5 Tips for Stress-Free Family Meals
There are millions of tips for stress-free meals. Do you feel like you have tried them all with little success? Are stress-free meals even possible?
The following tips are encompassing as they incorporate convenience (#1 and #2), remind you it is possible to do less (#3), bring you back to the basics (#4), as well as force you to personally dig deeper (#5).
So, without further ado, here are some ways to save time and spread the weight of responsibility of having healthy meals with your family.
1. Have Staple Family Meals
Staple meals are meals in which you always have the ingredients in your home. One meal my family loves is black bean tacos, so I try to always have the ingredients to make those.
This strategy allows you to have a quick easy meal without planning, shopping, or even having to ask yourself: “What should we have for dinner?”
2. Choose Non-Cooked Meals on Occasion
Non-cooked meals are foods you might enjoy at a picnic which may include 1-2 convenience type items such a pouched chicken/tuna or precooked grains; sandwiches with fruit and veggies; precooked grain salad (i.e. quinoa salad); bagged salad kit with chicken or tuna; etc.
These types of meals are important to remember as they can still provide quality nutrition even if they are made in record time. They are especially useful for game day or late practice nights.
3. Divide and Conquer
Ask family for help with meal ideas. Include kids in age appropriate kitchen jobs such as dishes, chopping, setting the table, taking out the trash, etc.
Ask friends or neighbors if they want to “power cook” with you. “Power cook” is a term I use for cooking multiple meals in a short period of time. It requires planning of ingredients needed. That’s why it can be more fun with company. “Power cooking” can also be done as a family activity.
By dividing the responsibilities of family meals you can decrease burn out, increase variety and lighten the workload. Additionally, young children learn important life lessons.
4. Plan for Your Family's Schedule
Plan, chop and assemble on days off or do portions of meal planning when you have an hour to spare. Utilize faster cooking methods such as instapot, stir fry or grill. When possible, double recipes and put half in the freezer for ease of cooking in the future.
Thinking ahead decreases stress and last minute weak moments of choosing “drive thru.” Having recipes with shorter cooking times allows for more time in the day for “to-dos.” If you find it hard to build in any cooking time into your schedule, homemade freezer meals popped into the microwave are life savers.
5. Find the Root of Your Stress
Tired of dishes? Allow yourself to use paper/plastic on occasion.
Tired of the planning/ prepping? Find a meal service that can help for a portion of your week.
Tired of members of the family not eating meal prepared? See my article: Getting Kids Excited for Healthy Meals.
Sometimes we forget to actually consider what is bothering us most about family meals. For me it has been all of the above.
Stress-free does not mean work-free. Unfortunately, this family responsibility of home cooked meals is hard work. With your hard work remember you are not only achieving better health for the whole family but decreasing risk of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, teen pregnancy as well as building self esteem and improving academic performance. Now that is WORTH your time and investment.
If you want more help on this topic feel free to CONTACT US and be sure to stay tuned for future articles.
