Making Life Easier

ELLA

Hi there, I have one dd who is 3 1/2 and my second baby on the way in a few months.

Im finding time to be a little on the short side these days and im getting concered for when no 2 arrives. What Im hoping is for some food advice really as I would like to cook some batches of food to freeze so Im not having to cook meals for 3 of us while juggling a newborn. (My hubby cant cook to save his life bless him)

Anyway any ideas more than welcome
Regards
Kim

tosca5

Send hubby on cookery course..:D

lynzpower

pop over to the old style board they should be able to help with this.

dont be afraid to have a beans on toast - jacket potato meal once a week - if not more

Get a slow cooker - you can make chillis, soups, stews etc with no effort wahtsoever jsut sling in the ingredients, turn on eat 8 hours later

ailuro2

How about prepping lots of peppers,( I find them time-consuming to prepre compared to other veg) cutting up chicken breasts,stir fry ingredients and then you just have to throw the ingredients together for whatever you fancy for dinner.Ready made mash is a great time-saver.Make your own and freeze it, or buy it fresh from the supermarket. Making your favourite meals that freeze well(spag bol portions,then add fresh pasta)willsav time,and can be quick to heat up too.

Set up a home delivery account for your shopping now if you don't already have one?(Tesco/Asda etc- free to register)

Tidy out your cupboards now, it will save energy when 'nesting' kicks in;)

pennypitstop_2

Hi Ella

The food I pre-make and freeze include spag bol, shepherd's pie, curry, chilli, any meat or veg cassaroles. The easiest way I find to do it is to make extra or double portions of a meal and put the extra into tupperware boxes in the freezer.

If you still have a few weeks to go before Baby arrives, maybe try this method out - when you're cooking anyway, the extra doesn't feel like extra effort!

And... introduce your OH to a slow cooker... no cooking involved really, with a SC cassarole. He can just bang in the veg with a bit of meat and stock / gravy in the morning and all you'll have to do when it's mealtime is mash some spuds to go with.

One other thing I could advise is that....... you know when everyone, family, friends, neighbours, your cousin's dog etc etc, is visiting to see the new baby and they ask "Do you need anything? / Can we bring anything?" - ask them to bring the sandwiches and some fruit for lunch or something!

MortgageMamma

i've just started doing this and not only is it time saving it saves a fortune too. Some of the things we are having at moment is

Chinese chicken curry
Spag Bol
Chilli
Pork Stroganoff
Chicken Casserole
Chicken Fajitas (make and freeze filling)
Baked potatos with various fillings
Omlettes
Toasties
Sweet and Sour

The only thing I don't precook now is the baked spuds, toasties, omlettes and sunday lunch but they are all easy. When I had my third child I bought a chest freezer on the spur of the moment and batch cooking for a week, we ended up with two months worth of food and it was a great help

dianadors

Time spent showing your hubby the basics could be both fun and beneficial. Good Luck!!

sooz

Don't forget that your elder child can be very helpful too. I had my second when the first was 3 and 1/2 and he's been great, especially now the baby it a bit bigger.

He is particularly good at 'fetching'...anything.....nappies, dummies, muslins, toys. I've deliberatly put baby things on low shelves/drawers that i want him to be able to reach.

He's also rather good at emptying the dishwasher

But best of all he sings to his little brother (he used to do this to my expanding bump too). it still sounds like he's strangling a cat (we're not that musical!) but the baby loves it, and it really calms him down.

It did help that his little brother brought him a present, when he came home from the hospital