Meals for kids without maids? How could we organise?

[sharonkhoo]

What age kids? How many? Are you working full-time? If you give more details, it will help others give suggestions.

[Yima]

Hello, I have same problem, 2 boys(sec1&p4), my work often stay late till to 8-9pm, my maid go back soon, how can I organize dinner without maid. :?:

[33mama]

Teach kids to cook?

Cook in the morning and put in fridge. Teach them to heat up.

[Kertan]

My kids are 4, 8 and 12

[Dora1]

Buy a thermal pot? I sound like a thermal pot salesman, but it's really a FTWM's saviour. I shared how I manage dinner here with thermal pot and some simple dishes.


http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5622&start=620

If your kids are big enough, can ask them to cook rice when they are back. If you have one of those multiple electric steamers, can prepare food the night before like what I described in the link above, and just give the kids instructions like how long to steam.
I used to do that when DD was young and I will just put the food into the steamer (that has a timer) and that go and bathe her. Then dinner will be served after that.
Ideas:
Steamed food:
Fish (canton, thai, teochew, nyonya sauce)
Tofu
egg
meat patty
egg plant
Broccoli, carrot, other hard veg.

Thermal pot:
Canton soups (corn/carrot soup, lotus roots, water cress)
Herbal soups
Bak Kut Teh
Chicken/ Beef stew
Japanese curry
Cook fish soup stock base (bakes fish bones, soya bean, ikan bilis). Come back add fish slices, tomato, tofu and veg. This fish stock can also be used for yong tau fu.

Supplement with xiao bai cai, or spinach. Just blanch in water and salt/oil. Serve with oyster sauce and supermarket bought shallots - becomes You Cai!
Get creative! It's doable, just need to do lots of planning ahead. I'm FTWM and I never had maid and no ILs help. Still manage to cook dinner 3-4 days a week. Don't try to do it for 5 straight days, do eat out occasionally so that you don't burn out.

[nms1]

Who will be supervising the children at home? As other said you can ask someone to switch on the rice cooker then it will be ready when you come home. You can use a thermal pot for some dishes or prepare in advance and quickly cook when you come home.


Soup can be made the night before, stir-fry dishes you can just chop and marinade everything in advance then it just takes 10 minutes to cook, pasta with sauce is also very fast. If you cook something like curry or stew or even soup, cook it in large quantities then freeze it. All you have to do it take it out in the morning, put in the fridge then warm up when you come home.

Remember millions of women all over the world do this every day There are also a lot of cookbooks with 10 or 20 minute recipes you can try.

[happyheart]

How about baked rice and pasta?


Baked rice- you can practically prepare everything including placing the shredded mozarella cheese on top. You just have to heat it up in oven while you can about doing other chores.

Same for pasta dishes. You can pre-prepared the sauce in bulk. Boiled the pasta ahead and keep in fridge. Gently rinse the pasta with hot water and heat up the sauce. The meal will be ready in 15mins.

Other have also suggested thermal pot for soup and I agree it is a good investment. Happy cooking!

[heyhoe]

I wake up at 5.30am every morning - cook 1 soup and rice (pre-set timer). Once home, I stir fry vegetable, steam tofu or egg.


At times,I buy steam chicken or char siew. On lazy days, I cook maggi noodles, stir fry rice or go out for dinner.

[longmao.029846irene]

Just to add 1 dish meals r d best!

Just to name a few… canton chix claypot rice, pumpkin silverfish rice… ( of coz all using our rice cooker instd)…
u can even hv hainanese style chix rice… all prep n marinate before hand n throw all in to d rice cooker. .15-20 mins done
Throw in a soup prep using slow cooker or thermal…
u hv a delicious meal…
my DS fav is d pumpkin rice
d list is endless… n I also nvr hv a maid before