Get your mind out of the kitchen: A quarter of Canadian moms have dinner on the brain throughout the day

New survey from Knorr® Canada reveals how moms fix(ate on) dinner

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2013 /CNW/ - What's for dinner?  Three little words.  One big headache.  According to a new national survey released today from Knorr Canada, moms across the country admit to spending more time thinking about what to prepare for dinner - an average of 48 minutes each day - than they actually spend cooking dinner. In fact, given the choice, some moms even say they would prefer scrubbing toilets (eight per cent) or going for a bikini wax (six per cent) than having meal planning on their minds.

But why is meal preparation such a stressful process?  At the end of the day, moms feel pressure to please - six-in-ten feel they've only planned a successful dinner when they've made a meal that everyone enjoys.  A majority of moms (55 per cent) admit they feel guilty when they don't know what to make for dinner. Some feel overwhelmed at the process of meal planning, with almost half (46 per cent) reporting that they don't know what they're preparing for dinner until they get to the supermarket.

"Making a delicious meal that your entire family enjoys can feel like a huge weight on your shoulders, and unfortunately while we can climb over the laundry heap, you really can't climb over dinner," said Canadian meal planning expert and best-selling author, Sandi Richard.  "I raised seven kids, so trust me when I say I know meal planning is a major challenge every single day. We don't have to be superheroes in the kitchen. There are tips and resources moms can lean on to help the process of getting dinner on the table a little easier."

Sandi is working with Knorr Canada to help answer the 'What's for Dinner?' question, and the What's for Dinner? program was created to help families navigate the dinnertime dilemma.  The evening meal can 'eat up' a lot of moms' day, as forty-four per cent say finding a recipe that suits their entire family is a challenge and three-in-ten struggle finding the time to cook a meal.  When all is said and done, the large majority of moms (85 per cent) are looking for easy solutions for mealtime options so they can spend quality time at the dinner table with their families.

From Dinner Perspiration to Cooking Inspiration
One of the biggest hurdles moms face is "thinking outside the plate" - they crave variety when it comes to meal ideas and ways to spur imagination in the kitchen. More than half of moms (54 per cent) report that lack of inspiration and creativity when it comes to meal preparation is a challenge, and without it moms resort to the same go-to recipes, leaving dinner as just another item on the "have-to" list.  Forty-one per cent of Canadian moms rely on a rotation of four to seven go-to recipes during the month, causing dinner déjà vu for many families.

When it comes to inspiration on what to prepare, most moms (46 per cent) say they turn to the Internet instead of opening a cookbook.  "One of the first places we turn for information or tips is online, and brands like Knorr® are really getting this," said Sandi. "The trick is to keep it simple for today's busy families. The What's For Dinner? Meal Ideas Book, for instance, is an online flipbook which features three to four step recipes that can be prepared in as little as 15 minutes."  Sandi feels moms need to stop beating themselves up when it comes to meal planning and look for "helpers" both online and in the kitchen.

The Knorr What's For Dinner? program also includes unique in-store meal solution centres featuring downloadable recipes via QR codes^* and infographic recipe cards. Knorr Canada's Facebook Page acts as a social hub for moms to share dinner success stories, find meal inspiration and recipes, and receive great tips from the Knorr chefs. For more information, please visit www.knorr.ca

Additional Survey Highlights

• Regardless of how meal preparation takes place, almost three-quarters of Canadian moms agree that it doesn't matter how meals are planned as long as they can spend some quality time with their families around the dinner table.
• Many Canadian moms (22 per cent) start thinking about what to make for dinner several days in advance while on the other end of the spectrum, a quarter don't figure out what's for dinner until a few hours before it's time to eat. Interestingly, twenty-three per cent admit to thinking about what to make for dinner the night before/right before bed.
• Almost a quarter of moms feel they could improve their meal planning skills, while over half (57 per cent) say some days their meal planning skills are excellent, while other days they just can't figure it out.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

From December 27th 2012 to January 3rd 2013, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1,048 Canadians moms who are solely or somewhat responsible for the evening meal, who are also Angus Reid Forum panel members. The results have been statistically weighted to ensure a representative sample of Canadian moms. The margin of error on the full base — which measures sampling variability — of 1,048 respondents is +/- 3.08%. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

ABOUT UNILEVER CANADA

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe®, Becel®, Ben & Jerry's®, Breyers®, Clear®, Degree®, Dove® personal care products, Hellmann's®, Klondike®, Knorr®, Lipton®, Magnum®, Nexxus®, Popsicle®, Q-Tips®, Simple®, St. Ives®, TRESemmé®, and Vaseline®. All of the preceding brand names are owned or used under license by Unilever Canada Inc.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unilever.ca/sustainable-living/.

Unilever Canada employs approximately 1,600 people across Canada - generating over $1 billion in sales in 2012. For more information visit www.unilever.ca

KNORR is a registered trade-mark used under license by Unilever Canada.
*QR Code is registered trade-mark of Denso Wave Incorporated

Image with caption: "Knorr Canada releases new, national survey of Canadian moms that explores perceptions and behaviours associated with meal planning, as part of their cross-country What's For Dinner? program. (CNW Group/Unilever Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130212_C4272_PHOTO_EN_23530.jpg

SOURCE: Unilever Canada Inc.

For more information or to arrange an interview: 
Lynn Bessoudo
Edelman Public Relations
416.849.2840
[email protected]

Alexandra Green
Edelman Public Relations
416.849.0886
[email protected]