Mum and TikToker Dani Venn shares her top tips to feed your family during the week when you simply can't be bothered
Feeding a family can be a nightmare.
There's always so much pressure (usually coming from ourselves) to make each and every dinner something new, fun and exciting.
But sometimes, after a long day at work or taking care of the kids – maybe even both – we simply can't be bothered with whipping up a big meal for dinner.
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Feeding a family can get exhausting when you're trying to come up with fun and fresh ideas. Getty
Dani Venn, a cook, mum and TikToker known for her cheap and easy recipes, tells 9honey Kitchen the key to successfully feeding a family is making the time to meal prep – and not overcomplicating it.
"It can be hard to find time to meal prep, but if you can find a four block [a spare few hours] or Sunday afternoon, taking this time to make meals that can be made in bulk so you can keep a meal fresh for the week ahead and store portions in the freezer, it will save you so much time in the future," she explains.
"Don't overcomplicate your meals, making something delicious out of few ingredients [like] prepped protein and fresh veg, or salad and a can of chickpeas or cooked rice, is easy if you have a few good condiments to bring flavour to a dish.
"Something like a herby green sauce, crispy chilli oil or even just a good salad dressing made with pantry staples like olive oil, mustard and honey can help pull a meal together quickly and easily."
Dani Venn says meal prepping is key. Getty
For parents who feel like they dread having to cook dinner each night, trying to come up with something fresh and exciting, Venn says that prepping or even just planning your meals in advance can be a lifesaver.
"If you're someone that dreads cooking dinner and the thought of what to have, being organsied and blocking out time to plan your meals in advance will make life so much easier even if it seems boring," she says.
"Cook something you know the family will enjoy and don't try and be creative during the week, we're all in survival mode as parents and no kid is going to complain about tacos every Tuesday."
Now, if you're working with younger kids – we're talking toddler age here – things are going to look a little different.
But, the good news is that right now, you potentially have the opportunity to save yourself years of headaches and arguments later down the track.
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Venn says the key is to introduce your kids to a variety of different foods from a young age. Supplied
"Always present different veggies to kids from a young age, even if they don't eat it, putting it on their plate will get them used to variety, it just might take them a while to try the different colours and textures," Venn explains of how to get your kids to eat more veggies.
"A little butter and a splash of soy sauce goes a long way on steamed or lightly boiled veg.
"[But] don't overcook veggies, they should retain their brightness and not look grey or dull in colour."
Dani Venn will be appearing at the Good Food & Wine Show Christmas markets in Melbourne this weekend, you can find out more information and purchase tickets here.
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