Weaning Mess, Please Help

[SantasComingToTown]

Can anyone share some tips on keeping your kitchen cleaner with weaning? Any tried and tested methods?

My son is 1 now so I’m starting to introduce snacks and to be honest the mess my kitchen is in every day is really starting to get me down. I feel like I’m either cooking in the kitchen or cleaning the kitchen and after 6 months of it, I’m at breaking point .

I just feel that every meal and now two snack times too, my whole kitchen gets turned upside down, the whole worktop is covered in utensils, plates, bowls, knives, chopping boards etc. I don’t have a dishwasher so putting them in there isn’t a option unfortunately, and I don’t want to or have the time to keep washing up after every meal. I also don’t want to get in the habit of giving my son pre packed foods for every meal, so I just need some ideas on how I can cook nice fresh meals without making my kitchen such a mess!

I’m not necessarily talking about the mess my son makes because for the most part he is actually really quite clean (although that does add to it), it’s the overall kitchen mess I’m struggling with.

Would batch cooking or meal prepping help perhaps?

What are your top tips?

Thanks

@Parker231

I used jars and pouches and spoon fed them. No mess in the kitchen or the high chair.

I did baby led weaning from 6 months so went straight to solids. It’s not my son making the mess to be honest, it’s my food preparation that’s making the majority of it lol

Re instagram OP - pics of beans on toast and chopped up banana are not exactly hot social media content, but they are what babies tend to like!

I tried making all kinds of things with DC1, then she turned fussy anyway. With DC2 I never bothered pushing the boat out. I cook for dinner but lunch is sandwiches, soup, leftovers etc.

Gotcha re eating together. Sometimes making an effort to cook for a baby also involves standing over them in a high chair encouraging them to eat in a slightly stress-making way, but obviously not here! :)