With summer in full swing, it’s time to start thing about getting ready for the kiddos to head back to school.  Wait. What? 

Whether you’re ready to send your kids back to class or not, inevitably, summer will wind down to a close and it’ll be time to get back into the autumn routine of school, sports, lessons, and so forth. These last few weeks of summer are actually a great time to review your current meal planning tactics. 

Busy families can benefit tremendously from advanced meal preparation. Planning meals and snacks, shopping, organizing – including washing and sorting produce into servings – and cooking several items for quick lunches or even getting a jump on dinners for the week will save you a ton of time, money, and hassle in the long run. It also guarantees that you’re staying on top of your dietary goals.

Are you ready to get “schooled” on meal prep? Here are a few suggestions to help you begin.

• Stick to a weekly planning schedule. Later, you may find that you can plan two or more weeks at a time. However, to avoid feeling overwhelmed, especially if you haven’t had a meal planning system before, one week is a great starting point.
• Once a week, sit down and write out what you’d like to have for each of the three main meals for the following seven days. Also, make a list of your family’s favorite snack items that are easy grab-and-go choices to quickly throw in lunch boxes or your bag when you’re on the go. 
• Make a shopping list and hit the grocery store. Leave the kids at home whenever possible and grab yourself a latte! Ideally, this will be the same day you prep and cook your selections. Some meal prep veteran’s advocate for a once-per-week shopping/cooking day while others suggest separating it into two days. It really depends on what works best for your family and schedule. 
• Buy items such as nuts and seeds, dried fruit, crackers, etc. in bulk whenever you can to save money and repackage them in reusable containers.
• Once home, sort snacks and wash produce, dividing into containers. 
• Cooked meat, grains, and vegetables are great to have on hand for quick lunches and can be a good start to evening meals. Separate lunch servings and store any other prepared items in accordance with your dinner meal plan. 

With a little planning and time spent shopping and preparing meals and snacks in advance each week, you’ll be ready to tackle the carpool, endless soccer practices, and math homework like the mom or dad boss you are!