As a busy family, finding tips and tricks for mealtimes to reduce how much time you spend in the kitchen and still produce great family meals can be a lifesaver.
But what are the best family hacks and gadgets for the kitchen that can help you create quick healthy, nutritious meals that the whole family will love?
Slow Cooker
Slow cookers can be perfect for busy families. The majority of meals you make in a slow cooker require little to no prep or input from you. You simply add the ingredients and leave it to do its thing for the day. You can throw in all of the ingredients in the morning before work or school, and by the time you get home, you will have a lovely meal ready and waiting for you. Plus, there is no limit to what you can make in a slow cooker, from main meals to delicious desserts and much more.
Meal Planning
You don’t need to go as extreme as spending one full day a week making and preparing meals, that is, unless you want to. But planning via meal prepping can save you time and money. Ask everyone what meals they want this week, make a shopping list for ingredients and the hard part is then done. You will know exactly what you are making when you can create a shopping list ot have all the ingredients so less wasted money; it is a win-win. Go through your cupboards, make sure you have the essentials such as Olive Oil, herbs, seasonings etc. and then replenish your cupboards with what you need for the upcoming week’s meal plan.
Get The Kids to Help
This initially doesn’t sound like fun, but if you can get the family involved in creating meals, you can make the process much more enjoyable for everyone and improve the chances of everyone wanting to eat it. Assign small age-appropriate tasks to encourage a love for cooking and build skills slowly. Even if they are just starting with setting the table or making sure everyone has a drink.
Ideas such as easy to make pizzas, peeling potatoes or being in charge of getting all the right ingredients ready beforehand can be great ways to get them involved in making family meals.
Batch Cook
We mentioned meal prepping before, but batch cooking is also a great way to cut out the chore of making different meals all the time. For example, if you know you will have a few chicken meals the same week, then batch cooking your chicken at once can make life easier for those busy days. The same if you make your own sauces or have different potato dishes. The more you have prepared and ready to use, the easier it will be to throw something together. Think chopping veggies for the week or preparing bases for meals; you will be thankful you did when it comes time to prep the meal.
Use Cooking Videos
Following recipes is great, but it can be easier in a busy kitchen, especially if you are short on space or load up your favourite recipe videos on your phone or a tablet and follow them. Make sure you have all of the ingredients and utensils on hand before you start so you know you are ready.
Follow it to the letter for the best results or until you feel more confident in making changes and still getting satisfying results.
Leftovers
Some days, you simply don’t want to cook, which is more than acceptable, especially if you have some family favourites lined up. Try making a little more and popping it in the fridge, and having leftovers the next day. Not only do you know your family is eating something they enjoy, but it only needs warming up, taking the pressure off you. Have leftovers for lunch or dinner, whatever works for you the next day or pop in the freezer if you can to eat in a few days.
Beige is Fine
Beige freezer food gets a bad rep, and sometimes for a good reason; however, there is nothing wrong with pulling out that box of chicken nuggets or fish fingers as part of your meal. Sometimes, you need to do what is best for everyone, and if that is a meal based on beige freezer food, then so be it.
Give yourself a break when it comes to family, and don’t be so hard on yourself trying to prepare delicious, nutritious meals from scratch every night if it isn’t physically possible.
