61 | How to Get Dinner on the Table When Cooking Feels Hard
Encouragement for Busy Moms
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How to Get Dinner on the Table When Cooking Feels Hard
If you are in a season right now where cooking feels extra hard and you just can’t seem to get dinner on the table every night, I’m hoping this episode will encourage you. I’m going to share some of my favorite tips for cooking, even in those really hard seasons, whether it’s winter blues, that time of the month, or your first trimester of pregnancy when cooking just feels extra hard.
Why Cooking Dinner Feels So Hard in Certain Seasons
Cooking feels so constant. When my first child started eating, it always felt like I had just made a meal and then it was time to make another one. Food just feels constant, especially when you like to make things from scratch. It can feel overwhelming.
I flip-flop between seasons where I’m thriving and always prepared, and seasons where it’s four o’clock and I realize I didn’t even think about dinner. When I’m in that place, I can’t even remember what I like making. My brain is just screaming, “I don’t know what to cook.”
If that’s you, you are not alone.
Stop Stressing About Tonight and Think About Tomorrow
If you’re trying to figure out what’s for dinner tonight, I want to release you from today. Stop stressing about tonight. Do whatever you’ve been doing and start thinking about tomorrow instead.
Thinking ahead helps me the most. I love it when I can cook dinner for the next day instead of panicking at four o’clock. If I know what we’re eating tomorrow, I can thaw meat, prep ingredients, or cook parts of the meal ahead of time.
If you want to cook more from scratch, remember it doesn’t happen all at once. We start with one new recipe. It’s always step by step. Trying to overhaul everything at once is overwhelming and usually leads to quitting.
Meal Planning vs. Not Meal Planning
If cooking feels overwhelming, try the opposite of what you’ve been doing. I used to get stuck in analysis paralysis and felt like I needed a full meal plan before I could cook anything. When I stopped trying to plan my entire life worth of meals and just cooked dinner for that day, it gave me so much peace.
Now, in this season, I do meal plan a bit more. That depends on your season. Give yourself permission to try something different.
Break Cooking Into Small Tasks
Whatever you’re cooking, break it into as many small tasks as you can. Cut one onion now. Come back later and cut the celery. Marinate the chicken. These are all separate tasks that can happen in ten-minute chunks.
I never cook at four o’clock if I can avoid it. That’s the hardest time of day in my house. I do everything I can in the morning or the day before.
For example, with shepherd’s pie, I make the filling the day before and freeze extra. The next day, I just add potatoes and put it in the oven. Dinner is ready without starting from scratch.
Always Cook More Than One Batch
If you’re cooking, never make a single batch. Eat it two nights in a row or freeze it. I make giant pots of soup or big casseroles and double everything I can.
This applies to bread too. I never bake just one loaf.
Lower Your Standards When You Need To
You might need to lower your standards for cooking, even temporarily. Depending on your season—working, postpartum, first trimester, or a hard winter—it might be time to buy pre-made meals or try what I call “half homemade.”
That might look like a rotisserie chicken with a homemade salad, pre-made pizza dough with homemade toppings, or store-bought pie crusts. It still helps you feed your family without the full workload.
Reevaluate Your Food Budget
Sometimes cooking is stressful because money is stressful. Putting off groceries leads to more expensive takeout later. You might need to reevaluate your budget and increase what you can realistically afford for food in this season.
It’s important to buy the food so you can actually cook, especially if that means buying pre-made or half pre-made meals.
Get on the Same Page With Your Husband
This depends on your priorities. Talk with your husband about what matters when it comes to dinner. My family doesn’t mind eating the same meal two nights in a row, but that may not be true for everyone.
If you’re struggling, invite him into it. Sometimes the real issue isn’t what to cook—it’s feeling alone. Looking at it as a team can change everything.
Stop Looking for the Perfect Meal
Stop trying to find the perfect meal, the perfect plan, or the perfect craving match. Just make something. Sometimes I cook meals I don’t really want because they’re easy, we have everything on hand, and they feed the family.
This season is temporary. You will have another season where cooking feels easy again.
Easy Winter Dinner Ideas We’ve Been Eating
In the winter, we eat a lot of hearty foods:
Shepherd’s pie
Chicken enchiladas
Big batches of soup (Italian sausage soup, chicken noodle soup, squash soup with chicken)
Tacos, taco casserole, or taco salad
Chicken dishes over rice prepared for the freezer
Chicken pot pie with filling and crusts frozen ahead
Sometimes it just helps to hear what someone else is making.
This is temporary. Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, you will get back to thriving.
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