The other day someone complained to me that she dreaded going home from work to a house full of hungry people. “I never know what I’m going to make, and then it takes forever to get something on the table.” I suggested that she try planning a weekly menu but was told that was too much work.
Many times, doing work now saves time and frustration later. The last few weeks I’ve really dreaded packing my lunch for work. While I always plan something in my menu for our lunches, I haven’t been in the mood for sandwiches or heavy leftovers like meatloaf or casseroles. I decided to do some extra work this weekend and prep a few things that I will be excited to eat – and that will be ready for me grab in the morning without much prep work.
I assembled a pasta salad with chicken and veggies and separated it into four containers – one for each day I work this week. Today I plan to pick up some fruit and do the same thing with it (so it will be fresh for the rest of the week). Paul eats lunch at home, so I made him a batch of pizza poppers [pictured above] that can be reheated in the oven. It feels really good to have all of that done!
Is there a daily task that you dread? What can you do to make it more appealing?
On The Menu
Breakfast:
- Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
- Banana Bread
- Eggs & Bacon
Lunch:
- Pizza Poppers
- Pasta Salad with Italian Chicken & Veggies
Supper:
- Meatball Subs/Fries/Corn (didn’t make this last week)
- Taco Mac & Cheese/Green Beans
- Beef Enchiladas/Peaches
- Spaghetti/Salad/Garlic Toast
- BBQ Beef Cups/Lemon Garlic Broccoli
- Oven Baked Chicken/Scalloped Potatoes/Peas
- Leftovers
Come Home For Comfort 
Smart thinking! I don’t mind menu planning because I know it’s easier to get excited about meal prep during the week when there is a plan. I just made tuna salad last night and am prepping BBQ baked potato bar ingredients to take care of several lunches & dinners this week. Your pasta salad sounds really good and I love that it has chicken in it.
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Yum! I love BBQ baked potatoes! We don’t have those often enough.
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Your lunch solution is a great idea! I recently began doing this, too. I have a few items prepped and separated into containers in the fridge, so I just grab a few and I’m ready to go! I’ve found that packing my lunch bag the night before (preferably right after dinner) saves me even more time.
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Oh yes, I try to always pack my lunch in the evening too. I like to get it together before I finish cleaning up from supper so that when I’m done with the dishes, I’m done in the kitchen for the day!
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You’re so right when you say “many times doing work now saves time and frustration later.” My most dreaded WEEKLY task used to be cleaning my shower. Then I discovered that if I cleaned it twice every week, it’s a breeze. It literally takes 2-3 minutes when I do it this often- and I don’t dread it at all. 😊
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Great idea! I am not a huge fan of cleaning the shower, either. 🙂
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Those pizza poppers look good!! Now I am hungry.:) My most dreaded task is cleaing cabinets and the fridge. I really need to do some deep spring cleaning in my kitchen. I am thinking of taking one cabinet at a time so I am not overwhelmed. It is true that as you get older, these tasks become more tiresome.
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I used to really hate cleaning out the fridge – now that I do it once a month with my new cleaning schedule, it isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be!
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