I've had an epiphany - cooking varied meals from scratch does not a good mother make...

[handlemecarefully]

I really make the effort with my lo's nutrition. Cook from scratch, varied menu etc. But it takes so much frigging time up - even simple meals from the Dinner Lady cookbook or Ainsley Harriot's 'Meals in Minutes'; there is still chopping and peeling and washing of pans etc.

With an absentee husband (working all hours), two preschoolers, a puppy and 3 chickens to look after it's too much. I feel shackled to the kitchen and find myself snapping at the children and telling them to bog off because I am busy clearing up the post meal carnage.

Yesterday however I was visibly relaxed because Dh was going to be home early (18.00) and suggested bringing home fish and chips. I had time and energy for the children.

Whilst I am not going to go down the turkey twizzler route , I shall be introducing far more fishfinger and (good quality) sausage type quick meals.

I'm also going to cook only a limited repertoire of a few meals from scratch and keep repeating these(so that I become lightning fast at doing these)...I remember suggesting doing this before on here and someone counselled me not to as I would be stultifying my children's 'nutritional' development...however I reckon that's bunkum. I ate only processed peas as a child (eschewing all veggies) and favoured Bernard Matthews turkey burgers - but now have a very refined and adventurous palate.

Have you heard that expression "No one on their death beds regrets that they didn't spend more time in the office" ? I reckon that applies to the kitchen too.

My children won't remember the meals I cooked - just a mother who never had time to play with them. So hang the fecking food fascism. They will be getting healthy food (all the food groups represented) but it will be low effort and simple from now on. And they will have an unstressed mother who will play with them!!!!

helen browning's speedy sausages are good.organic and super tasty and cooked in 4 minutes!
when you do cook, cook double and freeze it so you can just zap it in the microwave next time.
good for you!

i bulk cook and freeze.

i also slow cooker. a LOT.

i even put breakfast in teh slowcooker. porridge made w/vanilla soya milk.

Do they do them in most supermarkets Alexsmum?

You know, I have always felt that meals previously made that have been frozen and defrosted and reheated don't taste quite so good as freshly cooked. Whilst I think that is true, it's only a marginal difference and you are absolutely right - the smart mum cooks in bulk and freezes!

i buy them in sainsburys.they're lovely.

when you get home from working all day, you've just walked 2.5 miles in the rain and you know you'll have to work your other job that evening or study, just about anything tastes good w/a glass of wine, hmc. TRUST ME!

also if you're a pudding person, Little Rachels organic yoghurts (sugar free) and same range rice puddings are LOVELY!

the rice puddings have sugar, are pretty sweet but ds gets them now andt hen as a treat!

makes it feel like a nice pudding but with no effort for me! lol

I do the same as expat - and have just bought another freezer to stock out

I don't make anything fancy to bung in there, it's straightforward stuff- shepherds pie, fish pie, sweet&sour chicken, lasagne, various casseroles, curries

Also use the slow cooker a lot

lol expat...

Must invest in a slow cooker...hmmmm!

hmc - I'm rapidly getting to this stage too. I'm finding I'm getting stressed even at the planning stage at the moment (I put off working out what we're eating later and later on a Sunday now, even though I have a rotating 5 week menu - I seem to have too much labour intensive stuff on there).

Plus the dses don't eat the damn stuff anyway - we had f&c ourselves tonight and I was amazed at how much both of them ate. Real confidence boosting in the kitchen that is ... NOT!

Hard, innit?

ice cream. i make ice cream at the weekends and then use it for pud during the week.

or make smoothies and then freeze them into ice lollies.

instant pud and you can make them quite nutritious as well.

i also do my own baking mixes - like for cakes and stuff. then just add wet ingredients and bung in the oven.

also roast a joint or chicken at mid week and then use it for quick meals thursday and fri. nights.

don't forget english muffins as quick pizza base. or the ol' jacket potatoes for a quick fix.

I think there is some sort of middle ground....I couldn't contemplate cooking from scratch every night (two kids and dh away) but I do like cooking (not everyone does,I know)

If you make something like a stew/casserole,freeze half and have the other half over two nights of the same week,throw in a takeaway one night,s/wiches another,an omelette on another and then say,a roast chicken stratched over two nights,you're sorted.

It's all in the planning as Puff and Expat say.

i find a nice glass of wine after the kids go to bed and then i'm in the mood to get in the kitchen and prepare for the next day.

GeorginaA - it certainly is hard!

You're right Moondog - there is a middle ground and I am determined to find it; rather than the perfectionist stance I currently take

helen brownings sausages are sooooooo salty (to taste (haven't looked at the back) and i LOVE salt and they were too salty for me...threw them away....

Ah that's the other side effect I've found. We've had so little processed stuff now, that the occasions we've "slipped" and had some, I've hated the taste (and ds2 has too). A quick lunch used to be some spaghetti hoops and toast, only now they taste too sugary/salty - and I've gone through all the brands trying to find one that tastes okay. Other stuff is just plain flavourless.

So maybe I'm just in an inbetween state at the moment and like has been suggested need to be better at cooking in bulk (and working out a way to get ds1 to eat something other than a ham sandwich). We've all been ill the last month in staggered stages, which hasn't helped with the cooking motivation...

the helen browning sausages we buy are fine-not too salty at all and the boys love them!

but hmc i dont see how you aretoo busy to cook
a cleaner
and two kids

they sleep surely?

iu had made dheperd pie before 8 am!

i often make tea fter lunch with ds3helping me

or park kid in forn t of tv for 20 mins

I am defintely a mix and match type of cook - one day I will cook up a storm (e.g yesterday home made chicken and apple nuggets for the kids, chicken breast stuffed with mushroom, bacon and parmensan and wrapped in parma ham, with piedmont peppers on the side) ) and another day the kids will have fishfingers and oven chips (organic natch) and we will have a take-away.

and forgot teh lamb casserole that I made for ds2's lunch as well

agree with Moondog - not every meal has to be a performance. You can do omelettes, pasta with pesto, pasta with tomato sauce (v quick, garlic, olive oil, tinned tomatoes - reduce it till thick enough), sausage and beans, bacon butties (bit salty though), or have jacket spuds with e.g. chops, baked whole fish and some veg on the side.

It's easier when the weather's warmer and you all want to eat simpler food - no slaving over stews then.

I'm mix and match too.

We had full roast dinner on Wednesday - last night dh was on nights - ds2 & dd had MacD's, ds1 and I had soup and a sandwich.

Shoot me now!

Are you still running hmc? Or can't you fit it in between the cooking