Twenty Minutes to Dinner

Working moms, raise your hands!

May I ask you a few questions? Do you rush home after work just to be able to feed your families not later that 10:00 in the evening? Or do you just drive thru fastfood joints and order anything to go so you wouldn’t have to wake up your kids just to have dinner? Do you tell the yaya to just fry anything that she finds in the fridge so that your husband and children can go ahead and eat without you because you’re caught in traffic?

If you answered “Yes!” to all of them, chances are, you are stressed over whether your family is eating enough, or eating right at all.

But don’t fret. There are ways wherein you can ensure that your children are eating the right kind and amount of food, even if you are caught in traffic, or you only have twenty minutes to prepare the family meal.

For starters, you can plan your weekly menu ahead, do the marketing, and cook all your meals during weekends. You can then store each dish in see-thru containers, which you can label with the dish name and the day/ meal it is supposed to be eaten. This way, either the man of the house or yaya can just pull out the dish from the fridge, thaw it a bit and reheat the food.

Another make-ahead technique is for you to pre-boil all meats—pork, chicken, beef—and store in the freezer. Pre-boiling the meat shortens your cooking time by more than half. You can store the meat and the stock separately as the stock may be used for flavoring vegetable dishes later on. You can even put the stock in an ice cube tray or in smaller containers. This way, you only get what you need.

Keep frozen vegetables at hand. These may be used in one dish meals like picadillo, afritada, menudo, or even caldereta, as well as soups and pasta. If pressed for time, they can be sautéed in a little butter and served as a side dish to any fried or roasted meat.

Some make-ahead food items you can store are bangus lumpia, lumpiang shanghai, or bangus for grilling (Before freezing, stuff the fish with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, onions and ginger and season with salt and pepper; you can also stick a lemongrass stalk from the mouth to the belly so that your fish will stay straight. This also adds flavor.).

Marinating meat and fish also makes them ready for the frying pan or the grill. Also, marinating beef and pork in anything with lime or calamansi juice will help tenderize the meat.

"Cute" vegetables like marble potatoes and baby carrots are also helpful to have around. You don't need to peel them. All you have to do is wash them thoroughly (brush them, if you must, to get rid of dirt) and they're ready to be tossed in with the rest of the stew!

Supermarkets also offer pre-sliced vegetables and choice cut meats. Buying these will help cut down pre-prep time.

Although canned goods can be very convenient, it is best that you use them sparingly. Choosing a bag of frozen corn kernels, for instance, over canned corn helps reduce your sodium intake.

Lastly, keep a healthy stash of fresh fruits in season for the kiddies to snack on. This way, you won't have to worry about them not getting the proper nutrition they need.

So don't be stressed anymore, Mommy. Whether you're stuck and can't join them, or a buzzer beater with just twenty minutes to spare, you can be sure that your family is going to enjoy a hot and nutritious meal.