For many moms, it is a time-honored tradition to have this thought on a regular basis: what do you mean it’s time to feed them AGAIN?!?! Feeding tiny humans (and their parents) is an endless and time consuming task!!
We asked real mamas living with chronic illnesses to share their best tips and ideas for making cooking and meal planning easier!
Weekly Menus & Grocery Lists
“I sit down once a week with the schedule, look at what we have planned each day, estimate how tired I might be or how much time I will have to cook, and I write a meal plan for the week while I look and see what we already have and try to use that.” – Darcy
“I’ll create a meal plan and shopping list…choosing some easy prep meals so I have options for low energy days. I also always pick a frozen recipe and pair it with a ‘less-perishable’ side, and save it for the last meal. That way if the last meal gets pushed back (because of unplanned dinner outings or whatever), the last meal won’t go bad.” – Kristin
“I have a small dry erase board on my fridge that I use to write down things we’re running out of and I have a larger dry erase calendar on the wall in the kitchen that I use for doctors appointments, but mainly for dinner meals. I write down what I plan to make for that night and it not only makes it easier to grocery shop, but it makes it so I don’t forget what groceries I’ve bought to make meals with and that’s one less thing I have to worry about that day. I don’t have to frantically try to think what to make that night and if people keep asking what’s for dinner over and over again, all I have to do is point towards the kitchen.” – Amber
Choose the Right Tools
“I make heavy use of kitchen stuff that is pain friendly. I have a grater that can lie horizontally to give my wrists a break from up and down grating. I have an apple peeler that is all done with sticking an apple on a rod and turning a handle (also works for a variety of fruit and veg). Jar openers, electric can openers etc. all of this stuff can be found super cheap online.” – Christine
Grocery Delivery and Pickup
“I utilize grocery pickup to save energy/time.” – Tera
“I get most of my groceries delivered…it is worth every penny because it preserves my limited time and energy I can then spend elsewhere. The shoppers deliver the groceries to my kitchen counter – I don’t even have to carry anything!” – Lauren
Easy Meal Ideas
“When I’m too tired to make anything other than an easy kid-approved favorite (like mac & cheese, Campbell’s soup, Dino nuggets) I always put a “fresh plate” on the table – a little bit of whatever fruits and vegetables we have on hand. The kids think it’s a fun little buffet and they know they need to eat a few things off the fresh plate, so I worry less about the nutritional value of whatever else they’re eating. Whatever doesn’t get consumed at dinner goes straight into the school lunch boxes for the next day!” – Mariah
“I buy rotisserie chicken from Costco…that I then take a little time to chop up and portion out for like 4-6 bags to freeze and use for quick easy meals all month. When I can’t make it to the store…I know I’ll always have options for chicken basil feta and rissotto, chicken quesadillas, chicken casseroles, chicken and dumplings, chicken pastries, chicken pizzas, etc.” – Lisa
“Easy meals:
- frozen meatballs, jarred marinara, spaghetti, frozen veggies
- frozen chicken, cooked in crockpot with your sauce of choice for 8 hours on low. Can be shredded bbq chicken for sandwiches, salsa chicken for tacos or burrito bowls, pesto chicken for pasta
- black bean quesadillas (tortillas, shredded cheese, rinsed canned beans) and fruit
- make your own pizzas
- baked potato bar (sweet or regular)
- slow cooker pot roast with baby carrots and fingerling potatoes (only have to chop those once or twice, no peeling)” –Lauren
“I utilize my Instant Pot a great deal with cooking meats. I love that I can put frozen meat straight from the freezer in it and within about 45 minutes it’s fully cooked, tender, and juicy.” – Debra
“Roast in the crockpot is my easy meal. First night, we eat it with vegetables and maybe rice. Second day, I throw the leftover roast in the crockpot again with Mexican seasonings for easy to make burritos.” – Cathy
“Some easy meals we routinely make are chicken quesadillas and ground beef stroganoff. My Instant Pot, crock pot, and air fryer are also used for 90% of our meals.” – Stefani
Extra Meal Prep for Bad Days
“I keep frozen stuff I’ve either made and frozen, or frozen pizza or lasagna or sweet and sour chicken – easy stuff I know everybody will eat – in case I have a day where stuff comes up or I’m flaring and I can’t follow the meal plan.” –Darcy
“I follow a plant-based diet most days, so I cook extra beans, lentils, and quinoa and pack them in individual packs in the freezer…I love baking, it actually saves time down the road. Egg muffin, sweet potato and flax muffins, oatmeal muffins, etc. that I save in the fridge or freezer for those achy days” – Cristina
Enlist Help
“I don’t have issues with cutting up ingredients, but if I’m having to peel any veggies I enlist my husband to help. The repetitive motion of peeling tends to cause exacerbated soreness/pain…that I try to avoid.” – Debra
“I loved having my kids in the kitchen. Plus, the benefit is they help in the kitchen as they become young adults. We’d set up chairs at the counter and the kids emptied ingredients into a bowl or cold pan. They made up stories as they added the ingredients. It meant slowing down at dinner time, but it was worth the time we spent together.” – Cathy
Give Yourself a Break!
“I try really hard not to have guilt if we eat not as well one week vs. another!” – Tera
“I had to let the guilt go! I am a former food snob and have had to accept that convenience food and veggies from a can are a-okay some days. Is everyone going to bed with full bellies? Yes? Then mission accomplished.” – Lauren
Our private Facebook group is a treasure trove of advice and encouragement, where real moms living with chronic illnesses brainstorm together and share their hard-earned advice and knowledge. But often the same questions come up in the group over and over again, and a lot of great advice gets buried in our archives! Our “Mama Knows Best” series seeks to organize some of that advice, making it easier for future mamas to find!
