Cooking meals with a toddler around - help!

Try to swap your schedule...i mean finish your cooking while she's asleep and try to do the other things you mentioned while she's awake.
Cleaning up the house can be done while the child is awake ( on the other hand, they keep scattering things,,,,thats an other issue!! ),Play some music during this time which will divert her attention.
Peek-a-boo shower curtains come in handy during shower time. I used to buckle up my daughter in the stroller, give her some finger food and finish this task too !! (Yeah.....)
Try this and hope it helps you!

vani

 

Raj, I dont know if this will work for you. What we did was change the way we cooked. Breakfast and lunch became the heavy meals for us. Dinner was one new dish (for Kiran and us) plus leftovers from morning and afternoon (for us).
K dropping the nap kind of went along with his increased interest in solids. So that worked well for us. I cleaned the house before I went to sleep, except for the room where we slept, which we did first thing in the morning. Yes, the house did look a total mess by afternoons most days. It somehow felt good for me to go to bed in a clean house. Most people who visited our house were ofcourse parents and knew what toddlers can be like.
Also, when they do drop one nap and once they are settled, it will become nap after lunch. The transitioning period is a mess - hope it settles soon for Riya.

 

Here is what my co-sister does even today with two kids on hand - she gets up at 5, finishes using restroom, taking bath, preparing coffee, breakfast and lunch / dinner by 7. During that time her DH will be there at home, mostly sleeping till 6, then getting the kids using the restroom, helping them brush their teeth, giving them milk etc.,. After that my co-sister takes over. She sounds as if it is the most easiest thing on the earth.

One of my friend used to put TV (mostly Dora) during the cooking time. That way kid used to be busy for 45 minutes to one hour during which time she would finish cooking. She was really super-fast in cooking.

Another family (who didn't have kids though) would cut the commonly required veggies, like, onions, tomatoes, green peppers / chillies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, carrots, beans and put them in zip-lock covers and use it for the week. They never complained about cut veggies getting spoiled. They would do grocery / veggies shopping only once in a week. As soon as they bring they would clean the veggies in water and keep refrigerated.

When Appu was 2+ I never planned what I would cook for the week. However I used to finish cutting veggies first, during his afternoon naps. After that cooking would become easy even if he was awake. I would play with him and come and do seasoning and cooking simultaneously. I used to cook only once during evenings. And breakfast used to be usually Idli / Dosai. Not too much of work during breakfast time - I could do it holding Appu. Idli / Dosai batter I used to grind during the weekends. Cleaning was / is never the first priority - except kitchen / bathroom cleaning which happens daily when somebody (DH / my mom / MIL) is there to watch kids. Otherwise usually our house is a mess. Evening chapatis / pooris I would prepare only when DH comes home and sits for dinner. We shopped groceries at Indian stores only once / twice in a month and shopped for veggies once a week / once in two weeks.

 

Raj,

this has worked for me well and most of my friends think I am nuts and have said so.....Since the birth of my first one, I have made it a habit to wake up to get things done, usually 5. This gives me time to plan lunch/dinner and also get the house cleaned up. I also like to experiment and this has helped me to look up and cook from recipes atleast twice a week. Over the years when kids got managable, these early hours have translated to sometimes reading time, hobby time or exercise time depending on the weather. I cannot speak enough of the "me time" and the silence in the house that I enjoy and has helped me deal with the days and kids in a cheerful manner. I have been practising this for 5yrs now and have not regretted it yet!

As for as the planning, I am more spontaneous, but have not hesitated to use frozen vegetables and us being from the south, the must haves have been a curry and rasam...along with whatever I want to try for that day!

 

Leftover does not equal non-nutritive food, you know. When I cook for K and me, I do end up cooking for four people. That way, dinner is also ready. Yes, I eat the same food two times a day, but I've never eaten cold food or junk food. Never had to take any kind of supplements till date, except for having to go dairy-free for K's allergies.

K's naptime after lunch is when I get my workout in the yard and my me time... Whatever works for each of us, I guess. I can of course say what works in my situation, of course you will know what works for you. My day turned on its head, but I am cool with it.

 

Hi Raj,
The following in my routine and thoughts on cooking and other chores which i have been following from DS was 5 months old till date.Wake up early ,get groomed and finish preparing lunch before yash wakes up.We buy grocery once a week.I usually stick to my menu.Some things i stock up - Kneaded dough enough for 2 days,chopped veggies and steamed(carrot,beetroot,beans),Boiled channa.so weekly 2-3 times i do all this.Boiling dal alternate days.Grinding dosa batter during weekends or early morning during weekdays.

Just prioritize whats the need for the day- cant have the cake and eat it too.So tuesday and thursday- vacuuming and mopping day Monday,wedneday,saturday laundry day.
Depending on the situation my priorities change- one day (if having guests) its only cooking day-not having a perfect house(just let go).If just a ordinary day then a simple cookign and other chores.
During afternoon naps(if any) then i finish preparations for dinner.

 

Hi Raj, here's what I do - I am not the most organized person on earth so what works for me may not work for you.

1) How do you guys decide what you're going to cook that week? And how many meals do you plan on?

I don't do any prior planning (I know, not good, but we seem to be a family that loves the spontanity!) Mostly I decide on dinner on my drive back from work.

2) Is it okay to keep cut veggies in the fridge for a couple days? What other prepping do you do?

only prepping I do is to make sure I have cooked toor daal on hand always in the frig. With that, sambar or dal/rasam etc is a breeze. I use my Food Processor extensively though. You can use frozen veggies if they are more convenient. 3-4 years back when I was working and going to school, I used a lot of frozen veggies.

3) Do you always stick to your plans?
No - and my problem is that even if I plan something DH comes up with something completely different so I have given up on planning. (Like if I plan to make rice sambar and a veggie he will call and say can we make chapathi tonight :spin)

4) How many times a week do you do grocery shopping?
Only once a week (weekends)


Regarding how to manage cooking with a toddler, here are some suggestions:

1. Do you have any time in the morning before Riya wakes up to do your dinner prep since that is your biggest meal?

2. When you are cooking, can you put Riya in her highchair close to the stove so she can watch? Or maybe she can play on the kitchen floor with pots and pans? - the floor will be a mess but you can get your cooking done.

3. Sit her on the countertop while you are chopping veggies, mixing flour, kneading dough etc. It takes a bit to get used to this - but I used to sit P on our kitchen island holding him with one hand while doing these things when he was smaller. Warning - you will take a longer time to finish the tasks, but she can help with a plastic knife etc.

4. Go easy on the housecleaning. I know it is easier said than done but the only way I am staying sane is by lowering my sensibilities around a clean house. Get a cleaning crew to come every 3 weeks or so (I love the day they come and in one day it is back to the previous state!)