5 Super Solutions

1 GET ORGANIZED. Store commonly used ingredients and tools in the same place every time. Make it a habit and you’ll quickly see how efficiency can save you time and teach your kids the value of staying organized.

• Alphabetize spices and seasonings so they’re quick to find. If you have room, dried seasonings store best in the freezer. If you store them in a cabinet, place them in a cool area away from heat or light.

• Store wooden spoons, rubber and metal spatulas, tongs, wire whisks, cooking spoons and forks, potato masher, kitchen shears, basting brush, and a ladle in large decorative crocks or jars near your cooktop and mixing center. Store potholders close to the oven, cooktop, and microwave for quick access.

• For easy access, stock a drawer or rack inside a cabinet door near your work area with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, several sizes of food storage bags, and parchment paper.

• Attach a magnetic shopping list to the refrigerator door for jotting down items to purchase as you think of them. Train the kids to list any needs they have like school supplies or toiletries on the same list.

• Buy heavy items in bulk or in large quantities several times a year. Having laundry products, dishwashing detergent, cleaning products, bottled water, sports drinks, or soft drinks on hand speeds weekly shopping trips, lightens the grocery load, and prevents frustration of running out at a crucial time.

2 MAKE MEAL PLANS. Prepare and grocery shop for supper meals before the chaos of the week sets in. Set aside some uninterruped time—about 15 minutes—to plan a week’s worth of meals and your shopping list. The process will take less time, once you have a routine in place.

• Develop a repertoire of about 12 recipes your family loves. Bookmark them with sticky notes or keep copies in a binder.

• Check your family calendar to determine just how many nights you’ll be able to cook.

• Decide on one main dish per weeknight meal along with simple sides, then prepare your grocery list. Vary the side dishes to introduce the kids to new foods and to prevent boredom.

• Do the bulk of your shopping once a week at a full-service supermarket; then plan one or two return trips to pick up perishables. Lots of moms make those return trips to farmers markets or splurge with visits to specialty grocers where access in and out is faster than large chain grocery stores.

• Create a blank shopping list on your computer in categories that match the aisles in the grocery store. Categories might include: canned goods/convenience items; pasta/rice/grains; cleaning supplies/toiletries; deli/bakery foods; produce; meats; dairy; and frozen foods. Print several lists at a time to keep handy.

• Try to shop before noon, any day of the week—it’s typically the least busy shopping time of the day.

• Avoid shopping when you or the kids are hungry to prevent making unhealthy impulse purchases. And choose a checkout line without a candy display.

• Put your groceries through checkout in categories. Once you arrive home, you’ll be able to put away items quickly because they’ll already be sorted.

• If you’re shopping with little ones, take advantage of customer service, and request assistance to your car. While you secure seat belts, a grocery store employee can load the groceries.

• As soon as you arrive home, record the date of purchase with a permanent marker on boxes and packages to easily identify the ones that need to be used first.

3 COOK QUICKLY. Work faster not harder by taking advantage of grocery and kitchen resources.

• Read through recipes or package instructions and gather ingredients and equipment before you begin.

• Avoid preparing too much food for one meal. Select two menu items, three at the most, for each weeknight meal.

• Purchase presliced, prechopped, and prewashed produce. Sometimes it’s slightly more expensive, but the trade-off is in the time saved from prepping and cleaning. Always check the freshness date, and look closely at the cut edges of the produce for signs of aging.

• Use kitchen shears to chop canned tomatoes right in the open can and to snip lettuces for quick salads. Kitchen shears are also great to get into cantankerous packaged goods. Chop small amounts of ingredients quickly with a handheld food chopper or mini food processor.

• Spend a little more on quality disposable products. Most moms agree it pays off when they need to perform without fail.

• Put disposable products to good use. Measure ingredients on paper plates, wax paper, pop-up foil sheets, or paper towels. Line baking pans or broiler pans with aluminum foil before cooking. Use disposable cutting sheets for meats, poultry, and fish to eliminate the need to sanitize cutting boards and reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

• Begin with meats purchased in their closest-to-usable form, such as chicken tenderloins, fish fillets, or peeled and deveined shrimp.

• Pack single servings of leftovers in individual microwave-safe containers. Or use zip-top freezer bags, which are sturdy enough to stack easily and don’t take up much space.

• Cook basic foods in bulk. For instance, brown ground beef with chopped onion, and freeze it in zip-top freezer bags. When you need a quick meal, thaw a portion for tacos, sloppy joes, or spaghetti.

• Round out meals with convenience food products. There’s rarely time to prepare every part of a weeknight meal so purchase side dishes that are ready-made, such as the popular examples that follow.

• Use your microwave oven. It’s great for cooking vegetables, boiling water, toasting nuts, warming flour tortillas, cooking bacon, and melting butter.

• Encourage family participation with simple, kid-friendly tasks. It’s also a great way to begin teaching basic kitchen skills while saving Mom time. And there’s an extra perk for parents of picky eaters: Kids are usually more willing to eat something they had a hand in cooking. See task suggestions based on age below.

Popular Foods Kits and Conveniences

Frozen vegetables are prepped and ready to cook or steam in the microwave. Look for brands that give instructions for microwaving directly in the bag or box, which leaves no dishes to clean up.

Microwaveable mashed potatoes in a variety of flavors such as garlic, sour cream and chives, and country-style.

Microwaveable precooked rice like whole grain brown, Spanish, and roasted chicken flavor. The product is shelf stable and ready to serve in seconds.

Ready-made side dishes from your grocer’s deli. Most deli departments will allow you to sample to determine what sides are to your liking.

Precut fruit and vegetables from the produce department or self-serve deli salad bars.

Salad kits such as Asian, Ranch, or Caesar typically come complete with dressings and toppings.

Ages and Suggested Kitchen Tasks

Age 3: Wash fruits and vegetables, and stir ingredients in large deep bowls.

Age 4: Open packages, squeeze citrus, measure and spoon out cookies, and tear lettuce.

Age 5-6: Measure ingredients, set the table, and cut soft foods with a fork or table knife.

Age 7-8: Find ingredients in the refrigerator, pantry or spice rack, knead dough, and crack eggs.

Age 9-12: Open cans, use small appliances, empty the dishwasher, follow a recipe, and prepare meals with minimal ingredients.

Age 13-16: Prepare recipes with multiple ingredients.

4 COOK HEALTHY. Put these simple tips to work to improve nutrition and encourage smart eating habits.

• Select canned fruits in their own juice rather than syrup. Trim excess fat from poultry and meats before cooking.

• Use low-fat dairy products, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments.

• Avoid adding salt to recipes when possible. Experiment with salt-free seasoning blends or squeezing fresh lemon or lime juice over foods.

• Cook with low-fat methods such as broiling, oven-frying, grilling, and steaming.

• After cooking ground meat, drain it thoroughly in a colander and pat with paper towels to remove excess fat. If you’re planning to return the meat to the pan, wipe it also with a paper towel.

• Reduce the fat in soups and gravies by chilling them first and skimming the fat off the top.

• Enjoy a healthy splurge. Satisfy a weeknight sweet tooth with frozen fruit juice pops, low-fat ice cream sandwiches, or fresh berries over frozen yogurt.

• Learn to control the kids’ portion sizes according to hunger level, fullness, and by the example you set. Begin by serving appropriate serving sizes. Teach the family to eyeball serving sizes by comparing them to common objects popular to adults and youngsters.

Healthy Additions

• Stir broccoli, chopped tomato, mushrooms, carrots, or raisins into plain rice or couscous.

• Use generous amounts of fruit in smoothies.

• Add chopped apple to tuna salad.

• Add cubed pineapple or cantaloupe to chicken kabobs.

• Add grated carrots, chopped zucchini, and diced tomatoes to spaghetti sauce.

• Cut carrots and zucchini into long diagonal slices and serve with salsa instead of chips.

• Put lettuce and tomato on your sandwiches.

• Eat a cluster of grapes instead of chips

5 PROMOTE A SENSE OF FAMILY. Joining together for a meal has a greater purpose than simply eating. No matter what the size of your family, mealtime is for talking, sharing, listening, learning, and supporting one another.

• Start and end meals together to encourage a sense of family and to show respect.

• Establish a fun family tradition with a “spaghetti night” or another favorite dish on the same day each week. The tradition doesn’t need to be elaborate to be successful—just dependable.

• Turn off the television to strengthen conversation and improve focus on the activity at hand—dinner. Consider playing easy listening music at a low volume.

• Keep dinner conversations light and upbeat. Mealtime is not the time for criticism or discipline. If the conversation moves in a tense direction, change the subject and address the matter later.

• Ask the kids some questions that require more than one-word answers to encourage conversation. Teach them how to initiate discussion as well.

• If your home or cell phone rings during dinner, let the answering machine take a message.

• After the meal, say “thank you” to those who prepared the meal, and offer to take dishes to the sink, help load the dishwasher, or put away food.