It is very easy to get into work mode and not leave off until the kids are pretending to die of hunger and your husband is slouched in his chair, in a hunger-induced coma. It then becomes imperative that you get food into these people . . . and fast! So, you toss some frozen dinners at them, or pour cereal, or order pizza. Maybe you send your husband to the nearest fast food joint so you can finish up just one more project.

This scenario is way more common than we’d like to admit. After all, very few women actually succeed at being Super Mom and when the going gets tough, something’s gotta give. That something is often the laundry, dishes and cooking! And it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there are ways to make real meals a bit faster and way more convenient. Here are a few tips:

- Never cook just one meal. If you make pasta, throw in two packages instead of one. When boiling potatoes, cook up twice as many as you need. Basic ingredients like these are great for last minute meals later in the week. Store them in the fridge to be used as the base of a fast meal later on. Potatoes, pasta, rice and couscous are all good, hearty bases.

- Pre-cut stuff. Have a veggie chopping session with your older children. Chop carrots, onions, garlic, peppers, etc. and store them in individual containers in the fridge. Do this twice a week and you won’t have to deal with the long prep time involved in making a lot of food, just toss it on the stove and you’re good to go.

- Plan your meals. You’ve heard it before, but it is worth repeating. When you plan ahead for the week, you can buy everything you need in one trip to the supermarket and save countless journeys later in the week as well as the old “I-don´t-have-what-I-need-so-I-won´t-cook” syndrome. Dinner prep also goes way faster if you don’t have to try and figure out what you’re going to make.

- Consider taking a whole day to cook. You can cook for an entire month in just one day. My mom used to do this and it was amazing. A lot of work for that one day, but as wahms, we’re used to that, right? Once a Month Cooking is a book that I highly recommend. It gives you the techniques and the recipes.

- Make the same thing for everyone. If you’re guilty of preparing macaroni and cheese for two of your kids, mashed potatoes and peas for the baby and chicken with salad and rice for yourself and your husband, you are making more work for yourself. Sure, it lessens the fights around the table, but it can be worth teaching your children to eat what you put in front of them, to save time and also to keep them healthy. My mother used to say, “I’m not running a restaurant here, if you don’t like it, don’t eat it, but I’m not making something else.” A very good way to go, in my opinion.

Do you have tips for faster food to share with us? Please leave a comment. And, if you´re interested in more information about creating quick and easy meals, check out this free tips newsletter, Health Tips for Mom. This email newsletter has some tips on nutrition, as well as other ideas for staying healthy, well worth subscribing to.