by Kara | Jun 6, 2024 | Grocery, Health, Home, Organizational, Residential
If you’re responsible for preparing nutritious and satisfying family meals, you know how challenging it can be to plan, shop, and ensure everything gets on the table on time. But there’s help available!
By creating a detailed monthly meal plan, you can transform chaotic mealtimes into stress-free moments. And with a household assistant by your side, family dinners become even more seamless and satisfying for everyone.
Benefits of a Monthly Meal Plan
Creating a family meal plan is generally better than coming up with something to make and eat on the fly. But if the idea of developing a detailed plan for your family’s meals seems daunting, just know there are many available resources to help you. You can create your own template or use family meal planner templates and weekly meal plan printables. Sites such as Canva and 101Planners offer free, downloadable meal prep templates.
With a meal plan in place, you can realize the following benefits:
Save time.
Planning meals in advance gives you more time to cook and enjoy meals with your family. You already know the day’s meals, so you can get right to defrosting, cutting vegetables, and preheating the oven instead of taking time debating meal options.
Make mealtime less stressful.
With a set meal plan, you don’t need to plan on the fly, feel rushed, or work under pressure. You can take your time and ensure meals come out as you envisioned.
You may eat healthier.
A recent study found that American families spend about 20 percent more on restaurant food than they spend on groceries. Meal planning reduces the odds of throwing your hands up and deciding to go out or order a quicker—but potentially less healthy—meal.
You could save money.
Planning your family menu makes grocery shopping more efficient. You can buy in bulk where it’s practical and purchase produce items when they’re in season or on sale. One mom says she cuts down on food waste and saves $500/month by meal planning.
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Three Game-Changing Family Meal Planning Ideas
If you would like to simplify daily meal prep and give monthly meal planning a try, here’s how you can get started:
1. Build your family menu plan template.
An editable monthly template allows you to avoid starting from scratch every month. Some elements to include in your template are:
- A list of potential meals
- All the ingredients you’ll need for each meal
- A list of items you’ll need to replenish routinely versus staples you always have on hand
To stay consistent, pick a time each month or week to create and update your meal plan. If you have a household assistant to help, they can match your shopping list with what’s already in your fridge and pantry, do the shopping, and handle the daily meal prep for you.
2. Consider meal choices that mesh with your schedule.
Since each day is different, it’s a good idea to determine which meals are better for busy days and which are more appropriate for days you anticipate having more time to pull meals together.
For example, you may decide to have designated days for cooking, ordering in, and going out. You can also have days when you’ll prepare meals from a food delivery service such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh. And don’t forget leftovers! They can be great for those days when you have no time to cook, order in, or go out.
3. Incorporate a variety of food.
Planning 30 days of meals allows you to build variety into your plan. You can categorize meals by:
- Cooking time
- Cooking method: Hands-on versus slow cooker and one-pot meals
- Complexity level: Meals your partner or older children can handle and those you’ll need to prepare
- Cuisine: A mix of Italian, Indian, or whatever you choose reduces the chance of hearing “Not chicken again!” from the family
- Meal type: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts
As your monthly meal plan comes together, it may be beneficial to post it for everyone in the family to see. If you’re running late or busy at mealtime, someone else can cook or at least get the meal started before you arrive.
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How a Pepper’s Household Assistant Can Help
Pepper’s household assistants are quick learners capable of executing your monthly meal plan, so you don’t have to do everything yourself. They’re well-trained and work independently, saving you time and money without sacrificing quality.
In addition to all the other household chores a Pepper’s household assistant can perform, your assistant can also take on these tasks:
- Planning meals based on your input and direction
- Shopping for groceries (including at the faraway shops you usually don’t have time to visit)
- Organizing your refrigerator and pantry
- Keeping a list of your preferred food brands, stores, and other preferences, such as organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and so forth
- Performing meal prep
All you have to do is come in and cook. Alternatively, if you need an assistant who cooks, Pepper’s can help you with that, too!
Simplify Your Life with a Household Assistant
Meal planning is just one of the many time-consuming tasks a household assistant can manage to make your household run smoother and give you more time for the things that matter most in your life. To learn more, download our guide, What Your Life Could Look Like With a Household Assistant.
by Kara | Feb 14, 2024 | Grocery, Laundry, Residential
Personal household assistants aren’t just for CEOs. The Seattle area is full of families with working parents who need an extra set of hands. Believe it or not, personal household assistants can do more than just get coffee, take phone calls, and remember to send anniversary presents.
Whether you’re a single working mom, a stay-at-home dad, or simply a couple that’s doing their best, it can be difficult to parent your children, run a household, and still have time for yourself. The 2023 State of Motherhood Survey reports that over 60% of moms get less than an hour to themselves each day.
It’s sadly understandable. With work, meetings, school, after-school activities, helping with homework, going grocery shopping, and prepping for the next day it’s a wonder parents get any free time at all.
This is why hiring a household assistant can be so beneficial for busy parents.
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Asking for Help Is Okay
We know asking for help can be difficult. It’s almost ingrained in us to try to take care of everything ourselves, and to view reaching out for assistance as a sign of weakness. We’re here to tell you that asking for help is okay — even encouraged!
Outsourcing tasks to a personal household assistant can help you focus on and be engaged with what truly matters, time for yourself and your family.
Imagine Your Life With a Pepper’s Personal Assistant
Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help you get some time back by taking care of that pesky to-do list and streamlining otherwise chaotic tasks and organizational duties.
For example…
While you’re at the office working, your household assistant can be taking care tidying up around the house.
When you’re in meetings, they could strip the beds, run a few loads of laundry, and fold everything neatly.
While you’re sending emails, they could load the dishwasher, take out the trash, or make lunches for the kids.
You don’t have to take time out of your day to run a pet to the vet or take your car to the shop because your assistant can do it for you.
When you come home in the evening, your dog is happy and relaxed because your assistant took her for a walk. And forget about the pet smells! Your kitty litter is freshly changed.
Your home is clean and tidy, and the fridge is full of groceries.
Instead of returning to a long to-do list, you’re coming home to a place where you feel comfortable. Now you can relax and focus on the things you want to do, not the things you have to do.
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Personal Household Assistants Can Relieve Stress and Improve Your Happiness
Having a personal household assistant is about more than just getting all the chores done. The peace of mind we bring can be a huge stress reliever.
When you’re dreading going home to all the dishes, it impacts your productivity and happiness. Instead, leave your home in the hands of someone professional, trustworthy, and eager to help. Life is too short to fight about who’s going to do the laundry.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants Today!
If you’re a working mom or dad who needs a little help, 
to meet your new house manager and ally!
by Kara | Oct 29, 2020 | Grocery, Outsourcing
Although it may feature less extended family and friends, Thanksgiving dinner might actually mean a little more this year. After all of the hardships of 2020, sitting down around the table with your loved ones and reflecting on what you’re all thankful for will undoubtedly carry a bit more weight.
Avoid worrying about finding the perfect turkey and focus on what really matters — spending time with your family. Check out these local Seattle resources to get your Thanksgiving meal shopping done quickly and efficiently while supporting your community.
Central Co-Op
This natural foods grocery store has locations in both the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle and in Tacoma, and is dedicated to sustainable practices and community accountability. Shop here for all of your Thanksgiving meal needs, or purchase their traditional or vegan Thanksgiving dinner meal kit. Their ordering forms for the holiday will be live on their website in early November.
Ken’s Market and Marketime Foods
Ken’s Market in Greenwood and Marketime Foods in Greenwood are independently-owned and family-operated staples in their communities. You are guaranteed to find the freshest, best ingredients for a delicious holiday meal in their aisles, and they also offer complete turkey dinners with sides for two or more people in their deli.
[Related: How Hiring a Personal Assistant Can Support Your Family While Remote Learning and Working From Home]
Metropolitan Market
With seven Seattle locations and multiple awards under their belt, Metropolitan Market is a top contender for best local grocery store for Thanksgiving meal prep. Their deli offers premium meats, sides, and desserts, while their aisles are chock full of top-notch ingredients to create a great turkey day. You can even reserve your holiday meal order now with plenty of options for a fully prepared meal or a variety of heat and serve and uncooked choices, saving you the stress of last minute shopping and prep.
Bob’s Quality Meats
Bob’s Quality Meats is a small, local butcher shop in the Columbia City neighborhood of South Seattle. This classic shop has provided the neighborhood with the freshest meats from the most sustainable pastures for generations, and is well-versed in providing the perfect turkey (or chicken, or steak, etc.) for Thanksgiving dinner.
Let Pepper’s Personal Assistants Help!
Whether you’re pulling out the family recipes to create a made from scratch Thanksgiving dinner, or you’re opting to grab a delicious pre-made kit from a local grocer, you can outsource these tasks and more to Pepper’s Personal Assistants to help the holiday go smoothly.
Our Personal Assistant package includes a dedicated assistant to help you out 12-40 hours a week. Your personal assistant can help create a grocery list, go shopping, prep food before the big dinner, and even help tidy up around the house.
Just need a little assistance to get everything done? Our Task Assistant package comes with 5 hours of dedicated assistance to help you cross off your to-do list, including grabbing any last minute items from the store or doing light meal prep.
Contact us today to see how Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help make your Thanksgiving and holiday season one to remember!
by Kara | Sep 5, 2018 | Grocery, Laundry, Organizational, Residential
You’ve probably admired successful people who seem to do it all, and wondered just how they do it. A likely answer is that they don’t.
Outsourcing Spurs Success
Working professionals are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a means to lessen their loads, avoid fatigue, and perform higher-quality work. And they don’t just do this for business tasks, but for housework as well.
In fact, a study performed by the American Association of University Professors, which analyzed scientists’ “strategies to lighten the household load in order to maintain highly productive careers,” found a correlation between outsourcing core housework and being a highly productive science faculty member (based on the amount of articles published throughout a scientist’s career).
You can boil this down to economics — and we’re not talking about monetary costs here, but about opportunity costs. Every hour spent on a monotonous chore is an hour that could have gone toward a more productive activity. Professionals who understand the value of their time know that it’s better spent on what they’re really great at than scrubbing dishes.
What to Outsource
If you’re now wondering whether you’ve spent too much time doing tedious tasks yourself, you’re probably also wondering what to start outsourcing. The following tasks are a good place to begin, as they’re time-consuming and unrewarding for many people.
Grocery Shopping
Have someone else shop for you, have your groceries delivered, or even have someone else set up your home delivery. Either way, you’ll save yourself tons of time: The average person spends around 60 hours grocery shopping every year, and that’s not even counting travel time.
Cooking
People who are crunched for time often end up eating frozen meals or takeout more often than not. Outsourcing cooking can not only save you time, but also enable you to eat much healthier than before.
Those who really enjoy cooking also have the option of outsourcing meal prep, leaving everything ready for them to get started when they get home from work.
Laundry
For women, laundry consumes even more time than grocery shopping, at over 103 hours a year (men spend around 30 hours annually). Although you can always do the folding while half-watching TV, why not put all of your attention toward something more worthwhile?
Pet Care
Pet care can encompass at-home grooming, grooming and veterinary appointments, walks, cage or tank cleaning, and other chores and errands. These tasks often make having a pet feel like more of a burden than anything else, and leave you too worn out to spend any quality time with the animal.
Pave Your Own Way to Success
At some point, just finding the right people to take over these tasks for you becomes a task in itself. The easy solution to this problem is to hire a personal assistant. We’ll handle any household management, errands, and chores ourselves, and find, contract, and schedule the rest of the services for you — so you can put that time toward whatever you see fit.
