Take a little time and plan out your holiday meals from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
What will you serve for each meal?
- Is there a balance of protein, starch and green and red vegetables/fruit?
- Are there some items you could prepare in advance - breads, desserts, cornbread for cornbread stuffing, etc.?
- If you are having guests, what could they bring?
For each week, plan your menus and your shopping list. Try to go shopping only once a week to save those time-costly trips back to the grocery store.
- During such a busy time, try to piggy-back from one meal to another. Put a roast in the crockpot, and use the leftovers for beef stroganoff, for example.
- Have some ideas for using leftover turkey or ham: chow mein, stir fry, pasta salads, split pea soup with ham/hambone. Or freeze some in meal-size portions for the future when you are not turkey-weary.
- Have some easy-to-prepare foods on hand if you have a disaster day: frozen ravioli, for example.