Changed perspectives from a (relatively) new parent

This is the first in a new (and doubtless sporadic) series examining how parenthood has changed my perspectives on things I didn’t ‘get’ before. Some things I used to think were really odd or unnecessary have now become essentials for me! Today, I’m looking at meal prep.

Meal prep carries a certain set of connotations in the non-parenting world. My first thought always used to be gym bros, obsessing over their protein intake. I picture bland chicken breasts with rice and broccoli, on endless repeat. Or alternatively, basic student meals cooked in huge batches and eaten for a term – think bolognese for two weeks in a row. Now, I’m not actually against either of these. If meal prep helps you plan your nutrition and save money, that’s brilliant. I’m not even against repeating the same meal. Growing up my family had a rotation of about ten meals we’d have week in, week out, and when I was doing my masters I once had the same meal nine nights in a row (jacket potato with butter and cheese, cherry tomatoes and avocado). But since becoming a bit more stable in my adulthood, I’ve not felt the need to meal prep. If you’ve got a bit of time, why not relax with some cooking, and try new things?

Therein lies the issue: ‘if you’ve got a bit of time’. I’m not saying that I have no time whatsoever, but as a parent working full-time, any I do have, particularly during the week, is hugely precious. There isn’t much time between the baby coming home from day-care and going to bed. Why would I want to spend that time away from her, busy chopping vegetables and stirring pots? I’d much rather be playing with her, getting to make up for a day spent apart. The best part of my day is the cuddles and fun we have together at the end of it. So having ready-prepared meals I can get on the table quickly has become a huge advantage. I say ‘I’, really I mean ‘we’, as my partner and I share housework like cooking (unpaid labour!) pretty evenly.

So now I’m a parent, I spend a bit of my weekend, when there’s plenty of time to spare, getting ahead on the week’s meals, and banking myself some extra hours of fun on weekdays.

But there are other advantages to meal prep beyond simple time saving. Decision fatigue can be a big issue for all of us with our busy, hectic modern lives. I’ve found this to be even more intense since becoming a parent – you’re constantly making little decisions not only for yourself but for a whole other person who is incapable of making any of them for themselves. So having your set of meals ready and waiting, and just picking one from the shortlist, actually makes a big difference. Just having fewer things to think about reduces your mental load.

I don’t know about you, but for me the clearing up after cooking is always one of the most tedious chores. Meal prepping does come with its fair share of washing up, but at least by cooking in large batches you’re making it as efficient as possible. And you’re getting the whole week’s washing up done in one fell swoop!

When you’re prepping, it’s also a lot easier to ensure you’ve having healthy, balanced meals. Because you’re not doing it last minute, there’s no temptation to get pulled into quick, easy but not very healthy options, either ones you can cook yourself or have as takeout. Our takeout consumption has radically reduced since we started meal prepping. It turns out that most of the time it wasn’t the food itself we were that bothered about, it was just not having to cook it ourselves! Now we’re sticking to the routines and habits a baby needs, a prepped meal is often an easier option than takeout. There’s no ambiguity about when it will arrive, so you know you can keep to the all-important dinner-to-bedtime schedule.

So from a meal-prep sceptic, parenthood has transformed me into a meal prep evangelist! Even if you don’t have children, there are plenty of advantages, but if you’re a time-poor parent, it’s a real game-changer!

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Having sung its praises, I do think there is good meal prep and bad meal prep. Check out my upcoming post How I make meal prep work for my tips on how to make the most of this time-saving culinary habit.

Is there anything that your perspective has radically changed on since becoming a parent? I wouldn’t say my whole world-view has changed, but there are a surprising number of things I see quite differently now! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please do share them in a comment. Thanks for reading!