Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Creating healthy, tasty meals for your family is no small task—and finding recipes that are easy and cost-effective is just pure work. And if you're like most parents, you're already feeling the strain of keeping your family safe, happy and healthy. According to a survey from Motherly, nearly 40% of moms felt "completely burnt out" in 2022, with stay-at-home mothers feeling burnout at an even higher rate.
If dinnertime is causing you more stress than satisfaction, it might be time to simplify your family meals. Fortunately, a Utah company is making it easier than ever to provide your family with healthier meal options—and the results are delicious.
Have it delivered
Stand down, Martha Stewart. You might be a chef-level culinary master, but cooking from scratch takes time. And when you're a busy parent, that's the one thing you never seem to have on your side. That's where taking a few shortcuts can really help you level up your meal game.
Starting with a premade base—like Beehive Meals freezer meals—makes dinner prep a breeze. Prepped, sealed and frozen for ultimate freshness, these freezer meals serve as the main event. Just dump the nutritious freezer meal of your choice into your slow cooker in the morning and dinner will be all but done in the evening.
Top 5 reasons to start meal planning
Planning your upcoming meals can reduce stress, save money and time, and even makes it simpler to choose healthy options for your family.Do your research
As with most things in life, doing your research before making decisions can only benefit you. Doing a simple Google search for "healthy family meals" will turn up hundreds of thousands of results for ideas and recipes.
Some people even give weekly meal plans to follow, taking all of the nitty-gritty work off your plate. For example, EatingWell has a month of healthy family dinner recipes you can follow—all you have to do is buy the groceries and make the food. (And eat it!)
Part of this research should also help you focus on how to build a healthy meal. Whole Family Living suggests finding recipes that focus on vegetables. Instead of starting with the meat and building sides around it, start with the vegetable you want to eat the most. Once you've decided that, add your protein and carbs to complement it.
And by thinking about your meals ahead of time, you'll likely discover some of the many benefits of meal planning.
Order groceries online
They say grocery shopping on an empty stomach is a bad idea, but new research is finding that shopping in the store itself can lead to unhealthy eating habits. According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, people who purchased their groceries online for pickup tended to buy fewer sugary items like candy or frozen desserts.
Once you have a plan for your meals for the week or month, it's easy to order the things you need online and pick them up. Not only will it save you the hassle of corralling your kids throughout the grocery store, but you'll also probably stick to your list and avoid impulse purchases.
Prep it ahead of time
There's a reason meal prepping became a trend several years ago—it works. According to an article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the more time you spend preparing your food, the higher the likelihood you'll consume more fruits, vegetables and salads.
If food prep is overwhelming for you, start small. The party trays of fruits and vegetables from grocery stores and even Costco are a great way to serve healthy snacks and sides without much work.
Planning is also important in any food preparation. Make sure you have your meals for the week written down on your calendar and keep a grocery list on your phone. When you have solid plans for meals, it's easier to follow through rather than coming up with a meal an hour before you need to eat.
Don't overthink it
If making dinner is the most stressful part of your day, there are ways to reduce that burden. Take the work out of meal prep so you can stop dreading cooking both a delicious and nutritious meal every day of the week. With dozens of different entrees to choose from, Beehive Meals will keep your family fed and happy with enough variety to appease your picky eaters.
Signing up for Beehive Meal deliveries is easy. All you have to do is pick a delivery date within your county and select your meal size. On delivery day, Beehive Meals will text you a reminder that your food is on the way and your meals will be delivered in an insulated cooler, which is yours to keep.
The delivery includes 10 freezer meals complete with cooking instructions and nutritional information. You can opt for a one-time delivery or save 10% by signing up for a monthly subscription. It's not a problem if you don't want to commit to every month. You can change the frequency to every two or three months and still take advantage of the 10% discount.
For more information on Utah's easiest, most affordable freezer meal prep service, visit the Beehive Meals website.
