Cooking for the Week in One Day to Save Time and Money

Written By: Bridget Sandorford

You know that you need to eat more of your meals at home so that you can eat healthier and save money, but you just don’t have the time to do it. After all, you work long hours at the office, then you come home and spend time with your partner or your family, and that’s not to mention trying to fit in exercise or just finding the time to relax and de-stress. Cooking a meal each night just isn’t always possible. Ordering pizza only takes a few minutes…

Cooking your meals in bulk can help you to have more healthy meals ready to go without having to cook every night. You save yourself time and you get the nutrition that you need.

How to Cook Meals in Bulk

Daylight Savings Time

Multiples, and children in general, already have a difficult enough time with the clock before you add in the extra surprise of Daylight Savings Time. Here are some tips and tricks to get them, and you, through this period of (literal) unrest.

1. Prepare yourselves!
Start early: reset one of your clocks on Friday night. This gives you and your children time to adjust without the hassle of school and work to deal with as well. It’ll give your little ones a chance to eat by the new schedule, and they’ll feel less sleep-deprived come Monday morning. Just be sure that you don’t go by that clock when you schedule playdates or meetings!

2. Exercise!
This should be something we do already, but too many of us neglect it. Take your kiddies out on a walk in the park, or go bike riding around the neighborhood. It will help tire them out so they get to sleep on the new schedule, and working out releases seratonin in the body, which will make you and your little ones that much happier. 🙂

3. Nap time!
For parents: Don’t nap too late in the day, otherwise your sleep patterns will be just as off as your children’s. For children:  If they have a set nap time, move it fifteen or thirty minutes so it feels correct to them when their bodies are fully transitioned.

4. Don’t eat a large dinner!
Large meals in your stomachs help neither you nor your children sleep well.  As you are getting settled into your new routine, have a lighter meal for dinner and let your children have a healthy snack if they feel peckish throughout the day. Give them plenty of time to digest before sending them off to sleep.

Other important things to consider…

• Check the batteries in your smoke and CO2 detectors! Daylight Saving’s Time is ideal for this. Make sure everything is in working order!
• Check the supplies in your emergency kits! Be on the lookout for items that need replenishing and for product expiration dates.
• Be on the lookout for sleepy drivers. You never know who’s going to be too tired because they didn’t prepare properly, or panicked on the road because they forgot to reset their clocks.

Cooking for an Army

Written by Twiniversity Member: Danielle Routon

Since having my twins eight months ago, in addition to a rambunctious two year old, I barely find time to shower. Cooking? Ha, ya right. So with the holidays approaching, I am already dreading the preparations. Because we would need a U-Haul to bring all of our baby gear to my in-laws, we will be having Thanksgiving at my house this year. As if our juggling act wasn’t great enough already.  I’ve found some easy and amazing recipes to satisfy our families and let’s be honest, our mother-in-laws too.

For the night before the big meal, when all the family had just arrived, I make something filling, tasty, and always super easy. If you’ve never explored your grocery stores frozen section, now is the time! I use bags of frozen meatballs for everything from birthday parties, Super Bowl blowouts, and regular weekly dinners. Here is my recipe for E-A-S-Y meatball subs:

Creature comforts in your crockpot

Written by: Karen Finchum

I know for many of us, what we are going to fix for dinner isn’t the top priority of our day. I usually get that moment of panic around 5 p.m., wondering what I will possibly make for my family. That is why I decided to cook more often with my crockpot. I wake up in the morning, spend around 10 minutes of prep time, and I am able to come home to a nice hot meal for my family. If your family doesn’t like something listed as an ingredient in some of my favorite recipes, just swap it out for something else and make the recipes your own! Happy Crocking!

Perfect Pot Roast

Cook: 7-9 hours on low

What you need:

• Beef Roast – any type will do
• ½ pkg. of dry Ranch dressing mix
• 1 pkg. of dry Italian dressing mix
• 1 pkg. of dry brown gravy mix
• ½ cup of water*
• 1 pkg. of frozen carrots

What you do: