Meal prepping is a concept that every mother can get behind. Having a fully (or even partially) prepared meal ready and waiting for you before you get home for dinner sounds like a dream come true. But how many of us actually get around to meal prepping dinners for the week on our weekends or in our spare time? Easier said than done, right?
What if I told you that meal prepping dinners for the week doesn’t have to take up your whole weekend (or even part of it)? Would you try it? Furthermore, what if meal prepping all of your dinners for the week was the holy grail to chaos-free evenings all week long?
My Life Before Meal Prepping
Maybe your day looked a little like mine did: Work consumes your time from 8 AM to 5 PM, and if you’re lucky, you remember to pull out the chicken from the freezer. You aren’t exactly sure what you’re going to make with it, so around 2:30, you do a quick Pinterest search for “chicken dinner recipes.” A few options look good, and you think a chicken casserole with a salad should work.
“Maybe I’ll smother it in cheese, and the kids will love it even more,” you think to yourself.
Back to work.
4:45 rolls around, and a thought pops into your mind— “I should probably check the recipe to make sure I have everything.” But oops, after another peek, you realize it calls for cream cheese and chicken stock—both of which you finished two days ago with your last-minute chicken noodle soup (which was YUM, by the way).
So, you shoot a quick text to your husband (or in my case, babysitter) that you’re running late because you have to make a grocery run… again.
Fifteen minutes to the store, fifteen minutes shopping, and fifteen minutes back—now you’re walking through the door at 5:45 or 6 instead of 5:15 like you planned. Meaning dinner doesn’t even get started until 6:30, and if you’re lucky, it’s on the table by 8 PM. Then, between cleanup, baths, and bedtime routines, you’re lucky to be in bed before 11 PM—only to wake up and do it all over again the next day. Whew!
It doesn’t have to be this way
But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way?
What if you could come straight home, pop your already-prepped dinner in the oven, toss together a quick green salad, and sit down with your family by 6 PM?
Imagine reclaiming two to three hours of your evening, simply by planning ahead.
“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
Proverbs 31:27
Meal prepping is one of those practical ways we can be diligent in caring for our families without feeling constantly overwhelmed.
How Meal Prepping Dinners for the Week Makes You a Better Mom
Maybe you’re thinking, “Yes! I’d love that, but how? I never have the time!”
The truth is meal prepping doesn’t take as much time as you think. You don’t need to spend an entire weekend in the kitchen. With a little planning and intentionality, you can have a stocked fridge or freezer filled with ready-to-go meals.
And beyond just saving time, meal prepping actually helps you become a better mom. Here’s how:
1. Reduces Stress & Chaos
When you’re not scrambling to figure out dinner every night, it allows you (and your nervous system) to decompress from an already long day.
Being in a constant state of stress has serious effects on both our physical and emotional well-being, which in turn affects how we show up as parents.
Ever heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup?” If you’re spending countless hours each night juggling dinner prep, chores, and homework help, your cup is going to run dry—fast. And when that happens, patience runs thin, and stress takes over.
Meal prepping frees you from the nightly dinner scramble, giving you space to breathe and be the calm, present mom your kids need.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34
While meal prepping won’t eliminate all worries, it helps lighten tomorrow’s load, giving you more peace in the present.
2. Establishes a Predictable Evening Routine
Kids thrive on consistency, and so do we. When meal prepping becomes part of your routine, it creates a sense of predictability that makes evenings smoother for everyone.
Think of it like your morning coffee habit—when it’s part of your routine, you don’t even have to think about it. Meal prepping works the same way. Once it’s a habit, it frees up mental space for other life-giving activities, like family time or that evening walk you keep putting off.
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”
1 Corinthians 14:33
Having a routine rooted in preparation brings peace to your home, making it a place of rest instead of stress.
3. Gives You More Time for What Matters Most
Meal prepping and quality family time might not seem related, but they absolutely are. When dinner is already taken care of, your evenings become yours again.
Instead of rushing through the evening, you have time to read bedtime stories, play games, or just relax without feeling like you’re constantly behind.
Meal Prepping vs. Meal Planning: What’s the Difference?
Before we dive into how to meal prep, let’s clear up some confusion.
- Meal Planning is deciding what you’re going to eat in advance.
- Meal Prepping is actually preparing parts (or all) of your meals ahead of time.
You can do one without the other, but when you combine them? That’s where the magic happens.
How to Start Meal Prepping (Without Losing a Whole Weekend)
Ready to give meal prepping a try? Here’s how to get started:
1. Create a Weekly or Monthly Meal Plan
Start small. A weekly plan is easier to manage at first, and you can expand to monthly meal prep once you’ve got the hang of it.
- Write down your family’s favorite meals.
- Choose recipes with overlapping ingredients to make bulk cooking easier.
- Select 5-7 meals you can eat over the next week.
- List all the ingredients you’ll need.
2. Plan Your Grocery List Ahead of Time
Instead of running to the store last-minute, create a full shopping list based on your meal plan. This not only saves time but also helps you avoid impulse buys.
3. Pick a Prep Day (or Days)
You don’t have to do all your meal prepping in one go. You can:
Batch cook proteins (grill chicken, brown ground beef, etc.)
Chop veggies for the week
Pre-assemble casseroles or slow cooker meals
4. Just Start!
It doesn’t have to be perfect. Even prepping just one meal ahead of time is a win. Once you see how much time and stress it saves, you’ll be hooked.
Final Thoughts
I know meal-prepping dinners for a week ahead of time can feel overwhelming at first. But trust me—at the end of a long workday, when you sit down to eat a home-cooked meal without the stress, you’ll be so glad you did it.
Just like Proverbs 6:6-8 speaks of the ant who gathers food in the summer so she won’t lack in winter, we, too, can be wise in preparing ahead.
So, why not give it a try this week? Your future self (and your family) will thank you.
I’d love to hear from you!
Do you meal prep? What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to dinnertime? Drop a comment below—I’d love to chat!
