No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen cooking one meal. While I feel it’s important to cook Healthy Food for my family, I also want to spend quality time with said family. So how do I cook quality food and still have time to spend quality time with my favorite people in the world? This article will give you three ways that I cook family meals so that I spend less time cooking and more time creating memories.
Plan Ahead of Time
Some people like to fly by the seat of their pants when it comes to planning family dinners. Personally, when it comes to the dinner table, I’m more of a planner. With work, relationships, and hobbies, I just don’t have time to cook gourmet meals most nights. You probably don’t, either. Even if you’re a planner by nature, give it a try. You’ll notice the extra time you’ll have at the end of the evening. I did, and I’m never going back to my old way of doing things.
When I plan my Family Meals for the week, I try not to fall into the “It’s Tuesday? We’re having pasta tonight” trap. Before I go grocery shopping for the week, I plan 7-9 dinners that we will eat as a family. I give my children a couple of readily available choices so they’re not eating the same thing on the same day of the week. I also look for recipes online and in cookbooks for variety’s sake.
Make More Food Than You Need
When I prepare the meals, I make more than my family could eat in one sitting. By making extra food, I’ll have leftovers that can get saved for a rushed morning or evening meal. I also like the fact that I’m not wasting food. To prevent myself from throwing away excess food, I only make extras of the meals that my family loves to eat on a regular basis.
By eating leftovers whenever we can, I also save money in the process. Because I go to the grocery store less often, I’m not spending nearly as much money. I now put this extra money towards doing fun family activities all over Hawaii.
Keep Cleanup To a Minimum
Who wants to spend time doing a sinkful of dirty dishes? I certainly don’t. What I try to do on a daily basis is cook meals that use a minimum of equipment. Vegetarian pasta and one skillet meals I buy at the grocery store are just two examples of meals that don’t use a lot of pots and pans. When I don’t feel like doing a ton of dishes, I drag out the paper plates and plastic utensils and call it a day!
I don’t have to go the fast food route to cut down on meal preparation time. By following these tips and doing some work before you go grocery shopping, you too can cut down cooking time down to a minimum and use that time to spend with your family and friends.