 Start planning holiday meals now
Life isn't too crazy yet, but it will be soon. Do yourself a favor now and spend some time planning meals.
You know your family and your typical holiday schedule. Get out a calendar, sit down with everyone and mark down all your known obligations: school plays, family get-togethers, shopping trips. Yes, schedule those shopping trips. If you put them on your calendar now, you can watch for sales, make lists and get everything done a bit faster.
Once you have your schedule outlined, plan your meals around it. On nights when you have no other obligations, cook extra and freeze. Plan to eat the leftovers a couple of weeks later so that they won't feel so much like leftovers. Meatloaf is easily reheated and chicken or pork can be shredded and added to tortillas for tacos.
Remember to keep meals as simple as possible. There is nothing wrong with grilled-cheese sandwiches and soup for dinner. This is a good quick dinner to have at home before you head off to the school play. Most meats can be baked in the oven with marinade. Serve them with microwave-ready frozen side dishes.
Don't forget to use your crockpot. It can be cooking all day while you clean, wrap presents, or decorate the house. Again, make extra, freeze it and have another meal planned for two weeks out.
Why go to all the trouble of meal planning now?
Consider past holiday seasons. How many nights did you end up grabbing a bite at the mall, or ordering pizza because there just wasn't time to get to the store or figure out what to cook?
Imagine not only the calories, but the money you would save if you had a few simple meals available and ready to go.
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