The #1 Thing That Will Save Your Time This Week: Meal Prep!

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There is ONE thing that consistently makes or breaks my feeling of stability in any given week and will either save me or cost me the most time.

In today's episode, we're going to dive right into what this one thing is and why it matters so, so much -- plus my beginner tips for you so that you can start saving time and sanity right away!

Hi, I'm Katie, a mama, a coach & a podcaster focused on supporting eco-minded mamas like yourself to live sustainably: saving $1,000s of dollars and reducing waste in everyday routines so that you can live with less stress. If that sounds like something that you're interested in, let's dive in...

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

➡️ We're currently unpacking my master plan for meal prep inside The Eco-Minded Mama Collective together!! This plan walks you through each step -- from planning to shopping to actual prepping -- in the MOST sustainable way: sustainable for your time, budget, and your carbon footprint.

Don't miss out on this life-changing online community of support to help you become the eco-minded mama you want to be! With monthly challenges, giveaways, live Q&As, and a bunch of mom-friends, you'll have instant access to everything you need to start saving $1,000s and living with less stress right away!

"Started the course and so far it's amazing! I was hesitant about having a baby for ages, mainly because I worried about the environmental impact and what it could mean for his future. But now, my little champ is 8 months old, and I'm all in for making our planet cleaner. Module 1 hit me hard—in a good way... it definitely gave me a boost of hope. Thank you for this eye-opening journey!" -Katie S, Collective Member

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Episode Transcript

Katie Kurpanek (00:00):
There's one thing that consistently makes or

(00:02):
breaks my feeling of stabilityin any given week and will
either save me or cost me themost time. In today's episode,
we're going to dive right intowhat this one thing is and why
it matters so, so much, plus mybeginner tips for you so that
you can start saving time andsanity right away. Hi, I'm
Katie, I'm a mama a coach and apodcaster focused on supporting

(00:24):
eco minded mamas like yourselfto live sustainably, saving
1000s of dollars and reducingwaste in everyday routines so
that you can live with lessstress. If that sounds like
something that you're interestedin, let's dive in. Okay, meal
prep. This is the number onething that saves my time and my
energy on any given week. So alittle backstory first, my

(00:46):
husband and I recently opened upa business together, we opened
up a bike shop in Parker,Colorado, and I have my business
Eco- Minded Mama with TheEco-Minded Mama Collective, this
podcast, we are parenting, weare also a single car household
so we are sharing the car, usingpublic transportation, biking,
all of these things take so muchtime in every single day. And as

(01:09):
much as we try to split ourparental duties and how students
together my partner and I, it isjust like not everything can be
done, you know equally. So foodprep our meals that is usually
on my plate, that is somethingthat I take on because I have
the capacity to do so. So on theweeks where I cannot or do not
take the time to meal prep. Ifeel absolutely drained almost

(01:32):
every single night of the week,I ended up doing more dishes, we
ended up eating more like snacktype foods or just more
processed foods that I don'talways feel great about no
judgment to anybody who youknow, like eats processed foods,
packaged foods, we totally relyon that obviously as well. But
it's just not what I want to befeeding my family all the time.

(01:54):
And we typically don't feel asgood like health wise. And
physically when we do that. Ialso end up feeling more
frustrated with a kitchen thatseems like it's constantly
dirty, and a fridge that neverseems full enough. On the other
hand, during the weeks where Ido take the time to meal prep
and I commit to this habit, thenI end up having a cleaner

(02:15):
kitchen that lasts longer. And Ihave more time to play with my
son in the evenings. I have lessstress that comes with the
mental load of being the primarycaregiver who is constantly
focused on nutrition and keepingmy family fed and healthy. And
when we eat so much better inthose weeks, then we end up
feeling better and have a morepositive mindset and overall

(02:38):
well being. Okay, so then whatare the top beginner tips in
order to start meal prepping ina way that actually saves you
all of this time and sanity aswell. In the long run, I'm going
to give you just these threesimple tips that you can start
with. So tip number one is toplan your meals. Even if it is
just taking 10 to 20 minutes atthe beginning of your week, it

(03:00):
will make all the difference tojust put together a chicken
scratch kind of plan. It doesn'thave to be anything fancy. Just
knowing looking at your calendarand knowing what is generally
going on in the week. When areyou going to be cooking at home?
When are you going to be out?
What types of meals do you needthat will fit your family best?
Just focus on that one week timeperiod and put together a basic

(03:23):
plan. That is tip number one. Ifyou do this, then not only does
that take like the mental loadoff your mind from night to
night not having to wonder likewhat do I feed my family. But
also you will have less you knowless of a chance of making
impulse purchases, eating out alot of the time because you just
didn't know what to make,because at least you have a

(03:45):
plan. Okay, tip number two is tothen make your grocery list
based on that plan. And when yougo to the grocery store, or you
order it to have it delivered,actually stick to your plan.
This is a big one. I know I amtotally guilty of walking around
the grocery store and justseeing things that sound good in
the moment. Don't go groceryshopping hungry, that is another

(04:08):
like mini little tip there andthrowing these things in the
cart. So if you want to actuallysave money in the long run, but
also stick to your plan so thatfood doesn't get wasted. Look at
the plan you created. Create agrocery list off of that and
stick to that list. Okay, andthen tip number three, which is
all we're gonna dive into fortoday. This is a big one though.

(04:31):
Plan ahead and ask for supportwhether that's from your partner
or a neighbor, a friend ababysitter somebody so that when
you get home from the grocerystore, you have extra time to do
the actual meal prep part. Okay,so however long that is and
however much prep you decide todo that is up to you and what
works for your family. But Tipnumber three is planning ahead

(04:53):
and I Asking for that supportahead of time. Because this is
key to making the rest of theweek go as smoothly as I
described what I've been able toexperience before with having
like more energy, more time, acleaner kitchen all of these
things during the rest of yourweek. So through my own trial
and error over the years, and inthis current super busy season

(05:15):
that my husband and I are in, Ihave come up with a master plan
that takes you all the way fromthe initial meal planning stage,
to the grocery shopping to theactual food prep in the most
sustainable way that I havefound sustainable for the earth
and sustainable for you yourtime, your budget your sanity.
So it is going to save you allof these things and reduce your

(05:38):
carbon footprint overall. We arecurrently unpacking this plan
together this month at the timeof this recording inside The
Eco-Minded Mama Collective. Thisis an online membership program.
And we continue to circle backto these topics over and over
again. So if you are listeningto this episode at a later date,
don't worry, there is a digitallibrary full of video lessons

(06:01):
and all of the replays from ourlive q&a sessions that you may
have missed but can always goback to you later. So inside The
Eco-Minded Mama Collective, weare walking through the five
pillars of sustainable living. Ihave mentioned these before in
previous episodes, we go throughthese with monthly challenges,
giveaways, live q&a, and we evenhave one member makeover per

(06:24):
month who gets extra one on onecoaching with me. And then
everybody in the community getsto learn from that so it's a win
win overall. If you are ready tostart saving 1000s of dollars
and dramatically reduce yourstress levels and start spending
all of that freed up time now onother things that you value,
then click the link in the shownotes to join The Eco-Minded

(06:46):
Mama Collective today and let'sbreak down this master plan
together so that you can walkaway with actionable steps that
are actually going to work andbe sustainable for you and your
family. I hope that this helpsand we will be back next week
with more time saving, moneysaving, sanity saving tips. I
will talk to you then!