New Working Moms and Cooking

Not that I'm the best cook or anything, but I do enjoy it once in a while to make a nice dinner for DH. Well, this was b4 Mason. I'm a full time working mom. Mason is about 4 months old and by the time I pick him up from daycare, get home around 5:30, feed him and play with him, give him a bath, etc b4 he goes to bed at 7:30 I have no time to cook. Pasta, take out or frozen meals have been our meals. Plus, I try and use the treadmill after he goes to sleep
Maybe on the weekends, but it's still hard b/c we're running errands, seeing family, playdates, going out to dinner...

Does anyone have time to cook anymore?
Thanks!

Adding... believe me, DH isn't complaining b/c he loves fastfood and I cook healthy so if he gets that I make a healthy salad or something

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

I do cook dinner about 5 nights a week. I'm lucky in that I get home with DD at about 5pm. We cook dinner together. She sits in her highchair and watches me and I sing and dance to her and play with her in between doing stuff. She loves it and laughs at me the whole time.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

It's def hard but i try to cook at least 3 nights a week. We don't really eat until 730-8 since by the time I pick up Dylan from my moms, I don't get home until 630.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Cooking is a low priority in light of all the responsibilities you mentioned so I only cook if I have time which is hardly ever

I used to cook regularly and DH had a hard time adjusting to the lack of home cooked meals so he has since started cooking himself. I can't believe that all it took for DH to start cooking was for me to stop If I would have known I would have stopped cooking a long time ago!

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

DD either sits in her highchair, or in the clip on travel chair that I have on my island. I give her a bunch of toys to play with, turn on her music and and cook/clean her bottles etc.... I only make quick and easy things though. Stuff that will cook quick and will re-heat easily while DH puts DD to bed.

Chicken cutlets in the frying pan with some olive oil and mushrooms

Turkey sausage with onions and peppers

ground meat for taco salads

turkey burgers.

I can also play with DD while making these dishes too. I just put it on low flame and hang out with her.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

I do cook. I work FT also and I work until 5:30. By the time I get home it is 6:30

When I get home I change and feed DS then he will have something that he can feed himself. While he is still eating I will start to cook or sometiimes he plays in his PNP while I cook. I usually start cooking by 7 or 7:15. I am done cooking and able to eat myself by 8pm. He gets a bath at 8:30. He has a bottle while I read him a few books and he is in bed by 9 or 9:15pm and he goes right to sleep.

My DH works 2 jobs so this is myschedule when he is working that second job. which is usually 3 nights each week and either one or both nights on the weekends. The days that DH is not working his 2nd job he picks up DS by 3:30 or 4pm and he will cook dinner while DS is taking his 2nd nap.

I get up early to work out before work and on the nights that DH is not working I will workout when I get home before eating dinner.

ETA: My DH is a GREAT cook. I love it when he cooks!

Message edited 9/24/2009 1:36:31 PM.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

I have very little time to cook. We eat left overs one night, order out 1 night, and the other 3 days it's very simple.
I only cook after the baby goes to sleep at 6, so our dinners are usually ready by 7ish. It's too tought to make gourmet meals on such short time. My baby is my priority I could care less about the house or cooking...lol

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

This is a personal challenge of mine.

Its hard, but with the right ingredients, you can make a quick meal in under 1/2 hour.

This is some of the stuff I cook:

Tilapia -
Marinate overnight in lemon marinade.
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs & throw in the oven for 1/2 hour.

Baked chicken breasts-
Egg them, bread them, throw in the oven. Done in 45 minutes

Chicken cutlets... I usually make extra, so the next day, I just have to slap on some sauce & cheese & voila! Chicken Parmagiana!!

Spaghetti w/clam sauce. I cheat with this one... I use the jarred clam sauce from Progresso. Its actually quite tasty!


Spinach/artichoke raviolis. I buy them in Costco. Just throw some sauce on it & I'm DONE!

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

I have been struggeling with this for months now. Right now I spend my only day off Sunday, cookin for the entire week. It's exhausting as we go to church, then grocery shopping and back home by 1pm. I then need to take care of DS (6m) and cook for the week. I am beginning to think I shoud not even bother. DS won't cook and DH saids things are too tight to eat out. I need to get a better plan in action.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

We try to cook more on the weekends and have them spread out during the week (and try to plan ahead as much as possible)

We also made and froze chili, meatballs, meatloaves, chicken parm cutlets

and now we're gonna try that CROCK pot recipe thread that I added to my notebook on here

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

At 11 1/2 months old, I still struggle with this. We generally eat late, after 8 PM when DS goes to sleep. I try to be as prepared as possible so that I can get stuff ready beforehand. I often take DS to the supermarket with me (being doing this since i went back to work when DS was 3 months old). I cook simple things. I love making a roasted chicken- prepare with salt, pepper, rosemary, sage, thyme. Throw in the oven and take it out when the timer pops up. I also make turkey burgers, grilled chicken and really easy quick meals. I am doing Weight watchers and they have some tasty and fast recipes. Steak is great, also. You can marinate it the night before and throw it right on the grill. We also wind up ordering some sort of takeout that will last us for 2 days. Just about everything I make is enough for at least 2 days.

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Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

DH actually guilts me into cooking - LOL!

It is hard b/c he works evenings, so there is NO incentive to cook dinner because he's not even there to eat it!

Last night I made chicken cacciatore in the crockpot and DH ate it when he got home at 4am ... I think I am going to start doing the crockpot thing more often. At least I don't have to listen to DH complain, and when I wake up in the morning there is only one big pot to clean up

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Other than pizza (which we do once a week ), I really hate fast food. I am lucky in that I can get home as soon as 4pm if I really hustle out of work and get everything done by 3:30(I start at 7am).
DH and I now trade off cooking. He has really gotten into it. The only problem is he really hates doing the dishes. I try to shop once a week and get everything we need and that helps too.Then I clean up after both kids are in bed.
The tough days are when DH is out of town and I have both kids and need to make dinner for DD and I. I try to keep it easy, like turkey burgers on those nights.

I would try to get a cookbook with quick and easy meals. SO much cheaper and healthier than fast food. You will grow to hate eating out all the time.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

I worked long hours and never cooked before I was a mom.

Now that I am a mom, I definitely don't have time to cook.

I told DH that I would learn to cook when we have Baby #2 and I'm a SAHM. He said he'll believe it when he sees it.

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

DH either works from home or gets home before me so it's up to him to figure out what we are having. He can always grill something or make a handful of things in his bag of cooking tricks!

Re: New Working Moms and Cooking

Maybe try and do some crock pot meals, so this way you can prepare it in the morning and it will be done for you by the time you both are ready to eat.