4 Tips To Busy Moms For Healthy Meals Every Day
We've all heard it, but eating a healthy diet can be difficult when you are a busy parent.
Everyone knows that being a mom is a full-time job and for those among us who already have a job sometimes simple things like every-day cooking can be overwhelming.
Creating healthy meals every day for lunch and dinner takes time away from daily work and spending quality time with the family. Shopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning-up the kitchen are tasks that mothers and most fathers engage in daily. When you add-in the frequent complaining by kids that they don’t like the meal, it is easy to resort to unhealthy options which are easier to prepare and sometimes ready in a few minutes.
But what if there was an easy way to avoid unhealthy traps on a regular basis?
Inviting family members to help in the cooking process, or to have chef-ready, healthy and delicious meals delivered at home are practical ways to ensure a balanced meal without spending too much time and money.
Here are our tips for working moms who want to be able to cook healthy meals for their family without the fuss of shopping, chopping and cleaning up a big mess.
1. Cook in advance
Cooking in advance is a great way to save time when you really need it.
When can I cook in advance?
If you have some spare time in the evenings, start cooking for the next day. Or if you plan a nice meal during the weekend, double the portion and keep it in the freezer for a busy week day.
Each time you make a vegetable soup, save some broth in the form of ice cubes and you’ll have ready to cook soup for next time.
When chopping veggies, make extra and store them in food bags so you save time from chopping-up before meals.
Meat can be easily frozen too. Prepare extra burger patties and freeze them in itemized containers so they are easy to defrost depending on the quantity that you need.
Here are some helpful tips on how to safely freeze food. If you do this on a regular basis you can make extra time for yourself to rest, play with your kids or make that deadline at the office.
2. Chef-made ready to eat meals
Take-out food for the modern and busy family can be convenient but until now there were not many healthy options out there. This is the main reason why parents all over the world try so hard to avoid it or feel guilty when they resort to take-out too frequently.
Fortunately for busy moms and dads, ordering food can be a healthy option ever since companies like Powermeals launched, delivering healthy pre-cooked meals at home.
Ready-made meals can actually be very healthy when they are carefully prepared and thoughtfully put together by nutritionists. As a new mom or a working parent, healthy meals at home every single day are a tall order, and that is why a healthy meal subscription, such as Geneva-based Powermeals can take care of as many meals in the week as you choose.
Choose from a broad range of nutritious meals that are chef-made, ready to eat and with a great variety of menus that you can select based on your personal taste. It's important for food to arrive fresh and being based in Geneva Powermeals can deliver fresh meals anywhere in Switzerland. Young children and teenagers can prepare the meals easily too!
3. Get everyone involved
If time just isn’t enough, ask for help. Young children can help set the table while you do the actual cooking and older ones can get involved in the process with surveillance of course. If you have teenagers then surely they can do more than help. Let them cook for you for a change, or help clean up the kitchen after the meal or both! This can be a double win too because you’ll get assistance while children learn to work as a team and become more independent by learning basic life skills. Cooking with our kids is educational, fun and pure quality time. After all, we always talk about experiential learning so what better way to get everyone hands-on experience in the kitchen!
4. Make a plan and stick to it
Planning ahead really goes a long way when it comes to getting any work done right. This also applies to cooking healthily for your family. If you want to be able to provide healthy meals every day then make a weekly plan, get the supplies you are going to need and stick to it.
Write down every meal of your family in a weekly timeline and make a supermarket list to buy everything from snacks to main course ingredients. Remember to include fruits and vegetables in every meal course and stick your plan on the fridge so everyone knows the plan of the day. This way you won’t waste time thinking what to cook plus you’ll find less food ending up in waste. For variety, choose wild card days where healthy meals, such as Powermeals, can be ordered in and prepared quickly for lunch or dinner, and cooking can wait for the next day.
So, to all working moms and dads: Use these tips and always have a health meal for your family!