As a busy mom, your days are packed with a whirlwind of activities, from managing household chores to juggling work responsibilities. Amidst all of this, it can feel like there are insurmountable barriers to ensuring that your family has nutritious meals. At A Better Meal, we wanted to better understand what you are struggling with, so we interviewed moms to find out what their biggest meal planning and preparation challenges are. Here’s what they said:
Challenge #1: Time Spent Planning, Shopping and Cooking
Meal planning sounds simple in theory but can be surprisingly difficult to execute consistently. With a packed schedule, figuring out what to make for the week often ends up being an afterthought. Juggling work, family, and personal commitments leaves little time to sit down and plan nutritious meals ahead of time. The sheer volume of options can also lead to decision fatigue, leaving moms overwhelmed with too many choices, or falling back on less healthy, quick-fix meals when pressed for time.
In many cases — even when there’s a desire to plan — other priorities take over, making meal planning inconsistent or rushed. This lack of planning can lead to impulsive grocery shopping and scrambling to pull meals together at the last minute, often resulting in less nutritious meals or defaulting to the same old recipes.
A Better Meal Has a Better Way … Weekly Meal Plans and Grocery Lists.
Get started by selecting which meals you want each week, and A Better Meal will automatically generate a plan for your meals each week — breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks! The app will automatically create your grocery list and you can easily add items… or take items you have on hand off the list with a click.
Challenge #2: Finding Healthy Recipes Quickly
The internet offers a treasure trove of recipes, but finding ones that are both healthy and kid-approved can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Busy moms don’t have the luxury of spending hours searching for and evaluating recipes, especially when they need to balance nutrition with their children’s taste preferences.
Even with the best intentions, the search for nutritious meals can quickly become a time-consuming task. Many recipes that claim to be healthy may involve unfamiliar ingredients or complicated steps, further deterring busy parents. This often results in falling back on the same limited set of meals, making family dinners feel repetitive and uninspiring.
A Better Meal Has a Better Way … 2,000+ Healthy Recipes In-App and the Ability to Import Your Favorite Recipes from Instagram and Other Internet Sites.
Not only does A Better Meal have a library of more than 2,000 nutritious, easy-to-prepare recipes, but now you can import all your favorites from Instagram, Pinterest, and other online destinations. Every recipe you import is stored in your own recipe library, making them simple to keep track of and find when you need them.
Challenge #3: Accommodating Family Preferences, Picky Eaters and Allergies
Accommodating family food preferences, dietary restrictions, and allergies is one of the most difficult challenges for moms trying to create healthy meals. Picky eaters may reject vegetables or anything unfamiliar, while others in the family may have specific dietary needs or allergies, like gluten intolerance or dairy sensitivities, that limit ingredient choices.
This balancing act often leads to preparing multiple variations of the same meal or resorting to less nutritious options that are universally accepted. The stress of trying to please everyone while maintaining a balanced diet can make mealtime feel more like a burden than an opportunity to connect as a family.
A Better Meal Has a Better Way… Personalized to Your Preferences.
Select your preferences and A Better Meal modifies your personalized meal plan accordingly. Do you have a kid with an egg allergy? You won’t receive recipes with eggs. And, it just gets better and better: the more you use A Better Meal, the more it learns what your family loves. Adding recipes to your favorites and importing recipes to your library will help the app learn even faster!
Challenge #4: Lack of Confidence in Cooking Skills.
If you aren’t sure of your skills in the kitchen, cooking meals can be intimidating. Fear of making mistakes, trying new techniques, or cooking with unfamiliar ingredients often leads to sticking with the same basic recipes, which may not always be the healthiest options. Meal prep can be fun, but uncertainty can prevent moms from enjoying time in the kitchen or branching out and trying new things..
Additionally, cooking nutritious meals often requires a bit of planning, preparation, and the willingness to try new recipes. For moms who doubt their abilities, the extra steps involved can feel overwhelming, causing them to rely on convenience foods or pre-packaged meals instead. Over time, this cycle of self-doubt and avoidance can limit the variety and quality of meals served, making it even harder to meet the family’s nutritional needs.
A Better Meal Has a Better Way… In-App Videos to Teach You the Skills You Need to Know.
We believe that developing confidence is the key to cooking success — not to mention the pleasure of creating meals for your family that they will love! In October, we’re launching a new series of short in-app videos that show you how to do all the basics and beyond — from choosing and using the right knife, to understanding the logic behind different cooking techniques like roasting, sauteing, and searing, to how to make the most of popular kitchen gadgets like instant pots and air fryers.
A Better Meal Is On Your Side
Taking the stress out of mealtime is why we created A Better Meal. With convenient, easy-to-use tools at your fingertips, you can enjoy your time with your family, knowing that they are getting the nutrition that they need to thrive. Download A Better Meal today and start your free trial!