WEBVTT - Meal Planning + More with Allison Schaaf, Founder of PrepDish 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:02.960 Hi. 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:07.440 This is Laura Vandercamp. I'm a mother of five, an author, journalist, 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:08.039 and speaker. 0:00:08.960 --> 0:00:11.559 And this is Sarah hart Hunger. I'm a mother of three, 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.640 a practicing physician and blogger. On the side, we are 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.480 two working parents who love our careers and our families. 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.440 Welcome to best of both worlds. Here we talk about 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.400 how real women manage work, family, and time for fun. 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.160 From figuring out childcare to mapping out long term career goals. 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.360 We want you to get the most out of life. 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.559 Welcome to best of both worlds. This is Laura. This 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:39.040 episode is airing in most likely mid to late September. 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:43.000 Sarah is going to be interviewing Allison from Preptish. Allison 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.680 is a longtime friend of our podcasts, and Sarah has 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:49.600 been following Preptish for quite a while. Now it's the 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:51.640 service that will you tell us, Sarah, what does it 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:52.080 do for you? 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.880 Yeah? So, I was interested in Preptish for many years. 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.440 I heard about it on other podcasts, but I admittedly 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:01.800 didn't start using it until Alice had reached out to 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:03.960 me to sponsor Best Laid Plans. 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.960 So she does. They are a Best Laid Plan sponsor. 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:08.319 But now I am. 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.720 I think in my third year of using Preptish, and 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:15.120 I use it like I wou'd say seventy percent of 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:17.560 the time for our weekly meal planning because it is 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:19.640 weekly meal planning that I do not have to do. 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.280 So like they send you in your email a whole 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:24.960 shopping list and like this is what's for dinner, and 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.520 they tend to be like I don't want to say, 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:30.800 like health conscious, but like thet more whole foods based, 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.360 like not a lot of processed ingredients, simple recipes, and 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:38.560 very strategic, like you'll make a sauce that is used 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.560 in two fairly different dishes two days apart, so that 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:42.440 it like saves time. 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:43.559 Our nanny does. 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.280 A lot of the prepping of our preptice, so she's 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.920 used to how the system works. But if she's away 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:49.560 for a week, then I usually do it on Sunday, 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.880 And I'm like, this is it's like actually making life 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:55.040 easier versus like making a bunch of fancy stuff that 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:56.360 takes like eight hours and then you put it in 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:57.960 the freezer and have to thought out. This is like 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:02.520 it's thought through in a very efficiency minded way. So anyway, 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.880 I love Preptish. I love working with Allison. She started 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.720 her company I think before she had kids, and it 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:10.720 has grown and done well and she's the head of 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.200 this thriving small business. So when she reached out to me, 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:15.840 I thought it would be really fun to have her 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.840 on to talk both about her business building but also 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.919 about the concept of preptish and meal planning in general. 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.800 Yeah, because this is I mean, of all the questions 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.400 we get, I think the two questions we get most 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:29.320 often is like, should I have a third kid? And 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.840 then I need to plan my meals for the week. 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:34.240 Like these are like the two pain points that people 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.120 write into us about. And so yeah, we get a 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:40.960 whole lot of interest in meal planning, especially in September 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.400 with new routines things like that people trying to think 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:46.919 through if you know they're trying to get family dinners 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:49.160 on the table, or even just feed people in shifts, 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.560 if you know you're trying to feed yourself at lunch, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:53.480 if you don't want to just rely on restaurant food 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:55.720 all the time, or you know, if you're trying to 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.400 eat in a more sort of whole foodsish way, whatever 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:01.480 it is that you are trying to do that a 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:03.720 lot of people are thinking about it, especially at this 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.760 time of year, you particularly, I mean, so preptish is 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.600 mostly for dinner, but you're thinking about your lunches more 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.040 these days too, right, Sarah. 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:11.400 Yes. 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:13.600 My like prompt was like, is there anything you want 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:15.480 to change about your meal planning game? And I'm like, 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.959 I need to figure out lunch because I don't know. 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:20.120 I think it's just because it's the start of the 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.520 school year and everything's been more hectic, but also something 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:23.840 I used to take for lunch. I'm not going to 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.240 like disparage a food item, but like I just decided 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.560 it didn't like agree with me, and so I'm like, 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.240 I need a new like standard lunch. 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:31.200 I need a system. 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:34.160 So I just I feel like I need to do 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:36.080 lunch planning, and I think I might just come up 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:39.280 with like the world's easiest lunch template, like selid from 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:41.880 Trader Joe's, with like some kind of protein that's already 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.600 pre made for Monday, and then like something hard boiled 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:45.480 egg based on what. 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:45.840 I don't know. 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.960 I just need to like routinize it rather than every 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:51.880 day be like this is a new problem I've never 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:52.440 had before. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.560 When I go out, I had to do lunch before 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.480 what is this? The world is new and I am 0:03:57.520 --> 0:03:58.760 facing it for the first time. 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:00.840 Yeah, and I don't. 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:03.400 I mean, I have no problem with like delivery, but 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:05.960 I just find like the quality is never that great 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:07.720 and like I never know if it's gonna come or 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:09.400 if it's gonna come and be like Luke, like I 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:10.560 just I'm sort of over it. 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:11.160 Yeah. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.320 No, it's like it doesn't come until you're back with 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.680 your patients or something ridiculous, and then you can't really 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:17.960 eat it. And yeah, no it's not gonna work. 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:19.119 Yeah. 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.000 I kind of want to get better about my breakfast 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:25.960 and lunch game. I would like to eat slightly more 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:33.719 I don't know, vegetable slash protein based stuff for those meals. 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:36.800 And if we have the stuff in the house then 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.200 I can. It's just if we don't have the stuff 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:40.760 in the house, then I'm not I'm gonna eat whatever 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.840 is there. So this is complicated by the fact that 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.599 I'm usually not doing the grocery shopping like my husband does, 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.840 and I can't necessarily articulate what I want him to 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.359 get unless I think it through ahead of time, but 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:58.479 I usually don't because it's just all complicated. So either 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:00.920 I need to make like a quick grocery shopping trip 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.320 at one point during the week where I basically just 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.120 only shop for me or else. I need to think 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:09.480 it through and go with a list for whoever is 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.080 grocery shopping and do that all. 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:12.920 It easier to think it through and go with a list. 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:15.039 Yeah, yeah, then you don't have to go to this, 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:17.279 then I don't have to go. I don't know. I 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:22.800 mean it's yeah. We do basic stuff, you know, like rotations. 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.040 There's a limited number of meals my kids will eat. 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.360 So if I am trying to have all of us 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:31.240 sort of eat the same stuff, it's going to be 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:35.200 more limited than if it's just me eating. But it 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:36.839 is just me eating at lunch. So if I could 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.440 figure out something, you know, for like three days, make 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.080 it for one day, and then eat it for three days, 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.200 that would probably be great. I could do that and 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:45.880 find lunch more exciting. So maybe that's on my goal 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:47.920 for the list. And you want to do more bake goods, 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:51.120 you're going to bake No, that's my fantasy, So that's 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:51.600 your fantasy. 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:51.840 Okay. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.000 In my fantasy world, I make some big good on 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:55.800 the weekend that we eat all week, but then I wrote, 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.120 the real world tends to not resemble this world, so 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:00.520 I just buy a Trader Joe's banana bread and a day. 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:03.720 So Ruth has actually started doing a lot of baking, 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:07.240 so I'm gonna more encourage this, and she's missing it, 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:08.880 and we're recording this while we're still at the beach, 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:09.840 Like I miss baking. 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:11.520 I'm like, okay, so. 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:13.640 Maybe she'll start making a banana bread on the weekend. 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:15.839 And we're Cameron because he's like my omelet chef he 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:16.320 makes for there. 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:18.800 Yeah he might like it, you know, think about like 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:20.720 what he would like to make, and then next thing 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.680 you know, you've got big goods all week and it's 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:23.240 not fancy. 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:27.680 All right, when it disclosed before we start the episode, 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:30.400 just in case anyone's like, is this a sponsored episode? 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:30.800 It is not. 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:33.280 So this was just we thought it would be great. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.640 I like Allison, she does sponsor ads on Best Laid Plans, 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:38.599 But this is just us thinking she would be fun 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:38.960 to have on. 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.480 Yeah, sounds good. All right, here's Sarah with Allison. 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:46.880 Well, I am here with Alison Shaw, who I have 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.360 actually spoken to and worked with a little bit before, 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:53.320 because she is the founder of Preptish a company which 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.000 does happen to be one of Bestlaid Plans sponsors, but 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.760 also as a company that I use on a regular basis. 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.839 So Alison is also a listener of Best of Both Worlds, 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.000 which is not something I realized, but I'm super excited 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.679 to hear a little bit more about that. And Allison, 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.600 go ahead and tell our listeners who you are, a 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.560 little bit about your business and maybe a little bit 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.240 about your current situation in life with your kids. 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.960 Oh my goodness. So my name is Alison Schoff. I'm 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:23.840 the founder of Preptish. I founded that company over ten 0:07:23.920 --> 0:07:28.840 years ago. So way pre kids. Currently I have a 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.280 four and a half year old and an almost three 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:37.240 year old, so and yeah, so that's where I'm at 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:37.680 right now. 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.240 That can be saying a lot in a very few words, 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:41.920 a four and a half year old and an almost 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.960 three year old is that is a time definitely can 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.440 be a very challenging time for me. That was slightly 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:49.200 better than the like one and a half and a 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.840 three year old. So maybe you've gotten somewhere, but still 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:52.840 a lot of child feel like. 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:54.920 We're actually at a good stage. It's kind of yay. 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.040 I feel like it's like the past month has been 0:07:58.080 --> 0:07:59.800 like this window, you know how there's like windows or 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:03.280 it's like okay, everything's like good because they're really playing 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.480 together a lot, and even independently playing together. Like if 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.760 I'm with them, I can actually let them go and 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.520 do their little imaginative play and I can you know, 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.480 get dinner going, for example. And they're really good on 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:16.320 their own right now, so it's really nice. 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:18.000 That is amazing. 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:20.360 So first I want to start a little bit about 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.080 from the beginning, like how did practice get started, including 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:25.200 how did you? 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:26.440 Like? 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:28.640 This was a while ago and I almost feel like 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.280 the idea of like women starting an online business is 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.600 more common now, but you were kind of a trailblazer. 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.040 So tell us a little bit about kind of the backstory. 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.920 Well, I went to culinary school and I'm also a dietitian, 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.320 and I started out as a personal chef, so I 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.840 was going into people's homes and cooking for them and 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:50.839 it was a great job, like I actually really loved it. 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.040 But when I looked into the future, I knew I 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.800 wanted a family, and I just didn't see that as 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.160 like a sustainable career for the rest of my life. 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.120 And also in working with the clients. You know, I 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:04.480 was able to max out of maybe six people a week, 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.240 and that was a lot, So you know, I just 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.480 didn't see a way to reach a lot of people either. 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.280 But in doing that process of going in and cooking 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:15.440 for people in their homes, I created this process. Right, Like, 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.360 I was very systemized, and I was very incentivized to 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.400 be as quick as possible but still have the food 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:24.400 be you know, really healthy and tasty and all of that. 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.320 So as I was doing this, I saw this opportunity 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.880 to take what I was doing and document that and 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.199 then get it out to the masses. And so that's 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.000 exactly what I did. I actually created Preptish while I 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:38.520 was still personal chefing because I could kind of write 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.319 out my recipes and I had a real live audience 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.040 to test the recipes with. And even though I didn't 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:46.000 have kids, a lot of my clients did. And so 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:48.840 I just saw this as something that you know, busy 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.400 moms could really use. And it really came full circle 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:54.440 because then, you know, eventually I went on to have 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.680 my own kids, and now it's like I use the 0:09:57.720 --> 0:09:59.760 meal plans but in a way that like I need 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.120 them worse In the past yes, I use them. I 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:05.160 created the recipes. I thought it was a great concept, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:07.600 but now it's something that personally in my life like 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:10.120 I have to have. So it's really cool that I'm 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.600 now like using this product that I created years ago. 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:14.320 That is awesome. 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.719 You're like, wow, it really does work, thank goodness, And 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:19.880 I can vouch for that as well. 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.200 Well. As your business has grown. 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:23.640 And you ended up having kids kind of in the 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:26.880 middle of that process, did that change anything about how 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:31.080 you've decided to run your business. This is a kind 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.160 of sensitive best of both worlds questions, not that we're 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.200 looking for a specific answer, but what have you found 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.480 regarding childcare? And yeah, just take us a little bit 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:41.520 through that journey of when you first realized that you 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.960 were going to have a baby, but you were already 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:47.000 running kind of a successful business on your own. Actually 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.120 I said, but but I should have said, and you 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.840 are already running a successful business on your own. 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.400 Yeah, it's been a really interesting journey for sure. One 0:10:56.559 --> 0:11:00.360 because so our path to having a family was an 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:04.120 easy one. I actually so I have a little side 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.880 project that is now officially a nonprofit called Miscarriage Hope Desk. 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.560 But I ran into the issue of having not just 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:15.400 one miscarriage, but multiple miscarriages and led us on the 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:18.439 path to you know, adoption and then eventually a biological 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.600 sun And so that's a whole side project that I started, 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.880 you know, in the past few years as well. And 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.040 so I felt like even before we had kids, there 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.200 was a lot that was going into my fertility and 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:32.760 so with Preptish, one of the big things that changed 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:36.440 was delegating, you know, finding a team that helped me 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:38.440 to you know, in the beginning, like I said, I 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:40.760 was a personal chef. I was creating Preptish, I was 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.520 working a lot of hours, but I was also single 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:47.160 and on my own. And then as the years have 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:49.960 gone by, I've definitely cut back the amount of hours. 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.959 I've tried to really figure out what are the tasks 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.240 that I needed for and it's been so cool to 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.520 bring on a team that also you know, a lot 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.600 of actually think now everyone on the team is also 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.040 a busy mom and uses Preptish, and so to have 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:08.480 them be able to have a career that they're passionate 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.000 about as well, and we can all work on it 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:13.040 together versus just me on my own. So that's been 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.920 a big transition and then figuring out childcare. I will 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.200 say best of both worlds has actually been a really 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:24.400 important resource to find that, you know, I feel like 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.720 you can't overdo childcare, you know, like I am a 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.200 big fan of all the childcare hours and all the support, 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:33.680 even if that just means that way I can have 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:35.400 a little more one on one time with one of 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.719 the kids, And that's something that I definitely have learned 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:43.199 through listening to y'all's podcast. And we have found that 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.520 the best fit for us is working with O pairs. 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.960 So we actually currently are in between O pairs, so 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.920 there's like been about a month gap, but over the 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.839 past four and a half years, we've worked with several pairs. 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:57.880 If you ever want to do an entire episode on 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:01.120 interviewing O pairs and working with them, I could probably 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.840 answer a lot of questions. We've had some really amazing 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:05.360 ones and then a few that weren't a fit, but 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:08.400 overall it's really been the best fit for us. 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:09.800 That is awesome. 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.280 Actually, we did at one point do a interview with 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.760 someone who worked at an O pair agency, which is 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:18.120 really interesting, but we haven't revisited O pairs in a while, 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.680 so not that I want to totally sidestep the stuff 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:22.560 I want to talk to you about meal planning. Could 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.679 you just give a little bit more detail about how 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:26.720 it's been, how it works, how do you set hours, 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:28.240 What do you like about it? 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.360 Well, I'll start with what I love about it is 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.840 the flexibility of the hours. We live in the country. 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.160 So when our first was born, we started out with 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.360 a nanny, but sometimes she wouldn't be right on time, 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:43.400 which I would understand. You know, it's a drive to 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:46.520 get here and they would hit traffic. And then you know, 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.120 even since then, we'll sometimes work with babysitters and it's 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:52.880 just the reliability of getting someone here is tricky, and 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:55.200 when we've got work calls or such. You know, you 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.720 reliabilities Keith when it comes to childcare. So with the 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:04.120 open they it's an exchange program. They live in your home, 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.960 but our house has a nice setup where her room is. 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.080 It's attached to the house, but she actually has to 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:12.320 exit our home to get to her room, so she 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.920 definitely has privacy, and then we have privacy as well, 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.600 which works out I think for both parties. There's a 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.720 total of forty five childcare hours a week. You do 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.320 have some restrictions and that you can only do, you know, 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.000 ten hours a day, and they have to have one 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:30.040 weekend off a month, and you know, certain things you 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.160 have to kind of abide by. But once you figure 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:36.440 out the scheduling and the rhythm, it really and it's 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:38.520 also very flexible and that you can split those hours 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.120 up however you wish, right like if I, especially with 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:42.800 a baby, if they take a two hour nap in 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.400 the afternoon, she can take a break in the afternoon, 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.280 which often works good for the O pair as well 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:49.680 because she go go back to room, maybe call her family. 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.400 You know, I can add Saturday mornings on the schedule, 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:56.600 I can do date nights and you know that's just 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.720 really I think hard to come by with that, just 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.640 unlimited flexibility. And yeah, it's just been a really great 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:04.280 fit for us. 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:06.200 Awesome, Well, thank you. 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:10.080 That was an unexpected bonus bonus tip session during this episode. 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.120 I should mention is I think people don't mention that 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.760 it's actually very affordable too. I think people think, oh, 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:16.880 it's someone that's like living in home with you and 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.680 this you know, it's totally out of the budget, but 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:22.320 you know, you are paying for their living expenses, but 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.200 when you compare it to like a full time nanny, 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.040 it's often more affordable. And so I think I always 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:29.760 encourage people to just check it out and see if 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.280 it might be a fit. Because I have a lot 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.120 of friends and now have bo pairs. Let's just say that. 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:36.280 That is awesome. 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.120 All right, So I do want to talk a little 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.520 bit about meal planning. We're going to take a quick break, 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.160 but I know a lot of our listeners came here 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.240 to absorb all of your wisdom on this topic, so 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.160 we will go back in just a couple of minutes 0:15:48.200 --> 0:16:03.040 to talk about that. All right, we are back, and 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.960 Allison shop is a business owner, a mother. Sounds like 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.080 she has really good systems, but one of the things 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.120 that she is truly a master at is the art 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.480 of planning meals in a very efficient way. 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:17.640 Tell us all your secrets. 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:22.960 Well, I always say, again, like having that background of 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.560 like looking at meals through two lenses, right, Like I 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.320 want the food to be healthy but also tasty, like 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:30.840 and I always say kind of chef lens first of 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.520 making sure it's tasty, especially with kiddos, you want people 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.520 to actually be eating the food that you're preparing. But 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:39.960 the key to getting healthy food on the table is 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.840 to number one, have a plan. I always say the 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:44.760 worst time to figure out what you're going to eat 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.360 is like five or six o'clock at night, when you've 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.440 gone through the day, you're maybe in this decision fatigue 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:52.680 mode and then trying to figure out what you're going 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.360 to eat. So even if it's just like you know, 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:59.200 spending Friday afternoon looking at the upcoming week and jotting 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.480 down some notes, having a plan of what's for dinner 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.800 each night, like that step right there is huge. So 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.359 I think that's kind of just like the first baseline, 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.520 like at least have some sort of plan, and then 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.280 from there I like to take things a step further 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:15.960 and add in a meal prep component where you're actually, 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.520 you know, doing some chopping and mixing up some marinades 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.800 and doing all of that kind of heavy lifting up front. 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:23.520 So then that way, when it gets to meal time, 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.639 it's just like, not only are there no decisions, but 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:27.879 it's really easy. It's just kind of like doing the 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.240 finishing touches and getting the meal on the table. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:34.120 I feel like a huge piece of what makes your 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:39.080 system very efficient is the batching aspect. Because that's not 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.000 something I mean I always knew about like leftovers, but 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:46.240 somehow you're able to repurpose things. So give listeners some 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:50.080 examples of how you use batching and I guess repurposing 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:51.119 of things. 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:54.080 Yeah, I'm a big fan of batching. That was something 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:56.720 that I found even with my you know, personal chef clients. 0:17:56.760 --> 0:17:58.760 I was visiting them once a week, so basically what 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.280 I was doing for them was a meal prep, right, Like, 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.240 I was prepping their meals, but I would always encourage 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:06.480