The kids and I are looking forward to these school holidays, they’re very tired after this term and it’s nice to have a break from the morning rush. HOWEVER, it’s the first Saturday of the two-week winter holiday here in Queensland and I’m already realising that, although I don’t need to rush to get breakfasts, lunches and a couple of snacks ready before we run out the door at 8:30, the kids are talking about food A LOT. Literally every hour. “I’m still hungry!”, “when is snack time?”, “can we have a treat?”, “what are we having for lunch?”, “is it nearly lunchtime?”, “how many minutes until lunchtime now?”. There is an upside to having to get it all ready in the morning in term time!
I’m so glad I did a bit of planning while they were still at school. Their Dad is away at work for the first week and a half of the holidays, so I’m on my own with them; handling all meals, fun activities, arguments, dishes, laundry and messy bedrooms all day every day. Woah. So I decided to figure out a plan so that I have to cook as few times as possible and make the fewest decisions about meals and snacks (decision fatigue – the struggle is real). I wrote a meal plan for the week then wrote a shopping list and went to stock up while the kids were at school on the last day of term. I thought I’d share my preparation in case it helps any other parents feeling a bit overwhelmed, in the holidays or any other time!
1) Dinners – Batch Cooking
I figure I can cook just once or twice by making big batches of something that can serve for a few dinners with just a few tweaks to add variety. I have a 1.5kg pack of chicken breasts and 1kg of beef mince in the fridge that I am going to make work for me:
Chicken
Tonight I’m going to roast the chicken, serve some for dinner with potatoes and vegetables, then shred the rest. Then I’m going to use that in BBQ chicken and coleslaw wraps one night, chicken chowder another (see my hearty seafood chowder recipe), and chicken sandwiches or rolls for lunch a couple of times during the week.
Beef Mince
With the mince I’m going to make a bolognese, then split it in half and turn one half into taco meat by adding cumin and paprika (and maybe half a tin of refried beans). Since there is only 1 adult and 2 children eating each meal, this should stretch for 4 meals, so I’ll freeze half of each dish for next week.
So that’s 5 dinners for week 1, plus 2 in the freezer for week 2! For the other 2 dinners in week 1 we’ll get fish and chips one night and have sausages or pizza on the other.
2) Lunches
Sandwich fillings
I’ll have some of the shredded chicken for sandwiches and I’ve also bought some ham and cheese. I’ve got a pack of bread rolls, some wraps and I’ve put 2 extra loaves of bread in the freezer.
A Change from Sandwiches
I’ll be making a batch of sausage rolls tomorrow, which should last for a few lunches (and they freeze well).
I’ve also made a batch of houmous to have with rice crackers and veggie sticks or in wraps.
Vegetables & Fruit
While I had my chopping board out to make lunch today I chopped up a few carrots and celery stalks into sticks and packed them into sandwich bags with a little water so they don’t dry out. They’ll last a week I reckon.
I’ve filled the fruit bowl with fruit that doesn’t need me to get a board out and chop it! Mandarins, bananas, apples and grapes.
3) Snacks
I bought a few bags of tortilla chips that were on special offer and some mild salsa (these can also be used for nachos for lunch or dinner), some crumpets for afternoon tea, pretzels, bags of popcorn and also some crisps for a treat. I’ve boiled some eggs (for me – the kids don’t like boiled eggs unfortunately!), I’ll bake some muffins with the 3 spotty bananas I have in the fruit bowl, there is cheese and yoghurt in the fridge, and frozen fruit in the freezer for smoothies.
Phew! My pantry is stocked, so I won’t have to drag my two to the supermarket for a while (they whine and complain when I do), and our dinners are planned and mostly cooked, so making dinner each night will be nice and quick!
If you’re a parent, what do you do to get ready for the holidays? Do you keep your food routine the same as term time if you’re working over the holidays?