Alex scoffed down his beef noodle soup knowing he still hadn’t looked through his packing checklist. He brushed his teeth while ordering a ride to the airport. The Little King saw the purple carry-on suitcase stuffed open with polo shirts and jeans. He ran to the garage and back to me multiple times. We escorted Alex to the white sedan that pulled up to the curb. I waved goodbye. Fat tears rolling down the Little King’s cheeks, his stiff arms reached out as if he could turn the car around. I stared down a week of solo-parenting while Alex left on a business trip.
The diaper changes, naps, and baths don’t frustrate me as much as the struggle to responsibly feed our opinionated one-year-old. Fortunately, I developed systems over the years since Alex travels 1-2 times per month. Because I prefer homemade meals over food delivery or restaurant take-out for speed, convenience, and health, I have a plan for making lunch and dinner everyday, giving me one less thing to worry about when I’m on my own.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, travel this summer has picked up back to the pre-pandemic levels of summer 2019. If you’re temporarily solo-parenting and want to cook most of your meals too, check out these hard-learned lessons to help your dinner unfold smoothly. Let’s jump into the most important actions I take every time I prepare for Alex’s departure.
Line up a babysitter
For a long time, I believed I should be able to look after my kid on my own. I must have internalized this belief from people around me. I once heard a family member say that women have been stuck with looking after all their kids by themselves since “time immemorial”. I hate to repeat these fallacies and thereby perpetuate the same misconceptions I fell victim to.
The reality is that many people have no choice but to look after their kids all the time, without help, because they don’t financially have the option to hire a babysitter. But this isn’t how humans always lived. This study observed that in hunter-gatherer societies, many more people—”alloparents,” non-parental caregivers— pitch in to look after the young, especially older kids.
If you have the resources, consider getting a babysitter for 2 hours. It doesn’t take many hours to freshen you. Giving yourself a short break so you can make dinner or take a breather cuts down on any dread you may feel when dealing with your screaming child. If you need help finding a babysitter, check out my course Escape Your Cooking Nightmare: How to Hire a Babysitter so You Can Cook Dinner While Saving Your Sanity.
Make extra food for leftovers
The day before Alex leaves, I always cook extra food for dinner. I love reheating leftovers the next day. This morning, he departed in a frenzy of last-minute packing. Predictably, the Little King was a clingy mess for several hours, refusing to nap while pointing continuously at the garage door saying “da da…da da…da da”.
When my stomach clenched from hunger, I thanked my yesterday-self for working hard to prepare a green bean omelette, so I could focus on comforting my kid. Reheating leftovers for lunch and assembling a light dinner on Day 1 conserved my energy for Day 2 and 3 (Day 1 and Day 3 out of 5 are usually the hardest because Day 1 involves adapting to the shock of being alone and by Day 3, I’ve expended 80% of my energy).
Prepare ingredients
The Little King was 6 weeks old the first time Alex left on a business trip since we became parents. I still couldn’t stand for more than 20 minutes without pain. I constantly had to lie down. We both felt anxious about this trip because it was too soon after birth, and I needed so much help. But he had to go.
Alex had made a giant pot of soup for me. I reheated it and ate whenever hunger struck. When I opened the fridge in search of soup, I noticed bags of vegetables neatly stacked on top of each other. He had washed, chopped, and packaged lettuce, green beans, garlic, green onion, and soft-boiled eggs for me. Each day, I boiled a bowl of broth, added vegetables, and noodles. Voilà, dinner! I could make this meal in 10 minutes, eat for 10 minutes, then I had to lie down again. I remember boiling the soup and veggies in the microwave one day when my tailbone hurt too much to stand and cook on the stove.
Having prepped ingredients has become foundational in our routine every time Alex leaves on business trips. We make it a priority to have 1–3 vegetables rinsed and trimmed, 2 aromatics (garlic and green onions) peeled and chopped, and at least 1 protein cooked (usually boiled eggs). Planning ahead makes the emotional separation easier because I conserve my mental energy for challenging tasks, like getting to preschool, cleaning up after bedtime, and getting to bed on time.
These are the prepared ingredients sitting in my fridge we threw together ahead of this trip:
- homemade mayonnaise
- coleslaw dressing (using the homemade mayo)
- washed cucumbers
- washed and shredded cabbage
- washed and chopped broccoli
- peeled garlic
- washed and chopped green onions
- leftover bowl of angel hair pasta with marinara sauce
- leftover green beans omelette
- leftover boiled broccoli
- 1 bowl of shiitake mushroom “meat” sauce using fake meat
- 1 watermelon cut into cubes
Keep a plan of low-effort meals
I typically cook simple meals that rely on boiling, such as pasta, noodle soups, soft-boiled eggs, and boiled broccoli. When I’m solo-parenting, I lean further into low-effort meals by focusing on minimal- and no-cook options, such as salads and sandwiches. I run through my list of low-effort meals and double check I have all the ingredients. The last thing I want to do is go grocery shopping with my toddler in tow.
Here’s my plan for this business trip:
- quesadilla (I have flour tortillas and shredded mozzarella cheese in the fridge)
- wheat noodles with “meat” sauce (I bought Japanese udon noodles and made the sauce)
- coleslaw (I shredded the cabbage and made mayo yesterday)
- creamy pasta (I got the Alfredo sauce and elbow macaroni in the pantry)
- tofu salad (I have marinated tofu in the fridge, and there’s always dark soy sauce and sesame oil in the pantry)
Of course, fast food, restaurant take-out meals, and food delivery serve as back-up options (though I find instant noodles faster and more convenient than picking up takeout). This is survival mode. Some days, that means instant ramen, sandwiches, or pre-cooked cabbage soup a few times in a row. My emergency meals are a combination of:
- popcorn
- savory oatmeal
- toasted bread with butter and cheese or egg
- plain Jasmine rice (or rice noodle rolls when I have them) with soy sauce
- frozen peas
- frozen garlic naan and palak paneer from Trader Joe’s
Getting enough sleep
I’ve struggled my whole life with going to bed early. As I write this, I’m setting an alarm on my phone reminding me to wind down at 8:30 p.m. tonight. Last night at 11:30 p.m., I was in a cleaning frenzy washing the bath rug, wiping down the table, cleaning out the sink, and other unnecessary tasks. It’s tempting to get these projects done when the Little King is asleep because Alex enforces bedtime 💪, so I typically won’t get away with doing these tasks around bedtime. When he’s gone, I get to do whatever I want. Of course, I pay the price for this “productivity” the next day. Today, I must be disciplined about having dinner on the table by 6 p.m., bath time before 8 p.m., and then bedtime for our strong-willed kiddo. I hate living with these rules, but I know everything falls apart when I’m sleep deprived.
You can do it
Parenting on your own is really tough. I have no idea how single parents do it. Living for a few nights without Alex can’t compare to my friends who raise their kids as single parents. Respect and kudos 🙏. If you find yourself solo-parenting and want to cook dinner for yourself and your kids, it’s 100% doable. I promise you’ll have an easier time by planning ahead and taking action before departure day. Not everything will go perfectly, which is why it’s OK to stay flexible and reach for food delivery or pre-made food. The most important thing is to feel confident that you’ve got this. You may even have a great time on your own with your kids to entertain you.
Solo parenting during work trips is so exhausting, especially when mealtime rolls around. Having a solid meal plan in place and letting go of the guilt about asking for extra help makes such a huge difference!
Solo parenting while your partner is away for work is so exhausting, and keeping up with healthy meals for a toddler is definitely the hardest part. Having solid systems in place and letting go of the guilt about asking for help makes such a huge difference!
Solo parenting during work trips is so exhausting, and trying to feed an opinionated toddler every night is a challenge of its own! Having a solid meal plan in place and letting go of the guilt around getting help really makes all the difference.
Dinner time is definitely the hardest part of the day when solo parenting a toddler. Having a predictable routine and not feeling guilty about getting extra help really saves your sanity when your partner travels!
This is such a practical breakdown. The prep-ahead system you describe, where you cook extra the day before your partner leaves, is something I’ve seen make a huge difference for solo-parenting weeks. One thing I’d add: build in a small mental “reset” ritual for yourself, not just for the kid. During those evenings after bedtime, I usually need ten minutes of something completely low-stakes before I can think straight about tomorrow’s meals. Lately that’s been a quick browser game called WikiRace Online — you race between Wikipedia articles using only the links, with daily challenges and multiplayer rooms, and it’s free with no download. It sounds trivial, but a tiny structured brain break genuinely helps me come back to the kitchen calmer. Your alloparent point really resonated too; accepting help isn’t a failure, it’s just how families are supposed to work.
The point about cooking extra the day before your partner leaves really resonates — that Day 1 survival mode is real. One thing I’d add from my own solo weeks: batching and freezing components rather than full meals gave me far more flexibility, since a tired toddler’s palate changes daily. I also started keeping a running note of what actually got eaten versus what I optimistically prepped, which cut down on waste and decision fatigue. When I want to try a new approach or tool without falling down a rabbit hole, I usually skim AI for science and research for roundups and practical write-ups. It’s less about gadgets and more about finding systems that hold up when you’re exhausted. Your leftovers tip is the one I wish someone had told me before my first solo stretch.
This hit close to home. My husband travels about once a month too, and the day-one clinginess plus the cooking pressure is real. The tip about cooking extra the night before departure is the one that saved me — I now make a double batch of whatever freezes well, so the first two solo evenings are basically handled. One thing I’d add: I stopped trying to be productive after bedtime and started using those quiet 15 minutes for something purely for me, which weirdly made the whole week feel less like a grind. If anyone enjoys reflective little rituals, I’ve had fun with this AI palm reading from a photo that reads personality and future from a palm photo — a nice low-effort wind-down. Hang in there, the systems really do add up.
The point about cooking extra the day before your partner leaves really resonates — that “thanking my yesterday-self” moment is the whole game when you’re solo. One thing I’d add to the systems list: batch-prepping components rather than full meals (a pot of sauce, roasted veg, cooked grains) so Day 3 fatigue doesn’t force you back to the delivery apps. I also started making quick visual meal-plan charts for the week, and honestly generating them with an AI scientific figure tool took minutes instead of the hour I used to lose in spreadsheets — it exports SVG so I can tweak labels before printing. It’s built for research figures, but a weekly dinner grid with a sensible color scheme works the same way. Small thing, but it removed one more decision from an already long day.
The point about cooking extra the day before your partner leaves really resonates — I’ve found that the mental load is often heavier than the actual cooking, so anything that removes a decision later in the week is worth it. One thing that helped me was turning the solo week into a loose theme rotation (soup night, sheet-pan night, leftovers night), so I wasn’t reinventing dinner from scratch every evening. On the downtime side, when the kids finally settle, I like to decompress with something low-stakes and slightly educational, like these Chinese sports games for learners — it’s a nice way to feel like I’m doing something for myself without another screen-scrolling spiral. Hang in there during the travel weeks; systems really do carry you.
The point about cooking extra the day before your partner leaves really resonates — that “thanking your yesterday-self” moment is everything when a toddler is clinging to your leg. One thing I’d add is having a low-effort hobby or game ready for those 20-minute windows when you finally get a breather; my own wind-down lately has been poking around the Slayers 2 codes and clan roll odds guide, which is surprisingly relaxing for something so data-heavy. It’s a fan wiki for the Roblox game Slayers 2 with breathing styles, blood demon arts, clan roll odds, and updated redeem codes, so it’s a quick read rather than a rabbit hole. Your Day 1 and Day 3 energy curve observation is spot on, by the way — that framing alone would have saved me a lot of guilt.
This post hit home — the Day 1 and Day 3 energy dip you describe is so real, and prepping extra food the night before a trip is the single habit that has saved me the most sanity. One thing I’d add: when the kids want to “help” while you’re assembling dinner, giving them a low-stakes project keeps them busy and buys you ten quiet minutes. Lately my five-year-old traces shapes onto paper while I cook, and we’ve been using this printable stencil library to turn his drawings into clean cut-outs for pumpkin carving and cards. It exports SVG too, which is handy if you have a Cricut and want to prep freezer-paper templates for batch cooking. Curious whether anyone else leans on small kitchen projects like this during solo weeks.
This post hits home — my husband travels about once a month too, and the Day 1 / Day 3 energy dip you describe is so real. The point about not feeling guilty for accepting help is one I wish I’d internalized earlier; I spent my first year of solo parenting convinced I had to do everything myself, and it just made dinner time miserable. One small thing that saved my sanity on those evenings: I stopped treating the pre-bed wind-down as dead time and kept a short, low-pressure hobby on my phone for after the kids were finally down. Lately that’s been browsing free browser visual novels — short otome and romance stories with hand-written reviews and no downloads, so I can dip in for twenty minutes without committing to anything. It’s a tiny thing, but having something that’s just mine makes the solo weeks feel less endless.
Solo parenting during business trips is so exhausting, especially around dinner time with a toddler. Having a solid routine and letting go of the guilt about asking for help really makes all the difference!
Solo-parenting while your partner travels is so exhausting, especially during the chaotic dinner rush! Having a solid meal routine and letting go of the guilt to ask for help makes all the difference.
Solo parenting during work trips is so exhausting, especially when mealtime rolls around! Having a solid prep routine and accepting help really is the only way to stay sane.
Your solo-parenting dinner systems are so practical—especially leftovers and prepping ingredients before the busiest days. For parents who enjoy visual planning, Whisk AI can also help generate meal-board inspiration, kid-friendly recipe visuals, or simple weekly menu concepts from reference images and prompts. It’s a creative way to make planning feel a little less overwhelming when time and energy are limited.
Managing busy routines while solo parenting takes careful planning, and treating your family to a relaxing Four Seasons stay offers the ultimate memorable getaway for everyone.
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Really compelling read on “this article”. The breakdown provides plenty of clear, practical takeaways. Balancing intense study with creative leisure activities really helps keep everyday productivity high. Looking forward to your next updates!
Quick meal prep helps busy parents, so read more to discover exciting, simple food ideas for daily dinner routines.
パートナーの出張中に子どもの食事を用意する大変さと、作り置きやベビーシッターを活用して負担を減らす工夫がよく伝わる記事でした。忙しい日でも、少しずつ学びながら続けられる仕組みが大切ですね。最近は、料理や子育てに関する英語の記事を読むとき、やさしい英語で読むためにMazelingoを使っています。日本語の文脈を残した日英ミックス表示なので、分からない英文だけ元の日本語に戻せて便利です。
Managing household routines while a partner travels for work takes serious coordination. Between keeping up with professional obligations—even referencing project updates using a LinkedIn post date extractor—and caring for an opinionated toddler, having simple meal systems ready to go removes so much stress from the evening rush.
The Little King’s tears and outstretched arms make Alex’s rushed departure feel painfully real. I’m curious how the author manages dinner on those travel nights while also helping the kids process goodbyes.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the white sedan with tears on his cheeks is heartbreaking and so vividly written. I appreciate how this captures the emotional load of handling everyday routines and dinner alone while a partner travels.
The Little King’s reaction to the purple suitcase and departing white sedan is heartbreaking and vividly described. I’m curious to see how your everyday dinner routine helps bring comfort and structure during Alex’s travels.
The image of the purple carry-on stuffed with polo shirts, followed by the Little King’s fat tears and outstretched arms, makes the strain of solo parenting feel so real. I’m curious how you turn those difficult travel days into a manageable dinner routine for the kids.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the departing car, with tears rolling down his cheeks, captures how difficult those travel days can feel. I’m curious to hear how your dinner routine changes on evenings when you’re carrying that emotional weight alone.
The image of the Little King crying beside the purple carry-on and reaching toward the departing car is heartbreaking and vivid. I also appreciate how the rushed packing checklist and airport ride set up the very real challenge of managing dinner and parenting alone.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the departing car, with tears rolling down his cheeks, captures how difficult these travel days can feel. I also appreciate that the article starts in the middle of the morning rush—packing checklist, toothbrush, ride to the airport—because that’s exactly the kind of chaos solo dinner planning has to fit around.
Several sections stood out as useful to me, especially where the article connected individual points to the broader subject.
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The image of the Little King reaching toward the white sedan with tears rolling down his cheeks is heartbreaking and so vivid. I also appreciate how the rushed packing checklist and airport routine capture the real chaos of managing everyday life when a partner travels.
The emphasis on prepping ingredients ahead of time is a game-changer for solo parenting. Having washed vegetables and cooked proteins ready reduces the mental load significantly during stressful evenings. This strategy allows parents to focus on comforting their children rather than stressing over meal preparation, making the transition much smoother.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the departing car, with tears rolling down his cheeks, captures how hard those travel days can feel. I also appreciate the practical premise that everyday dinners still have to happen amid packing lists, airport rides, and big emotions.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the white sedan with tears rolling down his cheeks is heartbreaking. I’m curious to hear how you turn those difficult travel days into manageable dinner routines for both of you.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the departing car is heartbreaking and captures how hard solo evenings can feel. I also appreciate the practical focus on cooking dinner every day while a partner travels—those small routines can bring much-needed comfort after an emotional goodbye.
This is so relatable! My husband travels too, and dinner is the hardest part. Thanks for sharing your systems—I really need to try meal prepping like you mentioned.
The Little King’s tears and outstretched arms make Alex’s rushed airport departure feel painfully real. I also appreciate how the purple carry-on and forgotten packing checklist capture the chaotic rhythm of solo parenting before dinner even begins.
The image of the Little King reaching toward the white sedan, with tears rolling down his cheeks, makes the challenge of solo parenting feel especially real. I also appreciate that the article begins with the rushed packing checklist and airport goodbye before getting into the everyday dinner routine.
The image of the Little King’s stiff arms reaching for the car as Alex drives off is exactly the kind of chaos that makes dinner feel impossible—but knowing you still managed to get food on the table after a goodbye like that is the real win here. Thanks for showing the messy middle, not just the meal.
The image of the Little King’s stiff arms reaching out as the sedan pulled away really hit home—that goodbye scene is its own kind of exhausting, and somehow you still have to find the energy to face the dinner hour right after it. The packing checklist detail made me laugh too, because my husband does the exact same frantic last-minute scramble while the kids are clinging to his legs.
The image of the Little King with fat tears rolling down while Alex is still fiddling with his packing checklist is painfully familiar—mine do the exact same thing. What saves us is getting them into the kitchen right after the car pulls away, even if it’s just tearing lettuce or stirring sauce, because the meltdown magically shifts to “I made this!” mode.
Such a relatable topic for busy parents! Having a few simple, kid friendly dinner ideas and an easy routine can make those evenings much less stressful when you’re handling everything on your own.
That goodbye scene with the Little King’s tears and stiff arms reaching for the sedan is exactly the kind of moment that makes you wonder how you’ll ever manage dinner—but somehow the routine of chopping veggies and setting the table becomes the anchor that gets you both through the week.
The image of the Little King with fat tears rolling down his cheeks, arms stretched out toward the sedan, is so painfully real—after a goodbye like that, I don’t know how you even find the mental space to think about dinner, let alone actually cook it. And the purple carry-on stuffed with polos and jeans is such a specific, vivid detail that I can picture the whole chaotic morning.
That goodbye scene with the Little King’s stiff arms reaching for the car is exactly the kind of moment that makes you want to skip dinner entirely—so the fact that you still got a meal on the table afterward is the real victory here. Saving this for my next solo week.
That goodbye scene with the Little King’s tears and the purple suitcase is exactly where my week starts too—once the car pulls away, I’m already mentally planning how to get dinner on the table without losing it. The packing checklist detail made me laugh because my partner does the same thing, and somehow the kids still end up fed.
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That goodbye scene with the Little King’s stiff arms reaching for the car is exactly what my kitchen looks like after my husband leaves—cooking dinner becomes the one thing I can control. The purple suitcase and the packing checklist detail made it painfully real. Thanks for showing the messy part before the meal.
That goodbye scene with the Little King’s stiff arms reaching out is heartbreaking—and then you still have to turn around and make dinner like it’s any other night. Do you have a go-to meal for those days when the tears are still fresh, or do you just let them pick something easy?
That goodbye scene with the Little King reaching for the car is exactly the kind of chaos that makes dinner feel impossible—but somehow you still get it done. The packing checklist distraction and the purple suitcase detail hit home; my kids do the same thing every time my husband leaves.
I found your tips for cooking solo truly insightful! How do you manage meal prep when you’re short on time? Are there any go-to recipes that you recommend for picky eaters?
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This article is a lifesaver for busy parents! I love how you emphasize planning and simple systems over stress. Poor Bunny
This article really resonates with me. Preparing ingredients ahead of time and having a list of low-effort meals is such a lifesaver when you’re flying solo with a little one. It’s easy to forget that taking shortcuts is okay. By the way, I’ve found that using tools like Vynyo can help streamline other parts of life, but for dinner, simple planning is key. Thanks for sharing these practical tips!
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Such a relatable post! Managing dinner alone with young kids can definitely feel overwhelming, so having quick, simple meal plans in place is key. Whenever I get a 5-minute breather while waiting for water to boil, playing a quick round of Tap Road helps me blow off some steam. Thanks for sharing these great tips!
Such a relatable post! Cooking simple, comforting dinners for kids during solo parenting weeks is so important. Those family meal memories last a lifetime.
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Cooking for kids while managing solo parenting can be so challenging! I really appreciate the simple, kid-friendly recipes shared here — they ease stress and create bonding moments. It reminds me of how vital these daily rituals are; they truly shape a child’s experience during those tough times.
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Your story is very touching!
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Anna, this really resonated with me! Solo-parenting when your partner travels is no joke, especially with a little one. I totally get the struggle of trying to keep up with responsible, homemade meals. I’m excited to read your hard-learned lessons – any tips for making dinner seamless while also juggling bedtime routines would be a lifesaver. Maybe I can sneak in some meal prep while waiting for the next game on the 2026 FIFA World Cup Simulator. Can’t wait to dive into the full post!
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This article is a lifesaver for busy parents! I love how you emphasize planning and simple systems over stress. The personal story makes it relatable, and the tips are practical for anyone juggling solo parenting. Thanks for sharing such helpful advice!
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I appreciate the point about lining up a babysitter. It’s easy to feel like you should be able to do it all, but having that support can make a huge difference in managing the week and actually getting a decent meal on the table. It’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind next time!
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thanks for this post