Something that came up in my group recently was that whilst many of us feel confident in the kitchen and enjoy cooking the majority of the time, it can feel stressful, be tiring and feel relentless. There was an overwhelming need to be able to have a break from it all every so often.
Is that how you feel too?
Please, don’t try to do it all alone if you don’t have to.
Asking for help can be hard to do so I’m going to call it delegating instead!
Whether it’s doing the meal planning, doing your bit for reducing food waste, the shopping, putting the shopping away, cooking or clearing up, if there are others in your house who can help, then make use of them and lighten the load a little, especially when it is a task you don’t enjoy.
Here are some ideas for how you might delegate:
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Make meal planning a family affair
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Get younger children involved in helping you prepare a meal
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Give an older child the responsibility of cooking one meal a week
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If you’re cooking all week, can a partner take care of weekend breakfasts and a weekend dinner on occasion?
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Everyone can help put the shopping away – my 8 year old loves to help bring in the delivery and my 4 year old absolutely loves helping to put it all away so much that it actually makes it fun for me (and she’s learning about different foods in the process)
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If you haven’t cooked – clearing the dishes, washing up and doing the dishwasher aren’t your responsibility
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Ask others for ideas on how you can reduce food waste and agree what you might all tackle next as a team effort.
What works well in your house? Let’s share some ideas to support each other feel less burdened at mealtimes.