What to Eat During Moving Week (When Pizza Isn’t Cutting It)

(Because your body still needs real fuel, even when life is chaos)

Moving week has a funny way of turning meals into an afterthought.

Not because you don’t care about food...but because everything else feels louder.

Boxes.

Deadlines.

Kids.

Cleaning.

Logistics.

Decisions on top of decisions. By the end of the day, you’re starving… but even fast food feels like work.

And here’s the part people don’t talk about enough:
Your body knows the difference.

During our moves, my body craved real food. Not perfect food. Just food that would actually give me the energy to get through the next day without feeling wrecked.

If you’re wondering what to eat while moving, especially when everything feels upside down, this is for you.

Why Meals Feel So Hard During Moving Week

When people search for moving week meal ideas, they’re usually already overwhelmed. Here’s why meals feel harder than they should:

• Your brain is maxed out

• Your kitchen is half packed

• Your routines are gone

• Decision fatigue is real

And yet… you still have to eat. Often. Especially if you have kids.

Pizza is a top go-to easy meal...but there are other great options you can incorporate into moving week instead.

The problem isn’t that you don’t know how to eat well.
It’s that deciding what to eat while moving takes energy you don’t have.

What Didn’t Work for Us (And Why)

My husband loves to cook, like really cook. But during moving week, that approach was unsustainable.

Trying to figure meals out day-by-day didn’t work either. Even planning while we were packing felt like too much.

What we needed was a simple, flexible plan ahead of time...not a full meal prep overhaul.

Easy Moving Week Meal Ideas That Actually Helped

These are the meals and food shortcuts that saved us during multiple moves:

1. Rotisserie Chicken = MVP

One chicken turned into:

• Wraps

• Salads

• Sandwiches

• Straight, as is

• Quick protein with minimal cleanup

2. Oven-Ready Meals

Lasagna, casseroles, or anything that could be thrown in the oven without thinking.

3. Lunch Takeout, Simple Dinners

If we ate out, we did it for lunch when it was faster and cheaper.
Dinner stayed simple, usually sandwiches or leftovers, to protect our energy.

4. Plan Healthier Takeout Ahead of Time

Looking up the healthier local options before we needed them helped us avoid defaulting to junk when we were exhausted. This needed to take place about 1 week before crunch time for us.

Mediterranean restaurants are my go-to! If Mediterranean is not an option, we choose a simple meat and a couple of the healthier sides (broccoli, green beans, salad, etc) at one of the other places. Skip the fries and sodas. Keep your water bottle working throughout the day.

5. Accept Help (Seriously)

Friends and family often want to help...they just don’t know how. Asking for a meal doesn't need to be awkward; it’s practical.

Nothing beats a home-cooked meal you didn’t have to make during a move. And nothing makes your loved-ones feel better than being able to provide real value to you during this major event in your life. 

Moving Week Meals When You Have Kids

If you’re relocating with kids, easy meals matter even more.

• Kids need to eat more frequently

• Baby food and kid staples need to stay accessible

• Waiting it out isn’t an option

Add in final house cleanings and inspections, and suddenly paper plates become a mental-health tool.

The reality is that a moving schedule can be strenuous and having kids doesn't excuse you from the chaos...it's actually the opposite.

Plan for extra snacking, and try to be flexible with eating. Keeping those kiddos bellies full will help you out in the long run. 

Why Fuel Matters During a Move

We noticed a huge difference in how we felt when we ate junk vs. food that supported our energy. It's a no-brainer that we are all aware of, but can easily forget when in the midst of a move.

Moving week is about productivity and momentum. This isn’t the time to feel sluggish or irritable if you can help it.

Once the move was done? That’s when pizza and wings felt like a celebration — not survival.

The Permission You Might Need

During moving week, you don’t need to eat perfectly.

You just need:

• A small plan

• Familiar foods

• Enough fuel to keep going

This is not the time to start a diet.
It is the time to support your body through stress and transition.

Meals are one of the easiest routines to keep during a move...and one of the first to re-establish afterward. And routines matter more than we realize.

One Tip I Wish Someone Had Told Me

Keep meals simple and guilt-free.

Spend a little more on healthier takeout if it helps.
Use shortcuts without apology.
Lower the bar, on purpose.

You’re doing something big.
Your body deserves support while you do it.

You got this!

- Rhiannon