Serving a family dinner and getting kids to and from after school and care activities can be a challenge. Putting some strategies in place can help your family get food on the table and have the time to eat together.
- Write up a weekly planner with what is on and when.
- Share the shopping, cooking and activity drop off and pickup between the adults in the family (or take turns with a friend to do the drop off/pick up), if you can.
Tips to help get a meal on the table:
- Include a regular food shop into your weekly planning.
- Keep some basic foods in the refrigerator and pantry like eggs, bread, baked beans, pasta sauce and tinned fish. Read more about our pantry basics tips
- It can help to plan a few meals ahead and keep a list of simple meal ideas for busy nights. For example, toasted sandwiches, baked beans on toast, omelette or boiled eggs, noodle stir fry with mixed frozen vegetables.
- Take advantage of prepared ingredient items from the supermarket. For example, pasta sauces, curry pastes, soup, frozen fish, frozen lasagne, frozen or canned vegetables, kebabs, BBQ chicken. Add your own extra ingredients or side of salad or vegetables.
- "Cook once, eat twice" cook more than you need and freeze leftovers or have a weekend cook up of freezer fillers. Handy to have for those busy days. Just remember to take them out of the freezer in plenty of time so you can reheat them easily once you walk in the door.
- Prepare early, for some people a slow cooker works wonders. Save time by getting prepared the night before. Cut up and refrigerate any meat and vegetables. Set out any spices or sauces. It makes it easier to throw them all in the slow cooker in the morning.
- Pack extra food in the lunchbox for children to have on the way to the activity. This can help manage children’s hunger and give you some time to prepare the meal when you all arrive home.
Give yourself a cooking break sometimes – pick up a takeaway and sit down to eat and enjoy it as a family.
Once you have a routine in place, it is a lot easier to look at the foods you are eating and the variety to make sure you are getting the nutrition your family needs.