Wholesome Meals For Busy Families

It isn’t always easy preparing family meals every day between work, school runs and the kids activities. We all feel the added pressure of providing our families with wholesome and healthy meals at the end of a busy day. However, with a few tips and some delicious recipes you can eat together as a family while enjoying wholesome, nutritious meals.

1.Write shopping lists and meal planners every week- Firstly to stay on top of family meals you must plan for the week ahead, so take ten minutes on “shopping day” and organise yourself. Look through the fridge, freezer and cupboards and consider what you can make that is already there. Keeping within a budget for a family is vital and waste should be minimised.

2.Weekend cooking- Ok, we know life is busy and that the weekends should be for resting or family time but if you take an hour or two and prepare a few freezer friendly meals like listed below you will be one step ahead for the days that you might be late in. Batching up food and freezing is perfectly fine and then the dinners are ready to take out the night before to heat up again. A good curry never goes a miss and this one is perfect for freezing. Check out our Top 5 Tips for Batch Cooking here.

Thai Red Curry

3. Consider buying a slow cooker- Slow cookers are brilliant, they can with a few ingredients and a few minutes of your time be such a great time saver and will have the dinner ready for when everyone arrives home. If you need some ideas check out our slow cooker recipes with step by step videos to help you along the way.

 

4. Keep it simple- Family weekday meals don’t have to be fancy and elaborate instead keep it simple on the busy days. Certainly, on the weekend let your culinary goddess free but when you are busy it is easier if you prepare and cook meals that are simple but healthy and filling like this delicious Fish Pie from Mary Berry.

5. Double up meals- Doubling up on a dinner will not do anyone any harm and it is so easy to make a massive lasagne for example. This gives you extra time the next day to spend with the kids and throwing the dinner into the microwave or oven to reheat will only take minutes.

6. Share the load- Family meals should be a family effort and you should not do it all alone. Kids can help set the table, pour drinks, prepare the food, keep an eye while you are busy and help serve dinner up. Give the kids jobs like preparing salads or washing the veggies. Get them to help tidy up, some doing the dishes and others drying up.

7. Don’t feel guilty– We all have our difficult days so avoid feeling guilty if you are unable to make a meal from scratch. An odd handy meal is fine for the busier days especially towards the end of the week when you may have used up all the freezer food batched up. We have plenty of handy quick and easy recipes to help you along the way.

Keep cooking for your family and your love for healthy and nutritious food will follow through to your children!