Here, in the first of our guest blogs, working mum Alexandra Campbell shares her experience of fitting meal preparation into a relentless 24/7 work-life schedule!
“If you are a busy, working, single parent, how on earth do you give your children balanced, tasty meals that they enjoy, you can easily prepare and that don’t cost the earth? The good news is, it’s not impossible! How about some healthy, home-made ready meals…..
If you have the space, cook ahead of time and make lots of it – if you are making one fish pie, make lots of them and freeze them. That makes tea one night of the week a simple case of taking one out of the freezer in the morning and cooking it with a few veg in the evening. Do the same with cottage pies, lasagnes, casseroles, curries etc. Easier said than done you might say but let’s get this in perspective – if it’s important to you that your children eat well, dedicate a few hours each week to bulk cooking. After a few weeks, you will have an entire menu to choose from within easy reach and minimal effort, giving you more time on those busy, after school evenings that are crammed with clubs, homework and all the other things that can make cooking from scratch seem daunting. This might take some planning though; firstly you will need to make space in your freezer then perhaps sit down with your children and ask them what they would like to have in the freezer. Be brave and get your children involved and make it fun – maybe on a Saturday morning, get the children chopping, peeling, mashing – this will give them a sense of ownership over their food too, not to mention a head start in the new cooking curriculum!”
Written by Alexandra Campbell from Harrogate on 19/03/2013.