OK, I have to admit it's been a little crazy around here. I have one child in Elementary school, one in High school and one starting University! Figuring out everyone's schedules and activities is still taking some getting used to. 

One thing we do focus on in our family is food. Rarely do we eat in the car or on the go. Sit down meals are important to me. Even if it's just a few of us at a time, we try to eat together.

In order to make this happen it takes some prep. Today I want to share with you some of my favourite recipes and tips to get the most out of your meal times.

For our family of 5 there are 2 things that get us through the crazy times: a well stocked freezer, and ready to grab healthy snack foods. With 2 teenage boys and an extremely active young girl, my kids eat a lot! Quality of food is very important to me, so I make sure the bulk of their food is homemade and nutrient dense.

My freezer is full of:

• freezer meals, ready to thaw and pop in the slow cooker or timed oven
• baking- muffins, bars, cookies, biscuits, breads for kids lunches and sides for meals
• meats divided into usable portions
• beans previously cooked and ready to use
• frozen soups to be thawed for lunches
• broth- as much as I can make, for rice, soups and veggies
• chopped veggies like spinach, kale, peppers, tomatoes and shredded carrots to add to soups, casseroles and anywhere else I want to up their veggie intake

For snacks I like to have a variety on hand:

• fruits and garden vegetables are always on the counters, bright and colourful, quick and easy to grab
• veggies like celery, cucumbers, peppers are chopped up, in the fridge and ready to grab too
• Protein packed bars and squares are always in the fridge, cut and ready to grab. Check out some of my favourites here. A few of our staples are the Coconut cream Lara bars, Lemony coconut bites, Paleo Pumpkin spice poppers and any of the gelatin squares.
• My pantry occasionally has packaged crackers or rice crisps. I prefer to stock nut and seed mixes, dried fruit leather and homemade muffins.

I do spend some time doing baking and prep work to keep our family well fed.

Once per month I'll do up some freezer meals, cook beans and make bone broth to stock the freezer. Freezer meal ideas here.

Whenever I make soup, I'll make a double batch so that there is some for the freezer or for lunches. My family loves the Stuffed pepper soup, Lasagna Soup, Minestrone and Chicken Parmesan soup. Check out all my favourites here.

Every two weeks I'll spend a Sunday baking muffins, bars, cookies, biscuits and breads. I love big batch recipes that I can make and freeze.

Once per week I'll plan out the week's meals and how they are getting cooked. The bonus of having 2 teenage boys in the house is that they both can cook- when they are actually home.

For beverages I make water kefir once or twice per week and kombucha every 2 weeks or so. Then everyone can have some flavoured drinks that are good for them and not full of chemicals and sugar.

Yes it may seem like a lot of work, but when it's broken down into manageable tasks it does work for me. We didn't always eat like this, it took time and dedication. Food is a huge priority for me, it may not be as much for you. But I hope some of these ideas will inspire you and your family to eat well and eat together.

Lots of love,

Lisa

Copyright Lisa Paul The Natural Path 2016