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Being a busy mum can be challenging. You want to provide your family with healthy meals, but you don't have hours to spend in the kitchen every night. This is often why we can reach for ready meals, premade ingredients, or even getting takeaways. But those don’t have to be your only options. There are plenty of ways to make cooking easier and quicker so that you don't have to sacrifice quality for convenience. In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at some of the ways you can streamline your mealtime routine.

1. Meal Planning

One of the best ways to save time in the kitchen is by planning your meals ahead of time. That way, you'll always know what you're going to cook and can make sure that you have all of the necessary ingredients on hand. You can do this by having a magnetic timetable on your fridge. Meal planning also helps cut down on food waste since you won't be buying more food than you need or letting it go bad before you get a chance to use it. Plus, if you plan for leftovers, then dinner can be as simple as reheating pre-made dishes.

2. Simplify Your Meals

As a busy mum, the challenge of consistently preparing nutritious meals can seem daunting. Decreasing mealtime stress is as simple as getting creative and taking advantage of modern meal prep shortcuts. That could be doing one pan meals, only using two or three ingredients, or even trying out this mug cookie recipe here. Plus, another great way to simplify your meals is to utilize leftovers in creative ways — make tomorrow’s burrito filling out of last night’s taco dinner.

3. Batch Cooking

Another option is to try batch cooking. This involves making large batches of dishes like soups or stews and then freezing them in individual portions for easy reheating later on. It's an especially great idea if your family has picky eaters who might not all like the same dish—you can prepare multiple versions at once. Plus, most soups and stews taste even better when they sit overnight anyway.

4. Utilize Your Appliances

And finally, don’t forget about all of those helpful appliances sitting in your kitchen. If your oven has a convection setting, use it—it will help speed up cooking times significantly. Slow cookers can also be great time savers. Just throw everything into the pot before leaving for work in the morning, and dinner will practically make itself while you’re gone. And if all else fails, turn to your trusty microwave—it may not seem like it at first glance, but microwaves are actually very versatile tools that can help create delicious dishes quickly and easily with minimal fuss. More recently Air fryers have become popular and can really save time on your cooking as well as saving you money on your gas bill.

Making Cooking Easier as a Mum

Saving time in the kitchen doesn't have to mean eating unhealthy takeout or processed meals every night. Thankfully for us all, there are plenty of strategies busy mums can use to make cooking quick and easy, while still providing their families with nutritious homemade foods. From meal planning and simplifying recipes to batch cooking and utilizing helpful appliances, you can create delicious, healthy meals without spending hours in the kitchen.