Parents hang in there! Are you up to your ears with cooking at home and homeschooling, while also trying to work remotely? God bless those teachers, how do they do it? Juggling professional and personal demands—especially when your family is confined together in close quarters—would be a challenge for any parent, but it is possible to stay on top of your daily list and feed your family three delicious and nutritious meals a day without feeling frazzled 24/7. Our Nico support guide will get everything done to your standards while staying sane.
Create a Schedule for Yourself and Kids
When your family is stuck at home together, creating a weekly schedule that maps out how each family member’s time will be spent is easier. Take your first steps by listing all of the important weekday tasks that need to be accomplished. While most parents identify office work and schoolwork as top priorities, remember also to set aside time for meal prep, sitting down together for meals, laundry, cleaning, working out, keeping up with emails, social distancing happy hour, and social media. Create a calendar that includes every task—plus who should be doing what—and post it somewhere central at home. While your family may not stick to the schedule perfectly, you will likely find having it in place helps life seem more orderly, and leaves you less frazzled.
Keep a Well-Stocked Kitchen
Stock up your fridge, freezer, cupboards, and spice rack with ingredients that make it easier to throw together well-balanced meals without spending hours prepping. Make sure you prepare for leftovers and stock up on food storage containers, which allow you to store prepped food safely in the fridge or freezer. You’ll also want to organize your fridge and pantry in a way that makes it easy for you to find and grab what you need on the fly.
Plan Your Week’s Menus
We know you miss eating at Nico Ristorante and enjoy the luxuries of Italian food for take out. Our lives have been turned upside down along with our stomachs. We know how serious you are about wanting to stick to eating clean, but that doesn’t mean to forget about your favorite dishes from Nico!
Faroe Island Salmon
The flavors unite in an elegant and complex way. Salmon is always the smartest choice when dining out. Why not add omega-3 to your diet? The combination of selenium, Vitamins A and D, and omega-3 improve immunity. Lightly pan-seared, Sicilian sweet and sour glaze, mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus.
Pollo Primavera
A light, healthy, and delicious meal of artichokes, peas, mushrooms, and white wine demi-glaze.
Once you’ve got a plan for the week, post it on the fridge door, so your family can look forward to the week’s menus.
Ask Your Kids to Pitch In
There’s nothing wrong with asking your kids to help out in the kitchen. Involving children in food preparation actually teaches them about food and nutrition and introduces kitchen skills they can use for a lifetime. Delegate duties when you can, based on your kids’ ages and abilities.
Remember We Are In This Together
Juggling working from home, cooking for kids, and keeping them on track with schoolwork demands a lot from parents and a lot of patience. Give yourself a break and don’t hold yourself to an impossible standard of perfection. Maintaining a new normal daily routine can help manage some of this stress. Stay healthy out there. Not only for yourself, but for your neighbors and loved ones. Treat yourself to some takeout to ease the stress.
