With most modern mums spending an average of 13 hours a week in the kitchen to help keep the family healthy and happy, it’s important to get the most out of your food and your time. StyleNest have brought you the best Cooking Tips for Mums with Tenderstem and Fiona Faulkner to help bring back some time and money.
With mums leading busier lives than ever, mums still bear their home duties and spend an average of 13 hours a week in the kitchen. In a recent survey conducted by Tenderstem, this equates to nearly a whole month over a year of cooking and four and a half years over an average woman’s lifetime – all in the bid to keep her family healthy and happy.
With fussy children and picky eaters, mums feel they need to cook several meals to keep the whole family happy. It doesn’t stop there, 95% of women perform other chores whilst cooking, confirming that women really are the multi-taskers of all.
StyleNest team up with Tenderstem and food writer, family cookery expert and mum of three, Fiona Faulkner to bring you the latest food tips to help minimise your time in the kitchen and maximise your time with the family.
“It doesn’t need to be this way. The solutions are all there, I promise – in my house I try to cook double and freeze half and choose veggies that only take a few minutes to steam. A few simple changes like these can help kick modern mums out of this kitchen rut” – Fiona Faulkner.
Tip 1. Stop Plating Up Your Family’s Food
Cooking different meals every night to appease each member of your family isn’t healthy. Don’t be a Plate-Up Parent and adopt a buffet style approach to eating. Offer all the food groups and let your family put together their own main course.
Tip 2. Get Your Kids In The Kitchen
The sooner your little one’s learn to get their hands dirty, the sooner you will have some handy little sous chefs. Children will always eat better, knowing when they’re invested in their own creation.
Tip 3. Get Equipped
Invest in a food processor. Chop vegetables in seconds and finely sneak veg in small enough for the little ones not to see.
Tip 4. Be Creative
Consider how you can get everyone eating more of their greens, reds and yellows. Try throwing some Tenderstem into bubble and squeak, for example. By creating delicious twists on everyday favourites, you’ll be less likely to be making half a dozen meals.
Tip 5. Turn It Off
For the last ten minutes of cooking, turn the oven off for a cost effective way of cooking. The heat will stay strong and your bill will be less.
Tip 6. Think Out Of The Box
Multi-task in the kitchen. For example, when you are making a stir-fry and chopping the veg, bung the chicken breasts in the oven to cook so you can add them at the end.
Tip 7. Freeze
Cook double the amount of quantity and freeze half. This saves cooking time for a mid-week meal.
Tip 8. Know Your Freezer
Eliminate costly waste by freezing bananas, butter, muffins and even herbs. Freeze chopped chillies to save them going off and even cheese sandwiches to save time in the morning for packed lunch.
Tip 9. Glam It Up
Don’t feel guilty about the occasional ready-meal just so long as you glam it up. Tenderstem scattered onto a shop bought pizza base is delicious and always get the kids involved adding the toppings.
Tip 10. Go For Climate Change
Cold dinners are a good option that can help you save time in the kitchen. Pasta, potato salads and sliced cold meats with deli style dips as well as homemade frittata with raw veg such as Tenderstem and carrots, peppers and hummus.
For more information and recipe ideas visit, www.tenderstem.co.uk.
Click here to see StyleNest’s roundup of the best Mother’s Day lunch restaurants.