Note: Momi Berlin would love to introduce Emma to you. She is an Aussie lifestyle blogger who constantly improves her skills both as a teacher and as a parent. She is passionate about writing and learning new things that can help us lead a quality life. She is also Momi Berlin’s first guest writer. They both share the same passion — love to write personal narratives, mommy tips, and thrilling discoveries to make daily life the happiest. For today’s blog post, Emma sets out 5 tips to start cooking after childbirth.
5 Tips to start cooking after childbirth
Returning to the kitchen for hours-long cooking spree once the stork has bestowed you with a bundle of joy can be a tough task. Even getting enough sleep with a baby in the house is sometimes a mission impossible in the first few months after delivery! I’ve been there. I’ve found my way back to the worktop and oven after a while, all with my mini Me in tow. And I can tell you it’s 100% feasible. You need to take baby steps and use every shortcut the deities of modern technology have blessed us with. Here are the top five strategies that worked like a charm for me when I ventured back to the kitchen. These may help you set your cooking on the right, delicious, and hassle-free foot.
1. Lady Cook-A-Lot
With her total spare time dwindling at the speed of light, a new mom will no longer be able to make room for lengthy culinary experiments on a daily basis. That’s where the shift to the Lady Cook-A-Lot mode can come in handy. Instead of making lunch and dinner every day, embrace cooking marathons over the weekends. Second, freeze batches to last your family for the rest of the week. It’s admittedly a shortcut. And yes, you’ll still have to spend a few minutes reheating the servings every day. But cooking generous quantities of delicious meals on a single day will save you hours down the road. Besides, the meals you’ve prepared in advance with love, care, and fresh ingredients are more nutritious than takeout even in the reheated mode. Don’t feel bad or guilty then about putting the freezer to overdrive.
5 Tips to help start cooking after childbirth (image from https://pixabay.com)
2. Super-Scale It
Come to the freezer mode, you’ll need to super-scale meal size and double, triple, or quadruple the quantities of ingredients listed in the recipe to make enough of the good stuff for your loved ones’ week-long munching. A trick that worked for me was to pick three different main courses and triple the measures. That way, I hacked both quantity and variety, and my husband and kids loved me for it. It also saved me many a moan and grudge over dinner as my kids could always have a choice (albeit limited). Also, they didn’t have to settle for a recycled meal for days on end.
3. Go Hands-Free
Passive cooking is a mom’s best friend on the quest to nourishing all-family meals. Get the cook book and crockpot out and find slow-cook recipes starring your loved ones’ favorite ingredients. Casserole, stews, pies, chicken soups, rice-based meals with lightly cooked or quick-grill veggies and meats should take front and center in your family’s nutrition. That way, you won’t have to spend hours slaving over the cutting board but you’ll still get to savor all the delicious aromas of a homemade meal.
4. Multi-Cook Mode
5 Tips to start cooking after childbirth (image from https://pixabay.com)
When embarking on the weekend cooking marathon, you’ll need every help you can get. Feel free to ask your husband or older kids to help out with chopping and dicing. Also, don’t be afraid to put your kitchen appliances to use instead of hassling with every vegetable or piece of meat by hand. This trick helped me cut total cooking time. It also earned me more Me time even with the busiest of weekend cooking sessions in the mix. I owe lifelong gratitude to the person who invented the combined steamer-blender and food processor. Those two guys have saved me weeks by now.
5. No Ball and Chain
Last but not the least: returning to cooking after childbirth shouldn’t be a source of stress for a new mom. (God knows you’re in for a lifetime of it now that you have a child). Take your time to adjust to your life as a mother. Moreover, cut yourself some slack now and then when the going gets too tough to endure. If you hate the fact that you have to go through meal preparation for the whole family, you’ll soon lose motivation and interest and fall back to the takeout mode. Don’t regard the kitchen as your private prison. Instead, see it as a chance to spend some time alone and engage in a de-stressing activity. Why? Because that’s exactly what cooking is – an opportunity to live down anxiety and do something for your own health and the wellbeing of your loved ones.
How to start cooking after childbirth
Getting back to cooking with a baby onboard is a challenge fit for a Superwoman. And that’s exactly who you are now that you’re a mother. Don’t let meal prep become another dreary task on the To Do list. Arm yourself with simple recipes. Try passive cooking. Make lots of food to tide your family over for a few days. And do not forget to enjoy the ride because it’s the best guarantee of both your peace of mind and your family’s proper nutrition. Gods favor the brave mom chefs!
Love Emma’s tips? She is a regular contributor to High Style Life. Also, you can follow her on Twitter @EmmahLawson
Great tips! Well i cannot remember if i had a struggle in cooking after birth. I think i didnt? Coz my mom in law used to cook. I only give her the money for wet market and then she do everything hahaha! But that was before when we are still staying with them. Now that we had our own home i do cook.. everyday!
Hurray to cooking everyday. Can be tiring but when we see our kids appreciating the dishes, everything’s worth the time and effort.
It’s so lovely to see a fellow aussie! 🙂 Although I don’t have children of my own, I am sure these tips will come in handy regardless! Save time, stress free – what’s not to love?
I agree. Love her tips as well.
Thank you Kylie 🙂
Lovely tips! I don’t have any children But like the tips anyway. There useful in a busy life! I love experimenting with cooking from time to time, but only when I have time enough to do so. When i can save some time and do it easier ways: i love it as well.
Love tips indeed. I learned for these tips as well. Emma is so generous to share them with us.
I really appreciate you feedback. Glad you liked it 🙂
i have a friend who has recently just given birth to a cute baby boy! will forward her these tips for her! but i’ve never think it’s possible to pre-cook the meals for the entire week! but then it also makes a lot of sense to do so as just 1 day of work can free up a few hours each day for the next 6 days to do all your other chores and to take care of the newborn. awesome idea!
Great tips! They’re useful for everyone who doesn’t have spare time. Even I could use them, even though i don’t have kids but i’m a college student and exam season is coming. I really like this post.
Thank you for liking this post. I agree that the tips are so useful. Thank you Emma for sharing these tips to us.
Hey Dunja. Of course you can use these tips. You’ll be well prepared when THE day comes 🙂
I’m always learning while reading your posts. The perks of motherhood as well as the best hacks. Cooking is something that I am familiar with but not really an expert. The tips are really helping. 😉
Thank you for the kind words. Also, lets thank Emma for sharing these tips to us 🙂
Thank YOU, my dear ladies 🙂 <3
I’m not good in cooking so even I don’t have a baby, cooking is a struggle. HAHA! But I can actually apply the cooking marathons even I’m single because my day is mostly consume by work and commute. I can look at it as practice so when I have kids someday, I’m already a master!
Yes, getting ready there is a nice way to face the future. Ihihi. Good luck on your cooking.
These were such great tips and they even apply to those who aren’t moms yet as well as they are incredibly time saving tips. I definitely will start following some of these tips in my cooking routine:)
Thank you for taking time to read the tips and appreciate them. Me, too. Learned a few and definitely trying them out.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this post. You made my day <3
These are some great tips. Thanks for sharing them 🙂
I don’t have kids and I do not cook hahaha.. But I still read her tips and they all looked great. Maybe I’d save the knowledge for when I finally have kids? Cooking is really not something that I can do right now as I don’t exactly have the equipment.
Awesome tips! I haven’t thought that moms really needed the time before heading back to cooking after childbirth. Motherhood is really a full-time job! Great tips to save time, because we know how much it takes just to get one task done.
I really admire hands on moms. Giving birth is no joke. How much more getting back to work after giving birth?! On the side note, I love the tips. It surely gives those who just gave birth and even those expecting moms to not worry of getting back to the routine they are used to!
My salute and admiration as well to hands on mom.
My salute and admiration as well to hands on moms