Moving meals with no stress and no guilt. It’s possible — all it takes is a little planning ahead. You don’t need to skip meals or sacrifice nutrition to stay on schedule and make it through your move. Instead, consider our helpful tips to save time and money.
Eat At Home
Even a local move can be exhausting, which is why it’s important to set a schedule for mealtimes during moving week. This will keep you from ordering takeout when you’re tired and zapping your energy when you need it most. Fighting the urge to eat fast food not only saves money, but also helps you rid your kitchen of perishable items and groceries with an impending expiration date, so you don’t end up throwing them away or filling more open boxes.
Morning Moving Meals
It’s important not to skip breakfast during your move; the last thing you want is an empty tank when you have a long way to go. Start off right with these classic healthy breakfast options, all five ingredients or less that won’t require a multitude of kitchen tools:
Yogurt parfait (add granola and/or fruit)
Scrambled eggs and toast (or combine with a wrap)
Fruit smoothie (another way to use the yogurt and fruit)
Breakfast tacos (eggs, cheese, veggies and salsa)
Oatmeal (also good with fruit or nuts)
Lunchtime Moving Foods for the Win
Skip the prep and cook during lunch, especially on moving day; try finger foods for the win. These items will keep your energy going for the rest of the day, and all are ready to eat at a moment’s notice.
Sandwich bread or lettuce for wraps
Sliced meat and cheese
Protein-rich snacks like string cheese or protein balls
Hummus with sliced veggies like celery or baby carrots
Grab-and-go fruit like grapes, bananas and apples
Quick and Easy Dinner
Pasta is the original “easy” meal, but you can make it even easier by combining all the ingredients for your sauce and the pasta together in one large pot (or skillet for something like mac and cheese), where you can add in your protein and make it a dinner with only one piece of cookware.
Stir fry is not only a quick and tasty meal option but an easy way to use up any remaining frozen foods like veggies or meats so you don’t have to move them with you.
Soup and chili are filling and versatile dishes that allow for flexible recipes, depending on what dry goods and fresh ingredients you have in your kitchen. They’re perfect meal ideas for feeding a hungry group of volunteers, and they make great leftovers!
Precooked or grilled can be served in many ways, from salads to tacos to being the main dish with a side of veggies or over pasta. There are plenty of delicious options, served either hot or cold.
It’s OK to eat out, but save it for the day you’re running errands all day or on the day you move out, when eating at home is especially inconvenient. And when you put snacks in your car during the move to keep hunger at bay, treat yourself — after all that heavy lifting, you deserve it!
