I bake and cook a lot and I’m often asked by people where I find the time. The answer for me is simple … it’s not easy, however, number one, I enjoy it and and number two I decided a long time ago that my family’s nutrition was something I wanted to focus on. But like I said … it’s hard!! Like a lot of Mums, I’m trying to juggle part-time work, keeping my house looking somewhat respectable (that’s a constant work in progress), looking after the kids and generally doing everything else that us Mum’s have to do! And often, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking at the end of the day (this is the part where you nod in agreement – haha!).
So, in summary, here is my “Food and Cooking Philosophy”:
- Fresh is best – I try to shop a couple of times a week to make sure everything in the fruit and veggie drawer is as fresh as possible. I also love to visit Farmers Markets on the weekend because that food hasn’t travelled hundreds of kilometres and taken days just to get to the supermarket.
- Quality – I try to cook with the best quality ingredients I can afford. I also try to buy what’s in season and that’s gentler on the hip pocket as well because prices are cheaper when something is in abundant supply.
- Make from scratch – I’m no saint and of course my kids eat processed food but I try really hard to keep it to a minimum. I generally try to make all my sauces from scratch adding flavour with herbs and spices and I love to make my own Muesli Bars, for example, as I know what goes into them as much as what doesn’t go into them like chemicals and preservatives.
- Keep it simple – kids don’t have exotic tastebuds! I try to keep my meals simple using everyday ingredients rather than trying to produce a gourmet meal every night of the week that would be worthy of a 5 star restaurant.
- Variety – I try to cook lots of different meals to keep things interesting and so the family doesn’t get bored with the same food all the time. Keeping my recipes organized in a couple of Recipe Folders helps (more on that in a future post).
- Create a Recipe Folder/s – with so many recipe books on the market it would be impossible to own them all. When I find a recipe I love, I modify it to suit my family by adding or removing ingredients and then I type it up and put it in my Recipe Folder/s and I’ll also be sharing most of those here on the blog.
- Try new Recipes – I’m always on the lookout for new recipes and ideas.
- Less is More – most especially when it comes to meat but also serving sizes in general. I truly believe we often eat more than we need and serving sizes have increased a lot over the years, so I’m trying to cut back.
- Plan Ahead – I achieve this by Meal Planning. For those insanely crazy weeks, I always try to plan a minimum one day ahead so that I take something out of the freezer or have everything I need from the supermarket. Nothing is worse than coming home from work with no idea what’s for dinner. But most of the time I try to meal plan for the entire week. If you would like a free copy of my Meal Planner and Lunchbox Planner simply visit the Free Downloads tab on the right hand side of the blog, click on Meal Planning and download.
- “Waste not Want not” – an old saying but one I love. I am conscious when I shop that I buy only the right quantities I need to make each recipe to reduce waste.
- Leftovers for lunch – whenever I can, I cook extra portions of the evening meal for whoever needs lunch the next day.
- The freezer is my friend – I love those recipes like Chilli Con Carne that I can make a huge batch and get several dinners out of one pot. Sure it does take extra time to cut up all those ingredients but only cooking that meal once saves time in the long run.
- Have a night off – As mums we all work hard in the home so I think once a week I deserve a night off and order a takeaway.
- Teach the kids about health and nutrition – I try to always talk to my kids about what has gone into their meals and why it’s important to eat well. Believe it or not they do soak up what we say like a sponge.
- Teach the kids how to cook – I love spending time with the kids in the kitchen – great for bonding and teaching them some survival and life skills at the same time.
So there you have it, the things I try to work on when it comes to cooking and preparing food.
So tell me, do you cook every night of the week or do you give yourself a night off and have a takeaway?
When I have a night off from cooking, and the hubster doesn’t feel like it, we have DIY nights where everybody fends for themselves, whether it’s cereal, baked beans, noodles or whatever … ?
Love that idea … especially when the kids are old enough and big enough to fend for themselves!