Sparks Academy

Meal Planning for the Busy Homeschool Family

by | Jan 9, 2023 | Encouragement, Homeschool Helps

Meal planning is essential for the busy homeschooling family. It not only helps you save time and money, but also eat a bit healthier. After all, who wants to eat frozen pizza and chicken nuggets every night? (Maybe that should say ‘what adult,’ rather than ‘who.’)

Your weekly meal plan might be broken down to the day, or you might plan for five days worth of meals, and then choose what you’re in the mood for each day.  This is a personal choice, and will depend on how much structure you and your family need.  When you’re meal planning, keep in mind:

  • Your family’s food preferences — no need to make breakfasts if no one eats that early
  • Your weekly schedule — have some quick and on-the-go options for busy days
  • Family dynamics — older kids can help with prep, cooking, and cleaning
  • What’s on hand — for less waste / spending, create menus that use on-hand ingredients


Online Meal Planning

Ordering groceries online isn’t an option where we live, but it is for many people in urban and suburban areas.  If you want to order online, start a grocery list and keep adding to it throughout the week (similar to if you have a paper one on the refrigerator to take in-hand to the store).  Some folks swear by online shopping, saying they prefer to spend the extra money for someone else to do the shopping because it saves them from impulse purchases.  You know whether you tend to impulse shop or not, so again, this is a personal (and potentially geographic) preference.)



Appliances & Early Meal Prep

Kitchen appliances are a huge time saver today…something our grandmothers would have cherished!  You’ll want to take some time to get to know your appliance, but utilize them for convenient, healthy meals.  Incorporate appliance-specific recipes into your meal planning each week to save time.

If you have them on hand, use your crockpot, air fryer, and InstaPot.  However, if you’re in the market for a time-saving kitchen appliance, you can’t go wrong with the Ninja Foodi.  This is the one we have, and it is A-MAZ-ING!  (It does even more than the famous InstaPot.)


This little guy is a powerhouse – and barely takes up any room on the counter!  It does the job of eleven different appliances, making it not only a time-saver, but a space-saver in the kitchen.  As a former roadschooling family, I highly recommend this to any travelling families…it takes up just a little extra space in the car, but is very much worth it to have healthy meals while on-the-road.

So what all does Ninja Foodi do?  Pressure Cook, Air Fry/Air Crisp, Steam, Slow Cook, Yogurt, Sear/Sauté, Bake/Roast, Broil, Dehydrate, Sous Vide & Warm.  At 6.5 quarts, it’s large enough to feed a family of 4-6, but probably won’t work as well for larger families. It makes up to three pounds of fries, and can hold a six-pound roast, so it will depend on ages and how much food is needed.

I love it because of its versatility and efficiency.  The other night, we made arroz con pollo – from dried rice and frozen chicken – in less than 45 minutes!  For this and other great recipes, we picked up a very handy book called Ninja Foodi Complete Cookbook for Beginners.


Freezer Cooking

If you know you’re going to have a busy period, try freezer cooking.  This is essentially cooking everything ahead of time and then pulling it out of the freezer to reheat.  Not all recipes lend themselves to this method, but many recipe PARTS do.  You can prep taco meat or spaghetti sauce ahead of time, making dinnertime easier.  Check out the freezer cooking resources below to get you started!

  
A Slow-Cooked Year
This book includes : the whats and whys behind crockpot cooking, how-to tips and tricks, safe crockpot guidelines, printable planning sheets, and more than thirty seasonally-appropriate, kid-friendly recipes!
Another Year of Freezer Cooking
For anyone who wants to get a leg up on getting healthy meals on the family table, without much fuss…this book includes : the whats and whys behind freezer cooking how-to tips and tricks pantry freezing guidelines, printable planning sheets more than thirty seasonally-appropriate, kid-friendly recipes!

Snag this adorable tee to tout your homeschool status and celebrate the #HomeschoolMomLife!


Resources for Meal Planning


Novel Studies & Hands-On Helpers


Recipes to Get You Started!


Take the 30 Day Challenge!

Thirty days of whole foods, at-home workouts, and spiritual rest…you’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain from hitting the reset button.  You’ll get a month of grain-free paleo menus, plus Life Made Full’s 30-day guide will enrich your life physically, emotionally, and spiritually, setting you up for your best year yet!