These days, the old school single income family is becoming less and less common. You see more and more dual-income families all around you. It's not because people are greedy, per se. The cost of living has become higher and higher with each passing year.
With both partners working to make ends meet, time is a huge limiting factor. The toughest part for me has always been mealtimes. This is especially true since I work 7 on 7 off. It's difficult to maintain family life during that 7 days of work. So, you have to improvise.
One of the approaches I have done is making use of my crockpot. I have a Crock-Pot slow cooker. It usually only takes about an hour or so to prepare the ingredients and it makes about 6 quarts of food. Here's an image from Amazon.
Then, the next step is to find a recipe that worked for me. I chose beef stew because ingredients are usually pretty easy to find. You could often find the beef precut in small cubes already at the market. Here's a recipe I've found that worked well for me.
If you have trouble accessing the website, here's a screenshot of the said directions.
The best part about having a crockpot full of stew is that you can keep it warm for several days and eat at your leisure. At my household, the stew is the main meal for a dinner or two. Then, it's pretty much quick bites or snacks for the next 2-3 days. This eliminates the need to have leftovers meal after meal. For kids that complain about being hungry late into the night, it's a good backup. Go tell them to have some stew. It's better than junk food or trying to prepare something anyhow.
So, what else does this accomplish, you might ask? Believe it or not, it's also a great activity for a child to participate in preparing the meal. Even if it's as simple as put all the processed ingredients into the pot. The hectic modern life now pulls both parents away from the family, and it isn't changing any time soon. Involving your kids in activities can be a form of bonding.
Notice how I'm not talking about single-parent households. That's an entire different ball game. Nailing several birds with one stone. That seems to be what life demands these days. It's not awesome, but it does incentivize you to think about your routines. Because when you don't think about your family, who will?
