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0:00
There is something about winter that
0:02
invites us inward. The days are shorter,
0:04
the air has a quiet stillness, and our
0:07
homes become the center of our routines.
0:10
For many of us, that means more time
0:13
spent cooking, cleaning, feeding little
0:15
bellies, and keeping everyone warm and
0:18
cared for. But winter can also feel
0:21
heavy. Dinner time comes faster when it
0:24
gets dark at 5:00. And some nights it
0:27
feels like we just finished lunch before
0:29
dinner begins again. As mothers, we
0:31
carry the weight of providing for our
0:33
families in unseen ways. And meal prep
0:36
is a part of that quiet ministry that no
0:39
one really sees, but everyone feels and
0:43
everyone needs. Today, I want to invite
0:46
you into my kitchen as I prepare some
0:48
simple winter meals that bring peace to
0:52
busy evenings. As I work, I am going to
0:55
just share the heart behind winter meal
0:58
prep, why it matters, and how the small
1:01
area of stewardship brings so much calm
1:04
into our homes. First, let's talk about
1:07
why winter meal prep really matters. For
1:11
me, it has three purposes. First is
1:13
nourishment. Because our bodies and our
1:16
family naturally, they crave warm,
1:20
comfort, grounding foods during the
1:22
winter. things like soup, beans and
1:25
rice, hearty greens, slowcooked meals,
1:29
grains. These food gives us comfort.
1:32
They give us balance. They give balance
1:34
to our energy and they keep us full for
1:37
a longer amount of time. Next is
1:40
stewardship. Winter meal prep helps us
1:43
to steward our time, our budgets, and
1:46
our energy. Because when we bulk prep
1:48
grocery items at the beginning of the
1:50
week, we waste less time, we waste less
1:54
money, we buy less convenience food, and
1:57
we stay out of the drive-thru line. And
1:59
then third is our peace. Because I've
2:01
learned that a peaceful evening actually
2:03
starts in the morning. How you start
2:05
your morning probably is going to
2:08
determine what your evening is going to
2:10
look like. When I have handled dinner
2:14
earlier in the day, or at least it's
2:16
halfway done before evening, then the
2:19
whole pace of my day shifts. It leaves a
2:22
little bit more room and peace in my
2:24
mind and day for evening. Less rushing,
2:28
less scrambling, and more opportunity
2:30
for family connection. As homemakers, we
2:33
don't just cook food. We create an
2:36
atmosphere for our family. And sometimes
2:38
a simple pot of soup or a hearty meal on
2:42
the stove can make the home just feel
2:44
safe and loved. And I think our family,
2:48
they really do recognize and they really
2:50
do notice the thoughtful intention that
2:54
goes into prepping a meal when they walk
2:56
into a kitchen and just see that it's
2:58
already simmering on the stove. In the
3:01
summertime, meal prep looks so
3:03
different. It looks like quick salads
3:06
and grill nights, which are my favorite,
3:09
fresh fruit on the counter,
3:11
freshlysqueezed lemonade, anything that
3:14
doesn't heat up the house or steal us
3:16
from the sunshine. But winter, winter
3:19
invites a different kind of cooking. It
3:22
just changes the way that we eat, the
3:24
way we gather, the way we slow down or
3:26
sometimes speed up. And one thing that
3:29
I've noticed in my years of motherhood
3:31
and homemaking is that seasonal living
3:33
doesn't just apply to our gardens and
3:36
our wardrobes and how we decorate our
3:38
house, but it also applies to how we
3:40
feed our homes. Something that I didn't
3:43
really realize at one time in one point
3:46
in my home making or motherhood journey.
3:50
Some of my favorite winter go-tos are
3:52
things like gumbo, beans and rice like
3:55
I'm preparing in today's video,
3:58
slowcooked meats, baked chicken and
4:00
vegetables like I'm also preparing in
4:03
today's videos. All these types of
4:05
things that you can just throw inside
4:06
one big pan or pot that will stretch for
4:10
a longer period of time. They reheat
4:12
well. They are fulfilling. They're
4:14
hearty. And they just make sense for
4:18
this time of year. And when you serve up
4:20
a bowl of something warm to your family,
4:22
when the sky is already beginning to
4:24
darken, you can definitely feel the
4:26
comfort in it. And it really just
4:28
settles everyone down a little bit at
4:32
the end of a busy busy day. When you're
4:35
making winter meals, you don't need
4:36
much. Just a few good base ingredients
4:39
and the willingness to let time do some
4:40
of the work. I always keep rice and
4:45
pasta, grains, vegetables, potatoes,
4:48
herbs, onions, chicken broth or
4:50
vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, and a
4:53
few cuts of meat, particularly chicken
4:56
and seafood in our home because with
4:59
those alone, there are just endless
5:01
directions that you can go. I already
5:03
told you guys some of my favorite meals,
5:06
but I didn't tell you guys that part of
5:07
the reason why those meals, the
5:09
gumballs, the beans and rice, the
5:11
chicken and vegetable, the roast, the
5:12
soups, the stews, the reason why those
5:14
are some of my favorite go-tos for
5:16
winter is because they hold up so well
5:19
as leftovers, which means that I could
5:22
go a day without having to cook dinner
5:24
at all. And who doesn't love a little
5:26
bit of extra time inside of their
5:28
schedule? because I know that I don't
5:30
just love it, but sometimes I literally
5:32
just need it. As a mother, a homemaker,
5:35
a content creator who's also running a
5:38
small ecommerce business online, also a
5:41
wife, a homeschool teacher, there are
5:44
literally just so many things in the day
5:46
that I have to do. So yes, having a
5:49
little bit of extra space in my day,
5:52
especially in my current busy season
5:55
with littles, it's 100% needed and very
6:00
beneficial. I think that winter meal
6:02
prep becomes efficient when we just stop
6:05
trying to make it a lot more difficult
6:08
than it has to be. There is nothing
6:10
wrong with just choosing five go-to
6:13
meals and rotating them every single
6:15
week. I don't know at what point in the
6:19
media this day and age where we just
6:22
made it so much more difficult where
6:23
everything has to be elaborate and
6:25
everything has to be a five course meal.
6:27
There was a time where you would go to
6:29
the restaurants and mac and cheese would
6:32
be a full entree for the kids. Nowadays
6:36
on pantries, you see the kids will have
6:39
four or five different food groups on
6:41
their plate every single meal for
6:44
breakfast and lunch and dinner with four
6:46
to five snacks in between. And I know
6:48
because my baby girl, yeah, I'm guilty
6:50
of it sometimes. She loves her snacks
6:52
and things like that, but for breakfast,
6:54
just simple berries and yogurt is
6:58
fulfilling enough for her. for her
7:00
snacks, a cup of milk with some crackers
7:03
or some carrots with a little bit of
7:06
water. Just simple things. It doesn't
7:08
have to be elaborate. And for dinner,
7:11
some pasta with some vegetables. That's
7:14
just fine. As well as maybe some beef,
7:18
like ground beef or some baked chicken
7:21
chopped up with veggies, also just fine.
7:23
It just does not have to be very
7:26
elaborate. and my one-year-old typically
7:27
eats the same thing that my six-year-old
7:29
eats, who also eats the same thing that
7:32
me and my husband eat. It just doesn't
7:34
have to be super super difficult. So,
7:37
with winter typically just being that
7:39
season where most families are choosing
7:42
to really just slow down in their, you
7:46
know, in their lives, in their
7:48
busyiness, slowing down your meal prep
7:52
and making it a bit more efficient for
7:55
you is also going to be ideal and work
7:58
out so well for you. So, talking about
8:00
how much meal prep saves us time, it
8:04
also saves us energy, mental energy,
8:06
emotional energy. Those late afternoons
8:09
where the kids are restless and the
8:11
house is loud. I know all about it. And
8:14
everyone is waiting on dinner. That is
8:16
not the moment that you want to be
8:18
staring into the fridge trying to figure
8:19
out what you're going to be cooking for
8:21
dinner. And for our children, these warm
8:24
winter meals are seeds. They teach them
8:27
comfort, routine, gratitude. They
8:30
remember bowls of soup after playing in
8:32
the snow. They remember chili with
8:34
cornbread on Sunday nights. I remember
8:36
mom standing at the stove stirring
8:40
something that smelled delicious,
8:43
something that is going to help them
8:45
feel nourished. And as a homeschool mom,
8:49
one thing that I've noticed is that when
8:50
my children are well fed in the evening,
8:52
they just typically sleep better at
8:54
night. And when they're well rested at
8:56
night, they feel better in the morning.
8:59
And when they're wellnourished in the
9:01
morning, they just do so much better in
9:05
school. It's like brain food for them.
9:08
You know, all of us need it. We need it.
9:10
Our children need it. And I personally
9:12
have just noticed a difference in that
9:14
as a homeschool mom who is with my
9:17
children and I teach them daily and see
9:19
the difference that it makes. So that's
9:22
what winter meal prep gives us. Not
9:25
perfection, but nourishment. It gives us
9:28
a rhythm. It makes for slow evenings. It
9:32
makes for family time. But rest, for
9:36
peace. If cooking has felt heavy or
9:39
overwhelming for you lately, maybe let
9:41
winter teach you how to enjoy it again.
9:44
Pick one or two meals that feel
9:46
comforting to you. gumbo, beans and
9:49
rice, a slowcooked roast, chicken and
9:52
vegetables, and make them in bigger
9:54
batches. Stretch them as leftovers,
9:57
maybe even freeze half of it. But try to
10:00
find a way to let your future self
10:03
breathe easier. It can all be so simple.
10:08
There is no pressure here. No must cook
10:10
everything from scratch. No unrealistic
10:12
expectations. Not here on this channel.
10:14
is simple food for real families made
10:17
with care. Because at the end of the
10:18
day, winter isn't asking us to speed up.
10:21
It's actually inviting us to slow down,
10:23
to gather clothes, and to remember that
10:26
the work we do in the kitchen is
10:27
ministry. It's stewardship. It's love
10:30
and action. And sometimes that's as
10:32
simple as a warm bowl of beans and rice
10:35
on a Tuesday night while the snow is
10:37
falling or while you're cuddling up with
10:40
your family on the sofa watching a
10:42
movie. Maybe this video wasn't the from
10:45
scratch winter menu that you might see
10:50
from other content creators, but again,
10:52
here I tried to really encourage slowing
10:56
down, simplifying, whatever that looks
10:59
like in your current season. This is how
11:02
it looks in my current season. So, if
11:05
you enjoyed this video, maybe you found
11:07
it to be motivational, helpful, or just
11:09
a little bit of calm in your busy day, I
11:12
hope that you'll give it a thumbs up.
11:13
But also, I invite you to subscribe to
11:15
this channel, join the family. I'm
11:17
always sharing motherhood motivation and
11:20
homemaking inspiration, and would love
11:22
to have you here. That's going to be all
11:24
for today's video, and I will see you in
11:26
the next one. Happy homemaking.
#Soups & Stews