Do you need some good strategies to get dinner on the table on time?

This is a common pain point for baby and toddler mums. How many times have you tried a “30-minute recipe” only to find yourself still standing in the kitchen an hour later wondering if you’ll have time for a shower tonight?

The good news is that you can avoid those late dinners and countless frustration with these tried-and-tested strategies to get dinner on the table on time.

1. Plan and prepare

You know that sinking feeling when you get ready to make dinner and find that step 1 was marinating the chicken for eight hours? How about when you’re getting ready to make pasta sauce and realise you used the last can of tomatoes making enchilada sauce last week?

Read over the recipe you’re going to make the night before or in the morning and make sure you don’t need to thaw, marinate, or – worst of all – buy anything. If you have time during the day, set out the non-perishable ingredients and tools you’ll need to make prep go faster when the time to cook rolls around. 

2. Stick to simple and familiar recipes

Those rushed weeknights are not the time to try new dishes, no matter how quick the recipe promises it will be to make. Sometimes those estimates are just too generous, and other times recipes are written in ways that make them hard to follow.

Save new recipes for the weekend and stick to simple and familiar recipes during the week to avoid unpleasant surprises. 

3. Have a solid plan 

Meal planning can be a lifesaver when you’ve got to contend with babies or toddlers. So many unexpected things can crop up with your little ones, and it can make your life a lot easier if you set aside some time each week to planning what you’ll eat each day. 

In addition to saving the significant amount of time it can take to figure out what to cook on a given day, doing this allows you to stretch ingredients further and avoid wastage. Try it once, and I’m betting you’ll be a believer!

4. Don’t shy away from shortcuts

There is no shame in using meal shortcuts. Part of being a good mum is being present with your children, and they’re not going to judge you for buying pre-sliced vegetables or dressing up a store-bought sauce instead of making your own. 

On a similar note, you can use meal prep to make cooking go faster. For example, you can chop up all the veg you’ll need for the week when you bring it home from the store to help dinner come together in a flash.

5. Adapt the baby’s meals to cook your own (or vice versa)

There’s no need to be cooking completely separate meals when you have a baby. As your baby moves into puréed foods, use the same base for the soup, spicing it up after you remove the baby’s portion. Alternatively, use the same ingredients for your dinner. As the baby grows and starts to eat solids, you could most definitely serve the same food, deconstructed and cut up into little pieces, or even mini versions of your own. This saves you having to recreate meals twice over every single day.

6. Prep wearing your baby

Babies go through periods of wanting to be held all the time (heck, I went through months of this!)
While it isn’t recommended to wear your baby in a sling or carrier while you cook, there is plenty of prep work you can do with your little one in tow.
If you had to read the recipe, have it laid out on the counter, and have all or most of the ingredients prepped and laid out in the correct order, putting together dinner is a much faster affair.
Talk to your child as you go; as they grow older this will very quickly become part of their routine. Move him into his highchair at an appropriate age, and keep him busy with a few pieces of pasta and a piece of ribbon (pasta threading) or a pan and a wooden spoon.

7. Embrace batch cooking

Yes, you can get dinner on the table on time every night with good planning. But why not give yourself a break sometimes? There’s no need to order takeout every time you need a night off from cooking when you batch cook. 

All you have to do is double or triple meals that are freezer-friendly when you are making them anyway. Chili, pasta sauces, stews and casseroles are all excellent candidates for batch cooking. Freeze the extra portions, and all you have to do is pull them out in the morning on your most hectic days. 

Something which can make life a whole lot easier is batch cooking for the baby, too. It’s easy to make extra portions of anything, since a baby’s portions are tiny.

With these strategies to get dinner on the table on time, you’ll find yourself a lot less stressed – and you can enjoy that extra time with your kids or treat yourself to some alone time and read a book or relax. You deserve it!

PS: have you heard about ‘5 days to quicker meals – the meal plan edit?
It is a free, online challenge, where I teach you how to meal plan so you can wave goodbye to the constant stress of not knowing what to cook everyday.
All you need is 5-10 minutes of your time for 5 days. I will share the meal planning strategy that I’ve used for the past 12 years that has improved my productivity and made space for precious down time with my family, and with myself.
If you’re curious, go here. I’d love to have you join us!
This is where you can sign up.