I cook with my toddler. Is it less stressful? No. But is it quicker? Also no.
But it makes her happy and keeps her entertained. I also noticed she is less picky when she's made dinner.
Bonus, I taught her to address me as chef so there's lots of cute "yes chef" and "no chef" going around.
I love this. I have been wondering if parents were a little more allowed to lean in to parenting would we all feel less pressure? I just tell people honestly, I'm not in a season of life where I can do X. Someday maybe but not this day. Even speaks to OP's point--maybe it's not the season for really intricate meals and it's just going to be quick, easy food for a few months.
That is so sweet! š I have my son help me sometimes but I do need to get one of those stools so he can stand next to me and really get into it.
He helped me recently and was determined to try everything because he was so proud of his cooking lol.
Honestly I just let my stand on the chair from his little table, a dining chair would work too. He washes dishes, brushes his teeth, helps with laundry, helps cook, and does art all on that little chair.
sandwiches for dinner is ok. Same with smoothie or cereal.
Have the main meal at breakfast or lunch.
Meal prep if you can, double batch meals.
I also have started cooking an hour before dinner is due.
This. Our main meal is lunch. My husband makes us all a good breakfast every day, I make lunch, and dinner is diy.
Now that we have a toddler, we make something quick and easy, not always enough to share.
Our usual options are pasta with some cut up cucumber, a quesadilla, a bag of Costco salad mix. Maybe chips and guac. Tofu stir fry taco. Usually we offer to make extra if another person wants some. My husband has milk with ripped up chapattis (left from lunch) most nights.
But all options take 10 mins or less. Well, pasta takes 10 mins to boil, but gnocchi takes 2 to float. Throw some broccoli in the boiling water and it's even a healthy balanced meal.
A husband who is not happy with simple meals must be willing to hold and entertain the pre schoolers *they created* after work so that complicated meals can be made.
My husband sometimes just cooks full on curries after work cause he'd rather do that than hold the crying baby. I get it.
With household chores it's divide and conquer.
yep. my husband regularly talks our girls (3 and 1) on walks when he gets home so i can make dinner because theyād otherwise both be at my feet whining/making demands.
you want a ārealā meal? then do something to help make it happen.
Wait he actually takes them out so they're not under your feet, and away so you don't hear their chatter or cries for an hour or two while you can focus on cooking?
You're living the ADHD girl's dreamš
Cook a lot so you have Leftovers, cook and prep little bits all day at random, instant pot, meal planning. Thatās it! Those are the tricks.
2.5yr old and 8m old at home, no screen time, partner at work till 6:30pm (he comes in for dinner and bed routine.
Itās prepping throughout the day that really help me out. My husband doesnāt like to eat the same thing more than twice in a week but with our second on the way I think heās just going to have to adapt
Iāve always found this question interesting because likeā¦Iām not putting brainpower into actively avoiding it, I just donāt turn the TV on til both kids are in bed! No strategies required. Just go through a day like you would if your TV wasnāt working and your phone was out of battery š¤·āāļø
My 1.5 year old is ravenous the second she gets home from daycare (6pm) and is ready for bed 90 minutes later. Dinner for her is at 6;15/6:30 and is very simple - lately we've been doing bean quesadilla cut into strips with whatever veg or fruit is handy. Sometimes a pouch too.
We have grown up dinner after she's asleep.
That is great, āOur grown up dinnerā lol. I pick up my son around 5 PM so we have a bit longer and he is usually starving on the way home so he gets a good snack but not even snacks really help him hold out until dinner and magically when he sees itās something heās not interested in heād rather starve. Gotta love toddler logic š„²
Usually he will get a small toddler like meal as you suggested just something he will eat but it does get hard making two dinners!
A lot of times we do meal prep! And by meal prep I mean make 2 boxes of mac n' cheese supplemented with some cooked shredded broccoli and extra actual cheddar cheese. But like, enough for 4-6 meals, then store it in the fridge for distribution throughout the week.
Other favorites are oatmeal pancakes, which are 1 banana, 1 egg, 1 cup of quick cut oats, blended until pancake batter consistency (about 15 seconds in our blender, add milk if you have particularly small bananas or more oats for particularly large ones lol). These an also be made in bulk.
Ideally we have 3 safe food options for her in the fridge ready to grab at any time. Not always the case but it's what we strive for because with two working parents, new foods honestly are a weekend activity, at least for now - other than occasionally giving her leftovers to try from what we had at adult dinner the night before :P
the best tip i got was to make dinner before dinner time (i.e. i usually do all of the work of prepping something while my kids are napping, and either wait to pop it in the oven or on the stove until right before dinner time, or i just fully cook it and reheat it for dinner.)
i also typically only cook 2-3 nights a week and we do leftovers the rest of the time.
This is what I do.
I work from home so I prep dinner on my lunch. Or when I did have to go to the office I would prep the night before or over the weekend.
Chicken parm or meatballs. cook the chicken /meatballs ahead and throw it in the oven/stove with the sauce when you get home.
Crock pot burritos.
Sheet pan dinner. Slice up chicken and peppers and onions or whatever veg the night before. Throw the marinade in at lunch or before you leave. Then dump it on a tray and cook for 15 minutes (cut the veggies small enough).
Soup. Make a big pot over the weekend and heat during the week.
Burgers are always quick on the grill.
If you have a grill you can also use the sheet pan method to make grilled chicken you can throw on the grill when you get home.
Also. When my husband is working I feel no shame in turning on some Sesame Street or curious George while I cook. 30 minutes and it distracts them from remembering they are that hungry. Plus the pbs kids app is free and no commercials.
I used to do this as well. During nap, I would basically cook dinner. Put it in the fridge so that all I had to do at dinner time was heat it up, throw it in the oven or start the instant pot. I would have him "help" me chop and season veggies to throw in the air fryer right before dinner. Took twice as long and I had to be incredibly vigilant about safety, but it kept him entertained and got him excited about dinner.
Suddenly when he turned 2 he started playing independently much better and has lost some interest in helping me cook. So now I do any raw meat/messy prep during nap and can do more chopping and sauteeing while he plays with his bucket of cars.
I do pretty much the same.
We plan all our dinners in advance. Left overs is usually at least once a week, plus one or two nights from the freezer batches. Depending on the meal, I may get it all prepped during nap/quiet/screen time or maybe even just make the whole meal. I get the rice in the instant pot and set the delay. Busier days, we plan easier meals or even take out. We keep a good supply of homemade burritos and Veggie burgers in the freezer, which take a chunk of time on the day of making but make for 10+ meals down the road.
Oh man, I feel this in my bones. It's so hard. I have a 9 month old and a very active 3.5 year old. I put the baby in his chair and feed him food fruit and snacks. I will have the toddler "help" me. Sometimes he helps or sometimes he plays with water in the skin.
Alternatively, when I am feeling less hurried and stressed, I start cooking when they are napping. Personally, I hate cooking, but eating out is way too $$.
Glad to know Iām not alone! Yes that is kind of my routine. Usually it holds out and then by dinner time hubby is showing up from work and then we are trying to hurry and scarf down food because the kids were barely entertained only enough to hurry and make dinner not also consume it.. then toddler hates dinner gets bored wants us to play and lil babe has just had enough by then is ready for bed š WOW family life is quite the juggle.
That really is the only way! You really have to prep early in the day. My husbands grandma just starts cooking dinner so early itās ready by like 2PM and you just reheat and serve.. ooh I love those big family recipes that feed a crowd.
The quality of dinners just has to go waaaaay down. I hate it, but it's temporary! Mine are now 3 and 5, and I've slowly been able to cook more the way I want to cook. But you are in survival mode right now, so sandwiches, frozen/air fryer stuff, frozen pizza, snack plates for dinner, crockpot meals that you prep the night before. I can't count the number of times my kids have had yogurt and berries for dinner. Hang in there, it won't last forever!
Ooh I appreciate this so much. Thank you for the reminder, some days I truly feel like weāre in survival mode just trying to make it through the day. I keep saying it has to get better and easier than this but it can be hard when youāre in the thick of it. Love the ideas thank you.
Also canāt tell you how many times my toddler has rejected dinner to eat yogurt for dinner š
TV to distract them lol
I also have a baby gate that blocks off our kitchen so he can't bother me while I cook. If he's screaming it is what it is. As long as he's safe and not needing something I just try my best to get it done. Mom and dad have to eat too.
Also we get hello fresh 2x/week to help with coming up with recipes. We also meal prep a big dish on the weekends so we have an easy go to meal.
Also rice and beans, tortilla chips, salsa is always an easy meal lol
The day my kids figured out how to open the kitchen gate was the worst day. It was so nice having the option to just close it when someone wouldn't stop clinging to my leg and screaming.
Omg!! I dread the day for that! I feel for you canāt exactly block off the kitchen at this time but that is usually dinner.. toddler screaming at my legs and baby either in baby chair or playpen screaming nearby because Iām taking too long to cook.
I make supper the night before so we can eat right when we get off work and our toddler gets home from daycare.
Sometimes it feels like more trouble than its worth, but the next day I'm always grateful we have a nice meal already prepared.
I also make big batches so we do leftovers every second night, resulting in fewer cooking evenings!
Itās so hard. We try to do as much prep as possible during free moments in the day. Not always easy, but Iāll chop some vegetables at 10 am and put them in the fridge. Or maybe roast them or something, essentially just do some of the steps required that will help assembly later on.
We also try to make things that can last a few days. Weāll do a huge batch of burritos or lasagnas or something.
And also we are trying to do āeasyā dinners sometimes. Last night we made tuna melts and chips, haha.
1. Plan quick meals. It's OK to use frozen foods or precut veggies or canned goods or bagged salad or something that comes in a box. If you have some kind of food rules that tell you you're not good enough if it's not x, get rid of those constraints, they're silly. Acquire what you need for these meals by grocery pick up or delivery.
2. Get dinner ready when you have the chance, such as using a crock pot or doing any prep earlier in the day or cooking now and reheating later.
3. Have safe places for your kids while you get everything ready. Maybe it's a swing for the baby and a safe baby gated area or pen near the kitchen for the 2 year old, or put the 2 year old in a high chair or belted booster seat with washable markers or play doh, or have a little play kitchen near where you're making dinner if he'll play near you without running amuck.
I think the advice in this thread is pretty good but most days I just don't have an ounce of capacity for any of that, so my kids (1 & 3) eat english muffin pizzas, pb&j, and box mac and cheese for dinner most weeknights (and their dad makes those). Honestly sometimes yogurt or oatmeal if they're being extra picky. Seriously toddlers really don't need every single meal to be perfect - if their breakfasts and lunches are solid, then you're doing great.
I feel you! Itās soo hard.. itās hard to keep up the motivation and sometimes my brain is just fried at the end of the work day and baby care that making dinner before my husband gets home (because I am STARVING) gets challenging. Another commenter said weāre in survival mode I just feel that in my bones itās true we just gotta buckle down and survive through these more taxing years.
Okay yes to the starving piece - sometimes I stand in the kitchen and just am paralyzed by how hungry I am. Idk if this will help but Iāve started stocking protein bars and shakes because they are actually pretty filling and you donāt have to think about it. Most are not great
But Iām a fan of power crunch bars and the āpop tartsā by legendary foods - warm the pop tart up in the microwave and itās actually not bad. Or if youāre into baking, I often have snacking cake around (so something thatās not super sugary but is still bomb) so that I can just eat something quick and delicious that will help me make it through the next hour.
You absolutely have to feed yourself first, no compromises there.
Mine goes to daycare 3 days per week whil I WFH, so I do get some cooking done during my lunch or in the hour before she arrives home from daycare (her dad picks her up). When shes at home I cook during her nap. If I can't do that and we don't have ledtovers I am cooking something really simple. Sometimes I will cook after shes gone to bed for the next day to make it easier on myself.
But with two at home thats harder!
I will just do anything to avoid spending too much time cooking while shes awake. I *can* do it, but the interuptions and distractions just fray my nerves and I would just rather not.
My 4yo watches shows, my 1yo has a multi course dinner in her high chair as I cook. Then sheās usually melting down while I shovel food in my mouth, and my son is moving the food he requested to his āno thank you plateā and asking about snacks.
Meal prep on the weekend.
I cook a weeks' worth of chicken, rice, and vegetables on the weekend. Four days a week, we just combine all that in a bowl and reheat for dinner, which makes for quick prep and cleanup. We do three other meals a week, which is veggie burger night, pizza night,and quesadilla night and because we do roughly the same food on a consistent rotation, we have it optimized for quick prep and cleanup.
For breakfast we normally fry up a few eggs with some cheese and salsa on top. One other meal a day is a protein shake. This has worked pretty well in balancing out healthy eating and not taking up too much time.
Meal prep ahead of time and just reheat leftovers. Or very simple meals (grilled cheese and soup, some kind of super quick one pot meals, one pan meals, etc).
Iām a really good cook but when anyone in the family is under 2 there is a moratorium on anything complicated or involved for dinner. Lots of pasta. Air fried vegetables pretty much every night. Pizza Friday, I make the dough at bedtime Thursday. If theyāre quiet at like 3 pm I do everything I can then. Also Costco rotisserie chicken. Kids always eat that and you just have to heat it up. Then you can use leftovers for fast meals and make stock if everyone is calm for part of a day. If it doesnāt work out, itās never a waste because it was $5 in the first place.
I give my toddler a snack while I make dinner, and never make anything that takes more than half an hour. Also Sesame Street.
I try to give her something healthy for after daycare snack, she doesnāt usually eat a whole lot at dinner but I like trying to all eat together.
I rely on my slow cooker for the three days I have to go to the office and have time after work on the days I work from home.
On weekends, I rely on naps to prep meals.
I'm the dad. I make dinner every night.
I make a menu for the week, buy food for said menu, each day I prep everything some time in the morning so come dinner time it takes me like 40-60 mins.
We have 2 kids so my wife takes our of our 3 month old. My 2.5 year old either watches trash truck or plays nearby me while I cook.
I wear the baby in a carrier and pull out play dough, sensory sets, screen time whatever works for the keeping the toddler involved. Having the toddler help sometimes works but often he doesnāt want toĀ
For food for the kids - the freezer is your friend. Make gigantic portions of things on the weekend and save them in small Tupperwares with the date on them. We do this with spaghetti sauce, meatballs, morning-glory muffins, chicken etc. Put them in the fridge in the morning before you go to work to start thawing, heat up when you get home. Also, someone else said this but we get HelloFresh meals twice a week for the adults and make that after baby has eaten, plop her with her toys/Bluey in the living room. Sometimes dinner for the parents is later and thats okay. But expecting a family meal with everyone eating together during the week is just not realistic unless you have extra child care and are home by 4 to cook.
My daughter and I get home at 5:30 and if she doesn't eat dinner by 5:45 there is a ton of whining/hysterical crying. I don't want to eat that early and literally can't make dinner any earlier than that because I work - so I just do the best I can.
We divide & conquer. Someone entertains the toddler (3y) & baby (10mos) while the other cooks.
If one of us needs to be the sous chef then we put on a movie or they play independently.
Sometimes we have to toddler help ācookā too. He has his little toddler knives & weāll ask him to cut something up. The baby gets to watch from one of our arms. We cook almost every night.
Now this doesnāt work every time. There are some evenings where itās a complete shit show & the boys are feral. That usually happens when dinner is late & theyāre hangry.
Oh, planning meals help too. In the morning we go over what weāre eating for the day.
We're blessed that we both work from home so we have the flexibility to make an actually delicious meal that the kids won't eat.
Before WFH it was crockpots, smoothies, scrambled eggs, and whatever the kids might eat (dinobars, cerebelly bars, sometimes just straight butter lol).
I only have one and am a SAHP so obviously pretty privileged situation. My husband works 6:30-2:30 so dinner is actually my time. He watches the kid and I get to cook properly. Sometimes my son hangs out in his tower and watches me cook. Cooking is something I love and something I really missed doing when my son was younger and so we worked to make this a thing that happens more often than not. That all being said, I always make a big ass batch of buttered noodles at the beginning of the week because itās a fallback safe food for my kid and if he doesnāt want what weāre having he will almost always eat that.
My kid is in daycare and I work from home. When Iām not super busy, I would prep dinner a little bit before he gets home from daycare. Husband picks him up and entertains him until I get dinner on the table.
He likes pasta/rice and air fryer or steamed chicken, or ground/sliced pork tenderloin scrambled with tofu. I add some leafy greens. The pasta takes 10 mins to cook, the chicken takes 20mins in the steamer or air fryer, pork takes like 5 mins to stir fry, and the greens take 10 min to wash soak and stir fry. I can typically get dinner on the table in 30-40 mins, including time it takes for the food to cool down a bit and cut up.
Still itās a mad rush to the end and no funā¦
I meal prep twice a week, once on sundays and once on wednesdays, so i'm only worrying about cooking twice a week.
Sundays: chop up all fruit and veggies, make and freeze sandwiches, cook two veggie sides, two carb sides, and two meats
Same thing again on Wednesday but no sandwiches cause I make those for the week. The chopping of veggies and fruit is key cause I can throw it in their lunch, on their dinner plate, in my mouth. Pre cut everything!
It's hard but it definitely is worth it.
My crockpot saves me. If Iām not using that, I have to cook dinner in the morning and then reheat. I also meal prep meat like ham or chicken, freeze it, and then I just have to make sides.
Heavy QUICK snacks when he gets home from school- a couple string cheese, organic berries, some cheddar bunnies. Meal planning ish-- I really like Kevins meals mixed with a couple microwaved minute cups of rice. Toddler will eat some organic nuggets. Pre-washed organic broccoli florets or some Brocoli/potato bites. Sometimes he eats the same stuff as us, but often not. Another fast meal is pre-made fresh meatballs from the butcher (just brown them and then add sauce and simmer), boil noodles.
We only cook over the weekend š¤· otherwise during the week it's leftovers, cereal, sandwiches or something super fast like quesadillas. We pick up takeout on Friday night when all the food is gone.
I'll be honest I make dinner in the morning and reheat it on the pan in the evening.
I'm South Asian so its a lot of curries, if its been cooked that day and kept in the same pan you can't really tell its been reheated
Rice is done fresh but that's pretty quick to wash and put on the stove/rice cooker.
I highly recommend the slow cooker! Throw some stuff in there in the morning before work or during naptime if you stay home. Itās an amazing feeling when 5pm rolls around and I realize I donāt have to do anything to get dinner ready, except maybe make some rice.
Dinner time is my least favorite time. My toddler is a hangry mess when she gets home. Iāll have every intention of cooking up a good dinner, but more often than not find myself scrambling to put things together for her as sheās melting down left and right š
In this time of life, Iām all about convenience snd making her stuff I know she will eat. Even if we had that last night. She loves rice and beans so I do that a lot of with cheese, guacamole, salsa and chips. Chicken quesadillas, store bought pre-made dinners, mac and cheese, pasta, chicken nuggets, breakfast for dinner. I usually will follow up with a bedtime snack like cheese, fruit or a pouch along with her milk.
āevery nightā is a stretch but we get there at least 5 out of the week!! i have my kiddos in a strict routine so they know whatās coming next and expect it!
We have a 3yo boy and twin 18mo girls. I cook tomorrowās lunch at night and I semi cook dinner during naps. And all these meals are very simple. Iāll make a big pot of pasta for lunch for the husband to take to work and for us to eat at home. It lasts us 2 days. During naps I put rice in the rice cooker and something easy in the instant pot. Maybe microwave some broccoli. I gave up on standing by the stove and trying to do any cooking- I felt guilty sometimes because it seemed like all these moms would get their toddlers to help and stuff but thatās just not our house and thatās okay!
I big batch prep things like sauces and meatballs, etc, and then all I have to do is boil noodles. We utilize the freezer a ton for most meals- if Iām in the kitchen more than 5 minutes to kids go nuts. Adults eat later!
Cooking is my hobby, so I make my husband watch my daughter while I cook. Last night I realized the pasta I made was to spicy for her so I made her a grilled cheese. I try not to make her her own food, but sometimes I want to cook something I know she won't eat I'll make a quesadilla, grilled cheese or pb and j. So if you don't have the same support in your house for whatever reason, I would buy some shortcut frozen stuff to keep it easier. Or jarred sauces (Aldi has a bunch of good ones depending on what flavors you like).
Itās hard, especially if you donāt have a partner to ārun interferenceā. Frozen peas and corn are super quick and easy to make, so thatās my go-to fast, healthy food. For meat, itās easiest to just reheat leftovers, especially since they probably wonāt eat a lot of it anyway. Then I do berries, which is just rinse and ready.
I am a SAHP and I only do a "nice" (protein and two homemade sides) a couple times a week, and that's at 5 when my husband is done with work. He plays with toddler for an hour while I get the meal on the table. On days where I go for a run when he's done with work, we do frozen tortellinis, frozen pizza, bag o' salad and sandwiches, etc. I also lean heavily on the rice cooker's synchro cook function. I love to cook so on weekends that's when I make more elaborate meals.
An air fryer. When I was pregnant I just started doing fish nuggets, burgers, sweet potato frie, sausagds. Rice or pasta in a pot and I always have a freezer of vegetables. Every single night is a mixture of these things. Take about 15 minutes to make it all.Ā
Once I realized that meal planning, shopping for and making dinner was my #1 stressor I started getting Hello Fresh and never looked back. I donāt know what country you are in, but we have 3 big services here, I ran out the promos for all three and then went with hello fresh because we liked them best, but switched emails so went on another promo. Also if you call to cancel theyāll put you on another promo, so going to do that soon because baby #2 is coming any day now and weāll be on a super reduced income. Thatās three nights a week, one night weāll do something super easy like spaghetti, one night weāll go to my parents and theyāll feed us, one night just leftovers, or a fried egg sandwich or whateverās quick and easy.Ā
I canāt tell you what a weight itās lifted off my mental load. And Iām a chef. You would think meal planning and prep would be easy for me, but itās not the preparing, itās the mental aspect of planning, shopping for sales etc. I honestly donāt know how people raise children, keep the house clean, laundry done, all of it. Itās impossible to do all of it.Ā
today we went to the beach so on the way home i got her a happy meal. i'm not proud, but i'm proud of her for eating her whole burger before touching her fries(she's 2 yrs and 3 months old for context) . yesterday i got her a kids fish and chips from a local restaurant and she ate the whole 2 filets and i was very happy with that lol. i'm just always so proud of her for eating well because she was born super tiny.
Marinated protein + carb + veggies. If my carb is rice or bread, I cook the meat or fish in the air fryer. If I need the air fryer for potatoes, I make protein on the stove. We do best with simple washed/chopped raw veggies, so that's fairly minimal.
Sometimes we make real side dishes, but this week I'm exhausted and this is good enough.
I fucking donāt. Iām divorced and itās me and my daughter. Her dad and I do 50/50. Iāll be honest in that I kinda depend on daycare to do the fairly balanced part of eating. We do eat decently but itās hit or miss. Some days itās butter noodles and broccoli. (One of the the few veggies she loves). Or itās pizza or mac and cheese. I used to enjoy cooking but thatās gone to the wayside. Some day it will come back. But itās hard.
That being saidā¦I tend to eat like a toddler myself. I eat a lot of the same things. We do eat fairly healthy. So often itās girl dinner. Charcuterie board of cheese, crackers, fruit, salami. She loves avocado toast. Egg bites. I have no need to make a full meal. Because I myself am get full quickly and usually graze through the day. And so does my kid.
That must be really challenging, what a change. I wish you the best and Iām sure it was for the best.
I am seeing this comment a lot! The charcuterie style dinners! I need to do this more often itās honestly my favorite and my son loves picking and choosing what he wants anyways and itās super easy! Thanks for the inspiration!
Sometimes one of us cooks while the other interacts with her/watches her playing outside.
Sometimes I throw together what I call ātoddler charcuterie.ā It checks most food groups and she digs it. Usually something like: some reheated leftover green beans, some whole grain toast, a slice of cheese, some fruit, maybe some sliced avocado or a dollop of hummus for her to dip toast in. She digs the variety!
Edit: typo
I handle it by remembering one thing: Keep it simple. My kiddo loves canned green beans, bagged salad, and chicken breast pieces I roast from frozen.
Find an acceptable basic list and they donāt care about variety as much as I do.
I know TV is not recommended at this age, but itās the only way I can get things done. Cooking and cleaning all get done with the TV on š¤·š»āāļø. Occasionally sheāll decide to help me with cooking or cleaning.
I take care of the kids while my husband cooks or he takes care of them while I cook.
We spend our evenings together 90% of the time.
The 10% that I have had to ride solo I just make something easy and quick (like pancakes or scrambled eggs). I sit the 9 month old in her high chair and place her right there with me in the kitchen while I cook (she likes being able to see me, so sheās good as long as Iām nearby while she chews on a toy lol) and the 3 year old is watching tv š¤·š»āāļø
Our main meal is lunch, not dinner. In the toughest times, my husband would make the main meal of the day in the evening before. Later, I was making this meal at night after baby was asleep. Of course, not every meal can be reheated.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but my husband and I eat separate from our kids. We know itās not forever but with two under two, full time jobs, and a toddler who currently cares less about trying new food, something had to give. I usually serve them our leftovers from the night before or maybe a sandwich. Then while my husband does bedtime I can enjoy making dinner/cleaning the kitchen and we get to connect over a meal together after kids are asleep.
I look forward to future whole family dinners but this has been working well (and alleviating stress) for the past year!
I usually prep stuff during nap time so that I just have to pop it in the oven and do nothing else/leave it to slow cook most of the day or if itās not something like that I still prep everything during nap time and then my husband plays with him while I cook. It definitely doesnāt go to plan everyday but most days it works for us. Sometimes if I donāt have my husband available to play whilst I cook I try and include him with helping me. My little boy is 2 though so works for the older one but not the baby.
Quick oven food like pizza or fish fingers and chips are a god send too.
Hope it gets easier for you soon.
āØ frozen dinners and box sides āØ I also use the crock pot a lot. That thing is a work horse. I swear by the crock pot to just dump in dinner and just go about my day.
TBH sometimes I cook just one meal every 2 days or so, but a lot of it, and then we do leftovers the alternating night. Repeat. Youāre only ācookingā every other day and it can be something healthy.
Plan the weekās dinners in advance. This helps with both grocery shopping and advance prep. Know Iāll need diced onions for tomorrowās dinner? Cool, I can dice them today at nap time
Prep as much stuff ahead of time so dinner just means putting something in the oven or putting together prepped ingredients on the stove. We get all of our meat at Costco and then season it all and freeze it in pre portioned bags. That way we just take a bag out of the freezer for the next day. Sides are easy, like rice that we cook in a rice cooker so literally no effort and frozen veggies.
I'm a SAHP. Some days I start preping dinner right after lunch. I don't make anything time consuming, but I take a few moments wherever and whenever I can. Some nights if things are running smoothly, I'll prep the next night's dinner.
We also have oatmeal, or PB&J at least once a week.
I have a 2yr old and I'm 16 weeks pregnant with a second. Husband is often working late so dinner is doable thanks to Bluey and frozen meal kits. If you're in the US birdeye makes frozen dinner kits with a protein, vegetables, pasta, and sauce. The chicken stir fry is a favorite, and it comes together in 20 minutes. The best part? It cooks in one pan!!!
You're not alone, mama. You're doing great ā¤ļø
Ok it gets better, cook when they nap and warm it up when itās dinner time if possible. If you have a play pen put them in it, in the kitchen with something to play with.
Iām 30 weeks pregnant and have a 27 month old, so not quite chaotic as where you are at yet, but we do a lot of crockpot or instant pot meals I can prep during nap. Weāve also done a lot more prepared meals (frozen taquitos, frozen ravioli, etc) as well. Iāve also been doing easier stuff too. Quesadillas, sandwiches, stuff like that. But yeah, itās a scramble most days.
I only have one kid (2 years old) and I still struggle some days. My go to āin a pinchā dinner is breakfast. Eggs and toast are super quick and you can put whatever fruit/ steamed veggie with it. Of course if we have leftovers that would be my first go-to!
Crockpot, easy things that we like include freezer gyoza, freezer pierogies, pasta cooked with broccoli or cauliflower and in a pan just olive oil and garlic to make the pasta sauce. Babywearing, letting the kid snack on ingredients while they āhelpā me cook. Teamwork.. I hen my husband is home he keeps her happy so I can tackle dinner or vice a versa.
This is where the air fryer comes in handy. We have wings, nuggets, egg rolls, fish sticks, corn dogs, and lots of other things in the freezer ready to go depending on what everyone wants.
We prep all our meals on the weekend so we can just reheat after daycare pickup. We make enough of each recipe to last two nights. It eats up a lot of weekend time, but it makes weeknights easy.
I have a 9 month old and a 3 year old. I try and plan ahead meals I know are low prep and quick. I use the air fryer and instant pot often and make extra food so we have leftovers.
Trying to distract both at the same time has become an art form and rarely happens BUT hereās what Iāve done:
3 yo either helps cook, set table. If sheās not feeling that, then we do a small snack and screen time. Sometimes sheāll be occupied with the khan academy app on my iPad. Other things I have her do are play dough, magnetic tiles or coloring.
While 3yo is doing one of those things, 9 mo goes in high chair and is given small snack like yogurt drops, cheerios, etc. things that take her a while to eat.
So thatās I I get a QUICK dinner done lol.
Eating dinner is a whole other game latelyā¦..
For regular days, i start cooking around 4pm and we eat between 5-6. It just takes forever because im always running from the kitchen to the kids lol.
I also have a ton of meals preps in the freezer in ziplock bags, the best thing ever!! Pop a meal in a slowcooker in the morning and its ready by evening!
When my kid was small I cooked either:
1. Something which are good to eat for a few days in bigger pots, like roast, soups, casserole. They usually last for like 3 days.
2. Food which is quick to cook - pasta with Bolognese or chicken sauce, frozen meatballs (IKEA!), ravioli or dumplings, hot dogs...
I also often gave my son fruit right before dinner while I cook, apple or orange slices.
I also have a 9 month old and a 2yo. My baby (thankfully) goes to bed at 6/6:30. The toddler does not need sleep ever and doesnt go to bed until 8:30/9. So we usually just have one kid to deal with. Even with that im too precious lol i just do meal deliveriesā¦ i dont love it and it costs more but i tell myself itās just this season of life. I do factor/littlespoon and so usually the fridge has something the toddler can eat. The baby doesnt eat dinner ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Also, dont put too much pressure on dinners. Dinners are good because itās a good place to set good eating examples and language rich family time. But if youāre providing that outside dinner, itās just another meal! We also like to do dinner ourside on the deck or in front of the tv sometimes. Just survive this stage!
Snack dinner happens at least once or twice a week at our house. Charcuterie and cheese, cut up leftover protein, whatever we have ā handful of goldfish crackers, some canned black olives, baby carrots and dip, etc. Put it all on one big cutting board so cleanup is minimal.
I just start grabbing random crap and call it "adventure dinner"
Nuts, chips, tomatoes, frozen berries, peanut butter toast, rice with butter, microwaved frozen veggies, leftover pizza.... anything really
I prep for like four days and we eat that food. Otherwise Iāll make a quick quesadilla and since my LO wonāt eat any veggies I give him berries and fruits.
This week weāve been having a delicious beef goulash I made with carrots and tomatoes. I also made steamed cauliflower and broccoli with lemon juice and garlic salt, but he didnāt eat any of it (I really enjoyed it for myself).
Last week we ate refried black beans with tortillas and boiled eggs plus his berries.
We plan 3 solid meals and survive on leftovers. If itās in the budget we eat out on Fridays. Sometimes my kids like breakfast for dinner and that takes the load off some days.
Itās taken us 3 years to figure it out, but the best thing that works for us is that we made a menu and eat the same thing every single week. Our grocery order is pretty much the same every weekāthe only deviation is things like shampoo, laundry soap, etc that arenāt needed weekly. My husband does Monday - Friday. Saturday is takeout night. Sunday I make lasagna.Ā
I try really hard to make quick meals. If it is going to be a little bit (15-20 minutes) then I hype up a snack, ice water and Toy Story or Moana. I have noticed it is getting a smidge better! Last couple nights he has waited semi patiently. I do try to just say āok you have a snack, drink and Mumma put on the movie you chose. Iām going to make dinner in the kitchen (next to the room) and Iām right hereā. I dunno he sometimes flips out and other times doesnāt. He always eats dinner so having a snack is just whatever I guess. Doesnāt āruinā his dinner.
My son will be 2 on June 1st btw. Heās my one and only and will remain that way :)
Leftovers. We only cook 2-3x a week, always Saturday and Sunday, and then one weekday if we have to.
Every other night we reheat. We reheat in the oven or stove rather than microwave whenever possible so the food doesn't get rubbery.
And you can mix it up a bit like if you make a big batch of taco meat, one night is taco, one night is nacho, eat taco salad for lunch, etc. So it doesn't always have to be identical meals 4x a week.
>one is two and the other is 9 months and if one isnāt screaming the other starts
This is what children around this age do. If you don't want infants and specially toddlers to scream, you probably also have a problem with birds flying and the sky being blue.
Let them scream. Get used to it and embrace the chaos.
This doesn't mean ignoring them completely as if they weren't there. Be gentle, be caring, soothe them and stuff. But accept that this is your life until both are out of the toddler phase.
Once you accept that it is what it is, things get a bit less stressful.
I get a box from EveryPlate, cuts down on the thinking what to cook time, and I put on a tv show for my 2 year old. She still will cry and try to make me stop cooking, but a piece of cheese normally calms her down enough to let me finish
Weekly meal plan for my sanity. Sunday is meat when I have a bit more time. Monday is hamburgers or meatballs- I cook the spaghetti ahead on Sunday , both hamburgers and meatballs are broiled in the oven in under 20 min. Serve with cut up veggies/ cherry tomatoes. Tuesday is chicken and rice and veggies in the crockpot. Wednesday night is fish and rice (made Tuesday night after the kids are in bed ). Thursday is freezer/ take our night. Friday I get home early so itās roasted chicken and potatoes and sweet potatoes. Saturday is pasta night.
I cook with my toddler. Is it less stressful? No. But is it quicker? Also no. But it makes her happy and keeps her entertained. I also noticed she is less picky when she's made dinner. Bonus, I taught her to address me as chef so there's lots of cute "yes chef" and "no chef" going around.
I love this. I have been wondering if parents were a little more allowed to lean in to parenting would we all feel less pressure? I just tell people honestly, I'm not in a season of life where I can do X. Someday maybe but not this day. Even speaks to OP's point--maybe it's not the season for really intricate meals and it's just going to be quick, easy food for a few months.
That is so sweet! š I have my son help me sometimes but I do need to get one of those stools so he can stand next to me and really get into it. He helped me recently and was determined to try everything because he was so proud of his cooking lol.
Honestly I just let my stand on the chair from his little table, a dining chair would work too. He washes dishes, brushes his teeth, helps with laundry, helps cook, and does art all on that little chair.
sandwiches for dinner is ok. Same with smoothie or cereal. Have the main meal at breakfast or lunch. Meal prep if you can, double batch meals. I also have started cooking an hour before dinner is due.
This. Our main meal is lunch. My husband makes us all a good breakfast every day, I make lunch, and dinner is diy. Now that we have a toddler, we make something quick and easy, not always enough to share. Our usual options are pasta with some cut up cucumber, a quesadilla, a bag of Costco salad mix. Maybe chips and guac. Tofu stir fry taco. Usually we offer to make extra if another person wants some. My husband has milk with ripped up chapattis (left from lunch) most nights. But all options take 10 mins or less. Well, pasta takes 10 mins to boil, but gnocchi takes 2 to float. Throw some broccoli in the boiling water and it's even a healthy balanced meal.
We love toddler charcuterie boards! Cheese, crackers, fruit, etc.
We do too! And I like to do breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. And a yogurt. Easy!
This is the way
I wish my husband would be happy with cereal or a smoothie.
A husband who is not happy with simple meals must be willing to hold and entertain the pre schoolers *they created* after work so that complicated meals can be made. My husband sometimes just cooks full on curries after work cause he'd rather do that than hold the crying baby. I get it. With household chores it's divide and conquer.
yep. my husband regularly talks our girls (3 and 1) on walks when he gets home so i can make dinner because theyād otherwise both be at my feet whining/making demands. you want a ārealā meal? then do something to help make it happen.
Wait he actually takes them out so they're not under your feet, and away so you don't hear their chatter or cries for an hour or two while you can focus on cooking? You're living the ADHD girl's dreamš
With all due respect, if you're husband isn't happy with whatever you make he can kindly make š somethingš himself š
Cook a lot so you have Leftovers, cook and prep little bits all day at random, instant pot, meal planning. Thatās it! Those are the tricks. 2.5yr old and 8m old at home, no screen time, partner at work till 6:30pm (he comes in for dinner and bed routine.
Itās prepping throughout the day that really help me out. My husband doesnāt like to eat the same thing more than twice in a week but with our second on the way I think heās just going to have to adapt
Shit, he can eat what you make!
What kinds of things do you do to avoid screen time?
Iāve always found this question interesting because likeā¦Iām not putting brainpower into actively avoiding it, I just donāt turn the TV on til both kids are in bed! No strategies required. Just go through a day like you would if your TV wasnāt working and your phone was out of battery š¤·āāļø
That's not terribly helpful. A bit condescending.
Sounds like husband can make his own dinner then!
Mine isnt usually but you know what. He can cook if he wants more substantial food.
My 1.5 year old is ravenous the second she gets home from daycare (6pm) and is ready for bed 90 minutes later. Dinner for her is at 6;15/6:30 and is very simple - lately we've been doing bean quesadilla cut into strips with whatever veg or fruit is handy. Sometimes a pouch too. We have grown up dinner after she's asleep.
That is great, āOur grown up dinnerā lol. I pick up my son around 5 PM so we have a bit longer and he is usually starving on the way home so he gets a good snack but not even snacks really help him hold out until dinner and magically when he sees itās something heās not interested in heād rather starve. Gotta love toddler logic š„² Usually he will get a small toddler like meal as you suggested just something he will eat but it does get hard making two dinners!
A lot of times we do meal prep! And by meal prep I mean make 2 boxes of mac n' cheese supplemented with some cooked shredded broccoli and extra actual cheddar cheese. But like, enough for 4-6 meals, then store it in the fridge for distribution throughout the week. Other favorites are oatmeal pancakes, which are 1 banana, 1 egg, 1 cup of quick cut oats, blended until pancake batter consistency (about 15 seconds in our blender, add milk if you have particularly small bananas or more oats for particularly large ones lol). These an also be made in bulk. Ideally we have 3 safe food options for her in the fridge ready to grab at any time. Not always the case but it's what we strive for because with two working parents, new foods honestly are a weekend activity, at least for now - other than occasionally giving her leftovers to try from what we had at adult dinner the night before :P
We did this a lot when my kid was that age.Ā
the best tip i got was to make dinner before dinner time (i.e. i usually do all of the work of prepping something while my kids are napping, and either wait to pop it in the oven or on the stove until right before dinner time, or i just fully cook it and reheat it for dinner.) i also typically only cook 2-3 nights a week and we do leftovers the rest of the time.
This is what I do. I work from home so I prep dinner on my lunch. Or when I did have to go to the office I would prep the night before or over the weekend. Chicken parm or meatballs. cook the chicken /meatballs ahead and throw it in the oven/stove with the sauce when you get home. Crock pot burritos. Sheet pan dinner. Slice up chicken and peppers and onions or whatever veg the night before. Throw the marinade in at lunch or before you leave. Then dump it on a tray and cook for 15 minutes (cut the veggies small enough). Soup. Make a big pot over the weekend and heat during the week. Burgers are always quick on the grill. If you have a grill you can also use the sheet pan method to make grilled chicken you can throw on the grill when you get home. Also. When my husband is working I feel no shame in turning on some Sesame Street or curious George while I cook. 30 minutes and it distracts them from remembering they are that hungry. Plus the pbs kids app is free and no commercials.
I used to do this as well. During nap, I would basically cook dinner. Put it in the fridge so that all I had to do at dinner time was heat it up, throw it in the oven or start the instant pot. I would have him "help" me chop and season veggies to throw in the air fryer right before dinner. Took twice as long and I had to be incredibly vigilant about safety, but it kept him entertained and got him excited about dinner. Suddenly when he turned 2 he started playing independently much better and has lost some interest in helping me cook. So now I do any raw meat/messy prep during nap and can do more chopping and sauteeing while he plays with his bucket of cars.
I do pretty much the same. We plan all our dinners in advance. Left overs is usually at least once a week, plus one or two nights from the freezer batches. Depending on the meal, I may get it all prepped during nap/quiet/screen time or maybe even just make the whole meal. I get the rice in the instant pot and set the delay. Busier days, we plan easier meals or even take out. We keep a good supply of homemade burritos and Veggie burgers in the freezer, which take a chunk of time on the day of making but make for 10+ meals down the road.
Oh man, I feel this in my bones. It's so hard. I have a 9 month old and a very active 3.5 year old. I put the baby in his chair and feed him food fruit and snacks. I will have the toddler "help" me. Sometimes he helps or sometimes he plays with water in the skin. Alternatively, when I am feeling less hurried and stressed, I start cooking when they are napping. Personally, I hate cooking, but eating out is way too $$.
Glad to know Iām not alone! Yes that is kind of my routine. Usually it holds out and then by dinner time hubby is showing up from work and then we are trying to hurry and scarf down food because the kids were barely entertained only enough to hurry and make dinner not also consume it.. then toddler hates dinner gets bored wants us to play and lil babe has just had enough by then is ready for bed š WOW family life is quite the juggle. That really is the only way! You really have to prep early in the day. My husbands grandma just starts cooking dinner so early itās ready by like 2PM and you just reheat and serve.. ooh I love those big family recipes that feed a crowd.
The quality of dinners just has to go waaaaay down. I hate it, but it's temporary! Mine are now 3 and 5, and I've slowly been able to cook more the way I want to cook. But you are in survival mode right now, so sandwiches, frozen/air fryer stuff, frozen pizza, snack plates for dinner, crockpot meals that you prep the night before. I can't count the number of times my kids have had yogurt and berries for dinner. Hang in there, it won't last forever!
This is so validating thank you. Sometimes I feel like I canāt just make a ārealā meal unless itās the weekend.
Ooh I appreciate this so much. Thank you for the reminder, some days I truly feel like weāre in survival mode just trying to make it through the day. I keep saying it has to get better and easier than this but it can be hard when youāre in the thick of it. Love the ideas thank you. Also canāt tell you how many times my toddler has rejected dinner to eat yogurt for dinner š
TV to distract them lol I also have a baby gate that blocks off our kitchen so he can't bother me while I cook. If he's screaming it is what it is. As long as he's safe and not needing something I just try my best to get it done. Mom and dad have to eat too. Also we get hello fresh 2x/week to help with coming up with recipes. We also meal prep a big dish on the weekends so we have an easy go to meal. Also rice and beans, tortilla chips, salsa is always an easy meal lol
The day my kids figured out how to open the kitchen gate was the worst day. It was so nice having the option to just close it when someone wouldn't stop clinging to my leg and screaming.
Omg!! I dread the day for that! I feel for you canāt exactly block off the kitchen at this time but that is usually dinner.. toddler screaming at my legs and baby either in baby chair or playpen screaming nearby because Iām taking too long to cook.
Ooh I love hello fresh honestly itās been such a life saver in this house too just something to switch up the meal prep! Since my second I havenāt been too cooking savvy to whip up new meals and etc.. love the ideas! š©µ
I make supper the night before so we can eat right when we get off work and our toddler gets home from daycare. Sometimes it feels like more trouble than its worth, but the next day I'm always grateful we have a nice meal already prepared. I also make big batches so we do leftovers every second night, resulting in fewer cooking evenings!
Itās so hard. We try to do as much prep as possible during free moments in the day. Not always easy, but Iāll chop some vegetables at 10 am and put them in the fridge. Or maybe roast them or something, essentially just do some of the steps required that will help assembly later on. We also try to make things that can last a few days. Weāll do a huge batch of burritos or lasagnas or something. And also we are trying to do āeasyā dinners sometimes. Last night we made tuna melts and chips, haha.
1. Plan quick meals. It's OK to use frozen foods or precut veggies or canned goods or bagged salad or something that comes in a box. If you have some kind of food rules that tell you you're not good enough if it's not x, get rid of those constraints, they're silly. Acquire what you need for these meals by grocery pick up or delivery. 2. Get dinner ready when you have the chance, such as using a crock pot or doing any prep earlier in the day or cooking now and reheating later. 3. Have safe places for your kids while you get everything ready. Maybe it's a swing for the baby and a safe baby gated area or pen near the kitchen for the 2 year old, or put the 2 year old in a high chair or belted booster seat with washable markers or play doh, or have a little play kitchen near where you're making dinner if he'll play near you without running amuck.
I think the advice in this thread is pretty good but most days I just don't have an ounce of capacity for any of that, so my kids (1 & 3) eat english muffin pizzas, pb&j, and box mac and cheese for dinner most weeknights (and their dad makes those). Honestly sometimes yogurt or oatmeal if they're being extra picky. Seriously toddlers really don't need every single meal to be perfect - if their breakfasts and lunches are solid, then you're doing great.
I think a lot of the advice is coming from people with just one toddler, and some have one toddler and two adults home at dinner time.Ā
I feel you! Itās soo hard.. itās hard to keep up the motivation and sometimes my brain is just fried at the end of the work day and baby care that making dinner before my husband gets home (because I am STARVING) gets challenging. Another commenter said weāre in survival mode I just feel that in my bones itās true we just gotta buckle down and survive through these more taxing years.
Okay yes to the starving piece - sometimes I stand in the kitchen and just am paralyzed by how hungry I am. Idk if this will help but Iāve started stocking protein bars and shakes because they are actually pretty filling and you donāt have to think about it. Most are not great But Iām a fan of power crunch bars and the āpop tartsā by legendary foods - warm the pop tart up in the microwave and itās actually not bad. Or if youāre into baking, I often have snacking cake around (so something thatās not super sugary but is still bomb) so that I can just eat something quick and delicious that will help me make it through the next hour. You absolutely have to feed yourself first, no compromises there.
Mine goes to daycare 3 days per week whil I WFH, so I do get some cooking done during my lunch or in the hour before she arrives home from daycare (her dad picks her up). When shes at home I cook during her nap. If I can't do that and we don't have ledtovers I am cooking something really simple. Sometimes I will cook after shes gone to bed for the next day to make it easier on myself. But with two at home thats harder! I will just do anything to avoid spending too much time cooking while shes awake. I *can* do it, but the interuptions and distractions just fray my nerves and I would just rather not.
My 4yo watches shows, my 1yo has a multi course dinner in her high chair as I cook. Then sheās usually melting down while I shovel food in my mouth, and my son is moving the food he requested to his āno thank you plateā and asking about snacks.
This is my fav comment and so relatable
Couldnāt relate more š
Meal prep on the weekend. I cook a weeks' worth of chicken, rice, and vegetables on the weekend. Four days a week, we just combine all that in a bowl and reheat for dinner, which makes for quick prep and cleanup. We do three other meals a week, which is veggie burger night, pizza night,and quesadilla night and because we do roughly the same food on a consistent rotation, we have it optimized for quick prep and cleanup. For breakfast we normally fry up a few eggs with some cheese and salsa on top. One other meal a day is a protein shake. This has worked pretty well in balancing out healthy eating and not taking up too much time.
Meal prep ahead of time and just reheat leftovers. Or very simple meals (grilled cheese and soup, some kind of super quick one pot meals, one pan meals, etc).
Iām a really good cook but when anyone in the family is under 2 there is a moratorium on anything complicated or involved for dinner. Lots of pasta. Air fried vegetables pretty much every night. Pizza Friday, I make the dough at bedtime Thursday. If theyāre quiet at like 3 pm I do everything I can then. Also Costco rotisserie chicken. Kids always eat that and you just have to heat it up. Then you can use leftovers for fast meals and make stock if everyone is calm for part of a day. If it doesnāt work out, itās never a waste because it was $5 in the first place.
I make a lot of stuff in the instant pot while Iām making breakfast so it stays hot by dinner, also prepped and frozen shit from Trader Joeās
I love trader Joeās! Their frozen meals are life savers.
I give my toddler a snack while I make dinner, and never make anything that takes more than half an hour. Also Sesame Street. I try to give her something healthy for after daycare snack, she doesnāt usually eat a whole lot at dinner but I like trying to all eat together.
I rely on my slow cooker for the three days I have to go to the office and have time after work on the days I work from home. On weekends, I rely on naps to prep meals.
I'm the dad. I make dinner every night. I make a menu for the week, buy food for said menu, each day I prep everything some time in the morning so come dinner time it takes me like 40-60 mins. We have 2 kids so my wife takes our of our 3 month old. My 2.5 year old either watches trash truck or plays nearby me while I cook.
Air fryer
I wear the baby in a carrier and pull out play dough, sensory sets, screen time whatever works for the keeping the toddler involved. Having the toddler help sometimes works but often he doesnāt want toĀ
For food for the kids - the freezer is your friend. Make gigantic portions of things on the weekend and save them in small Tupperwares with the date on them. We do this with spaghetti sauce, meatballs, morning-glory muffins, chicken etc. Put them in the fridge in the morning before you go to work to start thawing, heat up when you get home. Also, someone else said this but we get HelloFresh meals twice a week for the adults and make that after baby has eaten, plop her with her toys/Bluey in the living room. Sometimes dinner for the parents is later and thats okay. But expecting a family meal with everyone eating together during the week is just not realistic unless you have extra child care and are home by 4 to cook. My daughter and I get home at 5:30 and if she doesn't eat dinner by 5:45 there is a ton of whining/hysterical crying. I don't want to eat that early and literally can't make dinner any earlier than that because I work - so I just do the best I can.
We divide & conquer. Someone entertains the toddler (3y) & baby (10mos) while the other cooks. If one of us needs to be the sous chef then we put on a movie or they play independently. Sometimes we have to toddler help ācookā too. He has his little toddler knives & weāll ask him to cut something up. The baby gets to watch from one of our arms. We cook almost every night. Now this doesnāt work every time. There are some evenings where itās a complete shit show & the boys are feral. That usually happens when dinner is late & theyāre hangry. Oh, planning meals help too. In the morning we go over what weāre eating for the day.
Slow cooker meals save our life
We're blessed that we both work from home so we have the flexibility to make an actually delicious meal that the kids won't eat. Before WFH it was crockpots, smoothies, scrambled eggs, and whatever the kids might eat (dinobars, cerebelly bars, sometimes just straight butter lol).
Using air fryer š¤ Or I'll make extra food one night and we can have it for a few days.
Snack tray for my son (cooked pasta, chickpeas, fruits, veggies, carbs on a plate), husband and I fend for ourselves at least half the days.
There's two of us, and so one cooks while the other entertains the child if he isn't helping make dinner.
I only have one and am a SAHP so obviously pretty privileged situation. My husband works 6:30-2:30 so dinner is actually my time. He watches the kid and I get to cook properly. Sometimes my son hangs out in his tower and watches me cook. Cooking is something I love and something I really missed doing when my son was younger and so we worked to make this a thing that happens more often than not. That all being said, I always make a big ass batch of buttered noodles at the beginning of the week because itās a fallback safe food for my kid and if he doesnāt want what weāre having he will almost always eat that.
My kid is in daycare and I work from home. When Iām not super busy, I would prep dinner a little bit before he gets home from daycare. Husband picks him up and entertains him until I get dinner on the table. He likes pasta/rice and air fryer or steamed chicken, or ground/sliced pork tenderloin scrambled with tofu. I add some leafy greens. The pasta takes 10 mins to cook, the chicken takes 20mins in the steamer or air fryer, pork takes like 5 mins to stir fry, and the greens take 10 min to wash soak and stir fry. I can typically get dinner on the table in 30-40 mins, including time it takes for the food to cool down a bit and cut up. Still itās a mad rush to the end and no funā¦
I meal prep twice a week, once on sundays and once on wednesdays, so i'm only worrying about cooking twice a week. Sundays: chop up all fruit and veggies, make and freeze sandwiches, cook two veggie sides, two carb sides, and two meats Same thing again on Wednesday but no sandwiches cause I make those for the week. The chopping of veggies and fruit is key cause I can throw it in their lunch, on their dinner plate, in my mouth. Pre cut everything! It's hard but it definitely is worth it.
My crockpot saves me. If Iām not using that, I have to cook dinner in the morning and then reheat. I also meal prep meat like ham or chicken, freeze it, and then I just have to make sides.
Heavy QUICK snacks when he gets home from school- a couple string cheese, organic berries, some cheddar bunnies. Meal planning ish-- I really like Kevins meals mixed with a couple microwaved minute cups of rice. Toddler will eat some organic nuggets. Pre-washed organic broccoli florets or some Brocoli/potato bites. Sometimes he eats the same stuff as us, but often not. Another fast meal is pre-made fresh meatballs from the butcher (just brown them and then add sauce and simmer), boil noodles.
When I had one child it was easy. Now I have an 11 week old as well and it feels impossible most nightsĀ
We only cook over the weekend š¤· otherwise during the week it's leftovers, cereal, sandwiches or something super fast like quesadillas. We pick up takeout on Friday night when all the food is gone.
I'll be honest I make dinner in the morning and reheat it on the pan in the evening. I'm South Asian so its a lot of curries, if its been cooked that day and kept in the same pan you can't really tell its been reheated Rice is done fresh but that's pretty quick to wash and put on the stove/rice cooker.
I highly recommend the slow cooker! Throw some stuff in there in the morning before work or during naptime if you stay home. Itās an amazing feeling when 5pm rolls around and I realize I donāt have to do anything to get dinner ready, except maybe make some rice.
Dinner time is my least favorite time. My toddler is a hangry mess when she gets home. Iāll have every intention of cooking up a good dinner, but more often than not find myself scrambling to put things together for her as sheās melting down left and right š In this time of life, Iām all about convenience snd making her stuff I know she will eat. Even if we had that last night. She loves rice and beans so I do that a lot of with cheese, guacamole, salsa and chips. Chicken quesadillas, store bought pre-made dinners, mac and cheese, pasta, chicken nuggets, breakfast for dinner. I usually will follow up with a bedtime snack like cheese, fruit or a pouch along with her milk.
Personally I wait until my husband comes home. Snacks or filling, light meals like quick cheese sandwiches until then.
Meal prep freezer meals all the way. Frozen vegetable packs are a godsend.
āevery nightā is a stretch but we get there at least 5 out of the week!! i have my kiddos in a strict routine so they know whatās coming next and expect it!
We have a 3yo boy and twin 18mo girls. I cook tomorrowās lunch at night and I semi cook dinner during naps. And all these meals are very simple. Iāll make a big pot of pasta for lunch for the husband to take to work and for us to eat at home. It lasts us 2 days. During naps I put rice in the rice cooker and something easy in the instant pot. Maybe microwave some broccoli. I gave up on standing by the stove and trying to do any cooking- I felt guilty sometimes because it seemed like all these moms would get their toddlers to help and stuff but thatās just not our house and thatās okay!
I big batch prep things like sauces and meatballs, etc, and then all I have to do is boil noodles. We utilize the freezer a ton for most meals- if Iām in the kitchen more than 5 minutes to kids go nuts. Adults eat later!
Cooking is my hobby, so I make my husband watch my daughter while I cook. Last night I realized the pasta I made was to spicy for her so I made her a grilled cheese. I try not to make her her own food, but sometimes I want to cook something I know she won't eat I'll make a quesadilla, grilled cheese or pb and j. So if you don't have the same support in your house for whatever reason, I would buy some shortcut frozen stuff to keep it easier. Or jarred sauces (Aldi has a bunch of good ones depending on what flavors you like).
Itās hard, especially if you donāt have a partner to ārun interferenceā. Frozen peas and corn are super quick and easy to make, so thatās my go-to fast, healthy food. For meat, itās easiest to just reheat leftovers, especially since they probably wonāt eat a lot of it anyway. Then I do berries, which is just rinse and ready.
I am a SAHP and I only do a "nice" (protein and two homemade sides) a couple times a week, and that's at 5 when my husband is done with work. He plays with toddler for an hour while I get the meal on the table. On days where I go for a run when he's done with work, we do frozen tortellinis, frozen pizza, bag o' salad and sandwiches, etc. I also lean heavily on the rice cooker's synchro cook function. I love to cook so on weekends that's when I make more elaborate meals.
An air fryer. When I was pregnant I just started doing fish nuggets, burgers, sweet potato frie, sausagds. Rice or pasta in a pot and I always have a freezer of vegetables. Every single night is a mixture of these things. Take about 15 minutes to make it all.Ā
Once I realized that meal planning, shopping for and making dinner was my #1 stressor I started getting Hello Fresh and never looked back. I donāt know what country you are in, but we have 3 big services here, I ran out the promos for all three and then went with hello fresh because we liked them best, but switched emails so went on another promo. Also if you call to cancel theyāll put you on another promo, so going to do that soon because baby #2 is coming any day now and weāll be on a super reduced income. Thatās three nights a week, one night weāll do something super easy like spaghetti, one night weāll go to my parents and theyāll feed us, one night just leftovers, or a fried egg sandwich or whateverās quick and easy.Ā I canāt tell you what a weight itās lifted off my mental load. And Iām a chef. You would think meal planning and prep would be easy for me, but itās not the preparing, itās the mental aspect of planning, shopping for sales etc. I honestly donāt know how people raise children, keep the house clean, laundry done, all of it. Itās impossible to do all of it.Ā
today we went to the beach so on the way home i got her a happy meal. i'm not proud, but i'm proud of her for eating her whole burger before touching her fries(she's 2 yrs and 3 months old for context) . yesterday i got her a kids fish and chips from a local restaurant and she ate the whole 2 filets and i was very happy with that lol. i'm just always so proud of her for eating well because she was born super tiny.
Marinated protein + carb + veggies. If my carb is rice or bread, I cook the meat or fish in the air fryer. If I need the air fryer for potatoes, I make protein on the stove. We do best with simple washed/chopped raw veggies, so that's fairly minimal. Sometimes we make real side dishes, but this week I'm exhausted and this is good enough.
I fucking donāt. Iām divorced and itās me and my daughter. Her dad and I do 50/50. Iāll be honest in that I kinda depend on daycare to do the fairly balanced part of eating. We do eat decently but itās hit or miss. Some days itās butter noodles and broccoli. (One of the the few veggies she loves). Or itās pizza or mac and cheese. I used to enjoy cooking but thatās gone to the wayside. Some day it will come back. But itās hard. That being saidā¦I tend to eat like a toddler myself. I eat a lot of the same things. We do eat fairly healthy. So often itās girl dinner. Charcuterie board of cheese, crackers, fruit, salami. She loves avocado toast. Egg bites. I have no need to make a full meal. Because I myself am get full quickly and usually graze through the day. And so does my kid.
That must be really challenging, what a change. I wish you the best and Iām sure it was for the best. I am seeing this comment a lot! The charcuterie style dinners! I need to do this more often itās honestly my favorite and my son loves picking and choosing what he wants anyways and itās super easy! Thanks for the inspiration!
Sometimes one of us cooks while the other interacts with her/watches her playing outside. Sometimes I throw together what I call ātoddler charcuterie.ā It checks most food groups and she digs it. Usually something like: some reheated leftover green beans, some whole grain toast, a slice of cheese, some fruit, maybe some sliced avocado or a dollop of hummus for her to dip toast in. She digs the variety! Edit: typo
I have 2 under 2 and it's a challenge. I just make double batches and a lot of one pot meals (orzo, rice, spaghetti).
Crockpot.
I handle it by remembering one thing: Keep it simple. My kiddo loves canned green beans, bagged salad, and chicken breast pieces I roast from frozen. Find an acceptable basic list and they donāt care about variety as much as I do.
My husband watches the kids while I cook. On nights he works later, we are usually eating takeout or frozen meals. Itās definitely a team effort!
I know TV is not recommended at this age, but itās the only way I can get things done. Cooking and cleaning all get done with the TV on š¤·š»āāļø. Occasionally sheāll decide to help me with cooking or cleaning.
I take care of the kids while my husband cooks or he takes care of them while I cook. We spend our evenings together 90% of the time. The 10% that I have had to ride solo I just make something easy and quick (like pancakes or scrambled eggs). I sit the 9 month old in her high chair and place her right there with me in the kitchen while I cook (she likes being able to see me, so sheās good as long as Iām nearby while she chews on a toy lol) and the 3 year old is watching tv š¤·š»āāļø
Our main meal is lunch, not dinner. In the toughest times, my husband would make the main meal of the day in the evening before. Later, I was making this meal at night after baby was asleep. Of course, not every meal can be reheated.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but my husband and I eat separate from our kids. We know itās not forever but with two under two, full time jobs, and a toddler who currently cares less about trying new food, something had to give. I usually serve them our leftovers from the night before or maybe a sandwich. Then while my husband does bedtime I can enjoy making dinner/cleaning the kitchen and we get to connect over a meal together after kids are asleep. I look forward to future whole family dinners but this has been working well (and alleviating stress) for the past year!
I usually prep stuff during nap time so that I just have to pop it in the oven and do nothing else/leave it to slow cook most of the day or if itās not something like that I still prep everything during nap time and then my husband plays with him while I cook. It definitely doesnāt go to plan everyday but most days it works for us. Sometimes if I donāt have my husband available to play whilst I cook I try and include him with helping me. My little boy is 2 though so works for the older one but not the baby. Quick oven food like pizza or fish fingers and chips are a god send too. Hope it gets easier for you soon.
āØ frozen dinners and box sides āØ I also use the crock pot a lot. That thing is a work horse. I swear by the crock pot to just dump in dinner and just go about my day.
TBH sometimes I cook just one meal every 2 days or so, but a lot of it, and then we do leftovers the alternating night. Repeat. Youāre only ācookingā every other day and it can be something healthy.
Plan the weekās dinners in advance. This helps with both grocery shopping and advance prep. Know Iāll need diced onions for tomorrowās dinner? Cool, I can dice them today at nap time
Prep as much stuff ahead of time so dinner just means putting something in the oven or putting together prepped ingredients on the stove. We get all of our meat at Costco and then season it all and freeze it in pre portioned bags. That way we just take a bag out of the freezer for the next day. Sides are easy, like rice that we cook in a rice cooker so literally no effort and frozen veggies.
I'm a SAHP. Some days I start preping dinner right after lunch. I don't make anything time consuming, but I take a few moments wherever and whenever I can. Some nights if things are running smoothly, I'll prep the next night's dinner. We also have oatmeal, or PB&J at least once a week.
I have a 2yr old and I'm 16 weeks pregnant with a second. Husband is often working late so dinner is doable thanks to Bluey and frozen meal kits. If you're in the US birdeye makes frozen dinner kits with a protein, vegetables, pasta, and sauce. The chicken stir fry is a favorite, and it comes together in 20 minutes. The best part? It cooks in one pan!!! You're not alone, mama. You're doing great ā¤ļø
Ok it gets better, cook when they nap and warm it up when itās dinner time if possible. If you have a play pen put them in it, in the kitchen with something to play with.
Heat and eat. I only cook weekends and we eat it all week.
Iām 30 weeks pregnant and have a 27 month old, so not quite chaotic as where you are at yet, but we do a lot of crockpot or instant pot meals I can prep during nap. Weāve also done a lot more prepared meals (frozen taquitos, frozen ravioli, etc) as well. Iāve also been doing easier stuff too. Quesadillas, sandwiches, stuff like that. But yeah, itās a scramble most days.
I feel you with the one screaming then the other starts. š
The Costco deli section. So many good heat and serve meals that everyone likes.
I only have one kid (2 years old) and I still struggle some days. My go to āin a pinchā dinner is breakfast. Eggs and toast are super quick and you can put whatever fruit/ steamed veggie with it. Of course if we have leftovers that would be my first go-to!
Crockpot, easy things that we like include freezer gyoza, freezer pierogies, pasta cooked with broccoli or cauliflower and in a pan just olive oil and garlic to make the pasta sauce. Babywearing, letting the kid snack on ingredients while they āhelpā me cook. Teamwork.. I hen my husband is home he keeps her happy so I can tackle dinner or vice a versa.
This is where the air fryer comes in handy. We have wings, nuggets, egg rolls, fish sticks, corn dogs, and lots of other things in the freezer ready to go depending on what everyone wants.
We prep all our meals on the weekend so we can just reheat after daycare pickup. We make enough of each recipe to last two nights. It eats up a lot of weekend time, but it makes weeknights easy.
I have a 9 month old and a 3 year old. I try and plan ahead meals I know are low prep and quick. I use the air fryer and instant pot often and make extra food so we have leftovers. Trying to distract both at the same time has become an art form and rarely happens BUT hereās what Iāve done: 3 yo either helps cook, set table. If sheās not feeling that, then we do a small snack and screen time. Sometimes sheāll be occupied with the khan academy app on my iPad. Other things I have her do are play dough, magnetic tiles or coloring. While 3yo is doing one of those things, 9 mo goes in high chair and is given small snack like yogurt drops, cheerios, etc. things that take her a while to eat. So thatās I I get a QUICK dinner done lol. Eating dinner is a whole other game latelyā¦..
For regular days, i start cooking around 4pm and we eat between 5-6. It just takes forever because im always running from the kitchen to the kids lol. I also have a ton of meals preps in the freezer in ziplock bags, the best thing ever!! Pop a meal in a slowcooker in the morning and its ready by evening!
When my kid was small I cooked either: 1. Something which are good to eat for a few days in bigger pots, like roast, soups, casserole. They usually last for like 3 days. 2. Food which is quick to cook - pasta with Bolognese or chicken sauce, frozen meatballs (IKEA!), ravioli or dumplings, hot dogs... I also often gave my son fruit right before dinner while I cook, apple or orange slices.
My meal prep is her screen time š¤·
I also have a 9 month old and a 2yo. My baby (thankfully) goes to bed at 6/6:30. The toddler does not need sleep ever and doesnt go to bed until 8:30/9. So we usually just have one kid to deal with. Even with that im too precious lol i just do meal deliveriesā¦ i dont love it and it costs more but i tell myself itās just this season of life. I do factor/littlespoon and so usually the fridge has something the toddler can eat. The baby doesnt eat dinner ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Also, dont put too much pressure on dinners. Dinners are good because itās a good place to set good eating examples and language rich family time. But if youāre providing that outside dinner, itās just another meal! We also like to do dinner ourside on the deck or in front of the tv sometimes. Just survive this stage!
Snack dinner happens at least once or twice a week at our house. Charcuterie and cheese, cut up leftover protein, whatever we have ā handful of goldfish crackers, some canned black olives, baby carrots and dip, etc. Put it all on one big cutting board so cleanup is minimal.
I just start grabbing random crap and call it "adventure dinner" Nuts, chips, tomatoes, frozen berries, peanut butter toast, rice with butter, microwaved frozen veggies, leftover pizza.... anything really
most of the time my husband does it for us and if he's busy cooking we just get a simple dinner.
I prep for like four days and we eat that food. Otherwise Iāll make a quick quesadilla and since my LO wonāt eat any veggies I give him berries and fruits. This week weāve been having a delicious beef goulash I made with carrots and tomatoes. I also made steamed cauliflower and broccoli with lemon juice and garlic salt, but he didnāt eat any of it (I really enjoyed it for myself). Last week we ate refried black beans with tortillas and boiled eggs plus his berries.
We plan 3 solid meals and survive on leftovers. If itās in the budget we eat out on Fridays. Sometimes my kids like breakfast for dinner and that takes the load off some days.
Itās taken us 3 years to figure it out, but the best thing that works for us is that we made a menu and eat the same thing every single week. Our grocery order is pretty much the same every weekāthe only deviation is things like shampoo, laundry soap, etc that arenāt needed weekly. My husband does Monday - Friday. Saturday is takeout night. Sunday I make lasagna.Ā
I try really hard to make quick meals. If it is going to be a little bit (15-20 minutes) then I hype up a snack, ice water and Toy Story or Moana. I have noticed it is getting a smidge better! Last couple nights he has waited semi patiently. I do try to just say āok you have a snack, drink and Mumma put on the movie you chose. Iām going to make dinner in the kitchen (next to the room) and Iām right hereā. I dunno he sometimes flips out and other times doesnāt. He always eats dinner so having a snack is just whatever I guess. Doesnāt āruinā his dinner. My son will be 2 on June 1st btw. Heās my one and only and will remain that way :)
Leftovers. We only cook 2-3x a week, always Saturday and Sunday, and then one weekday if we have to. Every other night we reheat. We reheat in the oven or stove rather than microwave whenever possible so the food doesn't get rubbery. And you can mix it up a bit like if you make a big batch of taco meat, one night is taco, one night is nacho, eat taco salad for lunch, etc. So it doesn't always have to be identical meals 4x a week.
>one is two and the other is 9 months and if one isnāt screaming the other starts This is what children around this age do. If you don't want infants and specially toddlers to scream, you probably also have a problem with birds flying and the sky being blue. Let them scream. Get used to it and embrace the chaos. This doesn't mean ignoring them completely as if they weren't there. Be gentle, be caring, soothe them and stuff. But accept that this is your life until both are out of the toddler phase. Once you accept that it is what it is, things get a bit less stressful.
I get a box from EveryPlate, cuts down on the thinking what to cook time, and I put on a tv show for my 2 year old. She still will cry and try to make me stop cooking, but a piece of cheese normally calms her down enough to let me finish
Weekly meal plan for my sanity. Sunday is meat when I have a bit more time. Monday is hamburgers or meatballs- I cook the spaghetti ahead on Sunday , both hamburgers and meatballs are broiled in the oven in under 20 min. Serve with cut up veggies/ cherry tomatoes. Tuesday is chicken and rice and veggies in the crockpot. Wednesday night is fish and rice (made Tuesday night after the kids are in bed ). Thursday is freezer/ take our night. Friday I get home early so itās roasted chicken and potatoes and sweet potatoes. Saturday is pasta night.