Eating at Home - Meal Kit Delivery

****added note: In the wake of our country currently "social distancing" because of the Coronavirus spread, I am posting this post that I wrote for my other blog (Whitney's Cooking). I thought that it might be helpful for us "Prepared Moms" who might be finding themselves a bit overwhelmed by needing to cook, grocery shop while staying socially distant, and try to keep fresh, wholesome meals on the table during this crisis.****



If you have read some of my other posts you already know by now, we just moved. We moved 4 miles away from our previous house into a wonderful new (to us) home.  More bedrooms, more space, more land!

Because moving is hard and EXPENSIVE we have been eating more at home.

Let me back up a bit.  Over the past several years since the meal kits have come on the market, I have been interested in trying them but every time I go to sign up, my budget minded brain says, "you can make this same meal cheaper than they can deliver the food to you", and I don't bite.

About a month ago, I was sitting in the car waiting for my son to join me for an impromptu lunch.  I had been packing all morning and was looking forward to our lunch together, just me and him.  While waiting, I was scrolling social media on my phone and yet another meal kit delivery program popped up on my feed.  For some reason, I clicked.  And for some reason, it finally clicked in my brain that it was actually more budget-friendly than I thought. Why did my thought process change? I think it had a lot to do with me being tired of eating out all the time.  I was tired of the same end of the day conversation we have. "what's for dinner?", "I don't know what do you want?", "I don't know, what do you want?", "I have chicken.", "I don't want chicken.", "It's late. By the time we fix dinner it will be even later. Let's just go out and eat.", "Kids! Put your shoes on. We are going out to eat!" And we go out.  Not to a fast food restaurant usually but to a sit down restaurant.

So here is my normal weekly money routine for food: (Family of 5, 1 in college and home on weekends, 2 in upper teens - hit or miss if they are home for dinner)

Grocery store: $200 - I end up throwing at least a third of the food away eventually because we don't eat it.
Restaurants: Breakfasts $30 (one to two times a week)
                     Lunches $100 ($25 to 30 each time we go and sometimes that is 4 to 5 times a week)
                     Dinners $350 (3 to 4 times a week and usually $75 to $100 each time)
Total:  $680 a week!!!

We also go out to eat a lot because my kids are sick of what we fix when we are in a hurry.  We have gotten into a rut and have been eating the same things over and over again.

You know (from my past posts) that we have meal planned and that works for a little while but we end up in the same boat over time, fixing the same meals.

So, that day, sitting in the parking lot, all this information running through my head, I clicked the meal kit ad.  Suddenly, it all made sense to me.

This meal kit gives me 3 meals a week for 4 people.  I spend about $75 including the shipping price a week.  I pick the meals which rotates so I can't pick the same ones over and over again week in and week out. This kit is based on whole foods.  If you have mashed potatoes on the menu, you start with whole potatoes then mash them. Nothing is prepackaged.  It is all fresh ingredients. All meals take less than an hour from pulling out the recipe card to putting it on the table.  This includes finding all the ingredients in the box, washing all the veggies, cutting everything up, cooking or baking, and then plating. Best of all I don't get half way through a recipe and realize I don't have an ingredient I need. Even more fun, we all have LOVED every single meal we have cooked!!

So for my budget I went from $680 a week to:

Meal kit program: $75
Grocery store: $150
Restaurants: $150 (fast food lunches are reduced because we usually have left overs, we still eat or take out once or twice a week)
New Total: $375 That is a savings of $305 a week!!!

Wow!!! We use Every Plate right now as our meal kit program.  It has an app that you can use on your phone to choose your meals.  I am not giving you a special link because I don't want you to think I am seeking out affiliate credits.  I am not.  I am just giving you information that I have learned.

Coronavirus - What do I do with my kids?

Many public school systems are closing for a period of time.  In our area, schools have closed for 2 weeks.  At that time they will further assess if they need to continue the closures or reopen.  So what do we do with our kids for THAT LONG???

If you work full time or part time and need child care you may think you are in a real pickle.  Look to your friends and neighbors and your child's school friends to see if any of their parents can help you out while you work.  Some neighborhoods and communities are organizing a list of people who can take in a child or two or ten during this crisis.  Even if your child is old enough to stay home by themselves for short periods of time, you may not want them staying home all day long day in and day out for weeks on end.  Look to friends, neighbors, and community.  I have seen already in my area a volunteer list for those who can help and matching those in need.  Others will be in the same boat as you.  Use social media to tell others what you need.  Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask.  We are all in this together.  We need to come together and help each other out.  If we don't know you need help, we don't know to help you. Ask for help.

If you work from home or are able to stay at home with your kids and still wonder what to do with them, I have a few mom tips for you too!

1.  Alleviate your child's fears.  Many children, my own included, had lots of questions.  I answered their questions as best as I could.  Mine are in their upper teens now so they can understand much more than an 8 year old who was just told that they wouldn't be going to school and wouldn't be seeing their friends and wouldn't be playing sports or going to dance class or even going to church for a while. When answering their questions try to answer the questions they ask.  Some kids just need to know some information.  Others may need to  know more.  They will ask until they are satisfied with the answer. I suggest also that  you don't sugar-coat it.  Tell them the facts.  The facts at this point are that no one really knows a whole lot about this nasty bug.  The kids who they know have gotten it, haven't had much more than cold symptoms, but that kids may give the virus to their parents or grandparents and when the virus is in older people they can get much sicker. So by closing schools, the people at school can clean it really well and you and your friends won't give it to each other who might give it to an older person who might get really sick.  Let them know that they will go back to school when this is all over and that they will see their friends again and that they will be able to play sports or dance again.  But for right now, we are staying home and away from others as much as possible.

2.  Create a schedule.  Some kids will come home with schoolwork to do.  Others may have schoolwork to do online.  Some may not have any schoolwork at all.  But all kids need a schedule.  They need a plan.  YOU need a plan. If you are staying home with them, create a schedule that will include time for schoolwork, meals, chore time, free time, perhaps an organized activity (hiking, biking, board games, etc), and a quiet time(I will get to this in a minute).  Schedules don't need to be by the minute but kids will do better when they know what the plan is.  Plans can change, so be flexible, and schedules can change to better fit your needs.  If you have someone else watching them outside of your home, let your kids know of your plans for them. Help your caregiver to create a list of activities that your kids might enjoy. (see next point)

3.  Activities.  Brainstorm some activities that you think the kids might enjoy. You may even want to get the kids to help you with this list.  Write them down.  Seriously, trust me on this. Write. It. Down. You will need this list to refer to when your kids 3 days into being at home comes to you and says "I'm bored" for the 50 millionth time.  Refer to the list and suggest an activity.  Also have a few "surprise" activities up your sleeve for when they are truly wracking your last nerve and you all need to do something or you will end up killing each other.  These surprise activities might be something your have never done or something that you rarely do. 

Here are a list of activities to get you started:
board games
card games (teach the kids a new one)
coloring
create a great big card for your next door neighbor just to say hello
Facetime or Skype with a friend, neighbor, or Grandma
watch a movie together
bake cookies, cook a meal together
make slime
read a book together
create a cardboard city (use boxes or other cardstock to create a town with stores, houses, park, school, etc)
play with legos

Surprise Activities:
get in the car and head to the park for a hike or biking
create a scavenger hunt in your back yard for them
rent or Netflix a new movie you all haven't seen yet, make popcorn
get in the car and take a drive.  Just drive. Maybe go through the drive thru and get a snack or milkshake


4.  Have daily quiet time.  You can thank me later.  Everyone needs quiet time.  30 minutes or an hour where you are away from everyone else in the home.  This can be quiet reading time or nap time for littles.  This might just be the one thing that will save your sanity during this crisis.  Insist on it. Don't give in.  Everyone will benefit.  Set the oven timer or the alarm on your phone. 

5.  Turn off the TV.  If you tend to have the news on in the background all day long.  Turn it off.  Kids will see the news stories of the Coronavirus over and over again (because news channels talk about it all day long).  They might become overwhelmed by the news media reporting it over and over again.  Turn off the TV so they aren't bombarded with it. 

6. Get outside.  Stretch your legs.  Just because we are socially limiting right now doesn't mean we have to be inside.  The kids can be out in your backyard playing. You can take walks. You can be outside.  Your degree of limiting is set by you.  If you feel like it is safe to play with neighborhood friends then do so.

We are in unprecedented territory here.  We don't know the extent of this crisis and we don't know the outcome.  It is always good to remember that we are all going through this together.  We are stressed and doing the best we can.  We will have good days and bad days.  This crisis will test us.  Patience and kindness is always appreciated.  Be patient with each other.  Be kind with each other.

Coronavirus 19 - Unprecedented Times - Preparing for Medical Events

**Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert in anything medical. I am NOT an expert in anything, really.  I am a mom.  I am bringing a mom's perspective on how I am interpreting the bombardment of information, opinion, and what I am doing to keep my family as safe as possible in the most responsible way I know.
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We are in the midst of unprecedented times right now.  There is so much fear in our community.  No one knows how this viral pandemic will turn out. Community leaders are making decisions based on CDC recommendations and WHO recommendations.  The most immediate concern is the transmission of this disease in such a rapid manner that it overloads our health care system and harms our most vulnerable population.

On my blog (this blog where you found this article), I try to help others to prepare for emergencies.  I posted another post HERE about my immediate thoughts on Coronavirus and what I did to prepare along with everyone else in my community at the same time.

We didn't see this pandemic coming.  We didn't expect it to be uncontrolled as other viruses, MERS, SARS, Ebola, similar to Coronavirus (COVID-19), had been quickly controlled and we were unaffected.  We expected this virus to be similar to the other viruses.  So now we find ourselves rushing to prepare for something unknown.

What we don't know:

We don't know how this will play out.

We don't know if this virus will infiltrate our bodies or our family.

We don't know how the virus will present itself in our bodies. Will we have mild symptoms? Will we be asymptomatic and not even know we have it? Will we become severely ill?

We don't know how long we will have to remain socially secluded.  Will life go back to normal quickly? Will we all be on "lock down" for a period of time and how long?

We don't know if we will feel comfortable enough to go out to the grocery store when we need more supplies or if people will be able to bring us supplies if we can't go out.  Will deliveries stop? Will Amazon be able to deliver my packages?

What we do know:

We know that the virus is spreading quickly.

We know that it will eventually get into our communities.

We know, sadly, that we will know someone who gets it.

We also know that kids rarely are showing symptoms of this virus.

We also know that most healthy adults are showing minor difficulties getting over this virus.

We know that elderly and those with health conditions will have the most difficulty with this virus.

We know that we all need to help prevent the spread of this disease so that those most susceptible don't get it until a vaccine is made available to them.

We know that this too shall pass and life as we know it will go back to "normal" again.

A good big part of the panic is all the unknowns.  The other part of the panic is that we just don't think about preparing for disasters, medical quarantines, or hard economic times.

My husband and I hopped on the "prepping" bandwagon about 15 years ago.  There wasn't anything in particular that sparked us but we developed a plan and began stockpiling storing extra items that would be helpful in an emergency situation.  However, because we just moved into our new house, we had very little food storage and very little extra items because we used what we had prior to our move so we didn't have to move so so so much stuff. {sigh} Lesson Learned!

How do we prepare?

When preparing for this kind of emergency here are some things to think about while preparing your list of items you should have on hand.

1.  Food/Drinks:

I would think that at least a month's worth of food. 21 days has become a popular  number floating around in other articles for preparing for an event of this magnitude.  This isn't just a 3 day snow storm!  We may need to be quarantined for up to 14 days and if we get sick, we could be home for a month!  When making your list, think about foods that will stay fresh for a month or freeze well.  Also begin to menu plan.  Make a menu for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.  Create a 7 or 14 day rotation so you don't get bored.  With a 7 day menu, multiply all the ingredients by 4.  For a 14 day menu, multiply by 2.

Sample menu: 
Day 1:

• Breakfast: Instant Oatmeal w/ dried fruit. Orange Juice/Milk
• Lunch: Sandwich w/Deli Meat, fresh carrot sticks, Ranch dressing 
• Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Rice

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Toast
• Lunch: Canned Soup, crackers
• Dinner: Hamburgers, Fries, Fresh or Frozen Veggie

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Frozen breakfast sandwich or make your own.
• Lunch: tuna sandwiches, chips
• Dinner: Spaghetti with marinara sauce, garlic bread.

Keep in mind that fresh items will go bad so use them first.  Back fill fresh items with frozen items.  Frozen vegetables are great for steaming or boiling.  Frozen fruit is a good substitute for fresh fruit.  Dried fruit lasts the longest.  If you get grapes for your menu, think about raisins for the menu later in the month.  

Don't forget to put snack items on the list. 

Luckily with this event, we most likely will have heat, A/C, and electricity.  This will make preparing foods and meals much more easily.

2. Medications/Medical Supplies

Keep the standard over the counter medicines on hand. Advil, Tylenol, cold meds, allergy meds, etc.  Also make sure that your prescription meds are up to date and filled.  Locate a pharmacy where you can access a delivery method if you need to have your meds delivered to you in a quarantine situation.

In addition to medications, you will want to have a good thermometer, cold/warm packs, rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soaps, and a good first aid kit.  Add any other medical items that you may need.

3.  Cleaning products

Make sure you have enough laundry detergent, your regular cleaning products, a gallon of bleach (always good to have around), a gallon of vinegar (great natural item that kills germs), soaps, paper towels, etc.

4.  Personal Items

These might include feminine care products (I always have at least a couple months' worth), toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving items, shower items, shampoos, conditioners, etc.  

5.  Kids

Make sure that you have activities and school supplies at home for when the kids are home from school.  Outside activities are being cancelled left and right currently and many public schools are closing for extended periods of time.  You will need some activities to keep the kids busy while you are hanging out at home.  Going to friends' houses may not be possible so think of some activities, board games, scavenger hunts in the yard, etc. Keep a couple ideas in your pocket for when the kids are really getting bored and beginning to drive you crazy.  Don't give all your ideas away right away.  You will be glad you held something back!

Kids may have schoolwork to do during this time.  Take it from a homeschooling mom that a schedule will be your friend.  Make a schedule and stick to it.  Get the kids up at a certain time, breakfast, schoolwork, break, lunch, schoolwork or quiet reading time, play time, dinner, evening activity, bath and bed.  Make your schedule work for you. We could be in this mess for a while so plan now and begin a schedule right away.  Make adjustments to your schedule as you need to.  However, I would like to add that I STRONGLY suggest that you schedule some 'apart' time where everyone is in their rooms or apart from each other and quiet.  Some days this might just be your saving grace!

How Can We Help Others?

Some of our neighbors may need help during this time.  How can we help them?

The best way to help others is to check in with your neighbors and friends.  This can be done by phone, visiting while standing well away from each other, Facetime, Skype, etc.  Check in with them and see how they are doing and if they need anything.

Our elderly or immune compromised may become too scared to go out and run errands and may need things.  If you are feeling up to it or can pick up items from the grocery store, Target, Walmart, for them, it can be helpful.

Parents who work full time or part time may need babysitting.  You could offer a couple hours or a couple days of babysitting if your schedule allows.

Some communities are putting together sign up sheets online to gather lists of volunteers for babysitting, respite care (an hour or two) for parents to unwind, snacks and treats (neighbors baking bread or cookies to share with others), meals for elderly and match them to neighbors who need those services.  Think outside the box as we move through this crisis.  

This crisis will bring out the best and worst in everyone.  Through all this we will all find ourselves stressed, tired, and frustrated at times.  Please remember that how we treat others will rub off.  We need to remember that others may be struggling.  Kindness and patience will go a long way even when we have nothing else to give!  Smile and know that we are all in this together.  :)