With all the madness of getting the kids back into school and going back to work yourself, wouldn’t it all be nice if the house and dinner could just make itself?

I guess thats huge wishful thinking lol! but here’s the Nutritious & Delicious gal herself giving you 5 handy tips to make those days less chaotic so you can keep your sanity and still sit down with a glass of wine in hand at the end of the day.

Time saver #1- Making breakfast the morning of can be a huge stress for some families. Everyone is trying to get ready for school and work. You still have to feed yourself, along with the pet thats been standing over his empty bowl as you frantically try and find your kids shoes for school.

Just before you head to bed for the night, why not pour out your cereals into bowls and wrap up. Cut up some fresh fruit put it in the fridge, set the coffee pot so it’s ready for you in the morning, scramble the eggs and set aside in the fridge.

If we have breakfast ready to go all we have to do is quickly add the milk and fruit into the cereal or scramble the eggs in the pan. I find this a big time saver when kids are little, still in diapers, toilet training or you have a few kids close in age that need a lot of attention from you first thing in the morning.

Time Saver #2- It’s the end of a long work day or your a busy stay at home parent thats just had one of those days with the kids.

Cut yourself some slack and order out from a healthy, cheap place that the whole family can eat from. We are fortunate that city’s are becoming more health conscious and providing us with alternatives to fast food. Calgary offers Freshii, Made Foods, Chopped Leaf, Pita pit, Sunterra Market and Community foods.

Go to the health store on your drive home and grab a few healthy fresh made dinner dishes for the whole family to share. You cant always be on your “A” game with dinner but you do have healthier alternatives these days.

Time Saver #3- When everyone is home from school and work, you may still have a project to take care of and have no help with dinner. The kids are hungry, you have an hour before the extra curricular activity has to take place and you are the driver.

This is when a crock pot meal would come in handy. Many times we come home to think “whats for dinner?” why not crack open your simple recipes and put a nice roast or chili in the crock pot the night before.

Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to a dinner thats been cooked for you? you can still finish your project and the kids get fed in time to go to hockey/soccer/ dance class.

Time Saver #4- Remember that crock pot dinner you just ate? well time saver #4 actually utilizes this into good old leftovers. When you’re in a pinch for work lunch, the kids don’t have anything to take to school, leftovers can ultimately save you so much time preparing.

If you think about making extra food with dinners on a regular basis, then the family can easily get fed for many more meals without you having to make lunches and dinner all over again.

Time saver #5- If you have young kids like myself, you know its hard to get through a meal without tantrums, getting up to cut someone else’s food, going back and fourth with the kids that need your help. Sometimes its nice just to feed the kids ahead of yourself and eat at a different time.

This is a great way to have bonding time with your spouse over a candle lit dinner while the kids are in bed. If you can’t get out for date nights this is the best indoor version as you can chat about your day and reconnect. Eating when the kids are napping is also a good tool to make sure mamma gets fed properly and enjoys her food for once.