to wonder how working parents feed their families?

[Bonnie152]

Just interested in what others do really.

I went back to work in April and since then have really struggled with evening meals. My DC are 1 and 3 and by the time we get home at 5:30 they are very tired and hungry. It's a case of drop bags and make food. DH and I are starting to reach for the same old meals which aren't as fresh and nutritionally balanced as we would like (think pasta and pesto, egg and beans or grabbing chips on the way home from work, etc).

We like to sit down and eat with them as we've all been out of the house since around 7am and it's the only bit of time we get with them until bedtime routine at about 7 (and yes I do feel hugely guilty but that's another story!)

The main problems are having to feed them as soon as we get home and not having a bank of quick, tasty and healthy meals. How do other working parents manage with such young DC? I welcome any advice, recipes and tips for how you have smooth meal times on work days!

[Henrysmycat]

Also, puff pastry in the fridge does pizza style meal in less than 30min from fridge to plate.

[JuanTime]

Cook at weekend,freeze in portions.in morning take the meal out freeze to defrost on fridge,reheat in microwave in evening

[NapQueen]

My kids eat with the cm and we all get in about 5. We spend the time between getting in and bed doing stuff with the kids like a game or trip to the park. This last week it's been paddling pool in the yard.

We then break off and one does bedtime and the other preps dinner for me and dh. We eat after they go to bed

[Hassled]

I manage by setting aside time at the weekend to cook a huge amount of something - so one week bolognese, say, or chicken curry. There'll be a portion for the week and then a couple portions for the freezer. Keep going and you'll eventually have a range of stuff in the freezer. I hardly ever do more than cook pasta or rice in the week - it's all already done. And I enjoy it - it's time to myself, listening to the radio, pottering around.

[soundsystem]

We eat after DC are in bed (one person cooks while the other does bath and bed) and just make an extra toddler portion for the next day.

It is nice to eat together but to be honest DD is pretty tired after being at nursery all day an isn't that interested in being sociable! We eat together on weekends in a civilised manner

[sugarmonster64]

Batch cooking things like bolognaise and mince for cottage pie
Freezing meat and fish ready marinaded so quick to cook, eg fajitas, salmon stir fry
Make batches of healthy pasta sauce with plenty of hidden veg
Cheat and buy fresh pasta (3-5 mins cooking) fresh mash for cottage pie
Use slow cooker, but not much as there's only a few meals I like eh roast gammon in orange juice, pulled pork, meatballs

Requires weekend prep and planning but j tend to do a weekend every 1-2 months and blitz a load of food until we run out again. That and I, happy to have beans on toast or scrambled egg every so often. Basically prepare and lower standards!

[JaceLancs]

I don't have young DC but get home from work quite late and during the week aim to have dinner on the table in well under 30 minutes
Rice cous cous pasta and microwave jackets (we prefer sweet potatoes) are all very quick
Served with salad, steamed veg or microwaved layered veg dishes
Fish poaches or steams very quickly, or shove some kind of meat or chicken under grill
I cook fresh from scratch - it's just being organised so it's all ready at once
Occasionally I will batch make veg chilli or pasta sauces

[VanellopeVonSchweetz99]

My DCs were 3 and 1 when me & DH both went back to full time. Evening meals were killing us (ok that's too dramatic but you get it) and we realized something had to give.
Our solution was tesco ready meals 3-5 days a week for me & DH (leftovers & home cooking the rest) with zero regrets, although it was a bit bleak, expensive & not the healthiest.
DCs had lovely food in nursery so we only made them something light in the evenings according to the 80 - 20% rule (ie if they eat well 80% of the time that's good enough for us).

[cheminotte]

At that age we were eating separately on week nights. We have one of the following: beans on toast, egg and soldiers, jacket potato, pasta with pesto / tomato sauce (you can freeze cooked pasta and just pour over boiling water to defrost) , tortilla pizzas, cheese and biscuits, sausages/ fish fingers and chips. Always fresh chopped veg eg tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, peppers as well. They are happy to start on veg while the food is cooking. As a PP said, we do one person is doing bath, teeth, bed ( usually me), while the other cooks for grown-ups (usually DP). DP will usually come up to read a bedtime story as well.

[AcrossthePond55]

Second previous ideas re batch, slow cooking.

I always made sure I did as much cooking 'prep' the night before or before I left for work as I could. Set table for supper after breakfast or a least stacked the dishes/silver on the table. If I was doing a frozen pre-made batch dish, before I went to bed I'd move it to the fridge to thaw and put it in the dish I was cooking it in so all I had to do was put it in the microwave or oven when I walked in the door. Put pots on the stove ready for the rice or veg to be put in them. Every little step I could do ahead might only save me 5 minutes, but if I could 'pre-prep' 5 things before, that saved almost a half hour.

[Cantusethatname]

Can you tell me some new good slow cooker recipes?
I already do:
mince - it appears as bolgnese, cottage pie, chilli and lasagne with various bits added and taken away.
Curry - a slow cooker tomato and chicken one
Chicken casserole - more tomatoes
Minestrone soup - hey ho, passata is the main ingredient

Like others said, I am in a bit of a rut - what else do people do?

[Muskateersmummy]

Dd has her main meal during the day. She has something quick and simple as soon as she gets in from school. We then have our dinner once she is in bed, around 8pm

[Callaird]

If you are both home at the same time, how about one of you does bath and into pj's and the other cooks dinner, you all sit down to eat together and then put the children to bed.

I agree, batch cooking and slow cooker are the way to go in the main.

[Mycraneisfixed]

Like others I cook a large pot of mince,chopped peppers, onions and bolognese sauce and that does for pasta bolognese and cottage pie for a few days. If they're hungry they don't mind a lack of variety!
I also peel a bag of potatoes and cook and mash the lot then freeze in large 'handfuls' to store in resealable bags. You have to add plenty of butter and milk to mash if you're freezing mash or it isn't as nice when you reheat in microwave.
Frozen peas.
Broccoli is quick to cook.
Turn on the oven the minute you get in then fish fingers only take 15 mins. Great with mash and peas.

[HermioneJeanGranger]

Can one of you bath the kids while one does dinner, then feed DC in their pajamas, brush teeth, bedtime story and bed. Alternate who cooks/does bathtime, and then you have time to cook without whiny DC under your feet, and you don't have to wrestle two over-tired kids through a late bedtime routine.

[Dozer]

Knoq what it's like, it's our biggest guilt trip about the DC! Was miles better when we had our CM l, who was a great cook. I was too pre DC and working with DC/commuting. DH and I don't eat well either. If we all eat some kind of veg I think we're doing OK.

Sausage and mash takes well over 30 mins if you count the potato peeling!

IME it's harder to do batch cooking if you don't want too much red meat.

[PlotterOfPlots]

I don't think you're missing anything, you've just made it really tough for yourselves by choosing childcare that doesn't do an evening meal. Ours always did about 4pm, then we could bung them a banana or oatcakes before bed. After school club doesn't do official tea but they are pretty keen on feeding sandwiches, biscuits and fruit to the children, and they're older now, so as long as they're fed by 6.00 it's ok.

One option for you might be to do what a lot of parents do at school pick up - give them a snack asap to buy a bit more time, then have a more leisurely meal.

We have never mastered eating with the DC though. I put it down to DH getting back quite late. Bedwetting is also an issue here - DC need to eat at least a couple of hours before bed, which will never work with DH getting home at 7.00.

[yummumto3girls]

I think I would be changing my childcare arrangements so that the DC's have tea at nursery and then just a snack at home, take the pressure off. You can then spend some time playing/catching up instead of cooking - much better quality time at that age. Then when one is putting them to bed the other can cook. It will change when they start school but mealtimes are hardly quality time at that age! Also nursery would do away with packed lunches which is another hate of mine.

[Dozer]

Yy to frozen veg - peas and sweetcorn, or corn on cob, microwaved!

[PlotterOfPlots]

Oh yes, and we eat the same thing 2 nights in a row so the second day is just heating up. And Fri is quite often pizza night. So we could tend only to do "proper" weekday cooking on Mon and Wed.

Fish fingers, noodles and peas/sweetcorn is my go-to meal for feeding children fast.

[1AngelicFruitCake]

We eat together and really make use of slow cooker. If I want to do steamed vegetables then I prepare the vegetables in the morning/night before so can get the steamer on as soon as I get in. If we're having pasta or rice then I measure it out before work so I can get on with it quicker when I get in. Quicker meals are saved for nights where I've got a late meeting.

[LittleGreyCatwithapinkcollar]

My 15 month old dd eats with us at 6:30-7ish. That's how we get around it. She starts bedtime at 7:30-8. Yup. I'm a terrible mother!

[hotdiggedy]

Ive been doing it for years and I still have the same problem as you Op! In reality, the only thing that helps is to cook and freeze stuff on a weekend (but then who wants to spend all of their weekend in the kitchen?) an then having a few easy dinners that you can create - I find boneless chicken thighs to be quite good for this as you can just quickly marinade them in oil and a few spices or yoghurt and oil and lemon and a few spices and shove them in the oven for half an hour ish and then have them with bread/rice/potato whatever. Salmon is also pretty quick to fry in the pan. I also hate having to plan ahead but if you be bothered to spend one day a month in the kitchen preparing stuff to freeze and put them into takeaway containers or the likes in the freezer and just use them say 2 or 3 times a week, then have salmon one day and chicken thighs another then that pretty much covers it. I hate how mundane it all is!

[Cordelia1234]

I don't think 15min meals are that in reality....my youngest 3 and 8 year old, like sandwiches for dinner (and maybe a little salad)...substitute for ready made tomatoe/veg pasta...fish fingers? Or homemade chicken breast sliced as dippers?? Other than that a slow cooker is good ( small childrens ready meals on occasion on hand in the fridge) (my two have had hot meals usually for lunch)

It can't be helped when you work full time....you do your best...soup and sandwich on occasion...(can be home made or tinned)

[SouperSal]

At one and three, haven't they already had food by then? Mine have nursery meal at about 4 ish, then a little supper and milk when they get home

At 1 2 and 3 and through till nearly 6 (now) DD was having lunch at 3-3:30pm!