Filling Little Tummies and Big Hearts
I don’t know about you, but as a working mom week nights are often so chaotic it’s hard to put a good home-cooked meal on the table before bedtime. It is even harder when its bath night. If my kids don’t have a good, well balanced meal, I often feel like a failure. Reality is, they went to bed happy and healthy tonight. So what, if we had one or two nights this week without a vegetable? Not every week is going to be perfect, after all.
There’s two things that make me feel better when I’m having a bad day or week. One of those is taking a walk. I put on a podcast, music, audiobook, or even just the solitude of my own thoughts and walk. Great thing about that is I put the baby in the stroller and he usually is great at just being quiet and taking all the sights in, or, he falls asleep. I get to de-stress, exercise and get a nap out of a kiddo. WIN WIN WIN! However, living in Central Indiana, I’m not always able to get outside and take this walk when I need to. So what do I turn to? Cooking!
Cooking actually helps me de-stress in some way. If you’ve ever worked in a kitchen you’re probably asking yourself how that’s possible. It just is for me. The winter months in Indiana are especially the time I do a lot of cooking. I do it when I’m in the mood, so that could be first thing in the morning, or 10 at night - not exactly meal times. I turn what I’m making into a meal prep, easy meals to freeze and thaw at a later date. Thus, saving me on nights like mentioned before when there’s very little time between work and bath/bedtime. It also is a huge lifesaver when someone needs a meal train. I like to be able to pull something out of the freezer, thaw, and warm up and send to someone in need. Easier than PIE!
Need some ideas? Currently in my freezer, I have lasagna, chicken enchiladas, stuffed peppers, chicken tortellini alfredo and chicken and noodles. These are some of the best meals that take very little time to thaw, heat and serve. Feeding little tummies and filling big hearts.