Help me plan my week

You could do omelettes one night? Cut up the veggies ahead of time, and then mix them in for cooking.

Salad with chicken? Or whole-wheat pasta with chicken and a side salad. Anything, really. Cook the chicken breast ahead of time and then toss it into whatever you want at the end.

Stir Fry? Chop up everything the night before and just toss it into a skillet and cook.

I'm also a fan of rotisserie chicken from Smith's (Kroger depending on where you live), Costco, Sam's Club, or Albertson's. They make low sodium options and you can serve as is or shred for tacos, stir fry, or whatever you like..

I have always had this problem as well. What helped me was to learn to make a menu every week or two weeks. Get everything you will need for the menu during your weekly or bi-weekly shopping trip. Then most importantly MAKE THE CROCKPOT YOUR FRIEND!! If you dont have one, it is worth the investment!! There are tons of recipes out there and yes it takes a little preplanning, but its so nice to know exactly what you are making and to come home to an almost completed meal!

Depending on how young your two young ones are, they can sometimes help in the kitchen.

We have taco salad most weeks--and I make a bunch of taco meat at a time and freeze it in one pound quantities, so most weeks I don't even have to cook it--just pull it out of the freezer the night before and microwave it.

The George Foreman grill is fast. I'm just starting to use mine after having had it for years, but I'm finding it quick and easy.

I grocery shop on Monday nights, so we have rotisserie chicken that night. (DH and I eat the leftover chicken for lunches)

Definitely prepare fruit and veggies in advance--we have a salad almost every night and it's easier to put them together if everything is already cut up. (I make them directly into each person's salad bowl.)

Planning for a week gets way easier the more you do it, since you can re-use meals--or even entire weeks. Some people have 2 or 3 weeks of meals planned, and just rotate through those menus, with occasional changes for a special meal or a meal out.

I always plan one night of leftovers (Friday or Saturday).

One more thing I'd suggest--you're already eating a lot of processed food, so accept that for now, and buy the food at the grocery store instead. At my grocery store, I can buy chicken enchiladas, meatloaf, pork ribs, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. already made--and then I heat it and we eat it. I've found some really tasty options at Trader Joe's as well (they're not as conveniently located but the food is good) Likewise, you can buy frozen veggies or serve fresh veggies without cooking them--fast and easy.

I've made adjustments since starting to count calories (including making my own meatloaf), but if you're rushed and out of time, you're probably better off (financially, time-wise and food wise) to buy prepared food to heat at home.

Hope this helps.

I'm working this now as well. I sit down on Sundays to go through my recipes and select some for the week that are similar enough that I can re-use ingredients, but different enough so that we don't feel like we're eating the same thing every night.

Honestly it all comes down to planning for me. Keep in mind that this may be pretty time consuming in the beginning but definitely worth it in the end. For instance, this week I made sausage and peppers, savory chicken, bbq chicken and spaghetti and turkey meatballs. I used the leftover noodles from the spaghetti to add with the sausage and pepers, both the savory chicken and sausage and peppers called for canned diced tomatoes and I split the package of chicken between the savory chicken and bbq chicken. Also, they incorporated some of the same vegetables.

If you google Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) and freezer meals you will find a lot of "prepare ahead" options. Basically you put everything together in a ziploc bag, freeze it, thaw it in the fridge the night before you plan to use it and throw it in the crockpot. If you don't have a crock pot you can also just try and cut veggies, etc. and prepare your meals as much as possible ahead of time so that you don't have to do all the prep work when you go to cook the meal. Also, I've found a lot of free meal plans online that include the recipes and sometimes organized shopping lists for when you go to the grocery store.

I'm in the same boat as you are right now so feel free to add me for support/encouragment/advice! It will probably take a lot of time in the beginning, but if you stick with it it's totally worth it! remember you are doing this for yourself and your family and if you do 3 home-cooked meals and the rest less than homemade it's still an improvement if you've been doing 7 fast food meals a week. Good Luck!

Make pinterest your friend. There are a ton of great recipes (here is one for 11 crockpot meals http://fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.ca/2013/01/11-epicly-delicious-crockpot-recipes.html) and there are weekly meal plans along with shopping lists.

I like to try and think of a couple meals that I can use the same ingredients for. Example chicken, peppers and onions can be used for fajitas, stirfry or chicken alfredo (or some other pasta). Could use the wraps from the fajitas for a make your own wrap or pizza night (again the peppers and onions could be used). Or make a large batch of meat sauce for spagetti and again for sloppy joes or stuffed tomatoes or peppers. Could even throw in some different herbs and top with some mash and cheese for a yummy shepards pie.

Main advice is to buy lots of a few things, cook once and use several times in different ways! Good luck and good eating!

I used this recipe in the crockpot yesterday and it was very good. I used frozen chicken breasts and it turned out great.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

Today I'm making a pot of chili.
Another thing I like to do is make about 5 turkey burgers at a time. I'm the only one that eats them so I'm set up for a healthy lunch for several days.