@rolivingwater12 I've found certain lettuces wilt faster than others. Spring mixes and iceberg both go pretty fast. Kale and cabbage last much longer.
I buy the mixes from aldi like this one. The last day they look a little sad, but they are still edible.
I also steer clear of certain veggies. Chopped pepper or cucumber don't do well over 5 days. Cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, bacon bits, dried cranberries, and walnuts are all fantastic for prepping ahead
@angel222 I eat during nap time. It's my me time as well. If the eldest doesn't have a nap, then I'm afraid it's screen time so mum can eat and have a moment of peace.
@cristinanazario Quite time for the older kids mine are so getting quite time we all need a break from each other during the day. Right now they are little and nap.
@angel222 Smoothies. Chips/veg and guac/hummus. Dark chocolate (snack/dessert). Leftovers/meal prep food. Baked potatoes (I don't eat the skin so I don't wash or oil them). Pasta with jarred sauce. Tuna salad (drain can of tuna, mix with mayo, onion powder optional) sandwich. Instant pot steamed veggies goes with any of this. Or curry if you have a rice cooker/instant pot.
Eating the same thing as the kids is the most efficient IMO. The littlest usually want my food anyways.
@angel222 Mom of 3: 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and 3 month old. On Sunday I do all of my prep for the week. I cut blocks of cheese and cube ham or salami. I cut veggies and put it in containers that have sections and I put ranch or hummus in a section. I make sandwiches but without mayo and mustard. I just put the mayo and mustard on when I'm about to eat. I also make sandwiches for the kids so I have less to do during the day.
Also, I eat with my kids. We eat every snack and meal at the table. With the mess we make anyways, I don't need to add crumbs to it. So all crumbs and food mess stays in the dining room. The kids watch a show (if it's going to take a while) or play by themselves while I put together snack or meal for all of us. Then we all sit at the table and eat.
@angel222 I'm Dutch, we just eat bread two times per day and one hot meal. A sandwich is quickly prepared and quickly eaten. If I'm feeling fruity I cut up some fruit and eat it with yogurt and granola.
@angel222 Prepped smoothies in the freezer, prepped salads in the fridge. I use packet tuna, hard boiled eggs and deboned rotisserie chicken as protein for the salad and also for slightly better snacks. I do a lot of meal prep on the weekends though so I just do those too, not sure if it will work with your routine.
I also do a lot of double batch sheet pan dinners (420 for 25 min, carrots, beets, sweet potato, other potato, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, chicken, sausage, meatballs, you can do a ton of variation w whatever is in fridge) bc they make great fast dinners and leftover lunches.
My big problem is snacking after the kids are in bed. Still a work in progress there....haha.
@angel222 I have 3 boys (5, 2, and 8 weeks). I snack a lot through the day. Apples, cheese, hardboiled eggs that were prepared previously, leftovers from last night, leftovers from what the kids don't eat, whatever is available, basically. Thinking about it yeah I feel like a vulture now lol.
But I also have a few activities that the kids can do unsupervised, like playing in our fenced in backyard. My two year old is particularly needy so I don't actually have a lot of time to myself but I try to capitalize on it when it happens.
@angel222 I order food. Its the only way I can eat a real meal that’s healthy and not just graze on junk all day. Before I was just living off of chips, pretzels, anything that I could shovel in while chasing my toddler around. don’t have time to cook and meal and then sit down and eat it. My toddler gives me maybe 5-10 minutes a day to myself (no naps in this house!).