Let’s face fact here. There’s something like a baby boom on, and all us guys have to pick up on our end of the bargain. And there are plenty of things we can do, like putting the washing into the machine and not mixing the towels with the t-shirts. Or doing the bottle feed and letting mum sleep.

And, doing the cooking. Unfortunately, not all guys have a huge range of recipes in the repertoire. But when it comes to those days shortly after the birth of your first (or latest) tacker then even a limited range is really given the opportunity to shine. With the partner doing 4 hour feeds then both she and yourself are highly likely to be too pooped to be focussed on what you’re cooking, and entirely focussed on just getting some food into yourselves.

The easy thing to do would be to just order pizza and get on with cat-napping, but I’m inclined to think that this is a bad idea. First you need decent food to ensure you’ve got the strength to make it through that first week. Second all those takeaways will cost a fortune. Third low-vitamin foods adversely effect your moods. And fourth you’ll start to put on a few kilos…

So! What to do?

Well, first thing is not to ever cook just enough for today. Make a big meal and put at least two serves in the freezer. If you have the space, put four in. If you do that every time you cook a meal, you’ll double your spare time.

The second thing is not to be too ambitious. We aren’t aiming for duck confit here. A spag-bowl is more than adequate (although… that said, you can confit a heap of duck and keep it in a dark, chill spot in the pantry for several weeks at least. Would free up space in the freezer!)

What these two points add up to is relatively quick, relative easy recipes that get you the major food groups while not soaking up too much effort or money.

And here are a few recommendations.

  • The aforementioned Spaghetti Bolognese, followed by sliced, fresh fruit (and maybe ice cream, but at very least fresh yoghurt)
  • Scrambled eggs and toast. Simple meals are good meals, and eggs are really nutritious. Just don’t buy anything that would make Jamie MAD (and for god’s sake don’t freeze left-overs…)
  • Pasta with sauces of various descriptions
  • Hearty meals with loads of carbs, and vegetables, like Rookwurst, roast chicken or lamb
  • Exotic but actually very easy curry dishes
  • Or, just make yourselves a toasted sandwich. Let’s face it, you can’t go past cheese and onion.

On the other hand, you could just go get KFC like a useless girly-man

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