family meal that contains green beans and add it to your weekly meal list! That way, you’re not wasting unused green beans + baby gets to share in your family meal!
4. Remember that master list you started? Go back through and use an identifiable symbol for meals that you feel comfortable serving to your baby. Try to pick a few of those per week so you have enough meal options/leftovers for baby to have so you aren’t making a bunch of extra things for him/her.
5. Enlist help. Let’s face it – you are likely not the only mouth you’re feeding. Whether it’s a partner, a child, an aunt, or a parent, require other family members to give you a meal idea or 2 each week, so you’re not doing all the thinking on your own!
If you’re really feeling burned out with meal planning before you even start BLW, I can tell you right now: It’s not going to get easier.
We have to put in some hard work to make this easier for us in the long run. Nothing is magic, right?
If we do put in the effort now, I can promise you – it might feel tough at first. But as you keep doing it, it’ll feel so so simple.
If you’re feeling really stuck, and just not sure how to make all of this happen in your busy schedule, check out my free masterclass! I give you some great tips for making BLW and the planning fit your family lifestyle!
Happy planning! ❤️