By Dana Phillips.
Building a direct selling business with a busy family can sometimes be challenging. I found it especially difficult when it was time to put dinner on the table. I wanted to make sure we were eating healthy and found that I didn’t have time to fix a healthy dinner every night.
I mainly flew by the seat of my pants… looking through the fridge and pantry and grabbing whatever I could find to make a meal in 15 minutes. That was challenging because I never had all the ingredients I needed to make a complete meal. As you can imagine, we’d end up ordering pizza, getting takeout, or going to Whataburger. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted my family to eat every night.
My next great idea was to hire someone to cook our meals. I paid her to bring the meals to me at the beginning of each week, and I would freeze them. While it sounds like a great idea, it’s not. We didn’t like some meals, and I found it hard on my food budget.
So I had to dig deep and decide what I would do to feed my family and keep my busy business going. I know for some of you that this is an easy task. For me, it was a whole new experience. I realized that I needed to take time to plan my meals just like I took time to plan my business.
First, I asked my family what their favorite meals were, and I started with a list of seven meals that everyone liked. I saved them on my computer. As time went on, we added to the list. You can make a lot of people happy if they get their favorite meals often!
Second, along with each meal, I made a list of the ingredients needed. I used that as a shopping list to ensure I had all the ingredients for the week.
Third, I learned the value of my slow cooker. It was a lifesaver when I was gone or we ate on different schedules. I also knew that if I had the menu, recipe, and ingredients, anyone could start a meal, whether it was my husband or the kids.
I kept the weekly menu plan on my computer and the list of ingredients for each meal. I printed the menus and recipes and put them in a three-ring binder. I also put a copy of the menu plan for the week on the refrigerator. I kept adding more recipes to my menus. Just recently, I found my old menus, a month’s worth of dinners, and the shopping list. What memories that brought back!
As I started running my business, I learned some skills I could use with my family to make things run smoothly. Meal planning is just one of them. I’m sure if you reflect on your home-cooked meals, several options will come to you.
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