3 Meal Prep Ideas for Busy Moms

For busy mothers, preparing nutritious and convenient meals for both your child and the rest of the family can be challenging when you’re in the midst of a hectic schedule. With strategic meal preparation, however, you can make healthy and delicious meals ahead of time, so you always have something on hand when hunger strikes you or your loved ones. 

While doing so can be tricky, tools such as electric food choppers and blenders, electric mixers, toasters for bread, and sandwich makers can help make the process a lot easier and more convenient. Better still, throw in a smoothie blender into the mix and you’ll have yourself access to both gourmet-worthy meals and a pairing drink to boot — but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. 

Here are 3 meal prep ideas that are perfect for busy moms: 

1. Burritos

A fuss-free meal prep routine doesn’t necessarily entail bland-tasting food. The burrito is a perfect manifestation of this notion, surprisingly easy to make yet shockingly delightful in terms of flavour and overall enjoyment. 

While a food chopper isn’t a must-have for this recipe, it’ll help greatly in speeding up the meal prep process. An electric mixer can also greatly aid the sauce-making department if you prefer homemade guacamole over jarred ones. 

Recipe Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • Ground beef (450g)
  • Taco seasoning mix (30g)
  • Refried beans (1½ cups)
  • Corn kernels (¾ cup)
  • Cooked rice (3 cups)
  • Flour tortillas (6 large)
  • Cheddar cheese (1½ cups)
  • Red onion (finely diced; to taste)
  • Tomatoes (finely diced; to taste)
  • Lettuce (cut; to taste)
  • Sour cream (to taste)
  • Fresh cilantro (to taste)
  • Avocado or guacamole (to taste)

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat the electric oven to 180°C. Oil the baking dish and set aside. 
  2. Cook beef with taco seasoning mix over low heat until brown. 
  3. Spread beans down the centre of the tortillas, then top with rice, beef, corn, and cheese.
  4. Fold the tortilla, then roll it up into a burrito. Place in the prepared baking dish, seam-sides down. 
  5. Once filled, cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until heated through. 
  6. If saving to cook another day, freeze burritos individually. Let frozen burritos bake for 45 minutes instead of 25 when preparing straight out of the freezer. 

2. Whipped Sweet Potatoes

It is common to find mashed potatoes or an adaptation thereof in any list of recipes designed for time savings and convenience. Whipped sweet potatoes are our chosen indulgence in this regard. This classic comfort food recipe finds a place in this list as not just a delightful side dish but a main course that, while simple, is still satisfying and bound to face no rejection from children with a sweeter tooth. 

How you want to whip your potatoes is ultimately up to you. However, we recommend using a food processorhand mixerstand mixer, or an immersion blender to achieve that fluffy, velvety consistency which provides an enjoyable mouthfeel. 

Recipe Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Sweet potatoes (4 large)
  • Butter (2 tbsp.) 
  • Heavy cream (¼ cup) 
  • Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
  • Pepper (1 tsp) 
  • Sea salt (1 tsp)
  • Nutmeg (1 pinch)

Instructions: 

  1. Slice sweet potatoes into chunks and place into a large pot of cold water. 
  2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 20 minutes. 
  3. Drain water. Add butter, heavy cream, salt, pepper, vanilla, and nutmeg to the potatoes. 
  4. Whip mixture with the food processor, hand or stand mixer, or immersion blender until desired consistency is achieved. 
  5. Serve or pack. 

3. Bombay Omelette Toasties

For those seeking something a little more exotic yet conveniently easy to prepare and pack, this recipe for Bombay omelette toasties packs all the bursting flavours and notes of a Bombay-styled omelette into grilled sandwiches packed to the brim with green chilli, tomato, onion, and other warming spices. 

While there is no shortage of creative ways to get your bread toasted without a sandwich maker, we recommend that you use one for the best golden-brown results possible. 

Recipe Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Eggs (6 whole)
  • Turmeric (½ tsp)
  • Ground cumin (½ tsp)
  • Garam Masala (½ tsp)
  • Sea salt (to taste; freshly ground)
  • Black pepper (to taste; freshly ground)
  • Green chilli (3; finely chopped)
  • Cherry tomatoes (12; sliced) 
  • Spring onion (6 small or 1 large; chopped)
  • White bread (12 slices)
  • Coriander (to taste)
  • Spreadable butter (to taste)

Instructions: 

  1. Whisk spices and seasoning together with eggs. 
  2. Add chopped chilli, sliced cherry tomatoes, and cut spring onion into egg mixture. Mix well. 
  3. Add in coriander and set the mixture aside. 
  4. Thinly spread butter onto bread slices, right to edges. 
  5. Put the bread into the sandwich maker buttered side down. Gently press to create slight indents. 
  6. Pour the egg mixture onto the bread and place another piece of bread buttered side up. 
  7. Close your sandwich maker and turn the heat to medium. Let grill until the egg cooks. 
  8. Turn up the heat and let cook for a few more minutes to brown the bread. 
  9. Serve or pack. 

Get All the Cooking Equipment You Need from Kenwood Singapore

Whether it’s food preparation toolskitchen appliances, or baking equipment you need, you’ll find them all — and more — at Kenwood Singapore. Enjoy the unparalleled performance and unrivalled sophistication in design and innovation when you shop Kenwood for all your food-related needs. Big or small, from cooking to baking, we’ve got you covered with the best appliances in the market. 

Shop Kenwood Singapore online today.