The Busy Mom’s Guide to NOT Living in the Drive-Through
By Nicole Roggow, Certified Pregnancy Nutrition Coach | Published: November 24, 2025
So often, I look through my clients logs and realize they’ve been to a drive-through four times in five days. Even though they may have “hit their macro targets”, this is a red flag to me and i like to get a bit more context about why we are using take out/drive through so often. Usually it sounds something like this:
Monday: Grabbed a coffee and sandwich on the way back from my morning workout
Wednesday: Chipotle because I forgot to defrost dinner
Thursday: Chick-fil-A because we were running late to soccer practice
Friday: Starbucks again because we were rushing out of the house for school and I didn’t eat
I’m a pregnancy nutrition coach who helps hundreds of women make healthy choices and so often I watch busy mom life and good intentions collide in the most expensive, and minimally nutritious way.
When we have these conversations, I make it very clear: eating out/drive throughs arent BAD for you. However, they often show gaps that we can be filling with some more attention. As always, the goal with nutrition isn’t perfection—it’s effort and intention as we progress toward our goals. That typically means the #1 step in that progress is having a plan for when life gets chaotic (because it always will!).
Take Out Can Become A Default (for all of us!)
Decision Fatigue Is Real
By 3 PM, you’ve made approximately 847 decisions. When hunger hits, your brain defaults to “easy”, “ready”, and “no effort”.
Time Scarcity Creates Panic
With small windows of time to get things done (a quick turnaround between getting off work and kids sports practice), grabbing food on the go, or calling to have food delivers can feel like the only option.
Energy Depletion Makes Everything Harder
Planning, shopping, and cooking every night requires energy that may feel non-existent on many days (tip: fueling your body with QUALITY food will help to improve this!)
The Cost of Constantly Turning to Take Out
Energy Roller Coaster
High carb and fat foods like those found when eating out can cause blood sugar spikes, then crashes making energy levels and mood unstable - this goes for both you AND the kids!
Modeling Patterns
Kids start to see cooking and preparing food as time consuming and something that we can only do when we have the luxury to
Expenses
I often hear that “eating well is expensive” but with the overall increase in food prices, take our and even fast food is getting more and more expensive. Spending $8–$15 per person can add up fast and there are many many ways to feed an entire family for what the cost of ONE take out meal may be.
Feeling Contradictory
Relying on drive-throughs can feel misaligned with your goals yet can feel like a survival mechanism at the same time. Without the tools to avoid this behavior, it can come with alot of guilt and even shame of “I know this isn’t the best choice but it feels like my only option”
The Busy Mom’s “Eating At Home” Strategy
This isn’t about never eating take out or fast food. It’s about alternatives so those times are a choice—not the default.
The 15-Minute Meal Arsenal
Keep ingredients for meals that take ≤15 minutes (about the same as a drive-through run).
The Protein Pasta Save
Protein pasta (8–10 min)
Jarred marinara
Already cooked ground meat (see the first tip)
Pre-shredded cheese
Steam-in-bag frozen veggies
Total time: ~12 minutes
The Breakfast-for-Dinner Win
Scrambled eggs with cheese
Toast, English muffins, Instant oatmeal
Pre-washed fruit or applesauce cups
Total time: ~8 minutes
The Rotisserie Chicken Hack
Shredded rotisserie chicken
Microwave rice/quinoa packets
Frozen vegetables
Sauce of choice
Total time: ~10 minutes
The Car Snack System
Stock a bin with:
Individual packs of crackers
Granola bars
Protein bars
Dried fruit
Nut butter packets
Water bottles
Goal: Give you and the kids a buffer to hold you over so you can get home and cook.
Bulk Cook Protein and Carbs 2x/week
Proteins: pick two main proteins (ideally one fatty and one leaner), hard-boiled eggs, bagging protein shake ingredients - use the crockpot or grill to make this even quicker
Carbs: batch of rice, quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, washed/cut fruit, having burger buns and wraps in the pantry
Emergency meals: slow-cooker meals; double dinners and freeze half, use pre-made meals from the deli section of the grocery store and store them in the freezer for later use
It is important to notice patterns and understand when you are most likely to grab take out or end up in a drive through, this will allow us to stay ahead of ourselves and be prepared to avoid that behavior. Here are things to think about:
Identify WHEN
3–6 PM chaos: school pickup, activities, dinner pressure
Weekend morning rushes: early sports, waking up late, running out the door
Sick days/single parent days: low energy
Work deadlines/busy weeks: low bandwidth to plan, running out of food by week’s end
Create Specific Solutions
3–6 PM Chaos:
Have bulk cooked food available, freezer/slow-cooker meals
Have “minute ready” shelf-stable components (minute rice, potatoes, ect)
Use some kind of meal prep service a few nights a week or get pre-made meals from the grocery
Weekend Morning Rushes
Freezer breakfast burritos
Portable breakfast options
Prep overnight oats
Finding a protein powder you enjoy in your coffee and pairing it with some fruit + nut butter
Sick Days/Single Parent Days
Easy/quick food everyone enjoys (pasta, frozen chicken fingers with quality ingredients, ect)
Delivery options that include veggies (salads, simple rice/veggie/protein dishes)
Comfort foods: soup from the grocery deli, crockpot meals you can just load and leave
Now, its going to happen on occasion: traveling, plan failed, life happened.
What do we do when we actually end up grabbing food last minute:
Chipotle/Moe’s/Qudoba (can order ahead on the app while you are on your way!)
Rice, meat, beans and veggies
Easy on the fatty things (sour cream, cheese, guac) that adds up fast
Put it over salad greens (yes you can get rice AND lettuce!)
Skip the chips :)
Chick-Fil-A
Grilled nuggets
Fruit cup
Kale salad for added micronutrients
Panera (most even have a drive through!)
Salads with protein (ask for dressing on the side)
Sandwiches and wraps lower on cheese and higher on protein (even ask to double it!)
Choose an apple over chips, skip dessert right now!
Almost any other fast food spot:
Choose ones that will have some kind of grilled chicken option (typically your best bet for protein) or salad with protein option
Skip the fries and ask for a fruit cup or side salad
Drink water
The 80/20 Rule
If ~80% of meals are from home/healthier options, the ~20% drive-through/take out won’t derail you as long as we are making “best effort” choices.
You can even use these opportunities to teach your kids about balance and removing negative connotations and mindsets around certain foods.
“This is a sometimes food to make sure we nourish our bodies even if nothing went as it was supposed to”
“Tonight is busy so we’re going to do this; tomorrow we’ll cook - what should we make?”
“What veggie can we add to balance this?”
“I always make sure i find a fruit or veggie to add into our meal!”
“Protein is important to keep us healthy and strong! Where is the protein in your meal?”
The Bottom Line
Breaking the drive-through/take out cycle isn’t about becoming a perfect meal-planning mom who cooks every single night using only whole-food ingredients. It’s about finding realistic methods and changing some weekly habits to improve the quality of your food and finding something that works in the framework of a chaotic and busy life with kids.
Start with one doable strategy — 20-minute protein prep 1x week, setting up a crockpot, stocking the pantry with minute-ready carbs, even looking at your calendar ahead of the week and deciding on a plan. Small changes add up to big wins in energy, spending, and control.
Every mom has been in that drive-through line or scrambling on DoorDash when that wasnt the original intention and it can almost always be tied to something not going as planned in that day. You’re not alone and were not saying that can NEVER happen - we are saying that equipping yourself with strategies you can rely on in these “unplanned circumstances” is going to help prevent drive throughs and take out feeling like the default option.
Feeling stuck in the drive-through cycle and need personalized strategies that actually work with your chaotic schedule? You don’t need another meal plan—you need realistic solutions from other busy moms. Get personalized nutrition coaching that helps busy moms eat well without losing their minds.
