Juggling work and motherhood can’t be easy. You’re tired all the time and may drop the ball a little when it comes to your children’s diet.
As a working mum, you may be looking for some cooking tips to make kitchen duty less stressful.
Dealing with newborns during mealtimes may be easier. However, feeding your kids once they’re older may prove to be more challenging.
You can no longer resort to milk bottles to placate their growing appetites.
Luckily, the 21st century offers us a wealth of technological advancements that make parenting manageable, if not a total breeze.
Electronic appliances like all-in-one pressure cookers, food processors and microwave ovens are every working mum’s best friends.
However, that’s only half the battle. You still need to do the hard part. The cooking.
Aside from employing the nuclear option and hiring a maid, there are shortcuts you can take to minimise the hassle.
In this article, we will look at some tips and tricks that can guarantee smooth sailing in the kitchen.
Cooking Tip 1: Meal Preps
The first cooking tip that every working mum can appreciate is meal prepping. A meal prep (short for ‘meal preparation’) simply refers to the method of bulk cooking.
It is possibly one of the most popular and easily overlooked strategies for quick and easy parenting.
You prepare large amounts of food in advance and store them in the fridge for later. You can then reheat them on the stove or in a microwave oven at mealtimes.
This may sound unappetising for some, since it is reminiscent of leftovers. However, when prepared correctly, meal preps can be delicious and save you a lot of time going forward.
How to Start Meal Prepping for Working Mums
Lists Galore
Beginner meal preppers should start small and make a list. Several lists, in fact. One for recipes, one for ingredients, and one for a schedule.
The general practice entails a weekly cycle. Cooking on weekends and reheating on the weekdays.
Oodles of Tupperwares
You should also invest in several plastic or glass containers for storage purposes.
If we were to do some simple math, a week of meal prep should yield 63 containers worth of food. Assuming you’re feeding yourself, your spouse and your child as well.
However, this concept may not be so practical.
You would have to clear out a significant amount of space in your fridge to accommodate that amount.
So, if the thought of doing so sounds daunting, then there is another method.
You simply resort to a buffet style of meal prep where all the major food groups are stored in single containers.
Carbs in one container, protein in another, and veggies in a third.
Experiment
There is certainly more than one way to go about meal prepping. If you prefer warm rice, then prepare it fresh every day.
However, cook your chicken curry and your stir-fries in advance. In fact, prepare several recipes to diversify the menu.
You don’t want you or your child to be eating the same thing for an entire week. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
Speaking of spice, if your children are old enough to handle them, don’t skimp out on the seasoning.
Adding coriander or curry powder will make such a huge difference on your cooking.
Slow and steady
In conjunction, if it’s your first-time meal prepping, consider starting with one meal a day. I suggest starting with dinner.
After a long day at the office, the last thing you want to do is slave away in the kitchen.
So, having a ready-made dinner on hand takes that burden off your shoulders for the evening.
Make Good Choices
Contrary to popular belief, not all recipes or ingredients are appropriate for meal prepping. Some types of food are better for long-term storage than others.
For instance, salads, tomatoes, avocados, and anything with breading (like chicken chop) are not suitable for meal preps. You will end up with a soggy, hopeless mess.
Instead, opt for soups and stir-fries. For your proteins, chicken, and beef tend to fare longer in storage than fish or seafood.
Carrots, cauliflowers, potatoes, and string beans are the way to go when it comes to vegetables. For fruits, opt for apples and grapes.
If you are pregnant, consider adding more vegetables and superfoods to your diet.
Invest
If you have some disposable income to spare, you should definitely splurge on a multi-purpose cooking appliance. Pressure-cookers and air-fryers are some of the most versatile kitchen aids you can have as a busy mum.
All-in-one pressure cookers typically have more settings like sauté, cake, congee, beef, bean, etc. Air-fryers are great if you want to be a little healthier, since they eliminate the need for deep-frying.
Some brands give you the double whammy and offer air-fryer/pressure-cooker combo appliances.
Cooking Tip 2: Purées for Picky Eaters
Many children inevitably become picky eaters when they reach a certain age, which can be a nightmare. Thankfully there are ways around that.
This is probably the oldest trick in the book: hiding veggies in your children’s meals.
Sometimes you just do not have the time or patience to persuade your kids to eat their greens. So sometimes, a little disappearing act is all you need.
Various influencers have their own take on this method, but the easiest one would have to be using food processors. The second cooking tip for working mums is to master the art of purées.
Purées are a good way to hide fruits and veggies in your children’s meals.
First, start by steaming or boiling your veggies (cut and peel those that require such preparation). Then process your veggies into paste form and mix it in your kid’s food.
This is a good way to up their nutrition and lessen the hassle of mealtime skirmishes. Kids don’t fall for aeroplane spoons these days.
Just don’t tell them that there are veggies in their food.
Hiding the veggies
There are hundreds of ways to conceal fruits and vegetables in your children’s food. The best vegetables to purée include carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Nevertheless, don’t let that stop you from experimenting with other kinds of veggies like spinach, pumpkin, green peas, chickpeas, and broccoli. Once you have your purée you can add them to rice, soups, omelettes, cakes, cookies, breads, etc.
While children are generally less averse to fruits, here are some tips just in case yours are. The most popular fruits that people often use for purées are apples, pears, and bananas. Fruit purées are excellent in pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc. Generally, anything sweet will disguise the flavour of certain ingredients. This same principle applies for vegetable purées as well. Moms have been hiding broccoli, kale, and spinach in pancakes for years.
Cooking Tip 3: Clean Up as You Go Along
The third and final cooking tip for working mums is to clean up as you go along. I think one mistake we all make is leaving things in the sink for later.
Cleaning up while you’re cooking saves so much time. Some parts in the cooking process do not require your attention, like simmering.
The trick is to keep the flame low while you’re busy doing something else, like washing dishes. That way, even if you leave things longer than required, you won’t burn down the kitchen.
If the thought of cleaning bothers you to no end, start small. Begin with utensils, then smaller plates, then bigger ones. Before moving on to pots and pans.
Conversely, work in reverse, if that suits you better. It’s easier to break down the contents of your sink into categories.
It can also be a teachable moment if you get your kids to lend a hand.
As a final advice, if the constant washing dries your hands out, consider rubber gloves.
Cooking Need Not Be a Chore
There are hundreds of cooking tips for working mums. This list is by no means exhaustive. Moreover, you may even come up with your own unique shortcuts down the line.
Balancing kids and a career can be daunting, even if you have the cooking part in check. Asking for help once in a while is not a sign of weakness.
Here are some general survival tips that every working mum should know, both inside and outside the kitchen.
You’ve got this, mums!
For more insightful stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!