Need some suggestions on how u plan ur cooking??

I work full time and leave at 8 in the morning and come back at 6 in the evening. And I feel that the time I or my husband is at home is mostly gone in the kitchen.. Our father-in law stays with us and I have a 5 yr old so I wish to prepare fresh food everyday. But these days its becoming very tiring and frustrating for both of us and all our energy is drained by washing dishes, eating and then washing dishes…..

We come home in the evenings, eat something then while my hubby helps in the kitchen with washing I spend sometime with my son with his homework.. by the time it will be 8 pm and then if hubby has got the energy he will finish off cooking too and then feeding my son, giving him bath and taking him to bed all this by 9 pm..We both will be dead tired so just spend the remaining time staring at the telly..

Waking up in the morning by 6, prepare some breakfast, sometimes idli/dosa and my son asks for something else like noodles, and preparing a curry for my son for his lunch and shouting at him in between to get ready..so half of ur energy is gone in the beginning of the day itself.. Is this common in every household?? Am I overreacting?? Please suggest me some ideas to spend some quality time in the weekdays and some planning tips.. Thanks guys…

Hi Sravanti,

I am sure many working couples would be in a similar situation as yours.

When i was working fuul time and hard pressed for time, i used to do the following.

I had prepared a menu for the whole month..breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Then i used to list out the groceries that i would need for that month and on the last weekend of the month i used to get as much as possible and stored it. i used to get vegetables & fruits for the whole week. There in UK i am sure you could buy milk & other such items too for the entire week.

If your menu is in place you can easily jot down the ingredients and the quantity that you will require for that month. Also in the same manner if you have a list of the other things that you need around the house, you will save time on making the list and buying everything at one go also save your time every weekend. Coz then you will only have to buy fresh veggies, fruits and milk & in case you are a non-veg then those items only during the weekend and the list makes it much easier and faster.

For eg: if you are making upma every week then take four portions of rawa 1 portion per week. Roast this rava add the necessary masalas and keep it ready so when you want to make upma you only have to warm the rava and add the needed qty of water & fresh coriander(cilantro)...your upma will be ready in 10 min.

I used to keep the elaborate dishes for the weekend. For weekdays, you can always cut the veggies, boil dals, knead the atta for 2-3 days (smear little oil and cover it with cling film & refrigerate). You can also make gravies and refrigerate. Chutneys for idli/dosa - sandwich etc can also be refrigerated.

If the menu is pre-defined and basic things ready then i am sure your cooking will be done faster, also it reduces the no. of vessels so that cuts down on washing time.

I hope this helps. Maybe your weekends may become a bit hectic...but it will give you some breathing space during the week days.

Also having a menu for the entire month helps to come up with new dishes and you have a different item on your plate each day.

Hope this helps.

Warm regards
Roopa.

Hi Sravanti,

Roopa has answered most of the things. I will add little more.

Mainly planning makes the cooking, other house hold works easy to do. Stocking provisions for a month or two helps a lot, same way veggies and fruits can be stocked for a week.

We too, in our house face the same problem of getting too much exhausted during working days. I finish most of the cooking in the morning only, so that evenings we can spend with the child and family. I stock idly/dosa batter for a week or five days. So that during working days simple breakfast can be made. I cut veggies for the next during the previous day night. and i keep all the necessay items for cooking ready in the previous day night which reduces the cooking time in the morning.

Hope i have given some useful tips to u.

bye
nandhini

Thanks for the idea ladies..they are really usefull..will try and follow them..

Hi sravanthi,

Me too a working woman with a toddler.

I make the cooking easy by keeping all the masala especially pastes ready in the fridge like the ginger paste, garlic, coconut paste, tomato puree etc. I also cut the onions for the entire week and keep it in a over refrigerated. All these small things save a lot of time.

Hope it will be useful.

Ayesha

For cutting veggies I use food processor, when i was at home i used to take time cutting them neatly but now, need to spend time with kids too, so i use a food processor to chop veggies, ofcourse it wont be neat like we cut with knife but atleast we get eat veggies, try to use frozen veggies. try to freeze some food so in a week one or two days u can use those and relax.

I freeze chutneys, gravies and also freeze all dried beans, like boiled chickpeas, black eyed beans. those are easy to use in weekdays, saving time on boiling them/ cutting veggies. also i freeze idly too. everyday i thaw 1 idly in microwave and feed my son, he eats only 1 idly so this works easy. i also freeze pancakes for his breakfast, this way we dont have to spend time making breakfast. once in a while take sandwiches or salad for lunch so u can relax. if u r trying to cook 3 meals per day for whole week u will get tired.
i try to save time in cutting veggies, also make some soup and freeze them. i always have some food in freezer for those days where we dont feel like cooking, better than buying food out. hope ur Fil will be ok with frozen foods.

Like other ILite said i too chop onions for 3 to 4 days, make atta for 2 days, makes cooking better if not easier.hope this helps, even i am trying to reduce work in kitchen so we can get other things done in the evening.

HI PRIYA and all others frnds,
Is it gd if frozen foods like idlies, pancakes (what is pancakes) to be given to kid,as i too sometimes feels so tierd ,but always think that i am not doing justice to my son giving himalready kept food .
Pl tell me am i wrong or thinking right as i am very emotional in everything,and because of that i think am lacking behing a lot..
Also is tropicana fruit juice we in small tetra packs in shop is that gd to give to my son,as he likes that a lot..can u ppl tell me what all u give ready made things to ur kids which is healthy and gd as we really get gd stuff in here in shops...

I feel home made frozen idly is better than store bought ones or processed foods like maggi noodles. anything home made is better. u never know how long the food is stored in freezer in the supermarket.

Personally i feel NO for juice for kids. i give fruits, but no juice, as it is just juice+sugar and water. if u want give fresh fruit juice.

Ready made foods : i give cheerios, rice krispies, cereals which are not sweet, nuts, fruits, raisins, cheese. even i am looking for variety of readymade snacks.

Pancake is like uthappam but made out of flour, egg, sugar etc.
I made it fresh at home with whole wheat flour and fruits( for sweet taste) with eggs and freeze it immediately( once cooled) , this way i feel better, not guilty that i am giving him store bought foods but atleast homemade eventhough it is not fresh.

I learnt the hardway that even our health is important, no use cooking fresh everyday and falling sick one day, if we r sick then who will take care of us and kids. then cant go to work too.
so dont feel guilty , just do what u can and what u feel is right.

Dear Sravanti,
Please do not miss to see Chitvish link for Jiffy cooking. She has plenty of ideas, which I find are time saving at the same time delicious.

You are certianly not over-reacting..Managing home and work is not very easy. It is an art we master over time.

Regards
USHA

hai,
invest in a microwave and also glass vessels for it. its a good investment for u and u can cook food jus like that..
check chitvish's modern microwave cooking link i decided firmly to go for it only after i went through her entire link. also as ushakrishnan mentioned jiffycooking, tips etc.
i make rasam in 3 min , oats in 3 min, i am able cook veggies in 5 to 8 min and then jus do the thalitham.. also i get good comments from my collegues that it tastes much better than theirs as the flavour,color etc is retained well with oven.
but remember u shud also invest in the glass vessels otherwise it is difficult to use the oven fully.
i hav a 4 year old and a 8 months old kid, i find it really very usefull.
if u hav one jus start using it extensively , i agree u hav to do some trials to get the timings right for your quantity but that u can do it on sundays.
i assure ur time cooking time will be reduced much.
regards,
Anupama