Calling all Nurse Mamas... Please help me!!

JenniferSews · Mar 17, 2011

I have planned carefully and cooked fresh meals that can be reheated. Baked ziti, soups, most casseroles, taco meat, home made tomato sauce, meatloaf. Get a library book or look online for recipes and ideas. Also think outside the box. I have prepared part of a meal and left him with simple instructions to finish. So the onions, mushrooms, beef tips and garlic are all 90% cooked. It defrosts in the fridge and he comes home, cooks noodles, and finished the beef and sauce a pan. Add a little sour cream and cream cheese at the end and boom- beef stroganoff. I've also pounded flat and cooked chicken breasts and then frozen them. He just has to defrost in the fridge, make some wild rice and a lemon sauce (with detailed but easy instructions) and throw the breasts in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Now you have lemon chicken. Worst case a stock of frozen chicken nuggets, fish sticks, that sort of thing, on hand is probably better than fast food. Remind him by text or call to make x and don't forget to cook a veggie. My kids won't eat most crock pot meals so we don't use it much.

It takes a little planning and creativity but I bet you could make it work. Having him help you plan the meals and help cook on the nights you are home will help too. The hardest part for us was teaching him how to use the pressure cooker. :lol2: He's willing to learn, cooking has just never been an interest since it was fun for me and I chose to do it. Now he has dishes that he can cook in a pinch because he knows how and we always have the ingredients on hand.

MagsMom · Mar 17, 2011

Personally, I love crock pot cooking and usually put mine on in the morning and after cooking it stays on "warm" until we get home. I do all of my chopping and organizing on Sunday afternoons.

I do not have a husband - BUT one thing my daughter loves is having "breakfast/dinner" one night a week when she is at her dad's house. He can make bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, yogurt parfaits or muffins for dessert

you may just have to plan every night until your husband gets the hang of it -and I do know what a pain it is to think about a weeks worth of meals but in the long run you will see how much money, time, and frustrated nights you will save!

NPinWCH · Mar 17, 2011

My husband cooks fairly well, but he also suffers from the, "I don't know what to make" problem. What I do, after shopping for the week or after checking what's in the freezer/fridge, is write up a menu and put in on the fridge door. I pick things he can cook easily and make sure I list the things he'll need if needed. I usually pull the meat out to defrost the night before or in the morning so he won't forget.

Menus for nights he cooks might be. Hamburgers and salad (with instructions to use the lettuce, carrots and tomatoes), chicken, rice and broccoli (he's great about seasoning and grilling or pan frying), and maybe the third meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup, which the kids LOVE.

I found that as long as I tell him what to make my kids don't live on Wendy's, McDonalds and Subway. I've gotten to the point where I make out a menu for the whole week now and post it on the fridge. The kids like to know what we're having too.

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

I am a new mom of a 6 month old and I have the same problem!!!

On my days off I make a few easy meals (stews and chili) I am a horrible cook.

I store the food in those tupperware containers and freeze them.

On the days I work I pull one out and put it in the fridge for when I get home.

I also make Rhodes rolls and freeze them for when I want a hot roll with my stew!

Mission · Mar 17, 2011

I have a 2.5 year old. In addition to working a full time jobs I'm also a student. Hubby tried to pull that I don't know how/what to cook nonsense. We had to have a talk about the importance of establishing healthy eating habits and that coming from cooking healthy food at home. The only issue now is he's reluctant to learn new recipes so he tends to cook the same things often, which is fine, but I've been encouraging him to check out cooking websites or the cooking channel. He also makes us breakfast most mornings.

mehitabela · Mar 17, 2011

Boy, all of you are so nice and accommodating! Personally, I'm MUCH more of a $&*ch! I told my husband when I began working that he had to man up and get it done. I did buy him a crock pot and we take turns. I also bought a cookbook for guys that reads like directions for morons...no frills but at least not Mac diggities. Now my daughters are 15 and 13 and my son is 3. I bought them kid cookbooks when they were younger and now the girls take their turn too.

Traum-a-Rama · Mar 17, 2011

I'm a single mom, but don't rely on my sitter to cook from scratch. I cook several dishes on my days off, or I'll cook extra servings of meals to serve as leftovers later. I'll even just cut up & cook a few chicken breasts and keep it in the fridge to add to chili, tacos, or a casserole. I keep celery, carrots, and broccoli in separate ziploc bags in the fridge. Also, my daughter loves having a "breakfast for dinner" night...I think any hubby can learn how to make scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and pancakes from a mix.

I also try to keep things new by downloading a monthly menu from Woman's Day magazine online. Great site!

NurseGrape3000 · Mar 17, 2011

We will be in your shoes within the year!

I have done a lot of thinking about this, and plan on doing a lot of what everyone else says too - freezing portions, crock-pot - I will use the programmable one. Do you think leaving it out after its done cooking is better? I'm not sure, but that's what I was planning on doing. My sis has worked overseas where everyone eats meat that has never been refrigerated, and they're all fine. I figure I'll give it a try. :)

I am also planning on putting together a Man Cook Book - some pictures and veerrry basic cooking tips and recipes.... Ie.. "how to fry an egg. No don't forget the butter.." "Yes, when you re-heat something in a pot you have to STIR it." (Yes, I'm right there with you.) We homeschool so I am hoping this is something my husband and my older son can figure out together.

I know I'm really going to have to write everything down - check-lists for chores, bedtime etc. I think once I have a system running everything will be ok? I guess you'll have to let me know. :)

Good luck!

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 17, 2011

Used to be the Momma with 3 kids, useless then divorced husband.. Yes, crockpots/slowcooker, I have 12 hr recipes. I have some go to recipes less than 30 mins that also freeze well, and thaw in microwave. I also would cook a bigger meal when off a day like a roast, whole chicken, ham etc..so we could eat off of it for a few days. Found it was easier and cheaper for kids to get lunch at school then to buy all the components.

Also when I was in nursing school night before exams or real early days ..kids got baths then into sweat suit type clothes, no wrinkles and were dressed for school in am. I felt terrible at first,, but it worked and we all lived thru it.

Husbands may not want to cook but many will grill, buy a grill with side burners and I bet you can create a chef in no time!! And all the new grills are out in the stores for the season now..early Father's day gift!

We would eat out once a week but I could not afford fast food as it never filled them up.. My thing was we went to Denny's or somewhere that kids ate free on a certain night or I got AAA discount.. Right now Denny's gives you 20% off just to show your card.. I paid for my membership which I feel is required for my safety in a short time. And they have a $2, $4, $6, $8 menu.. I know take grandkids and they can order off of kids menu or get $2 or $4 menu.. still beats McDonalds.

Include the kids,, they might have good ideas. My grand daughter is 7 and she has created several recipes for casseroles.. they freeze and her and her brother will eat them even with the veggies and good for you stuff beside it is their recipes.. they have their own cookbooks too.

Another thing I did one year was to share meals with a nurse momma who worked different days.. Cooking extra does not take hardly any extra time and when it is your day to receive it is nice. We each cooked 2 days a week and shared and did our own thing on other days. Basic good eating, nothing fancy or gourmet.

Sit down, relax and the ideas will come to you.

mykrosphere · Mar 17, 2011

i think you should be happy that you have the help and he wants to help!

i have been a single mom for 21 years, been a nurse for 11, and i second the crockpot ideas, although a lot of food doesnt take long to cook!

freezing and leftovers made into something else is also good advice too.

frozen ahead of time is still better than fast food

punkydoodlesRN, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

Thank you for some ideas, and for your stories. This is such a life-change for us and we feel that we're drowning. I already suffer from the I'm-an-awful-mom syndrome and meals are just making it all worse.

We have a grill, so I need to work on stocking up on stuff he can throw on. And I like the weekly menu idea. We've just been a fly-by-the-seat family - but I can just look in the pantry and throw stuff together. I did talk with him tonight about getting the garage cleaned out and maybe getting a second fridge or deep freeze where I could have more room to cook ahead and freeze. Come to think of it, I have no idea how we made it through me going to nursing school??? I don't know if my kids even ate :)

Any other tips, that maybe isn't even cooking related?? Like I said, this is the first time that we've both worked. I already lay the kid's clothes out for the entire week. But he really only takes them on the 2-3 week days that I work. (By the way, our kids are 2 & 4)

Mulan · Mar 17, 2011

chili freezes really well

lasagna or any Italian noodle dish, cook in a 9 x 13 pan and when cold cut into

individual serving size squares, then freeze

if you forget to take it out, will defrost in the microwave

there's always hamburger helper or tuna helper

frozen pizza

salad as a side