A Busy Mom’s Guide To Cooking For Your Children

It’s no secret that the last few months have been difficult for everybody. What I didn’t know was how this “temporary situation” would become the new normal. When my children were taken out of school, I was also asked to work from home. I thought it was do-able. I have two kids and a successful job as an asset manager. Nothing’s stopped me before, so what could stop me now?

The answer was my kids. The older one is ten and the younger one is eight, and they have not made it easy for me. Between helping them out with their school work and keeping them on task, and completing all of my work responsibilities while taking care of the house, I’m dreading the return of the school year.

I know it won’t be easy so I decided to take a look at different services that could alleviate my stress. I looked up different housekeepers and babysitters, but felt weary about having somebody new in my house right now.

Later that week, I was talking to Sheila, a fellow mom who was dealing with a similar situation. She told me that the one thing stressing her out more than anything else was cooking. Sheila explained how cooking three meals a day was really taking a toll on her and how frustrating it was when her kids didn’t find the meals tasty.

I was so caught up in the big-picture that I wasn’t paying any attention to the smaller things that really add up. Cooking definitely took a backseat as I found myself either preparing frozen foods or ordering takeout. My kids are incredibly picky and I didn’t have the bandwidth to prepare delicious and nutritious meals that they would enjoy.

Sheila told me about Chefs Plate, Canada’s original meal kit service and her secret weapon for preparing tasty meals in less than 30 minutes. She also told me how flexible it was in terms of how many meals I wanted and if/when I wanted to cancel. I figured that there was nothing to lose and gave it a try.

We tried the Family-Friendly Meals option, and opted for meals for 4 people (Sheila said I shouldn’t worry about leftovers because I could just cook them for lunch the next day). The recipes all looked delicious with 15 to choose from each week, but I knew how picky my kids were. I wanted to ease them into it so I ordered the Chicken Penne and BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. About one week later, we received a brightly colored box full of delicious goodies.

My favorite part about Chefs Plate is how simple it is. The order process, delivery, cooking–it’s all simplified to make your life easier. All of the ingredients (which are 100% fresh and hormone free by the way) come pre-portioned so all you have to do is toss them in. The recipe cards are also incredibly easy to understand so my kids can help out.

As we got more comfortable with Chefs Plate, we decided to get a bit more experimental with our orders. In addition to kid-friendly meals, we began ordering things like Butter Chickpea Curry and Creamy Mushroom Rigatoni. Chefs Plate introduces new meals each week, making it easy for us to switch it up and try new things. My kids are trying things they never would have otherwise and I have Chefs Plate to thank for that.

The school year isn’t going to be easy. But it’s not hopeless. Yes, it’s going to be a stressful time, but there also ways to mitigate that. I never thought I would be so grateful for a simple meal kit service.

Not only does Chefs Plate free up more time in my schedule, it also brings our family closer together through the power of mealtime. It’s the perfect solution for any busy mom trying to navigate 2020 and a delicious one at that.

Update: Our friends at Chefs Plate are extending a limited time offer to our readers. Follow this link to get 14 free meals in your first 2 Chefs Plate deliveries!