Getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas holidays can feel arduous, especially when it’s cold outside. Here are a few ideas to make life a little easier:
- Each evening, get everything ready for the next morning. Make this the law in your house; non-negotiable like teeth cleaning. Uniform and coat ready, shoes, book bag and PE kit by the door and breakfast paraphernalia all laid out. Mornings will suddenly feel a whole lot less stressful.
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Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier. Now I know that sounds counterintuitive but honestly, it’s amazing what 10 minutes time alone in the morning can do for the soul. Sip on a coffee, do your make up, check your emails; whatever makes you feel calm and collected before the rabble awaken.
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Prep a stew for the slow cooker before you go to bed, stow away in the fridge and then pop on before going to work in the morning. There’s nothing more comforting than the aroma of a home cooked stew when you get home, especially if, like me, you forget you’ve put it on. It’s almost like the dinner fairies have been. Serve with something easy from the freezer like McCain Mashed Potato, McCain Sweet Potato Fries or what about McCain Croquettes?
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The heating’s on and it’s cold outside so drinking icy cold water is the last thing on my list. Except central heating dries the skin and even though it’s freezing we still all need lots of good old fashioned water. Keep a jug and tumblers on the table. That way the water’s at room temperature and always in sight, making it much easier to stay hydrated. Try pouring boiling water over a slice of lemon and a thumb of peeled ginger too. Refreshing, hydrating and warming all at the same time.
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Locate all the hats, gloves, scarves and wellies and place in a bag near the door. You will be pleased of this when you open the front door on that first icy morning of the year. Ditto a small bag with de-icer and a scraper, though out reach of small hands of course.
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Meal plan! It sounds so simple… and that’s because it is. Get the kids involved, sit down the night before you food shop with a notepad and your favourite cook books and agree what you’re eating for the next week. Don’t forget to include at least one meal from the freezer to give yourself a break. Freezer food doesn’t need to be unhealthy! In fact, (as a self-confessed freezer geek) it’s often ‘fresher’ than the supposed fresh stuff, as items like fruit and veg are frozen at source within a couple of hours of harvest. It hasn’t had to travel miles, deteriorating as it goes.
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Don’t go near your phone or any other screen for the last 30 minutes before bedtime. Give your brain a rest and read something wonderfully silly and escapist. You’ll sleep better.
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Every time you make a meal from scratch, think about making double and popping half in the freezer. Your future self will be thankful for it. Shepherd’s pie filling freezes really well and can happily be topped with McCain Mashed Potato for a traditional tea or served over McCain Jackets if you prefer less washing up. Chicken & leek pie is another good meal to stash away. Serve with lots of peas, carrots and some McCain Home Chips.
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Have you heard of ‘dump meals’? A popular concept in the US, you simply dump everything into a pan and bake. My favourite incarnation of this genre are dump slow cooker and pressure cooker meals – you prep a slow cooker meal to the point where it’d go into the cooker (brown the meat, fry off any onions etc) then freeze the whole meal in a bag. When you need it, defrost the bag overnight in the fridge to semi thawed, ‘dump’ in the slow cooker in the morning and let it do its thing. Some Super Moms over the pond are prepping up to 40 meals in advance. Sounds exhausting to me… but then imagine 40 days of no prep. (Swoons, though not in love with the ‘dump’ element of the name, think it needs a re-brand.)
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If you’re a packed lunch house may I suggest you put your freezer to work and say goodbye to that ‘oops I forgot to do the lunches’ sinking feeling that sets in at about 10.53pm every evening? Make up batches of simple cheese/ham/chicken/any-other-cooked-meat-your-kids-like sandwiches using butter or margarine on the bread and portion up into freezer bags. Do exactly the same with a low sugar flapjack or fruity bake (remember, must be in single portions and labelled too; nobody wants to accidentally unwrap a portion of cold fish pie at lunch time). In the morning grab a drink, few salady bits, some fruit plus a sandwich and piece of cake from the freezer and pop into a lunchbox. By midday the sandwiches and cake will be defrosted and bonus… they’ll have kept the rest of the contents cool.
Don’t forget to check out all my McCain recipes; thyme & lemon pork chops with rainbow roasted veg and onion gravy, baked tortilla using McCain chips plus garlic, lemon and sweet chilli chicken with sweet potato fries).
This post was supported by @McCainUK as part of their #BacktoNormal campaign.
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Holly Bell 