Are you fed up with struggling at every mealtime? Thinking that there must be an easier way to feed your family? Today I am sharing my essential family meal hacks for busy Mums that will make dinner time more harmonious in your household. These family meal hacks will save you time, save your money and ultimately save your sanity.
Table Of Contents
Meal plan for the win
Sick of the daily stress of wondering what on earth to cook for dinner? For my first family meal hack to get you on track, it’s time to start meal planning!
This doesn’t have to be complicated or scary. Start with evening meals and just write down what you are going to make for each night. This will help you to become a smarter shopper, as you’ll know exactly what you need each day, plus it’ll ease the stress too.
Take stock
Do you know exactly what you have in your cupboards? One simple hack for making family meals easier and more efficient is to do a quick stock take as you are meal planning.
Shelf cook before you shop
Shelf cooking does exactly what is says on the tin – it’s cooking from what is already on your cupboard or refrigerator shelf. By shelf cooking from existing stock before shopping, you’ll save money plus avoid having to throw things out because they have gone off.
Central shopping list
Are you sick of running out of essential food items in your home? Usually, because a family member has used the last of something yet failed to mention it? One solution is a centralised shopping list that all family members can add to as things are used up. This same list can be used for non-food items such as toiletries too.
Keep the list in an agreed place such as the kitchen where all family members can contribute to it, then snap a picture of it on your phone before you shop.
Our central shopping list lives in our Kitchen Organisation Station. Check out exactly what an organisation station is and how to make and use your own bu clicking the button below.
One to use one to backup
If you have watched any of my grocery haul videos on my YouTube channel, you’ll know that I have a “one to use and one as a backup” system for all non-perishable items.
Quite simply I have one item (a box of cereal or jar of jam or bag of rice or whatever it may be), open and in use, then another as a backup. As the one is use is empty and the backup of whatever it may be is opened, the items is added to the shopping list and I purchase a new backup.
This system has saved my skin so many times and avoided us running out of things when one of my 4 children has been ill or some other crisis has occurred that has meant that I am not able to get groceries when I was planning to.
Meal prep in bulk
On days where you have a little more time and you have your chopping board out anyway, chop and prepare ingredients for some upcoming meals on your meal plan. Once you have dirtied your kitchen utensils anyway, why not prepare more than you need? You will be so glad of the time saved on a night where you are dashing home to make dinner with no time to spare.
Embrace frozen vegetables
I always like to keep a selection of frozen vegetables in my freezer, either bought frozen or that I have prepared myself. Frozen vegetables “keep” for exponentially longer than fresh ones and taste just as nice when cooked.
Double up when cooking and freeze extra portions
When you take the time to cook, prepare double the quantities and freeze half for future “home made ready meals”. On evenings where you have little to no time, you can reheat these meals quickly and easily.
Recycle plastic takeaway cartons
Saving plastic takeaway cartons will mean that you have the perfect containers for freezing your home made ready meals.
Set alarm to plan tomorrow’s dinner
Set an alarms or reminder on your phone to look at what is on tomorrow night’s meal plan and check if anything needs to be done. Do you need to pick up any missing ingredients? Do you need to get anything out of the freezer to defrost? A daily reminder will make sure that you complete these tasks and stay organised.
Fridge jug
Make staying hydrated at meal times simple with a fridge jug (or two like we have).
Keep our beverage of choice (it’s sugar-free orange squash in our house) ice cold and ready to serve in your fridge. When it’s time to lay the table, pop the jug on the table and everyone can help themselves to a cold drink.
Grater box
On kitchen gadget that I could not live without is my grater box.
This nifty little box can be used for grating multiple things, but I use it mostly for cheese. There is a lid to put on to store your freshly grated cheese, before putting it away in the fridge or using it for your meal.
Multi layer hob steamer
A really easy way to add veggies to your family’s meals is to simply steam them. I love my stove top multi layer steamer as I can steam multiple things while only taking up one hob ring. I simply throw some frozen vegetables in and let them steam while I prepare the rest of the meal.
Microwave steamer
While I could use my microwave steamer for vegetables, I tend to stick to my stove top steamer. Do you know what I do cook in my microwave steamer? Pasta. I simply throw in some pasta shapes, cover with boiling water and microwave for 12 minutes.
Having said that I don’t use the microwave steamer for veggies, I do often add peas into the pasta to do one of my children’s favourite dinners – pasta, pesto peas & grated cheese. This is a super easy meal as the pasta and peas cook together, then I stir in some pesto and grated cheese.
Microwave rice cooker
I love my microwave rice steamer as the rice comes out perfectly fluffy every time. It’s also easier to be able to turn on the microwave rather than have to guard the stove sometimes when you have kids.
Pizza stacker
Short of space on your oven but need to cook a lot of different things at once? This pizza stacker is perfect for cooking multiple pizzas, or anything else that you might cook in the oven.
Pizza cutter
Pizza cutters are not just for pizza! Use your pizza cutter for slicing other things such as cheese on toast with ease.
Scissors
Scissors can be your best friend when it comes to family meal hacks. You can use clean kitchen scissors for cutting up raw food. Another way I love to use kitchen scissors is to cut up my children’s food when they are too little to do this for themselves, it saves so much time.
Scissors like these that have additional uses are ideal, make sure you have a few pairs of scissors at the ready for all of the different jobs in the kitchen.
Emergency meals
It’s always a good idea to have emergency freezer meals on stand by, just in case the unexpected happens and you don’t have the time to prepare the meal that you planned. These can include the double cooked home made freezer meals we discussed earlier, as well as easy options like frozen pizzas.
Enlist your family to help
Get your children helping out at meal times as early as possible. Even young children can help with jobs such as laying and clearing the table, while slightly older children can get involved with washing dishes or loading the dishwasher and can even assist with meal prep. Not only will this ease the burden on you, but it will teach them valuable life skills too.
Clean as you go
An easy way to make the post meal time clean up easier is to clean as you go. Rather than leaving a big pile of dishes until after dinner, work to wash and clean up the equipment you use to prepare the meal as you cook.
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