5 Super Mom Tips for Supper Time

5 Super Mom Tips for Supper Time

    2016-02-2002/20/16   
Cooking  Family  Nutrition  

"Mom, what's for supper? The dreaded question of the day, but don't worry- you can get out of the monotonous cycle of meal preparation with a little planning.

Happy young asian family eating a healthy meal together at table.

If you are a parent, you have probably had many moments where you have dreaded that question. "Mom, what's for supper?" Thinking up something for 3 meals a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for 18 years per child???? Whew! Exhausting!

As I'm journeying on the road to better health, one thing that I've learned is that planning is key. If we don't plan ahead, it's easy to chose things that are simple and unhealthy (processed foods). I've come up with a few battle strategies to help combat this tendency in our family, and I thought I'd share them with you today:

#1 Plan Your Menu for the Week

Menu is Key. My grandma, whenever I talk with her, by phone or in person always asks in the course of our conversation in the morning, "What will you be making your family for dinner tonight?" I love that because this woman has some serious experience! She raised 5 boys on a shoestring budget, and still is a meticulous menu planner. She drilled into me the importance of planning ahead to succeed, so every Saturday or Sunday I plan the menu for the week.

#2 Grocery Shop for Success

Shop for success. Don't go to the grocery store hungry. Make a list. Send your spouse. (Ok I had to put this in because team work can make a big difference, plus they won't buy all the extra stuff you might have!) Stick to the outside of the store where the fresh foods are kept. Buy whole foods not processed. Here's an excellent healthy, whole foods grocery shopping list!

#3 Consider the Busy Days of the Week

Consider the busy days. We can't all make 4 course meals every night! So on those evenings where there's soccer, ballet, swimming, and ski club, make allowances! Maybe that can be your salad bar night. Buy lots of exciting things to go into your salad, and let the kids pick. If you want to "make" something, get some olive oil, specialty vinegar, and herbs and DIY your salad dressing. Or, if that's too complicated, don't go running to Lunchables! Try making a smoothie and some fresh popcorn- these are a great portable dinner that don't have gluten or preservatives!

#4 Prepare and Cook Ahead Where You Can

Cook ahead. I do my cooking/prepping for the week every Sunday evening. There are ways you can cook up your meat, slice your veggies, and prep for those packed lunches before hand. I find I almost always can cook meats or veggies for 2 meals at once doing it that way. It's much easier to not make the mess 7 times in a week that preparation takes for each meal.

#5 Soup is Always a Good Thing

Make a pot of soup! I know this might sound funny, but you can always count on some sort of home made soup in the fridge at our house. We keep soup in the fridge for those times when one kid has to be somewhere, and meal time is going to be messed up. If it's still around on Sunday, it's our after church meal, along with a salad and maybe even some biscuits if we're lucky!

Remember, just about anything you make at home, be it super simple or extravagant will be much fresher and healthier than processed foods or eating out. So try it, and see if your life and health improve! For more great tips on super food cooking and tips, keep watching for the rest of this blog series.

Libby Wright, author of Your Healthy Life Concierge blog
Author

Libby Wright, mother of four who homeschools, is an original founder of SupplementRelief.com in 2010. She suffered through challenging diseases including Interstitial Cystitis, Graves and Lyme. After years of little progress with traditional medicine, she pursued integrative medicine, applied what she learned, and got healthier. She became passionate about wanting others to experience the same "relief" she had come to know, and SupplementRelief.com was born. She is now managing her illness with a lot of prayer, a lot of nutrition/supplements, and a little prescription medicine. She has been able to resume her normal life and, while there is no cure for her particular conditions, she is able to cope, enjoy every day, and encourage others.

Learn more about Libby Wright.

  Related Content

We encourage you to take advantage of these FREE Wellness Resources on our website.


drawing of retro woman with a grocery list

Affordable Healthy Grocery Shopping in 30 Minutes

Ever wonder what a healthy grocery list would look like? One of the things many people tell us is that it seems too hard to change shopping habits. They feel eating healthy is harder or costlier. I can tell you shopping for whole, natural foods is less expensive, easier and much faster in the grocery store than dealing with a bunch of processed foods.


Healthy Living Whole Foods Cookbook displaying wooden cooking utensils and recipe notepad.

Healthy Living Whole Foods Cookbook

The foods we choose to put into our body should be helping us live more vibrant and productive lives but for many are they are the leading contributor to chronic disease.

Many people know "what" to do to be healthy, but HOW do you do it? One of the best ways we have found is to show people how we eat as a family. This customizable, whole foods cookbook features healthy, affordable, great-tasting recipes that are easy-to-make.

We hope you enjoy these recipes and encourage you to share them with your family and friends!

We also encourage you to browse through the Related Content section on this page to find great articles about nutrition and healthy living.


modern grocery store with gluten free and dairy free foods on the outer isles

Help for Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Living

Eliminating or minimizing Gluten and Dairy from your diet isn't necessary for everyone but some certainly benefit from making these lifestyle changes. Regardless, we all benefit from eating more natural, whole foods and less processed foods. Learn more about gluten-free and dairy-free nutrition options and take advantage of the educational resources, shopping list, and recipes.


How to Grocery Shop and What to Eat

We are what we eat. Studies from reputable health organizations suggest that 40-60% of Americans are living with one or more chronic diseases, which negatively impacts their quality of life, reduces employment productivity, and drives up health care costs.1 Lifestyle choices, in particular, the foods we choose to put into our bodies, are making us sick. However, we do have choices regarding our nutrition.

Learn practical tips for healthy and affordable grocery shopping and consider using a list similar to the recommended natural, whole foods grocery shopping list provided to get you off to a good start!


young boy in suit holding money

You Can Eat Healthy Without Spending More!

One of the big myths we like to dispel is to talk about the real cost of foods. Most people believe that eating healthy is a lot more expensive than eating processed. The truth is, they cost about the same. Try this experiment and see for yourself!

  • Blog Post
    Happy young asian family eating a healthy meal together at table.

    If you are a parent, you have probably had many moments where you have dreaded that question. "Mom, what's for supper?" Thinking up something for 3 meals a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for 18 years per child???? Whew! Exhausting!

    As I'm journeying on the road to better health, one thing that I've learned is that planning is key. If we don't plan ahead, it's easy to chose things that are simple and unhealthy (processed foods). I've come up with a few battle strategies to help combat this tendency in our family, and I thought I'd share them with you today:

    #1 Plan Your Menu for the Week

    Menu is Key. My grandma, whenever I talk with her, by phone or in person always asks in the course of our conversation in the morning, "What will you be making your family for dinner tonight?" I love that because this woman has some serious experience! She raised 5 boys on a shoestring budget, and still is a meticulous menu planner. She drilled into me the importance of planning ahead to succeed, so every Saturday or Sunday I plan the menu for the week.

    #2 Grocery Shop for Success

    Shop for success. Don't go to the grocery store hungry. Make a list. Send your spouse. (Ok I had to put this in because team work can make a big difference, plus they won't buy all the extra stuff you might have!) Stick to the outside of the store where the fresh foods are kept. Buy whole foods not processed. Here's an excellent healthy, whole foods grocery shopping list!

    #3 Consider the Busy Days of the Week

    Consider the busy days. We can't all make 4 course meals every night! So on those evenings where there's soccer, ballet, swimming, and ski club, make allowances! Maybe that can be your salad bar night. Buy lots of exciting things to go into your salad, and let the kids pick. If you want to "make" something, get some olive oil, specialty vinegar, and herbs and DIY your salad dressing. Or, if that's too complicated, don't go running to Lunchables! Try making a smoothie and some fresh popcorn- these are a great portable dinner that don't have gluten or preservatives!

    #4 Prepare and Cook Ahead Where You Can

    Cook ahead. I do my cooking/prepping for the week every Sunday evening. There are ways you can cook up your meat, slice your veggies, and prep for those packed lunches before hand. I find I almost always can cook meats or veggies for 2 meals at once doing it that way. It's much easier to not make the mess 7 times in a week that preparation takes for each meal.

    #5 Soup is Always a Good Thing

    Make a pot of soup! I know this might sound funny, but you can always count on some sort of home made soup in the fridge at our house. We keep soup in the fridge for those times when one kid has to be somewhere, and meal time is going to be messed up. If it's still around on Sunday, it's our after church meal, along with a salad and maybe even some biscuits if we're lucky!

    Remember, just about anything you make at home, be it super simple or extravagant will be much fresher and healthier than processed foods or eating out. So try it, and see if your life and health improve! For more great tips on super food cooking and tips, keep watching for the rest of this blog series.

    Libby Wright, author of Your Healthy Life Concierge blog
    Author

    Libby Wright, mother of four who homeschools, is an original founder of SupplementRelief.com in 2010. She suffered through challenging diseases including Interstitial Cystitis, Graves and Lyme. After years of little progress with traditional medicine, she pursued integrative medicine, applied what she learned, and got healthier. She became passionate about wanting others to experience the same "relief" she had come to know, and SupplementRelief.com was born. She is now managing her illness with a lot of prayer, a lot of nutrition/supplements, and a little prescription medicine. She has been able to resume her normal life and, while there is no cure for her particular conditions, she is able to cope, enjoy every day, and encourage others.

    Learn more about Libby Wright.

  • Related Content

      Related Content

    We encourage you to take advantage of these FREE Wellness Resources on our website.


    drawing of retro woman with a grocery list

    Affordable Healthy Grocery Shopping in 30 Minutes

    Ever wonder what a healthy grocery list would look like? One of the things many people tell us is that it seems too hard to change shopping habits. They feel eating healthy is harder or costlier. I can tell you shopping for whole, natural foods is less expensive, easier and much faster in the grocery store than dealing with a bunch of processed foods.


    Healthy Living Whole Foods Cookbook displaying wooden cooking utensils and recipe notepad.

    Healthy Living Whole Foods Cookbook

    The foods we choose to put into our body should be helping us live more vibrant and productive lives but for many are they are the leading contributor to chronic disease.

    Many people know "what" to do to be healthy, but HOW do you do it? One of the best ways we have found is to show people how we eat as a family. This customizable, whole foods cookbook features healthy, affordable, great-tasting recipes that are easy-to-make.

    We hope you enjoy these recipes and encourage you to share them with your family and friends!

    We also encourage you to browse through the Related Content section on this page to find great articles about nutrition and healthy living.


    modern grocery store with gluten free and dairy free foods on the outer isles

    Help for Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Living

    Eliminating or minimizing Gluten and Dairy from your diet isn't necessary for everyone but some certainly benefit from making these lifestyle changes. Regardless, we all benefit from eating more natural, whole foods and less processed foods. Learn more about gluten-free and dairy-free nutrition options and take advantage of the educational resources, shopping list, and recipes.


    How to Grocery Shop and What to Eat

    We are what we eat. Studies from reputable health organizations suggest that 40-60% of Americans are living with one or more chronic diseases, which negatively impacts their quality of life, reduces employment productivity, and drives up health care costs.1 Lifestyle choices, in particular, the foods we choose to put into our bodies, are making us sick. However, we do have choices regarding our nutrition.

    Learn practical tips for healthy and affordable grocery shopping and consider using a list similar to the recommended natural, whole foods grocery shopping list provided to get you off to a good start!


    young boy in suit holding money

    You Can Eat Healthy Without Spending More!

    One of the big myths we like to dispel is to talk about the real cost of foods. Most people believe that eating healthy is a lot more expensive than eating processed. The truth is, they cost about the same. Try this experiment and see for yourself!


The information, knowledge, and experience shared on this website is the opinion of SupplementRelief.com. This site and its content is intended to enhance your knowledge base as YOU MAKE YOUR OWN HEALTHCARE DECISIONS in partnership with your qualified health professional. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products referred to are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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