M and I are both really into food. We love food. You know that debate, would you rather have food or sex? Can you guess which one I'd pick?
Anyway, food becomes complicated when babies arrive. You often forget, out of sheer exhaustion, to eat during the day. Throw in the needs of a toddler and forget about it... Wait, except you can't, cause said toddler will likely throw a massive tantrum that will ultimately end in you giving him exactly the kind of food that you refused to give him to start with. Yeah, been there, done that.
So two things are for sure: 1) you, your partner, your baby, and if you have one, your monster toddler, need to eat. 2) It needs to be easy.
My favorite ways to cheat at food, new-parent style:
1) Use a calendar
This is not really a cheat, just a necessary tool. Some people prefer a paper calendar at a "command center" in their kitchen. I'm all about digital. Either way, the key to success is planning. I'm not saying stick to the calendar 100%, but trust me, the calendar serves as a very useful tool - if not for grocery shopping, then at least for a fallback meal suggestion, if you don't have better ideas on the day of.
2) Do all the prep in one sitting, preferably at night when all the kids are sleeping
Pretty much a no-brainer here - get as much prepped as possible (if you intend to cook at all) the night before, so you're not fumbling that giant knife with toddler and baby nearby.
3) Take out (smarter that the usual stuff)
Duh. I particularly like the restaurants that offer healthy alternatives but have a rapid pick-up process. Two places come to mind: Chipotle and Panera. Skip the line and go straight for pick-up.
4) Get someone else to cook
Well, this isn't something you can sign up for. If you're blessed and have awesome friends and family, they MAY be willing to help you out a bit and cook a meal for you. If there's multiple parties interested, consider asking a friend to organize a meal train for you (mealtrain.com). I love this tool - it's essentially a shared calendar that allows you to schedule who comes to visit and when. It gives options for you to mark days you'll need food and set preferences, pretty much taking the guesswork out of the equation for your well-intentioned loved ones. Think of it as a registry, sort of.
5) Get someone else to cook (part 2)
Let's say you don't have friends and family willing to cook for you. Or maybe you're too shy to ask for help (this syndrome dies by baby #2, BTW). If you're willing to shell out a little bit of money, you may be able to find a local home chef business who you can order meals from. This is nothing like Blue Apron or Plated (we've tried both and enjoyed both but with highly recommend AGAINST doing this with a new baby...just too much work for not enough return), I'm talking literally pre-assembled meals that someone makes you. We go with a lady who lives nearby who goes by the name of Sue. She does small evens and things but also sells dinner packages to busy families. It's usual American fare (lasagna, pastas, casseroles, etc) that's not too fancy, but we like the convenience of simply popping a dish into a microwave and dinner magically appearing without much work.
6) Freeze it
Batch cooking is great for new parents. Lasagnas come to mind. Also, meats are great for freezing. We often bake a big thing of meat and freeze the leftovers. They are useful for making pasta sauces (think Ragus), stir fry dishes, and other possibilities.
7) Soup and noodle hack
This might be an Asian thing. It's tradition to drink a lot of chicken soup when you're postpartum in Asian cultures. As a result of this (and since both my mom and MIL insists), there's always a giant pot of chicken soup in my fridge. During my first postpartum stint, I ate the soup grudgingly, dreaming of going to a fancy sushi restaurant with my hubby and newbie instead. This time around? The soup is a friggin' Godsend. I see instant chicken noodle soup. Or gourmet ramen (add an egg). Or... well the possibilities are literally endless (especially since soup + noodles are always a win with my AJ).
8) Crockpot
One pot meals are the best. If I had a fave dish? I'd say it'd have to be anything pulled-pork related. It's so versatile - you can add cabbage and make it Hawaiian style! You can add BBQ sauce and make sliders! The secret is getting the right cut of meat - pork butt/shoulder is the cut you want, for making good pulled pork. That's the hardest thing, seriously, is just getting the pork. From there, it's putting it in the slow cooker, poking holes in the meat with a fork, adding a dash of liquid smoke and a sprinkle of sea salt, and turning the crockpot on - 4 hours high or 8 hours low. Bam. Meal.
Other ways to make sure you're eating:
http://orangelint.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-i-eat-to-survive-day-caring-for-my.html
Happy eating!
No comments:
Post a Comment