Making life easier – Preparation

I knew that being a mum of two would be hard but well it’s really hard. I often feel like I’m not coping as well as I should be although deep down I know that I’m probably doing just fine. I love having my two girls around me but I do feel like I don’t get anything else done. Both girls are always clean and well fed and some days I feel that’s about all I achieve.

I’m probably putting too much pressure on myself but I get frustrated when I don’t make decent home cooked meals and have to rely on ready prepared items from my fridge or freezer. Cooking decent meals is my thing and very stupidly I feel a bit lost when I don’t do it.

I have decided to do something about it.

Every week I’m going to spend 2-3 hours on meal preparation for the week ahead. I will chop vegetables, marinade meat, measure out items and generally get organised so that I can toss some ingredients in the slow cooker or oven and feel better about the food we eat. I figure that if I feed Chloe and put her down for her afternoon nap ( generally her longest sleep of the day) Izzy can play with her Dad or they can go to the park and I can get my organised head on.

My hot cooked meal plans include:

Casseroles
Curries
Stew
Bolognese
Soup
Pie fillings

So I will chop and prepare my vegetables and meat ready for quick assembly and bag/box them up with the stock/seasonings they need.

I am also aiming to batch cook one dish a week so perhaps on week one it will be bolognese sauce – I will cook 5 meal sized portions of sauce and freeze all but one. I will use that one the same day and have 4 easy to defrost and cook meal ideas for the following weeks if I run short of time or can’t do meal preparation that week for one reason or another. These could be made into pasta bakes, lasagne or jacket potato toppings.

I’m going to wash and prepare all my salad items so they are easy to assemble for lunches and if I get enough time I’m also hoping to make large amounts of waffles, muffins etc to freeze for delicious easy breakfasts. Izzy loves to help me in the kitchen so I will get her involved with the baking side.

I’m still hoping at some point to get back into cooking meals on a whim and spending a few hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove making indulgent dishes but I do know its not always possible. For example last night when my other half was in work I put Izzy to bed but Chloe decided to attach herself to my boob from 6.30 until 11pm so nothing else got done. I have to accept that this is the way it may be for a while and just find ways to work around it rather than worry myself over trivial matters.

I will be sharing my preparation tips and meal ideas with you over the next few weeks. Any ideas you have are gratefully received.