By Taylor Sutton, MS, RD
United Supermarkets’ Lifestyle Desk
“Momming” is hard work! No matter what stage you are in, from newborn to empty nester, moms will create or find hacks to make “momming” a bit easier for their lifestyle. Here are our favorite hacks:
Create a snack bin
Be it for those early breastfeeding sessions, kids after school, or asking for a snack every five seconds on the weekend, having some pre-prepared snacks either bought this way or created by you are great to have on hand in a pinch. If you like the idea of meal prep but haven’t yet delved in, this is a fantastic “no bake” option to start. Try creating a bin with shelf-stable foods or a bin in the fridge for cold foods that take less than 5 minutes to throw together.
Pre-cook and pre-portion proteins
This is a huge timesaver for weeknight meals and can be universal from curries, to Italian, to Mexican food. Pre-cooking proteins like ground beef, ground chicken or chicken breast, ground turkey, or different cuts of pork are easy to cook and then freeze in individual family sized portions for an easy grab from the freezer.
Use your egg slicer as a food cutter
Whether you are prepping for more challenging baby-led weaning foods or that night’s salad, but your egg slicer to work with more than just hard-boiled eggs. From strawberries, grapes, mushrooms, cucumbers and a slew of other soft produce, this underutilized kitchen tool can come in handy when you need any extra set of hands.
Clean your microwave with vinegar
We’ve all been there where things explode in the microwave and the last thing we want to do is clean it after putting it off a few days when it becomes crusty. An easy, low maintenance way to get the process started is to put two cups of water and two tablespoons of vinegar in the microwave and let it steam for five minutes. Easily wipe away the prior mess and try not putting it off too long next time!
Lighten the after meal cleaning load
If you are looking for easier cleanup, let your aluminum foil and parchment paper do the work for you. Lay these down on your pans prior to cooking and once done you can toss them and clean up less mess since there won’t be anything stuck on the pan.
And again, no matter what stage you are in, quick weeknight meals are always necessary. Take this 1-sheet pan salmon for example. It’s only 4 ingredients and takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.
Quick and Easy Sheet Pan Salmon
What You Need
1/4 c. East West Asian Fusion Teriyaki Sauce
1 1/3 lb. Salmon
1 c. Lundberg Wild Rice
2 heads Broccoli
Salt and pepper as desired
How It’s Made
1. Cook rice according to package directions
2. Once finished, drizzle 2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce over rice and fluff with a fork
3. Preheat oven to 450
4. Line a pan with parchment paper
5. Chop broccoli into florets and lightly spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper as desired
6. Place broccoli alongside the salmon
7. Bake for 12 minutes
8. Once cooled evenly brush salmon and broccoli with remaining teriyaki sauce
9. Plate with rice on one side, broccoli on the other, and salmon on the top center
