Home Cooked Meals
by Tash Hughes of
Word
Constructions
There’s a
special ring to that phrase – “home cooked meals”. It
conjures up images of a family setting, fresh foods,
warmth, love, healthy eating and comfort.
What is a home
cooked meal, though?
Does the phrase
only refer to meals that are made from scratch, all
sauces and dishes made in the home kitchen? Or does it
include meals made at home using some pre-prepared
items?
In a perfect
world, we would all be having nutritious, balanced meals
every time we sit down at a table. The ingredients would
be fresh and no preservatives or additives would be
considered, and the flavours would make our mouths
water.
The reality is
that not many of us have the time or energy to cook like
that everyday.
It is also true
that there are alternatives that are also healthy, fill
empty tummies and take less time. And some of them even
taste pretty good, too!
Busy Mums can do
a good job of feeding their families even if they don’t
cook gourmet, or even balanced meals every night.
Accepting that we have busy lives and need to make
things quicker sometimes is a useful step in reducing
stress in our lives.
The overall diet
and lifestyle is more important than any individual
meal. So having boiled eggs and toast tonight is fine,
as long as you’ve had some fruit during the day or have
a big serve of vegetables tomorrow night.
Quick meals can
be the saviour during the busy week, but a full home
cooked meal over the weekend is a good way to balance
things out and ensure some quality family time. Why not
get various family members to actually help prepare a
great meal each weekend?
If you feel
uncomfortable not cooking from scratch most nights, the
other option is to cook a lot each time and put meal
portions into containers in the fridge or freezer. This
will give your family good meals without costing you as
much time each day, and it doesn’t take much longer to
make a huge pot of soup or bolognaise sauce compared to
a small one.
Tash Hughes is a Melbourne mother of four. She is the
owner of
Word Constructions and assists businesses in
preparing all written documentation and web site
content. Tash also writes articles for magazines,
newsletter and websites.
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