Hellobee Boards

Most of the time I make enough food when DH is home that I can live off of leftovers when he isn't here. Otherwise, I try to make something quickly. My LO is a little older now, so he likes to sit on the counter and help me. Otherwise, I had the same experience as you, it was hard with LO making such a mess so most nights I would just feed him and wait to eat after I put him to bed for the night just so I could eat in peace.

What about a play kitchen so he can "help"? Or is he too young for one of those "little helper" towers so you can hand him little bits of stuff to play with/eat while you're cooking?

http://ana-white.com/2010/12/helping-tower.html

Do you use the stove or the oven?

@Mrs. Pen: What about ramping it up by just doubling whatever you're cooking (if it's freezer-friendly) and putting the other half in the freezer? Like lasagna, empanadas, meatballs and marinara, etc. That way there's no extra prep.

And for slow cooker meals at least you're doing your prep in the morning, instead of at night. So with the slow cooker option, you're just reversing your days and your nights in terms of cooking.

(And it doesn't have to take that long, you're just dumping stuff in the pot if you get the right recipes that don't require a ton of chopping, browning, etc. which I stay away from anyway because it defeats the purpose of slow cooking.)

I let LO play with pots, pans, and pantry items.
It was easy looking after just 1. a lot more difficult taking care of 2.

I do 90% of my prep/cooking while he is down for his 2nd nap.

DH's grandmother gave me a cookbook called "Parents Need to Eat Too". There are a lot of slow cooker meals, but also a lot of "nap recipes" recipes that have been broken down into 20 minute mini-prep blocks to be done during naps.

Doesn't work so well for me since DS will currently only nap in my arms, so a lot of the time I put him in the exersaucer, turn music on, dance around the kitchen, let him hit his plastic tray with a wooden spoon, sing to him, etc. It takes longer but I can usually keep him entertained and get dinner made.

i don't have any LOs, but sometimes at night before I go to bed I throw everything in the crock pot and the put the whole thing in the fridge. When I get up I just turn it on! By dinner time it's all ready.

Good luck!

it's still relatively easy for me since LO hasn't started crawling yet. I usually just plop her on her playmat on the floor, or put her in her highchair with some toys while I cook. I also still eat like crap unfortunately, so that makes it easier.

@Mrs. Pen: dead serious.

@Mrs. Pen: I am in this situation! It IS hard. DH is gone 4 nights out of the week. My LO is so not the type to entertain himself and is constantly tugging pulling at me while I'm cooking too. I have to constantly change up what he is doing and introduce things he has never seen just to hold his attention for 5 minutes.

I will put a few pots and pans on the ground and let him play with those. He also loves to stand in front of the fridge while its open, also he will sit in his high chair for a few minutes and eat puffs. I just constantly have to change it up for him, and cook FAST!

DS is only 5 months, so I know your stage is harder...but I do a ton of crock pot meals and stick to a STRICT schedule for him. Seriously. 5 pm. Boob in mouth. I don't care where I am. 7-730 he's going to sleep. I have to be able to take care of myself to take care of him because I am alone all the time. I do my grocery list on the weekend and only go to the store once. I write out M/T/W/R/F/S and B/L/D and what I'm eating for each meal to make sure I don't over look anything. It is CRAZY sometimes, but routine is key for me to make sure I don't forget stuff. If I forget breastmilk in the freezer and he has nothing to eat, I just can't call DH to go get it or bring some...and I can't be late to work. Routine and planning for me!

TJ's has microwaveable asparagus and broccoli so some nights we do that with baked chicken. At 10 months, DS was still loving his exersaucer so I kept him in there when we made dinner.