For this busy mom, dinner looks like a Costco meal kit and plenty of Starbucks iced coffee.
Q: How often do you go grocery shopping?
My two daughters can easily go through a carton of strawberries in a day.
Credit:Illustration by Grace Canaan
Theres nothing like a fresh-from-the-gardenbeefsteak tomatoand Iowa sweet corn on the cob.
Illustration by Grace Canaan
Q: What’s your average weekly grocery budget?
My hope is to spend about $200 per week on groceries but we often go over that.
Credit:Illustration by Grace Canaan
I rely on pre-packed snacks and meals throughout the week and those can add up quickly.
If I spend more time planning, I usually have a better chance of sticking to our budget.
Q: Do you make a grocery list?
Credit:Illustration by Grace Canaan
If Ive taken the time to plan meals, yes.
But often, no.
I usually just head to the store with a few things in mind and go from there.
Q: What grocery stores do you shop at most frequently?
Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Costco.
Q: Who is going to cook dinner?
I usually do the cooking.
My kids are ravenous after daycare and summer camp.
Q: What are things you always have in your fridge or pantry?
Right now, our pantry is fully stocked for having a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old home for the summer.
I love the Starbucks Unsweetened Iced Coffee with a splash ofoat milk.
I live out in the country so I rarely get coffee from a shop.
Q: How do you share the labor of cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping?
He usually cleans up after dinner and he handles all of breakfast with the girls.
I am not a morning person.
We’re trying to get our daughters to start being more involved in the clean up process after meals.
Q: What are your go-to meals or family-favorite recipes?
We rely on a few go-to meals throughout the week.
In the summer, we grill a lot.
Weve recently been making citrus-marinatedflank steak for tacosor sandwiches and its delicious off the grill.
Ive also been considering getting a Blackstone-punch in grill so we can attempt to cook more things outside.
Q: Do you cook daily or do you meal prep for the week?
I always have the best of intentions about meal prepping but the weekends totally get away from me.
Especially in the summer, when I really just want to be outside.
Youve got to take advantage of nice weather when you’re free to in Iowa!
Q: What was the last meal you cooked at home?
We made gyros using a kit from Costco.
To round out the meal, I sliced up some fresh cucumbers,cherry tomatoes, and fruit.
I also made some buttered noodles for my youngest daughter.
Sometimes Ill add in some dips from Trader Joes to eat with the pita bread.
We love the vegan tzatziki, hummus, and garlic dip.
Ive also been buyinglabnehfrom Whole Foods and am always looking for an excuse to slather it on things.
Its one of my favorite side dishes.
We also love Kalamata olives andmixed Greek olivesso Ill take a stab at put out some of those too.
Just depends on what I have on hand and how energetic Im feeling about making more stuff.
Q: Would you make it again?
Q: Do you often have dessert with dinner?
Yes, I am firmly in the camp of needing something sweet after eating.
For me, it might bewhipped creamand berries in the summer or a few pieces of gummy candy.
JujyFruits are my all-time favorite and always bring a bit of nostalgia for me.
They remind me of eating them with my dad when I was little.
He would always take all the black licorice ones, just like I do now with my daughters.
My husband and daughters loveice cream, cookies, and chocolate.
I love the mini cones from Trader Joes.
Theyre the perfect size for kids.
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