A working mom's saving grace: Daily Dish

Let's just get this out of the way straight off the bat: I am not a cook. I don't enjoy cooking, I don't cook particularly well, and I'm definitely not passionate about cooking. That was fine when I was 21, living on my own and didn't mind living off Steers and toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, but as one half of a marriage and as a mom, Cuppa Soup isn't going to cut it.

But once my husband and I first moved in together after a few months of dating, I realised that I quite enjoyed the actual process of cooking - it's the planning and grocery shopping involved that gets to me. My household runs much smoother when I do all my recipe planning and shopping ahead of time - say, on a Saturday - but who really wants to spend their Saturday morning at a busy shopping center stocking up for the week ahead?

That's where Daily Dish comes to the rescue. For just R510 per week for two people (or R740 for four people) you'll receive four recipe cards, plus all the ingredients for each meal, delivered straight to your door every Monday. It couldn't be simpler!

I'd already heard about Daily Dish and was super-keen to give it a go when they approached me and asked whether I would be interested in trialing the service for a week. I jumped at the chance and I was blown away: the ingredients come measured out in exact quantities (it's made me a bit lazy, to be honest! Who wants to measure out 350ml of cream when Daily Dish will deliver it to your door, measured out and stored in a cup?), the recipes are easy and super-quick (each recipe takes approximately 30 minutes from start to finish), and the meals are scrumptious. (Seriously. Hubby was VERY impressed.) I've already signed up for next week's service - I've opted for the classic menu, which includes lentil dahl and poppadums, steak strips with peppercorn sauce and Tarragon chicken (click here to sign up and receive this menu starting Monday, 18 November - you have until 4pm on Wednesday to sign up for this menu).

As a fairly new mom, my evenings are complete chaos - I literally race home from work and it's straight into feeding time for Bean, closely followed by bath time. By the time Bean is fast asleep, it's around 8:30pm and I am flat-out exhausted after a day of non-stop go, go, go. So, the last thing I feel like is slaving away over the stove, whipping up a tasty and nourishing meal for hubby and I. In the past, I've settled for Woolies ready-made meals or take-away pizzas, but as a breastfeeding mama, I'm well-aware of the fact that I need to be watching my vitamin-intake and ensuring that I get a healthy, balanced diet. I wish I'd discovered Daily Dish before Bean was born - this amazing service would have taken so much pressure off my hubby and I during the first few weeks after giving birth! (Come to think of it, this would make a great baby shower or wedding gift... I know I would have appreciated the gesture just after I got married at 33 weeks pregnant!)

There are vegetarian and low-carb menus on offer, too. I also like that Daily Dish provides free-range chicken and fresh fish from the green SASSI list, as well as fresh, local produce. It makes providing healthy, nutritious meals for your family an absolute breeze. The only downside is the fact that Daily Dish is only available in Cape Town and surrounds for the time being, but I have no doubt that this service is going to spread to other areas of the country in no time.

Sign up for Daily Dish at www.dailydish.co.za