Hellobee Boards Topic: How do you organise dinner through the week?

Hellobee Boards Topic: How do you organise dinner through the week? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 21 May 2026 02:01:53 +0000 gingerbebe on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806163 Sun, 25 Feb 2018 17:46:33 +0000 gingerbebe 2806163@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yup weekly menu templates saved my life for awhile. I don’t do it anymore but there was a period for maybe a year we did this. It gives enough flexibility to do things differently each week but you know what you’re doing. It was like: Monday Curry or Asian (can be meatless) Tuesday Meat and Two Veg (sheetpan meals are great for this - make lots of meat) Wednesday Pasta (Use leftover meat from Tuesday) Thursday Big Salad in warm weather using leftover meat. Crockpot meal in cold weather. Friday Pizza Night Saturday Leftovers Sunday Leftovers Kemma on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806119 Sat, 24 Feb 2018 23:10:05 +0000 Kemma 2806119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Will your baby chill in the high chair while you do some food prep earlier in the day? We have a high chair that clips on to our breakfast bar and both my kids spent a lot of time at the bench when they were small! I second the suggestions of meal planning and making double recipes so you have meals in the freezer. I cook a lot of “meat and three veg meals”, boiled potatoes with carrots, corn and peas (corn and peas come from the freezer) and some kind of meat (chicken drums, steaks, chops, sausages etc), they’re not overly exciting but they don’t require too much effort or thinking! youboots on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806091 Sat, 24 Feb 2018 19:38:24 +0000 youboots 2806091@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I’ve been doing wildtree freezer meal prep then having frozen schwans mashed potatoes and broccoli in the freezer. It’s not glamorous but my grocery shopping is way down and it’s easy. I also keep pre prepared taco meat and spaghetti sauce in the freezer. Iced Tea on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806090 Sat, 24 Feb 2018 19:15:08 +0000 Iced Tea 2806090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I do as many as I can in the pressure cooker or slow cooker so that my hands-on time is minimized. I wear the baby or put her in the kitchen in the high chair with a snack. She likes to watch me cook. The best part of assigning menu nights is the elimination of decision fatigue. Edited to add this menu is how we do dinners. Lunch is usually those frozen meals for 2 from Trader Joe’s or leftovers. Iced Tea on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806088 Sat, 24 Feb 2018 19:11:10 +0000 Iced Tea 2806088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I have two kids, 3 years and 8 months. The best thing I did was to set a consistent schedule. I don’t have to think much and plan each week because the schedule stays the same for a couple of months. The visual I made also had the happy effect of reducing my preschooler’s resistance to the food I serve. She’s just like, “Oh, okay. It’s pasta night.” :wink: [attach=5302/18/p4oj6m.600x450.12F707BD-77BD-4E8A-A5E0-EDD1C19DA571.jpeg] Nutella on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2806000 Sat, 24 Feb 2018 01:39:39 +0000 Nutella 2806000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Oh my goodness, these suggestions are amazing!! Thank you ladies so much!! I’m actually feeling a bit more empowered, especially being reminded I don’t have to be a Pinterest chef right now in this phase of life either. I had a lot of weird guilt over using premade jars and sauces, because normally that’s not how I roll. @looch: I also discovered I procrastinate on cooking by cleaning, laundry, decluttering etc - because the tasks always seem too giant, so these suggestions are perfect. @newlypregnantlady: I like the idea of gradual process over the week. It’s almost like I need to just write down the meals and then half the work is done - it’s that ‘what’s for dinner’ panic that I detest! Also scary how much time of our lives are directed toward this task 🤔 @gingerbebe: as always, your advice is on point and inspiring! You really should write a book for mothers needing help with xyz- you’re awesome! @jhd: @Becky: @Mrs. Champagne: thanks so much! Sorry if I’ve left anyone off, on my phone and feeding baby 😂 looking forward to a new me next week! 😄 newlypregnantlady on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805998 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 23:46:49 +0000 newlypregnantlady 2805998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We only eat meat 1-2x per week so idk if that’s okay with you (my toddler is moderately picky but if I put cheese or ketchup on anything she’ll eat it). My weekly plan usually includes a rotating schedule of at least two of my super quick meals per week (these take under ten minutes to make). Lately it’s pea soup (frozen peas + chicken bullion) and grilled cheese, or a big spinach and cheddar omelette (this typically has a crazy amount of frozen spinach in it). The omelette is especially my “okay wtf happened to today I guess we’re having eggs for dinner” meal. To add bulk for my husband I’ll add cheese and then some buttered toast or something. But I typically just prep things slowly over the week and usually spend less than 30 minutes a day actively cooking. It’s honestly usually more like 10-15. For example: I’ll microwave a big spaghetti squash and use half in a spaghetti bake (with 1/2 box of pasta, 1 jar of marinara, Italian spice mix). And then half in a Mac-N-cheese dish (quick roux, add milk, cheese, frozen peas, and 1/2 box pasta). **Side note: I also frequently take half this cheese sauce and then add a frozen peas, carrots and broccoli, then slap a pie crust on top and call it pot pie. So that’s two nights of dinners where the major prep (cleaning and cooking a spaghetti squash, and boiling pasta), can happen at any time of day. And doesn’t have to really be actively attended to. I definitely rely on rolling over parts of dinners, so one sauce gets doubled or tripled and I’ll make two dinnners (one for the freezer, one for tonight). and we eat a lot of beans/rice/quinoa, and frozen veg. I may make a big spaghetti bake and we’ll have that for dinner one night. Then have leftovers the next night as a side along with rotisserie chicken. So zero cooking and just reheating. Tonight we had a “Mexican rice and beans” where I sauté an onion, added a can of tomatoes, rice and quinoa, then once the rice and quinoa are cooked I folded in a bunch of chopped kale and a bag of Bird’s Eye “southwest blend” frozen veg (black beans, bell peppers, onions). This can be served with chips and salsa. And later this week we’ll have rice and beans again but it’ll be rice and lentils with some curry spices and Kabocha squash. I also have a short list of dinners for my toddler that I’m okay giving her that require zero prep. For me these are used sparingly but include plain rice and quinoa (I cook these together in the rice cooker and almost always have some in the fridge), plain tofu, cottage cheese, or peanut butter toast. I also sometimes just give her a bowl of frozen peas microwaved with butter and a little salt. I have also cooked dinner with my baby on my back in the Ergo. And I tend to pre-chop ingredients whenever I have the chance. So if I have ten minutes during breakfast I’ll clean and chop a pumpkin. And in the summer we eat a lot of wraps and big sandwiches. My favorite thing in the world is a big wrap with tons of crunchy lettuce and grilled eggplant and mushrooms. And we love garbanzo “tuna” salad sandwiches. Takes ten minutes to make and assemble dinner jhd on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805987 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 22:05:08 +0000 jhd 2805987@https://boards.hellobee.com/ You’ve got a lot of great suggestions here already. Something I do is buy like 6 lbs of chicken breasts or 3 lbs of ground beef or turkey. I cook it all immediately and freeze the meat in smaller portions so that we can add it quickly to make a meal. For example this week I baked chicken breasts. I used some of the cooked chicken that day over rice and veggies with jarred curry sauce. The rest I froze individually wrapped and I can use them next week over salad, in tacos, with a side of potatoes and veggies, etc. Becky on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805986 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 22:00:43 +0000 Becky 2805986@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We don’t do lots of meat/poultry so that saves time. We make something big on the weekends that will last a few days and part of which can be frozen (soup or chili every weekend). Sometimes during weeknights I like to do things that I can make a version of for the grown ups, and a version of for the kids. My DH and I like salads but the kids don’t so they’ll get a tuna sandwich plus veggies and we’ll get salad with tuna, or something like that with beans (fancy burritos for the grown ups, deconstructed burritos for the kids). Those are also things you don’t have to worry about walking away from mid-prep if baby starts being clingy, unlike something that might burn in the oven or on the stove. It’s easy to keep things veggie-heavy that way too. looch on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805983 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 21:26:24 +0000 looch 2805983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Nutella: The waffles don't have to be sweet! They can be savory and you can serve those with vegetables. You can do things like mix cheese and bacon into the batter, you can make them from cornbread mix or you can make them from pizza dough and slice them and dip into tomato sauce. When you make eggs, scramble them and you can load in veggies. Shredded zucchini and bell peppers cook in a flash in the frying pan then add the eggs and finish cooking. We also make pizza a lot and I'll crack an egg onto mine. Supermarket dough has come a long way, and you can get it in those refrigerated rolls so you just unroll it onto a baking tray. I"ll be honest, I eat the same few fresh vegetables week after week. I will eat an entire bell pepper, cut into strips, a half cucumber and a few grape tomatoes as an afternoon snack. Then for dinner, I'll eat a salad that comes premed from a bag and I've managed 4 servings of vegetables. I eat bananas and also frozen fruit in smoothies blended with tofu. I'd also suggest to your husband that he eats a big meal for lunch if possible. Thats what my husband did when I was staying at home. This way he would be satisfied with a cold dinner of fresh bread and deli sliced meats and cheese. Don't feel bad about convenience foods. I am Italian American with a mom that jars her own sauce and I buy the stuff in jars! I use frozen fruits and vegetables, premade pizza dough, you name it. It's totally fine. You don't need to be Julia Child right now. gingerbebe on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805977 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 20:10:25 +0000 gingerbebe 2805977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Oh you can also make a double batch of meat sauce for spaghetti and then add chili spices and beans and corn to one batch for an extra meal with tortilla chips or cornbread. Mrs. Champagne on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805975 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 20:00:46 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2805975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ When I cooked I wore the baby. She was a fusssss ball! Lately I've been making meals and eating it two nights in a row. Spaghetti chilli. Things like that. We also do breakfast for dinner. Non homemade soup and sandwiches. Etc. gingerbebe on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805971 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 19:32:19 +0000 gingerbebe 2805971@https://boards.hellobee.com/ 1. Buy a roast chicken once a week. Serve it for dinner with a microwave bag of rice and steamer bag of frozen veg. 2. Strip all the remaining meat off the chicken carcass (or have your husband do it). Next day it goes into pasta with a jar of marinara or Alfredo sauce with frozen spinach or broccoli. 3. Make a roast beef. Buy 3-4lb roast and rub it with a packet of onion soup mix and put it in a 500F oven for 6 minutes per pound. Then turn the oven off, don’t open the door, and leave it alone for at least 2 hours. I’ve even done this RIGHT before I go to bed and leave it alone all night and slice in the morning. Slice and serve with a tub of storebought mashed potatoes and frozen veg or salad and a packet of au jus or gravy. 4, Strips of leftover roast beef can be stirfry - bag of frozen stirfry veggies and a jar of sauce over rice. Or it can be tacos/fajitas. Or it can be stroganoff over egg noodles. 5. French bread pizza and salad. Split a baguette, spread it with cheese and sauce and toppings and broil in the oven and serve with bag salad. 6. Any leftover roast can be chopped up and put on big entree salads. 7. Keep a bag of frozen meatballs on hand. Spaghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, just eaten plain dipped in BBQ sauce - just add some fresh fruit and raw veggies with a dip. You can alternate the roast with pork loin or a big batch of chicken breasts but I like the beef because it’s so hands off. But the pork or chicken can be thrown in with simple dry seasonings and be done in 45 minutes. If you’re going to serve breakfast for dinner, you can serve a fruit smoothie with spinach thrown in as a treat/beverage. gotkimchi on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805967 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 19:12:06 +0000 gotkimchi 2805967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Nutella: well I can tell you I got tough after my second one, now I just make what I make and my older either eats or doesn’t. No guilt, I don’t worry about it and if she’s hungry she’ll find something to eat that’s available. We also have absolutey eaten eggs for 3 meals a day. Or I’ll make breakfast sausage for dinner or the dehydrated hash browns. Maybe not the most nutritious but if they’re eating well the rest of the day I don’t worry Nutella on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805962 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 18:50:45 +0000 Nutella 2805962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @looch: my son would love this! I guess I wonder about the lack of veggies and protein for us though? We have a lot of eggs for breakfast in the morning already, and my husband has a pretty big appetite! I just sound like I’m full of excuses 😫🙄 I need to just get myself sorted, I just find it hard when I’m stuck BFing on the couch knowing I have not sorted out food! Our son also is going through a fussy phase (over a number of months now) where he won’t eat our food either. So he needs his own baby type bland zero-nutrition food otherwise he won’t eat. It’s the bane of my life! looch on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805933 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 16:36:23 +0000 looch 2805933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ What about breakfast for dinner? You can do waffles, egg dishes, pancakes? Nutella on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805918 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 16:07:07 +0000 Nutella 2805918@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @gotkimchi: thanks for that! Oh yes we’ve worked our way through our freeezer stash and now I’m without my food safety buffer 😂 I do love soup as an easy bulk meal! We’ve only done takeaway twice since LO2 has arrived and they were such glorious days! He only likes being worn if he’s recently fed, otherwise he just roots around in there 😅 gotkimchi on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805914 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 15:51:27 +0000 gotkimchi 2805914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I do a few things - I do easy kids meals for dinner, eggs, crackers whatever I cook on the weekend if my husband is home soup or pulled meat, something that makes a larger qty Wear the baby and make something. But there’s no shame in frozen food, take out, whatever to make if through Nutella on "How do you organise dinner through the week?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-organise-dinner-through-the-week#post-2805913 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 15:47:52 +0000 Nutella 2805913@https://boards.hellobee.com/ This is the two kids, SAHM version.... My little ones are 4 and 8 months, DH works long hours (often likes to leave early before we are up and about, and back home at 6-7pm). He will prepare our breakfast for us but the rest f the day is such a scramble! Older LO is at kindergarten 9-3 but LO2 (fully EBF until one month ago when we started solids) is quite clingy and big chunky naps are erratic. Doesn’t love going into the car or pram unless he’s full full so I find myself trying to feed him solids or giving him BF until he calms. Last time we did major meal planning and giant cook ups, but LO1 was a super chilled baby that took epic naps, so I feel it was more possible?! Maybe I just need to toughen up and push through but when baby does nap I feel the need to also take some time out :silly: when my older LO is back from kindergarten I find things are quiet but then it descends into bath time and dinner for them before the never ending bedtime wind down. Frustratingly, older one won’t sleep without hand holding/million stories so I end up having to basically retire myself before he will sleep (so I don’t really feel like cooking after this). Is my only solution when the baby sleeps? What if I he only sleeps on the move from picking or dropping his brother from kindergarten?! I feel like he very rarely sleeps in his cot anymore during the day! Maybe I just need to dedicate a few days to getting the food prepared and ready so we can all have some sanity...I am def not one of these cook on the fly types, I need a plan and I have no time to dream up recipes or ideas at 5pm with two demanding children :bummed: Any help or suggestions appreciated! I feel like this is my least fave part of staying home, I have very little interest in cooking, so I want the most efficient way 😂 I pray I’m not the only one haha.