What’s for dinner?
MOST families spend a lot of time deciding what to eat in a day. For Litiana Tanioria planning meals for the family is important because it helps her manage her time better. Ms Tanioria says planning and organising meals ahead of time can reduce the dreaded ‘what’s for dinner?’ question.
“Planning dinner is stressful so if you have a healthy meal pre-organised all that is left at the end of a long day is to heat and eat,” she said.
Originally from Nasoqo Village in Namosi Ms Tanioria lives in Wailekutu, Lami with her husband of seven years and their five children.
The 32-year-old supports her husband, a deliveryman, by selling barbecue at their home in Wailekutu six days a week from 5pm to 11pm.
She says she has been operating her barbecue business for six years and so far the market business was up and down.
“When it’s good, it’s good, sometimes business is slack,” she said.
Despite the challenges she encountered Ms Tanioria says she is thankful because she is still able to support her husband and put food on the table. This week she shares her shopping tips with the public.
WHEN you plan your meals you don’t stress about what to cook or finding something to eat at the last minute says Litiana Tanioria.
Ms Tanioria says she always plans meals because it saves time and money. Groceries shopping for her family of seven is done on the weekends but she also runs in between the weeks if they needed something extra.
She says she usually shops at RB Patel Supermarket in Suva and Shop N Save in Lami but she keeps her options open and visits other supermarkets often.
“Even though I’m a keen shopper I still prefer the two supermarkets mentioned above because I like the friendly staff members, reasonable prices and efficiency,” Ms Tanioria says.
She said she usually spent $150 on groceries shopping and $50 on her five-month-old expenses.
“The main items on her shopping list are flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, tinned foods, rice, washing powder and soap, toothpaste, bathing soap, snacks and other basic food items.”
Ms Tanioria said she preferred shopping alone because she’s on her own schedule.
“When you shop with someone, you risk either waiting for them to be done or rushing in an effort to not keep them waiting and no distractions.”
Despite not carrying a shopping list at times, Ms Tanioria said she always made sure she stuck to her usual groceries items after planning meals in advance.
“We plan our meals because times are hard and we’re also teaching our children to live within our means.
“Monday is dhal day because weekends are the two days we eat a lot of meat.
“We usually have plain rourou on Tuesday, stew sausage on Wednesday, sandwich, lolo bun or roti vakalolo on Thursday and chicken on Friday.”
She says she always places a lot of emphasis on healthy eating habits because it helps us maintain a healthy weight and reduces risks of non-communicable disease (NCDs).
“We have a backyard garden at home so most of our vegetables and root crops are from there,” Ms Tanioria said.
With only three days left for school she encouraged parents to make healthy meals for their children.
“Healthy meals keep children in a better mood and have longlasting effects on their overall performance.”