How I Meal Plan as a Busy Mom

What’s for dinner? That question used to want to make me cry. This is how I meal plan as a busy mom and save loads of precious time, money and stress in the process.

I have to confess: I’m not the best at time management. Which translated into a nightmare situation at dinner when I just couldn’t figure out how to get organized. I got tired of trying to just figure it out week after week, always dropping the ball somewhere, and the meal kits simply got too expensive (and the waste…). I needed a different solution. Enter: meal planning!

You may know by now that me word of the year for 2024 is: SIMPLIFY (more on that here)! In a world that often pulls us in countless directions, there’s so much power in simplifying our lives to give us space to focus on what matters. Few things are as stressful as constantly figuring out what to eat every day. Put “what’s for dinner” on autopilot with a meal plan – a shameless plug here, but we happen to have the best one around, Fraîche Table, designed by yours truly, that does all the work for you, from planning the meals to creating the grocery lists. You don’t have to do it all alone, superwoman.

How I Meal Plan

Here are the 5 steps I take each week to set myself and my family up for total success! Grab a cup of coffee and let’s do this thing!

1. Look at the calendar for the week ahead

First, I take a quick look at our calendar for the upcoming week to see if there’s any nights we won’t be home or days I know we’ll be particularly busy.

2. Choose recipes for the week

Next, I choose what recipes we want to make for the week. Before Fraîche Table I used to peruse cookbooks and websites for hours (hello Pinterest!) for recipes that the family would love but now, I use the done-for-you weeks that Fraîche Table provides.

3. Create a grocery list

Once I know what I’m making, I create a grocery list with all the ingredients I’ll need. This step is a MUST so you don’t have to take multiple trips to the grocery store! Pro Tip: If you use Fraîche Table we make the grocery lists for you!

4. Inventory what I have

Then, I’ll take my grocery list and check what’s in our pantry and fridge. Next up, I’ll either head to the store or order my groceries online (my personal favourite).

5. Use my Sunday to get prepped

Adding a little bit of prep to my Sunday has been a game-changer. I make a couple make-ahead breakfasts like egg bites and muffins, a Big Batch Salad, and one or two lunches.

Once you start meal planning you’ll never go back, it’s truly life changing! It can also be VERY time consuming and can take hours each week: that’s why I created the Fraiche Table meal plan. I wanted to create a way to take that ridiculous stress out of feeding your families. The mental load of what’s for dinner? Gone with the click of a button!

If stressing about what to feed your family sounds familiar, why not join thousands of people who are saving time but also eating better meals at home with my dietitian-designed digital meal plan platform. Get instant access to over 1700 wholesome (and drool-worthy) recipes, done-for-you grocery lists and customizable curated weeks of recipes, all for less than a Netflix subscription!

What is Fraîche Table?

To put it simply, Fraîche Table is a long-term solution to taking stress out of meal times. Think of it as your forever answer to getting healthy meals on the table! It is a digital subscription based platform, offering Dietitian-approved wholesome and delicious meal plans. Enjoy the flexibility to adjust preferences when you need to, and the comfort of having streamlined grocery lists created to save you time, money, food waste and oodles of headaches. Healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner will now be at your fingertips along with bonus heath and wellness resources!

Why You’ll Love It

Are you ready to say au revoir to “what’s for dinner” worries?! Here are 3 reasons to start Fraîche Table today.

1. Save Time

Save hours each week with our trusted, done-for-you meal plans and ready-to-shop grocery lists. Choose from 60+ curated weeks, 2000+ simple delicious recipes, and customize your plan in minutes!

2. Save Money

Say goodbye to expensive meal kits and overpriced take-out. Our streamlined grocery lists reduce food waste, saving you big money. Plus, our recipe ingredients can be easily found in your local grocery store.

3. Say Bye to Stress

Tired of making decisions? With Fraîche Table, you’ll never have to worry about “what’s for dinner?” again! No more last-minute trips to the grocery store or time wasted worrying about what to cook.

What’s Included?

• Access to over 75 curated meal plan weeks
• Weekly and nightly prep tips
• Ready-to-shop interactive grocery lists
• GF, vegan, & restriction free plans for 2 or 4 people
• Choose from breakfast, lunch, and dinner or just dinners
• Over 2000+ easy, quick recipes
• Save recipes to create your own online cookbook
• Nutrition resources

If you’re on Instagram, run (don’t walk) and give @fraichetable a follow, and head to Fraiche Table to start your free meal plan trial. Thank you for all of your support and kindness. It means the world to me and I simply love our community.

xx Tori