The #1 Thing That Will Save Your Time This Week: Meal Prep!

There is ONE thing that consistently makes or breaks my feeling of stability in any given week and will either save me or cost me the most time.

In today's episode, we're going to dive right into what this one thing is and why it matters so, so much -- plus my beginner tips for you so that you can start saving time and sanity right away!

Hi, I'm Katie, a mama, a coach & a podcaster focused on supporting eco-minded mamas like yourself to live sustainably: saving $1,000s of dollars and reducing waste in everyday routines so that you can live with less stress. If that sounds like something that you're interested in, let's dive in...

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

➡️ We're currently unpacking my master plan for meal prep inside The Eco-Minded Mama Collective together!! This plan walks you through each step -- from planning to shopping to actual prepping -- in the MOST sustainable way: sustainable for your time, budget, and your carbon footprint.

Don't miss out on this life-changing online community of support to help you become the eco-minded mama you want to be! With monthly challenges, giveaways, live Q&As, and a bunch of mom-friends, you'll have instant access to everything you need to start saving $1,000s and living with less stress right away!

"Started the course and so far it's amazing! I was hesitant about having a baby for ages, mainly because I worried about the environmental impact and what it could mean for his future. But now, my little champ is 8 months old, and I'm all in for making our planet cleaner. Module 1 hit me hard—in a good way... it definitely gave me a boost of hope. Thank you for this eye-opening journey!" -Katie S, Collective Member

Transcript

Katie Kurpanek: 0:00

There's one thing that consistently makes or breaks my feeling of stability in any given week and will either save me or cost me the most time. In today's episode, we're going to dive right into what this one thing is and why it matters so, so much, plus my beginner tips for you so that you can start saving time and sanity right away. Hi, I'm Katie, I'm a mama a coach and a podcaster focused on supporting eco minded mamas like yourself to live sustainably, saving 1000s of dollars and reducing waste in everyday routines so that you can live with less stress. If that sounds like something that you're interested in, let's dive in. Okay, meal prep. This is the number one thing that saves my time and my energy on any given week. So a little backstory first, my husband and I recently opened up a business together, we opened up a bike shop in Parker, Colorado, and I have my business Eco- Minded Mama with The Eco-Minded Mama Collective, this podcast, we are parenting, we are also a single car household so we are sharing the car, using public transportation, biking, all of these things take so much time in every single day. And as much as we try to split our parental duties and how students together my partner and I, it is just like not everything can be done, you know equally. So food prep our meals that is usually on my plate, that is something that I take on because I have the capacity to do so. So on the weeks where I cannot or do not take the time to meal prep. I feel absolutely drained almost every single night of the week, I ended up doing more dishes, we ended up eating more like snack type foods or just more processed foods that I don't always feel great about no judgment to anybody who you know, like eats processed foods, packaged foods, we totally rely on that obviously as well. But it's just not what I want to be feeding my family all the time. And we typically don't feel as good like health wise. And physically when we do that. I also end up feeling more frustrated with a kitchen that seems like it's constantly dirty, and a fridge that never seems full enough. On the other hand, during the weeks where I do take the time to meal prep and I commit to this habit, then I end up having a cleaner kitchen that lasts longer. And I have more time to play with my son in the evenings. I have less stress that comes with the mental load of being the primary caregiver who is constantly focused on nutrition and keeping my family fed and healthy. And when we eat so much better in those weeks, then we end up feeling better and have a more positive mindset and overall well being. Okay, so then what are the top beginner tips in order to start meal prepping in a way that actually saves you all of this time and sanity as well. In the long run, I'm going to give you just these three simple tips that you can start with. So tip number one is to plan your meals. Even if it is just taking 10 to 20 minutes at the beginning of your week, it will make all the difference to just put together a chicken scratch kind of plan. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just knowing looking at your calendar and knowing what is generally going on in the week. When are you going to be cooking at home? When are you going to be out? What types of meals do you need that will fit your family best? Just focus on that one week time period and put together a basic plan. That is tip number one. If you do this, then not only does that take like the mental load off your mind from night to night not having to wonder like what do I feed my family. But also you will have less you know less of a chance of making impulse purchases, eating out a lot of the time because you just didn't know what to make, because at least you have a plan. Okay, tip number two is to then make your grocery list based on that plan. And when you go to the grocery store, or you order it to have it delivered, actually stick to your plan. This is a big one. I know I am totally guilty of walking around the grocery store and just seeing things that sound good in the moment. Don't go grocery shopping hungry, that is another like mini little tip there and throwing these things in the cart. So if you want to actually save money in the long run, but also stick to your plan so that food doesn't get wasted. Look at the plan you created. Create a grocery list off of that and stick to that list. Okay, and then tip number three, which is all we're gonna dive into for today. This is a big one though. Plan ahead and ask for support whether that's from your partner or a neighbor, a friend a babysitter somebody so that when you get home from the grocery store, you have extra time to do the actual meal prep part. Okay, so however long that is and however much prep you decide to do that is up to you and what works for your family. But Tip number three is planning ahead and I Asking for that support ahead of time. Because this is key to making the rest of the week go as smoothly as I described what I've been able to experience before with having like more energy, more time, a cleaner kitchen all of these things during the rest of your week. So through my own trial and error over the years, and in this current super busy season that my husband and I are in, I have come up with a master plan that takes you all the way from the initial meal planning stage, to the grocery shopping to the actual food prep in the most sustainable way that I have found sustainable for the earth and sustainable for you your time, your budget your sanity. So it is going to save you all of these things and reduce your carbon footprint overall. We are currently unpacking this plan together this month at the time of this recording inside The Eco-Minded Mama Collective. This is an online membership program. And we continue to circle back to these topics over and over again. So if you are listening to this episode at a later date, don't worry, there is a digital library full of video lessons and all of the replays from our live q&a sessions that you may have missed but can always go back to you later. So inside The Eco-Minded Mama Collective, we are walking through the five pillars of sustainable living. I have mentioned these before in previous episodes, we go through these with monthly challenges, giveaways, live q&a, and we even have one member makeover per month who gets extra one on one coaching with me. And then everybody in the community gets to learn from that so it's a win win overall. If you are ready to start saving 1000s of dollars and dramatically reduce your stress levels and start spending all of that freed up time now on other things that you value, then click the link in the show notes to join The Eco-Minded Mama Collective today and let's break down this master plan together so that you can walk away with actionable steps that are actually going to work and be sustainable for you and your family. I hope that this helps and we will be back next week with more time saving, money saving, sanity saving tips. I will talk to you then!