Meal Preparation Tips for Busy Parents
When you’re busy and you have a million responsibilities to deal with, meal planning often slides down your list of priorities. But it’s an important part of your family’s daily routines, and it gives you the chance to share food together and talk about the day you’ve had. If you want to make sure that meal times and meal preparation doesn’t become a source of stress for you, here are some of the tips to make use of.
Cook a Chicken and Get Multiple Meals From It
Cooking a chicken and getting multiple meals from it across a few days is a great way to make your meal preparation time go further. Once the chicken is cooked, shredded, and chilled, you can incorporate it into a variety of different meals in the days that follow. It’s about getting one step ahead and not having to start from scratch every night.
Be Aware of Each Family Member’s Schedule
Being aware of the different schedules of your family members will definitely make meal preparation easier for you. You need to be aware of who’s going to be home and how many people you need to prepare the food for on any given night. If you don’t do that, you’ll end up wasting time or getting frustrated.
Only Use Kitchen Tools That Really Save You Time
If you’ve become quite reliant on kitchen gadgets in recent years, it might be a good idea to ask yourself whether those gadgets are actually benefitting you in a real way. The ultimate test is whether they’re saving you time or not. If they’re not saving you any time and making your meal preparation easier and quicker, you probably shouldn’t be using them.
Make Use of a Slow Cooker
If you don’t already have a slow cooker, that’s something you should certainly look to change. When you have a good slow cooker that you can rely on, it becomes a lot easier for you to prepare ahead and simply plate up your meals when the cooking process is finished. When you try this smothered chicken breast recipe, you’ll see exactly what I mean. You can create great meals with minimal effort involved.
Freeze Any Leftovers
When you have food leftover after a meal, you should make the most of those leftovers and freeze them for future use. There might be a time when only one member of the family is home, and having a frozen meal that can be quickly heated up is a nice solution. It also means that you’ll get more out of your cooking and likely save money in the long term.
As a busy parent, meal times can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be that way any longer. By making the most of the tips and ideas we’ve shared here today, you can make sure that you’re able to make the most of meal times and avoid the stress. A little preparation and forward-planning really can go a long way.
