Article by Nia Sowden, author of Cooking with Nia.

I know a super mom…Sshh she doesn’t like to be called that, just mom. My friends call her mom too.

Mom is pretty busy; she is a Day Care Mom. That means she looks after other peoples children while they are at their offices and workplaces during the day.

I help her at the market and in the kitchen sometimes.

She buys things like peppers, parsley, lemons, and onions when they are cheap and then freezes them.

Capsicum and onions get diced and placed into ice cube trays and when they are frozen the blocks are transferred into zip lock bags and placed back in the freezer. The parsley is finely chopped and as the stalks as they are good for flavoring they are also chopped and frozen; the lemons are grated and the zest frozen, and the juice is frozen in ice block trays. She also freezes them whole sometimes.

It means she always has basic ingredients on hand for drinks, cakes and flavoring and she saves money by taking advantage of ‘windfall’ or mid season specials.

Mum always buys enough to freeze, so that we can have fresh ingredients without having to buy canned or bottled products. It saves money and time.

Tomatoes are minced and the seeds removed. This is then mixed with minced capsicum and finely chopped onion and frozen in 400ml containers in the freezer - instant pasta sauce! Just add herbs.

When we shop for meat mom buys bulk items and then prepares lots of dishes, she does this on her day off.

Chicken wings become Chinese chicken sticks and honey ’n’ soy chicken wings.

Chicken breasts are sliced for a stir-fry and some are filled with cheese and garlic butter and crumbed.

A beef fillet gets the beef Wellington treatment and other steaks are coated in peppercorns and garlic. Some is sliced for steak sandwiches and breakfast steaks and the tail is sliced for stroganoff.

A side of lamb is boned and curry is made from the meat removed from the bones.

The leg roast is stuffed with rosemary garlic olives and lemon juice from the freezer and placed back in until she is ready to cook it.

My mom does this so that after a busy day running after 4 two year olds and the 4 of us, she can just take out the evening meal and it is already prepared.

Cakes are frozen, icing gets frozen, she whips cream and pipes rosettes onto trays and freezes them then pops them into zip lock bags in the freezer, to have with deserts, apple pie and whipped cream rosettes mmmm.

I love my busy mom!

On the rare occasions she isn’t prepared she has an ‘almost there’ meal. Here is one she loves to share.

Ready cooked Chicken is an ‘almost there’ meal.

Cut a chicken into portion sizes or purchase pre cut chicken pieces and place into the oven. Make a sauce with chicken stock, worstershire sauce, nutmeg, black pepper and pour in some cream. Don’t boil the sauce.

Plate up the chicken and pour the sauce over. In the time it takes to make the sauce, some vegetables can be assembled, finely sliced carrot sticks celery sticks and zucchini sticks, placed in the microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Couscous is so quick!

Place a knob of butter in a little water and bring it to the boil, add couscous and before you know it, about 3 minutes, the couscous has absorbed the water.

A spoonful of couscous, the steamed vegetables and a portion of chicken with a delicious restaurant style sauce, is on the table.

Clever aren’t you?

So if you are a busy mom like my mom then you will know that being organized makes life so much easier. And having the ingredients on hand to make a tasty meal ensures that you and your family are eating healthy.

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