Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Returning from AWOL

I've been missing in action for a while now, and lest you think I've given up blogging altogether, I'm popping in to ask for your input.

Due to allergies and general spring-ness, we've all been a little sick, sniffly, generally miserable. Not only that, but this is prime time to get the garden up and running, which contributes to our food budget lowering significantly in the summer months, so we've been busy.

Unfortunately, this has meant fast food breakfasts and take-out dinners for the most part, and even a few lunches out on days I didn't have time/energy to pack lunches for the crew. Meaning I definitely need a better plan for days like these.

Any suggestions? How do you handle it when time is tight and energy is fleeting? Any tips that could be shared so I can handle the next time without blowing the budget would be greatly appreciated!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The key to being ready when time is tight and energy is fleeting is to push yourself to prepare ahead and (if the kids in your family are old enough), making everyone pitch in. And if you're used to making hot breakfasts/lunches, lowering your standards. After my parents divorced, my mother became a master at this.

At the start of every month, she used to buy about 10 loaves of bread and have us all make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She froze them and would put one in each of our lunches. They thawed out while we were in school. If we were at home during the day, we usually made canned soup for ourselves.

For dinner, she made a lot of casseroles, which would also be frozen. On work days, all she/we had to do was take one out and put it in the oven.

It wasn't effort-free, but it was doable.