Meal Prep Monday Podcast™ – Details, episodes & analysis

In episode 296, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares what's currently supporting her family's rhythm with four kids, homeschooling, and travel.

She covers protein-focused breakfasts, morning routines, daily walks, lifting habits, and simple systems that make busy days feel smoother.

Allison also shares brief updates on homeschooling and world schooling, and how intentional rhythms create space for what matters most.

Referenced episodes and resources:

👉 High Protein Breakfast Rotation (family friendly!) | EP#235

High Protein Breakfast Rotation (family friendly!) | EP#235

🎧 Guest appearance on The Lively Show:

TLS 515 Designing the Year to Come with Your Partner with Allison Schaaf

🗺 Bright Standards on Amazon for National Park Maps

Bright Standards

🍷 Dry Farm Wines (affiliate)

Extraordinary Natural Wines

Want 2 weeks of FREE Prep Dish meal plans, including our Super Fast meal plans referenced in this episode?
Go to → PrepDish.com/MPM

In episode 295, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares the practical systems that make family dinners happen in her home. She talks through deciding that dinner together matters, choosing a realistic time, using the calendar as a guide, and simplifying groceries and meal planning so dinner doesn't rely on motivation alone.

She also references her breakfast rotation as another example of how simple food systems reduce daily decision fatigue.

👉 My breakfast rotation episode:

High Protein Breakfast Rotation (family friendly!) | EP#235

Want 2 weeks of FREE Prep Dish meal plans, including our Super Fast meal plans? Go to → PrepDish.com/MPM

Join us on social media-

Prep Dish Meal Planning (Gluten Free, Paleo & Keto) | Facebook

Instagram (@prepdish)

Get 14 days of FREE Prep Dish meal plans → PrepDish.com/MPM

In episode 287, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf discusses 4 tips to help you with your food budget and what to assess in your kitchen right now as we head into fall and a new school year.

Costco Episodes - #67 & #135

Want 2 weeks of FREE Prep Dish meal plans, including our Super Fast meal plans? Go to → PrepDish.com/MPM

Join us on social media-

Prep Dish Meal Planning (Gluten Free, Paleo & Keto) | Facebook

Instagram (@prepdish)

Get 14 days of FREE Prep Dish meal plans → PrepDish.com/MPM

Join Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf for episode 199 as she shares some of her favorite easy prep tips about preparing for the holidays.

As we head into the beginning of December, it can feel like we're already in the thick of holiday season, but there is still a lot we can do to prepare ahead and make time together with friends and family more relaxing, enjoyable, and easy. Allison recommends focusing on these key categories for the month ahead as well as daily schedules:

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1. Food Prep: not only preparing menus for upcoming events and gatherings, but paying special attention to your regular weekly meals goes a long way this time of year. Planning and preparing some freezer meals for simple heat-and-eat crock pot dishes later in the month ensures you'll have nourishing food ready for your family during busy weeks.
2. Calendar Prep: taking a look at the month ahead as a whole, as well as the details of daily plans, can prevent stress and ensure you and your family aren't overextended or overscheduled. You can even block off unscheduled time!
3. Family Traditions: being intentional and taking the time to include special activities year over year that everyone enjoys is a meaningful way to schedule time during the holidays. This might mean reviewing some traditions, and also setting aside materials, time, and energy to ensure the customs remain a significant part of your month.

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!

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Holiday e-cookbook: https://prepdish.com/shop/

Entertainment Bundle: https://prepdish.com/shop/

In episode 198, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, is joined by her son, Ivan, to share with you a special mealtime blessing for this Thanksgiving and beyond. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving from Prep Dish to you! We are so very thankful for you, your support, and your part in the Prep Dish community.

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/

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Now through Monday November 27, get 2 months FREE with code FREE2 when you purchase our Yearly or Premium subscription - PrepDish.com/shop

In episode 197, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, shares a routine that she and her husband started several years ago when they discovered a wonderful way to practice gratitude daily.

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The Schaaf household has expanded to include two children, and Allison's family practice of gratitude has evolved as well. The day ends with the family gathering together and sharing 2-3 appreciations about each of the other family members from the day. Sometimes sweet surprises in what the kids have remembered even pop up in this special family routine!

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Allison offers this gratitude practice as a wonderful way to nourish your soul, and those of each of your family members, especially in this season of Thanksgiving. She has found it truly helps everyone feel especially appreciated and loved.

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Happy Thanksgiving from Prep Dish to you! We are so very thankful for you, your support, and your part in the Prep Dish community.

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!

In episode 196, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, chats about her experience with healthy screen time and how she navigates a nearly screen-free environment with her young kids.

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One way Allison maintains a limited screen environment is that she and her husband do not have a TV in their home, which has helped eliminate the temptation to turn it on. While Allison and her family do turn to the computer for occasional help answering her sons' big questions about the world, or to say hello on FaceTime to far-away family and friends, Allison offers several other opportunities to entertain her two young boys:

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CD player

TonieBox for stories and music

Yoto Mini for audio while traveling

Time outside

Creative play

Artwork

Reading

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Allison sees several benefits of this simplified, limited-screen environment for herself and her family, including that her children are very creative and use their imaginations to explore at home and outside. She also finds that it creates a somewhat quieter environment, which is helpful to her sensitivity to noise, though the usual kid sounds and music are ever present! How do you determine healthy screen time rules at your house?

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!

In episode 195, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, talks about recently noticing how her morning and evening routines differ and discovering what could be switched for a more productive day. She also gives tips for making a daily routine that maximizes your morning and evening hours.

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With the change of seasons and moving from a summer schedule into a fall and school schedule, Allison took a look at her typical morning and evening routines to see if anything needed to shift to optimize her day. Knowing her own sleep personality chronotype based on information shared by Michael Breus, Allison began an adjustment from a later sleep schedule in the summer to an earlier one once fall came around, along with updating the sleep schedule of her children.

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Allison shifted some of the tasks in her evening routine to morning and decided to incorporate preparation for the morning into her evening routine, such as preparing her lemon water and tea items for the morning and setting out items she'll need to prepare the family breakfast. She encourages the idea of reevaluating what your bedtime and waking times look like during any transition from one annual season to another, or shifts in your daily schedule.

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!

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Sleep Chronotypes Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_breus_learn_the_perfect_hormonal_time_to_sleep_eat_and_have_sex?language=en

In episode 194, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf discusses one of the advantages of meal planning, and how it provides many opportunities to add variety to your meals. Allison offers seven top ways to diversify your plate such as:

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Think Seasonally: Looking to produce that's harvested in the fall and winter can lend to cooking up more soups, stews, and chilis when the temperature drops, and doing more grilling, or making a summer salad the basis of your meal in the warmer months can add some seasonal variety to your meal prep.

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Change the Protein: Can you substitute something else instead of your usual go-to, or try a different cut of meat? The farmer's market might offer something different, or try visiting your local grocery store's fish counter to see what you haven't tried yet. If you use the Prep Dish meal plans, try swapping out the protein in a family favorite meal to add variety.

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Taste the Rainbow: Color can be a great way to incorporate variety into your diet. There are different nutrients represented in the natural pigments of foods, and adding in a diverse range of hues to your meals can up your nutritional game.

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Look to New Cuisines: We tend to gravitate toward a certain favorite cuisine profile and add it as a heavy rotation when we're making meals. Perhaps Mexican food or Italian makes its rounds weekly in your home. If you've avoided cooking up some recipes because they seem too involved or complicated, you could be missing out on a variety of new flavors that you'd otherwise enjoy. Is there a new cuisine you could try?

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Add Texture: There's a tendency to offer up softer foods, especially when cooking for kids. However, we're doing them a disservice by avoiding tougher or crunchier foods because children and adults alike can benefit from deep jaw stimulation through the process of chewing food. Try representing many different types of textures when planning your family's meals.

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Temperature Check: Consider temperature when meal prepping. As a nod back to seasonal meal prep, planning out a chilled gazpacho in the heat of the summer, or a soothing bowl of soup to ward off the winter's cold can add just the right variety your family needs.

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Change the Composition: How are you serving up your meals? Assess whether you usually navigate toward stir-frys, or perhaps the plate is often served up with a protein, vegetable, and starch separated out. See how mixing up the way food is served offers more variety in your meals.

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!

In Episode 190, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, chats about a recent vacation she and her family took to Panama and offers her best tips for flying with kids. Pro tip: snacks are essential!

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Allison's top tricks for a better flying experience with kids include

1. Having age and experience in your corner. The more children are exposed to air travel, the easier flying becomes. And as children get older, they tend to have (and create) an easier experience with air travel. Going on longer flights from the start helps make the shorter trips more palatable for all.
2. Finding direct flights and avoiding time changes if possible. When traveling for pleasure, attempting to choose destinations that offer direct flights and are in your same time zone can be incredibly helpful for kids. You'll avoid jet lag adjustments and the hustle of catching connecting flights, and be able to focus on exploring a new place with your family.
3. Investing in a color reveal activity book, such as the Melissa & Doug Water Wow sets. These types of kids' activities are luggage friendly as you only need one "coloring" accessory and can provide a lot of in-flight entertainment for the family.
4. Brining new toys or activities to enjoy on the plane. This does not necessarily mean needing to purchase several items for your kids, but could include some items that the kids haven't played with recently. Resurrected toys and activities for the win!
5. Using books as entertainment or travel distractions. There's nothing quite like getting lost in a good book or audio book to pass the time during a flight.
6. Remembering to pack the headphones for in-flight screens or music. These can be a great way to entertain kids during their air travel.
7. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks! Having a variety of snacks and bottled water on hand is really helpful while flying, especially if something gets delayed or doesn't go as planned.
8. Don't stress!

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Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

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Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Activity book: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Reusable-Water-Reveal-Activity/dp/B08DJYTWGG?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

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Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!