Working full time - supper?

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:17 am

I work full time and come home from work about 4:30 every day. I have two kids - DD1 is 3 yrs old and DD2 is 1 - 1/2. I really try to make supper the night before or in the morning.
When we all get home my kids are sooo attached and they both cry to be held. I seriously can hardly make rice to stick in the oven. Its a big deal to do anything simple (I also have to usually make two diff suppers one for dh and another for the kids.) I know this is normal - we are all tired and hungry after a long day. I dont want to give them a snack, that will ruin their supper appetite. They dont either want to play cause they are starving and want me. It can get very stressful. To all those amazing Imamothers out there, I need advice. Is it better to hold them (does that make them more attached) or what...?

To those that work full time with little kids, when do you cook supper for everyone?

flowerpower

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:25 am

Serve something healthy like cut up fruits/veggies and cuddle for five minutes. Then prepare dinner- there are so many dishes that take just a few minutes to prepare. Make breaded cutlets and use the leftovers to make a salad with it the next night....

amother

Ginger

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:28 am

Crock pot dinners
Anything on the George foreman
Cook and freeze when you have extra time.
Prep in the morning & stick in the oven when you get home.
Make a huge pot of soup & freeze.
Once a week do sandwiches, pizza, scrambled eggs, salad & rolls..... anything easy. ( you can even do this more than once a week.)

amother

Aquamarine

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:28 am

I hope you don't mind my commenting on your asking "does that make them more attached". Your kids are young and away from you the whole day. They are attached to you and that is healthy and good. Iyh it is that attachment that will help them grow into teenagers who want to talk to you about their problems. Enjoy!

Mommyg8

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:30 am

What I think I remember doing....

I would make extra for supper and serve it the next day to the kids as supper. Or I would give them a sandwich, yogurt, or cheese, fruit or vegetables. Once the kids are fed and got a little attention you can concentrate on making supper for you and dh.

mom!

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:32 am

One Pan Dinners: chicken and rice, chicken and potatoes ect
Preparing the night before/morning example: pepper steak, chicken on the bone, cutlets marinating for grilling
On a Sunday buy a family package of chicken cutlets, bread, freeze raw take out as needed. Same idea with chopped meat make a big pot of meatballs, sloppy joes, meat lasagna, freeze in dinner amounts.
I like to keep a nice stash of carrot muffins on hand, I can give that as a healthy snack that can be the "first course" of dinner.

I give fish sticks for kids supper all the time, you can leave on a timer or if your husband comes home during the day ask him to put it up. While they are eating, you can quickly put up the adult supper.

you can buy pizza one night to make your life easier. you can easily get $10 pies, it doesn't cost more than making a chicken and side dish dinner.

Good luck! It takes lots of juggling!

mha3484

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:38 am

I make one dinner for everyone. There are nights I eat when the kids are sleeping but its the same food. I dont have the time or patience to make separate meals. I have done this since my oldest was a baby and bli ayin hara all my kids are good eaters who try most foods.

We have lots of one pot meals like cheesy rice and beans, mac and cheese with added veggies, lo mein, pasta and meat sauce with frozen spinach. Sheet pan dinners where you roast proteins and veggies together on one baking sheet are also great. I find the instant pot to be super helpful. I prefer it to the crockpot.

I use a lot of easy cook items like pre cut squash, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, pre sliced mushrooms, cauliflower rice, pre zoodled zoodles etc. Its worth the few extra dollars to come home and start cooking instead of prepping the ingredients. I have started to clean and prepare some veggies like peppers and cucumbers after I go to the grocery store. So my kids can have a healthy snack in the afternoon.

It really is possible to do! You just have to figure out what works best for you and try and fail a few times before you get into a groove.

amother

Periwinkle

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:41 am

I seldom cook except for Shabbos. Sunday and Monday we eat leftovers from Shabbos. On Sunday I make a pot of pareve soup for the week and a pot of pasta. Add to that either sliced hard cheese, cottage cheese, canned tuna or salmon for protein and either pasta, whole wheat bread or a microwaved potato or yam for starch, a couple of slices of tomato and bell pepper, a glass of milk, and that’s a balanced supper.

A quick and easy supper is skillet pasta. I like to caramelize several pounds of onions at a time and freeze it in squares. Then in a big covered skillet I put a cube of caramelizef onion, some cut up tomatoes and bell peppers, enough spaghetti for everyone, appropriate seasonings, a drizzle of olive oil and maybe a cup or two of water. You can also add thinly sliced zucchini or thawed frozen spinach. Cover the whole thing and heat,covered, till spaghetti softens. Stir occasionally to keep pasta from sticking to the bottom. When the pasta is all cooked, mix again, sprinkle with shredded cheese if you like, mix in some tuna if you like, and serve.

You have to set your own priorities. As you see, I’m makpid on a balanced diet, avoid commercially prepared foods as much as possible, but am not wedded to the idea of a hot supper.

At one time I relied heavily on Dr. Prager’s salmon patties and spinach and broccoli pancakes as well as various soy-based meat substitutes. They got too costly and are loaded with sodium, so I stopped.

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:42 am

thanks for all the responses! yup, I do all the above. Its just soo hard to even make scramble eggs while holding a 1 1/2 yr old and 3 yr old whining! She wont eat veggies or soups so thats not an option. Meatballs can only be once a wk maybe if they eat it. Its like honey hang on until supper then I can sit with you and talk to you guys all night as long as you dont dump the plate of supper on the floor! I just feel dysfunctional some times and sometimes I have it all together.

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:49 am

There are some great crockpot dinner ideas here:

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....98170

If you have a delay start on your oven, you will have even more options. Things like chicken and meat can be seasoned/breaded amd prepared for baking in a baking pan, and then frozen. Set the oven to delay start in the morning and place the frozen pan of food in the oven. It will defrost during the day and then start to bake when the oven turns on let's say an hour and a half before you come home.

Also, there are studies about the positive results of spending the first 3 minutes at home with your kids and how it determines how much they open up to you about their day, so you're doing the right thing by trying to make yourself available to them.

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:52 am

ra_mom wrote:

thanks. no one would touch it besides for mom:(
and thats really good to know. I will google that - would love to see!

watergirl

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:54 am

Look into the Instsnt pot. Check out the “pressure cooking school” videos on hippressurecooking.com and watch all of the videos, even the treif ones, to learn how to use it. Then put the kids down for the 3 mins it takes to toss ingrediants into it and pick the kids up again. Nothing to stir. Its a great change from a crockpot because it doesnt have that cholent/stew taste.

Also, most kids NEED that snack. They get tol hangry otherwise. Consider a small snack and a dinner a bit later. Heck, you can use the time that they are eating their quick snack to prep the dinner!

Last edited by watergirl on Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:56 am; edited 1 time in total

thunderstorm

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:55 am

I know this may sound crazy but I literally held the baby throughout preparing dinner. I seriously don't know how I did it. I try doing that now , and I feel uncoordinated .
Sit the three year old at the kitchen table with a story or music CD and crayons and a coloring book to keep her/him busy while you prepare.
But I agree with many to prepare crockpot dinners, soups in advance . I do that even when my kids are older, especially during the fall and winter. I offer them a bowl of soup right when they walk in the door so they are satiated until I serve the rest of supper.

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:56 am

amother wrote:

thanks. no one would touch it besides for mom:(
and thats really good to know. I will google that - would love to see!

I make delicious soft drumsticks in the crockpot for the kids once a week and they lick it up.
None of the recipes have a stew taste, comes out like roasted chicken.
What do your kids usually like?

Last edited by ra_mom on Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:57 am; edited 1 time in total

mha3484

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:57 am

Your kids are still really little if you want to slowly encourage them to try more adult foods now is a great age. I really like the ideas of Ellyn Satter. Its called Division of Responsibility. You can google it. My mother kind of raised us this way but without knowing the name of it. I do the same for my kids.

http://www.mishpacha.com/Brows.....-Peas

little neshamala

Wed, Oct 17 2018, 10:57 am

watergirl wrote:

Came on here just to say this.
INSTANT POT!!! the working mother's dream.