👋 Hey Reader!
Here’s what I’ve got for you in today’s issue of WFH Dads:
- How I simplify meals as a WFH dad (without meal prepping)
- What I’m reading : Habits of the Household
- Recent issues you may have missed
How I simplify meals as a WFH dad (without meal prepping)
I’ve never been a fan of traditional meal prep. The idea of spending hours on Sunday cooking a week’s worth of food—and then eating meals on Friday that have just been sitting in the fridge for 5 days—just doesn’t appeal to me.
If you’ve felt the same way, I want to share how I’ve simplified my approach. Instead of spending hours prepping food in bulk, I focus on having a system that keeps me eating fresh, healthy meals without the stress of traditional meal prep.
Here’s how I make it work for lunch, dinner, and grocery shopping.
Lunch: A high-protein, flexible approach
I usually skip breakfast (because all the cool kids are intermittent fasting these days) and make my lunch around 11 AM. My go-to is simple but flexible:
- A bed of spring mix
- Protein (bacon, eggs, or leftover meat from dinner)
- Refried black beans
- Shredded cheese
- Salsa
The key for me is starting with that base and using whatever’s on hand.
Efficiency hack: I time my lunch prep around my meetings. If I have a meeting at 11, I’ll start making lunch 10 minutes before so I can finish just as the meeting starts and eat while I’m listening. It’s not glamorous, but it frees up time afterwards for a midday run or workout.
Dinner: A rotating menu of go-to meals
For dinner, we’ve narrowed down a list of 7–8 go-to meals that we rotate through each week. It might sound repetitive, but it makes life so much easier.
Here's my list:
A lot of these meals make great leftovers, which means lunch the next day is even faster. Sometimes I’ll turn leftovers into my spring mix lunch (like throwing fajitas or chicken breast in there), but often I’ll just reheat and eat them as-is.
Grocery shopping made easy
To streamline shopping, we order our groceries online and use saved meal-specific lists.
For example, I’ve saved a “Fajita Night” list in the app, so when I’m planning for the week, I can just pull it up, select what we need, and skip the stuff we already have. It cuts the decision-making time way down and I'm able to finish my 'shopping' in about 10 minutes.
To keep everyone on the same page, we also put all of our planned meals for the week on a calendar that’s on the fridge. That way, everyone knows what’s coming, and it keeps us accountable.
And then we do curbside pickup on Saturday mornings.
Why this system works
Here’s why this approach has been such a game-changer for me:
- Saves time. Lunch during meetings means more time for workouts or family. Grocery lists and a meal calendar simplify planning.
- Keeps eating healthy manageable. Having a few staple meals on rotation means we stay on track without overthinking it.
- Leaves room for flexibility. If I don’t feel like making bacon and eggs, leftovers are always there as a backup.
Your homework
If you want to simplify your lunches and dinners, here’s how to get started:
- Plan a Weekly Dinner Rotation
Pick 5–7 go-to meals your family enjoys and repeat them weekly or bi-weekly. Keep it simple to reduce decision fatigue by writing them down in a digital note or document that you can easily pull up each week to plan your meals effortlessly.
- Save Grocery Lists
Use your store’s online ordering system to create pre-saved lists for each meal. This makes weekly shopping fast and easy.
- Repurpose Leftovers for Lunch
Turn dinner leftovers into a quick lunch by adding them to a salad base or reheating as-is.
- Batch Lunch with Meetings
Prep your lunch 10 minutes before a meeting and eat during the call. This frees up time for workouts or other priorities.
- Use a Meal Calendar
Write your meals on a visible calendar so everyone knows the plan and you avoid last-minute indecision.
If you try this out, let me know how it goes.
What I'm reading
This has been a great read on what it looks like to practice Christian habits amidst the chaos of raising little children. It gives ideas of what habits could look like up on waking, at mealtimes, for discipline, screentime, and more.
One idea I've started implementing is in the 'waking' section. In an effort to not look at my phone first thing in the morning, the author talks about how as he wakes up, he kneels down and says a short prayer before anything. I've started to do that. My prayer is usually:
God, thank you for the mercy of a new day. Please give me the wisdom, strength, and steps to do the work you've called me to do today. Amen.
There's nothing magical about this prayer, but it's an opportunity to center my mind on what's important first thing in the morning.
Catch up on recent issues:
If you try any of the meal ideas above, reply and let me know.
Thanks again for being a part of this community!
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Thom Gibson
Founder of WFH Dads
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