Whether you are a working mum or stay at home mum, we are all busy mums juggling the daily life of raising children. Motherhood is a full-time job and worrying about what to make for dinner can make the day that little more stressful. Trying to work out what to cook, and whether you have all the ingredients can be a nightmare (especially if you find that you do not have all the ingredients and you need to go to the shops)!

This week I made a conscious effort to make a change in my life. I decided to plan what I was cooking every night and what groceries I needed. I made a list of meals and made a list of ingredients I needed for those recipes. With this, I took the time out of my day and went to the supermarket on a mission.

Sticking to my list meant that I didn’t spend excessive amount of money and didn’t buy food that we didn’t need. One thing I hate is wastage!

Choosing Meals

When choosing meals, I like to get my husband involved. This gives him the opportunity to choose meals he enjoys and helps me in the brainstorming process. I find choosing meals really hard as I end up cooking the same things all the time!

Some quick and easy meals we have brainstormed are:

Tacos

Lentil soup

Spaghetti Bolognese

Chicken and veggies

Burgers

Stir Fry

Shepherd’s pie

Chicken soup 

Meat and veggies

Chicken schnitzel and veggies

Fish and salad and mash potato

 

A lot of these meals do not take too long to cook, yet many are full of nutrition and protein which is important.

Meal Prep

Besides making my list of meals and buying all the ingredients, I use the day to prep the meals ahead, so meal time during the week is much easier.

Meal time can still be time consuming if you have all the ingredients, as cooking may take up a lot of time.

Having a day to meal prep those items that are more time consuming will help your week run smoother and cut down the time you spend in the kitchen. For example, making hamburgers or chicken soup and putting it in the freezer will mean that two meals for the week are pretty much ready and your time in the kitchen will dramatically decrease.

There are days after work that making dinner is the last thing I want to be doing. Having some of my meals pre-made and frozen makes life that little easier for me on those days that seem hard.

Although it may be hard to get into a new routine, the benefits of having a week of meals prepared have made my life easier and stress free!