Share your tips for ways to stress less with HelloFresh - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Modern family life can be very busy - and this might mean that otherwise simple tasks like thinking about what to have for dinner or getting out of the door in the morning can become overwhelming or stressful. HelloFresh would like to hear about the tips you have for stressing less, whether this is in the kitchen or elsewhere in your family life.

Here’s what HelloFresh has to say: “HelloFresh is on a mission to help families stress less when it comes to mealtimes with the launch of its new Family Box, offering an all new range of tailor-made family-friendly recipes designed to appeal to kids, teenagers and adults alike and bring variety to dinner time. The HelloFresh Family Box has been created to reduce stress levels and help save parents time and energy. The focus in development has been to make meal planning and preparation as easy as possible, whilst serving meals that guarantee to make family mealtimes delicious, but most importantly totally fuss and hassle-free. Want to give it a try? We've got a special offer for you with 50% off your first two boxes with the code HELLOMUMS.”

Do you have tips that mean sitting down to a family dinner in the evening is an enjoyable rather than hectic experience? Perhaps you’re a pro at making tiny changes to meals so that fussy eaters are catered for? Do you and your family cook together to reduce the stress of preparing an evening meal? Maybe you ensure you’re making time for ‘me-time’ every day so that you can wind down?

Share the ways you #StressLess with HelloFresh below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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It's a simple change but I find that putting food in the middle of the table and encouraging our DC to fill their own plates really works. They seem to be happier to try everything if they serve themselves.

haven't read all 12 Pages so this may not be novel but it certainly works for me: allocate cooking to DH.
As I do a lot of other tasks, this works really well for us. He enjoys cooking now and I appreciate that he does it so don't feel resentful that he doesn't do other things.

Get the kids involved. Mine can bake cakes and make pancakes, get their own breakfast & lunch. Takes away some of the jobs for me!

Small tea time snack so all can sit down to the same family meal

We all eat whatever I make for dinner though we do discuss what they would like to eat each night but no one is v fussy thank goodness

I have one night where I don't cook, we just have picky bits, and one where I'm not in charge, I don't mind who does what, as long as I don't have to think about it. It's been a stressful year so even delegating a little decision or chore helps me out.

Always eat together so that is the norm. Batch cooking really helps.

To make meal times less stressful, when cooking I always try and make an extra meal and freeze. Shepherds Pie and pasta dishes are great for this. You can pack them with loads of vegetables which are very healthy.

Another quick and tasty meal is simple Corned Beef Hash. I make this in the Remoska, which means one-pot cooking, less washing up.

Healthy home made soups are another idea, especially now that we are approaching winter. Vegetable, tomato and chicken soups are packed with flavour. Double up quantities and freeze for another day.

The new Hello Fresh family box also sounds like a great stress reliever, and we might give it a try. Always open to new ideas.

Drink lots (non alcohol!) Yep, I know it sounds stupid. But dehydration makes you feel crap, leaves you with headaches, low on energy etc. It's simple but really does help.

At least it does until you can't get to a loo...

I let the children help serve out the food so that they feel part of providing for the family and have a sense of pride in the food that is being consumed.

I try to make lunch enjoyable for my granddaughter, she has a pretty china jug for her gravy when we have a roast and the scissor spoon server ensures she takes a good helping of broccoli and veg because she likes using it!

There's a meal planning notebook stuck to the fridge, and everyone gets a say in the week's menus. Once it's written down it's set in stone though, so nobody can start saying they want something different, or they don't like it!

Planning in advance so we have meals that are easily prepared reduces stress when you get in from work

I find cooking much more enjoyable at the weekend, so we freeze items and then they are ready to heat and serve during the week. Like a ready meal, but all hand cooked and no additives. #StressLess

I use the slow cooker for midweek meals; the children help setting and clear the table and we also have a dishwasher, all of these things mean less stress preparing our evening meals. Our children are not fussy eaters either, more by luck than anything else, so that makes things easier.

I cook in bulk so I can just come home and reheat rather than taking lots to prepare from scratch during the week. That give me more free time in the evenings.

Prep, prep, prep - anything that can be made ahead of time is always a massive help

I involve the whole family with the shopping by giving 'choices' For example I will say ok - go pick 5 different vegetables and then by them taking the ownership of choice meal time is what THEY chose so the eat it more happily :)

My son is autistic and has huge food phobias so I always give him choices and will try to remember to put a new food on his plate for him to try if he so wishes.

I get as much preparation as possible done while the kids are at school. veg chopped, ingredients out of the cupboard and on the side, and if possible I'll sometimes pull it all together to be put in the oven. I find this makes it much easier and more enjoyable, and gives me more time for the kids too.

Batch cook, or at least make enough for lunch leftovers. If not batch cooking, batch prep vegetables every couple of days - it's such a time-saver for the second day, and then something quick like noodles only takes a few minutes.

Each family member has their nominated day where they choose their favourite meal to have. Respect of other people's days is encouraged or risk losing your own day/favourite - that includes making sure you eat their favourite.

When planning our weekly meals, I write a shopping list of all ingredients required, along with checking what's happening for the whole family for the week... less waste, more planning and being organised.

Putting aside electronic devices, and not answering the phone at meal times, makes them more enjoyable

We have two dinners each night. One for the children where they eat together at the table and we stand in the kitchen chatting with them. Then we have a dinner just for the adults once the children are in bed. It makes it less stressful :)