Tips for Holiday Meal Prep with Your Family

The holidays have arrived and one of the main activities that families like to do is cook and eat together, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’ve put some tips together to help with meal preparation for your family this holiday season.

Gobble Gobble Grocery Shopple

The grocery stores are sure to be packed with everyone buying and stocking up on groceries for the holidays. It’s important to plan out what day and time you go grocery shopping. You can try going early in the morning when the stores open, that way you can beat any crowds and the store should be fully stocked from the night before and/or in the morning right before the store opens.

The weekends may be a bit busier since there’s no school and most people are off on the weekends. Be sure to write out a grocery list whether it’s a handwritten note or a typed-up note on your cellphone. When getting groceries to be sure to purchase everything you need and stock up to avoid several trips of going to the grocery store. Another convenient way for grocery shopping is doing it online. There are also options for you to purchase groceries and have them delivered to you, or purchase groceries and pick them up from the store whether curbside from the comfort of your own vehicle or in-store pick- up.

Cook in Batches

When cooking, be sure to cook in big amounts so you have leftovers. You would want to make a lot of food for your family. You would also want to have a lot of food leftover for you and your loved ones to eat for the next couple of days or so. For instance, if you’re making a soup or stew, get a very large pot to make the food in so there’s plenty to eat and plenty leftover.

Freeze and Seal

Be sure to have lots of containers to place food in and seal the containers tightly to keep the food as fresh as possible. You can get a label maker and label the containers with names, days, and times to eat. For example, one label can read “Grandma – Lunch – Monday.” You can also freeze food you won’t eat soon and when you’re ready to eat it, you can simply take it out of the freezer bag and warm it up to eat and enjoy.

Once Upon a Cooking Night

A helpful way to meal prep is to try and cook everything at once. Get the oven preheated, get the stove turned up, grab that microwave, air fryer, slow cooker, and any other appliances you may need, and start cooking. Try and have a couple of different timers around you as well as putting timers on your phone.

You can invite other family members and/or friends to come to help you cook and clean up afterward such as washing dishes. The more help you have the faster you get to prepare dishes and clean up after. Plus, the more the merrier. You can play holiday music while cooking to make meal prepping fun. When you cook everything all at once, you won’t have to worry about cooking different items on different days, it’s just one and done.

Caring Home Care provides an array of homemaker services such as assistance with homemaking, shopping, meal preparation, and much more. If you need extra assistance for your parent or family member this season, you can match them with a caregiver based on specific needs through Caring Home Care’s nurse registry