Less Stressful Cooking
Getting dinner on the table can be quite the challenge with a house full of littles. I try my best to have a healthy dinner for my family every night and that has it's challenges. Here are a few things that I have discovered while trying to make cooking for my family quicker and less stressful.
1.) I try to start dinner at nap time. This has become a routine for me and makes things so much less stressful.
2.) The big littles have room time while I cook. This keeps them separated and out of trouble so that I don't have as many interruptions.
3.) The baby goes in her high chair and snacks while I cook. We eat dinner pretty late and trying to have her wait is just too much. Sometimes she is even in bed while we eat.
4.) I have a pull out drawer full of tupperware that Lily(1) is allowed to dig through and play with. She knows that this is the only cabinet door that she is allowed to open.
5.) I do lots of crockpot meals. These are great because I can get it going at nap time and have all my stuff put away and dishes washed so that my kitchen clean up is not overwhelming after dinner. I hope to share some of my favorite healthy crockpot recipes on my recipe blog soon. For now you can go here to get good recipes.
6.) I double recipes as much as possible and freeze the leftovers.
7.) If boiling pasta I add my veggies to the water to cook.
8.) If steaming rice I set my steaming basket full of veggies on top of the rice and cover.
9.) If my dishwasher is full I use paper plates.
10.) Lower your expectations. With only littles you don't have any real help in the kitchen so things are going to be more simple for a while. My most basic meals are usually my family's favorites.
I have lowered my expectations a lot over the past ye
1.) I try to start dinner at nap time. This has become a routine for me and makes things so much less stressful.
2.) The big littles have room time while I cook. This keeps them separated and out of trouble so that I don't have as many interruptions.
3.) The baby goes in her high chair and snacks while I cook. We eat dinner pretty late and trying to have her wait is just too much. Sometimes she is even in bed while we eat.
4.) I have a pull out drawer full of tupperware that Lily(1) is allowed to dig through and play with. She knows that this is the only cabinet door that she is allowed to open.
5.) I do lots of crockpot meals. These are great because I can get it going at nap time and have all my stuff put away and dishes washed so that my kitchen clean up is not overwhelming after dinner. I hope to share some of my favorite healthy crockpot recipes on my recipe blog soon. For now you can go here to get good recipes.
6.) I double recipes as much as possible and freeze the leftovers.
7.) If boiling pasta I add my veggies to the water to cook.
8.) If steaming rice I set my steaming basket full of veggies on top of the rice and cover.
9.) If my dishwasher is full I use paper plates.
10.) Lower your expectations. With only littles you don't have any real help in the kitchen so things are going to be more simple for a while. My most basic meals are usually my family's favorites.
I have lowered my expectations a lot over the past ye