A Busy Mum's Guide To Making Healthy Dinner's

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Being a mom has always been a non-stop and round the clock role, but even more so in this day and age. With meeting deadlines at work, cleaning the house, making sure the kid's homework has been done and done well, who has the time to make a delicious and nutritious dinner anymore. We can barely find a spare minute in the day, never mind a couple of hours.

Well, believe it or not, there are few tips and tricks that can help you put a healthy homemade meal on the table every night and not have to quit your job or hobby in the process. Yup, more time with the kids, more time with the love of your life, more time for you and less time cooking. Here’s how

Know The Go-To’s

Every mom needs to know what meals are easy, delicious, nutritious and, most importantly, loved by the family. These should be your go-to meals. Things you can still prepare no matter how short of time you are. Spaghetti bolognese, fajitas, tacos, halloumi burgers; whatever it is, these staple meals can become a lifesaver whenever time is precious.

Make While You’re At Work

Two kitchen accessories leap to mind straight away on this front; breadmaker and slow cooker. Both of these things can save a mom’s bacon when they have to be at work early and know they’ll leave late. We recommend you check out breadmachinemom.com for a full breakdown, but bread machines will allow you to have gorgeous fresh bread ready for when you get in, while slow cookers can deliver all your dinner needs without eating into any more than ten minutes of your day.

Night Away From The Oven

You may be thinking restaurant, or you may be thinking takeaway; either way, you are wrong. Instead, have a picnic-style dinner once in awhile. Imagine you are in the beautiful Parisian suburb of Montmartre and have yourself some of the delicious bread you baked, some cured hams, cheese, crackers, deli-style meats, eggs, spreads and fresh fruits. If you’re really struggling, or want to shake it up a bit, buzzfeed.com rarely fails for ideas. Don’t neglect your leftovers either. Not only is this dinner easy, it is also delicious and seriously fun too.

Share The Load

It could be once a week, it could be split down the middle, three a piece and then a game of rock, paper, scissors; either way, don’t do all the cooking yourself. Get the whole family involved too. Have different members cook on different nights to grant yourself a well-earned break (read: catch up on the washing pile). Not only this, but everyone will be taught the valuable life lesson of how to cook. You could even have a friendly competition whereby you score each other’s dinner. Strictly motivational and constructive, of course.

Love The Freezer

It’s amazing being able to pop along to a farmer’s market and eat fresh foods every meal; but it is highly impractical too. As such, get into the habit of loving your freezer. Fill it with frozen peas, edamame beans, meats, soups and even brown rice. Then get into the habit of pulling something out the night before and letting it thaw in the day. That way you have everything you need on hand and don’t have to worry about food going to waste by rotting in the fridge. Total win.