Make Ahead Mamma

..that's me. Well that's me now!

I try to be time efficient and I am naturally very frugal - my husband and I bring in our groceries at a very low cost..we monitor per unit costs of food stuffs, so clever marketing or different packet sizes etc don't tempt us ... if the base unit cost is not actually that good.

This takes time, tracking and organising, but is so worth it. With the arrival of baby number two approx 7 weeks away it is time to step things up a notch... So begins batch cooking.

Whilst it is something I've wanted to try for a while - so far I have just been reading up on it, logging recipes (in library books - to keep the costs down!) They honestly look very easy. Next Tuesday is my son's first day of daycare and so I am taking it off work to see how many make ahead recipes I can get through in that time. (I look forward to sharing my progress with you.)

It's always in my advice to other moms to spend that last few pregnancy weeks filling the freezer, sleep is not something you can bank so not advice I give, but food very much is. Last time we made dishes and made extra and froze as we went, shopped for handy foods like waffles and ready made breaded chicken (yes our food bill went up) and I was content enough with that. It meant as sleep deprived as we got, we never had to think about food for very long!

For me cooking is not something I enjoy, but even less than that is the thinking about food, so this way if I can learn the skills to one day cook for a day and then dine on the results for a month - fantastic! Not only that I have a 15 month old whose eating habits are very much influenced by our own.. I'd like to continue to set him a good example and to not be nervous about sharing food from my plate with him and corrupting his so far healthy taste buds!

This time I'm taking it to a whole new level... making and freezing bulk amounts of food, visiting warehouse clubs to buy big trays of meat, then making what really looks like easy recipes, pouring it into ziploc bags and voila a freezer filled with nutritious, cost efficient and easy to prepare meals that really just need baking in the oven (same as those pesky breaded chicken bits) or cooking in the slow cooker - which is already my favourite process!

I've just looked up a very handy blog with 100 very tasty looking make ahead recipes.

Well I have to dash and get going with my writing notes and shopping lists as my books are due back at the library at the weekend!

I hope to record some successes and post them here, as I really hope to inspire others and why not - it reduces the stress, when we are rushing around in our busy lives - one less thing to think about as last night you took something out the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw and all you need to do is cook or assemble dinner! Perfect!

Good luck enjoy and please feel free to send in - share recipes!

She 'gets' me!

Enjoy my recent article on baby signing on the at home magazine website!

McCrikey!

Ok - so I knew it was bad but I just read this article on what is in a McNugget - for some reason I always favoured these as hopefully less bad options to eat, luckily I have not had to go thro the golden gates, much more than 3 or 4 times in the last 2 years and I will no longer be placing an order for 'chicken' nuggets. Now please no one tell me what's in their apple pie (apart from half my daily intake of calories.)

Anyway - great article: do read and share

also read

Whilst I am no fast food follower I am going to do a lot more to steer clear of it from now on! Anyone feeling hungry?

Canning planning!

I'm getting excited to plan my canning event with my sister in law.

After years of yearning to can, last year I began - it was only a minor entry into the canning leagues, but I still can remember in the spring one day - hubby and I hunting the kitchen for some impromptu dessert and finding the last can of locally grown peaches (next year planting our own fruit and nut trees are on my agenda.. I just need to negotiate with hubby - the removal of some of his beloved cedar trees first!) anyway they were a forgotten and most enjoyed treasure!

This year I want to can everything! But I know I won't and can't so I'm about to sit down with pen and paper and look at what is ready in my garden and the local market, how many jars I have saved up and realistically how much time I honestly have!

I am very bad for planning/ hoping to 'do it all' then being disappointed with myself when I cannot achieve the impossible... so I am working on that.

I'm beginning to lose focus and am drifting into my thoughts of canned peaches, salsa, tomatoes, home made tomato sauce - I can't wait to get away from the store bought version!

All suggestions of favourite canning recipes are welcome!