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It’s May Long Weekend in Canada which is probably one of my most anticipated weekends because it signifies the beginning of summer. Since I moved out to the country several years ago, it has been a tradition that my brother, sister-in-law and two nephews come out to visit us on May long weekend. This weekend is always met with great anticipation obviously because I LOVE having family and friends out here to visit and because this weekend brings the promise of summertime, but I have also come to love this time of year because life on the farm is winding up and I can’t help but get excited about new beginnings and new possibilities.
In the days leading up to May long weekend, I am usually eagerly awaiting the birth of our first calf so my nephews can meet it. Calving season starts a little bit later at Lazy Spoon Farms because my husband likes to calve on grass when the weather is more favourable. Where we live, calving in the middle of February requires more labour and facilities to protect the newborn calves with temperatures dipping to -50o Celsius but, waking up on a beautiful spring morning and finding a brand-new baby out in the field is awesome.
It’s also seeding time so my husband spends all of the daylight hours out in the field. He grew up on our mixed farm and has always been committed to producing cattle, hay, pasture and annual crops in a complementary system that ensures a healthy relationship with the land. The challenge of attempting to produce beef and crops like flax, oats, and peas while relying on minimal external inputs has been a strong motivating influence in the evolution of our farm. I am so proud of where our farm operation is today.
While it’s an exciting time, it’s also the start of an incredibly busy time on the farm so trying to eat healthy meals, keep stress at a minimum and stay connected with each other requires some serious effort. Over the last few years, we have learned a few things about surviving the busy farming season and making sure we still like each other by the end of harvest.
I have a professional career off of the farm that tends to be quite busy in the spring also. While I want to be Super Woman and take care of everything, I know that I can’t. We have learned to divide up the day-to-day chores and responsibilities around the house so that we stay on track and have each other’s back. I LOVE that my husband takes care of the morning routine so that I can hit the treadmill and get ready for work. I look after the meal planning and preparing so that we stick to eating relatively healthy despite how hectic life might get. I have terrible willpower so if I’m heading home exhausted with no plan for supper, you can guarantee I’m hitting up a drive-thru or grabbing a box of Kraft Dinner from the grocery store.
Meal planning is a life saver when it comes to surviving this time of year. We usually have a meal plan in place all year round but I have to be a bit more creative during farming season because I need to think about meals that can be consumed while on the go or sitting in a tractor. Soup and chili are not ideal options for out in the field.
I like to make at least one large slow cooker or sheet pan meal on the weekend that is going to be a good “grab and go” option for lunch or a hearty meal at supper time. Here is my round-up of a few recipes and meal planning tips for our busy farming season but you’ll also find these tips useful even if you don’t have a Farmer in your life.
Meal Planning Tips for Farming Season
- A large roast, whole chicken, turkey, or ham prepared on the weekend will go a long way throughout the week. It can be used to make sandwiches or for evening meals. Here are a few of my go-to recipes:
- Lazy Spoon Farms Slow Cooker Roast Beef
- Danielle Walker’s Roast Chicken recipe from on p. 146 of her Against All Grain cookbook.
- Like A Dad’s Smoked Ham on the Big Green Egg
- The Instant Pot has easily become my favourite kitchen appliance. I can throw a frozen 5 lb chicken in there and be sitting down to eat a delicious meal in just over an hour. I share some of our favourite Instant Pot recipes here but these two show up in the meal plan rotation a lot.
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork The homemade barbeque sauce in this recipe is unreal.
- Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken This one is an entire meal made in one pot. So delicious. I usually skip the kale and make a fresh garden salad instead.
- Roast a large batch of vegetables that can be reheated during the week with the meat you have prepared. Any of your favourite veggies will work. The Farmer’s favourite is the standard potatoes, carrots, and onions tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with Italian seasoning. But, you could roast beets, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots, anything really, ahead of time to be reheated throughout the week.
- Sheet Pan recipes are awesome because there are minimal dishes involved but also because they are hearty meals that can be divided into meal-sized bowls with bite-sized pieces and can be quickly reheated when you need to make a special delivery out to the field. A couple I have tried and love are:
- Baked Lemon Chicken by Well-Plated
- Sheet-Pan Steak Fajitas from Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love. Seriously, have you bought this cookbook yet? I LOVE it! She has quite a few sheet pan, instant pot, and slow-cooker recipes in this book. The Steak Fajitas can be reheated in a bowl and sent to the tractor with a fork or you can roll into fajita wraps and package in tinfoil for reheating.
- Deli-meat sandwiches on fresh bread from our local bakery are always welcomed by my Farmer but if you want to take your sandwich game to the next level here are a few recipes that you can make ahead and freeze and then reheat in the oven.
- Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches (4 Ways!) in one of my new favourite cookbooks The Well Plated Cookbook.
- Pepperoni Pizza Sliders by Little Dairy on the Prairie
- Ham and Cheese Sliders by The Girl Who Ate Everything
- The Marlboro Man Sandwich from The Pioneer Woman. I mean, if anyone knows how to keep a Farmer well-fed it’s the queen of the ranch herself, Ree Drummond, am I right?
- Another way I stay organized and ensure we are grabbing healthy snacks is by cleaning and chopping a whole bunch of fruit and vegetables that are ready to throw into the lunch bag or snack on while making supper. I also clean and wash lettuce so we can quickly toss a salad.
- Speaking of snacks, I like to divide pantry snacks like nuts, trail mix, dried fruit, and crackers into serving size portions so that they are ready to go as well. While these are healthy snack options, we definitely want to limit how much of any of them we consume in a day.
- Of course, when the Farmer is spending all of our waking hours on the tractor, staying connected can become a challenge. I like to bring supper out to the field a couple of times a week and eat with him and then go for a few laps in the tractor. We listen to music or a podcast and catch up with each other. I find it quite fun actually!
As you can see, this city girl is not setting the world on fire with my meal planning or prepping but I have learned a few things over the years when it comes to keeping my Farmer well-fed with hearty meals that are quick and not too messy. The best thing I can do for our family is dedicate 1 hour every weekend for meal prepping. I know that if I can stick to these time-saving strategies, life is a lot less hectic and stressful around here.
Tools I Use to Keep Meal Prep Simple
*Disclaimer: I am a huge Danielle Walker fan and have tried and loved many of the recipes from her cookbooks and her blog. I have always felt it was unfortunate that her brand was “Against All Grain” because we at Lazy Spoon Farms are certainly not against all grains. I just know what makes my body feel good and what doesn’t and wheat is something that makes my body feel bad when I eat it. Danielle Walker recently went through a bit of a rebrand herself. You can read about it here.
