I have 2 kids (1 and 3 yo) and work full time 5 days a week. I have been relying on takeout but I would like to start providing my family with home-cooked meals. I leave the office at 5, buy quick takeout and pick up kids, arriving home at 6:15, kids already hungry by then. My son eats v-e-r-y slowly and we usually finish dinner by 7:30. Quality time with family until 8, then baths and bedtime. Both kids are in bed by 9:30. Then house chores until about 10, later if there is laundry. By then I am usually tired and wanting to relax.
Where do you other working parents get time to cook?? Specific schedules will help! Thanx!
2006-07-20 18:36:16 · 3 answers · asked by jessc 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
This question has been asked many times by others. I once was a member of ivillage. They had a whole board about this.
Several recommended to cook double meals on the weekend and freeze the leftover food for the week ahead. Several also recommended investing in a slow cooker, but a roast on or stew on either before you went to bed or before you went to work, which ever had the most time. Doing this once or twice a week would be an improvement over eating fast food all the time.
2006-07-20 18:45:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maybe it's not finding the time to cook, but the selection of what to have. There are a lot of meals that you can cook quickly. An example - spaghetti, use a jar of sauce, fry up some loose hamburger first if you want to or add frozen meatballs - can cook in 10 minutes or so. Stouffer's has some very tasty meals in a frozen bag, "Skillet Dinners", they're about $4.50 a bag, but it easily serves two adults or one adult and 2 kids, and take less than 15 minutes to cook. Another idea - toss some veggies and meat in a crockpot, let it cook all day and it'll be ready when you get home.
Check out the freezer case at the grocery store. There are lots of items there that are tasty and quick. They cost a bit more than cooking from scratch, but probably less than picking up fast food, and for the most part are healthier.
With two toddlers and working full time, you aren't likely to find time for a lot of from-scratch cooking. Maybe weekends, but that's probably catch-up time - and you DO need some time for yourself too, you know.
Good luck.
2006-07-20 18:48:39 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Cook once; eat twice." This site is WONDERFUL! http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqf.htm
I'm a SAHM of four and I still have a hard getting everything done before I collapse at night. It really doesn't matter how organized you are, if you have children things come up. Keep up with what you're doing, buy a pressure cooker and a crock pot and everything will work themselves out.
Good luck!
2006-07-20 18:44:32 · answer #3 · answered by Angie P. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋