Please help with evening meals

[Ellie78]

I'm a rubbish cook and I'm struggling to get healthy stuff into my 3 year old son.

Myself and my husband work ridiculously long hours - and I'm getting all too used to working 6 days a week.

I need recipes that are quick and healthy (and I don't have time for batch cooking at weekends really)

I've tried various egg based stuff (he's now bored)and I'm moving onto packaged felafel.

He's got a citric acid problem (acid reflux), which makes the only hummus possibility home made but I've not found a good recipe.

I just feel awful that we are always turning to potato and cheese, toast, muffin and cheese. It's making him a fussy eater.

We had success with home made fish cakes but he got bored and I can't do it too often on late evenings etc.

If anyone can help with quick healthy stuff I would be sooo happy!

[Convex]

in the evenings we keep it pretty simple, pre-made chicken nuggets, scampi, meatballs etc with pasta and peas or sweetcorn

have had success with grated carrot etc, most veges out of the freezer especially if slathered in butter

both kids like rice, you can do a risotto in a slow cooker or you can do a baked risotto - baby led weaning cookbook has a recipe for a base

on the batch cooking, can you do it as an activity? my elder son helps with the cooking so its time he and his dad spend together - having said that we don't tend to batch cook for the kids, its more for us.

what else... soups are good.

because they eat so much at nursery we aren't too worried, just get them sat down with apple or carrot or something while we cook something in the oven. its really quick to do sausages, nuggets, fish fingers etc with pasta and peas on the side and you can search out the healthier versions if you are worried about salt etc.

even bits of steak or chops?

sometimes they don't eat it or are more hungry and finish off with yoghurt or toast or whatever!

so basically... freezer is our friend :-)

[Convex]

also pikelets / scotch pancakes are good as an emergency dinner, with savoury toppings (i don't really cook either so i have to keep it simple)

[Saffron]

Sometimes I do 'half-batch' cooking. Basically, what I make one night, we have a variation on the next night (or later in the week). So if we have red beans & rice one night (kidney beans, glazed onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, pinch of pepper, mild paprika, splash of Worcester sauce; simmer while rice is cooking), then I cook twice as much. The 'leftover' half get added mince beef (or veggie substitute), red pepper, and cumin and for chili con carne. You can pretty much sub in/out most the ingredients to taste.

Also, sometimes I cook tomorrow's dinner after we eat, eg jacket potatoes, stewed meat, bean & barley soup. Then it can sit happily overnight and only needs to be reheated quickly.

I don't think it matters if you re-run the same stuff a lot, as long as you're regularly offering something different along side it. So, if you regularly offer cheese and potatoes with sweet corn, try offering some different veg over the season with the sweet corn. For fussy eating I just keep offering the 'likes' with the 'dislikes'. It can take anywhere from 6 months to 1-2 years for a child to build up their taste.

I don't mind cheating a bit too, and we have oven chips and pre-packaged soup sometimes. But if you have a good food processor, veggie soups are really easy to make from scratch. Soup with baked brie and breadsticks or garlic bread is also quick. Serve with carrot sticks and baby corn, or tomato and baby spinach salad... easy finger food, less to load in the dishwasher.

We also occasionally have cereal and fresh fruit in the evening when everyone is too tired for anything else (or too skint for takeaway). My daughter calls this dinner-breakfast and thinks it's really special. Go figure! xx

[Convex]

saffron that reminds me someone (fuchsia maybe?) told me once you only need to get your kid eating 5-10 meals which is the 5-10 meals you eat which made me laugh at the time but is pretty true

and the cereal for dinner is funny, we do that when dinner is rejected, he often will go on to eat both the cereal and the (now cold) original dinner later

also yes to the making double and having it a little later.

we have a bread maker which we use to do pizza dough - sounds more work than it is - always goes down well

[Saffron]

The thing I find the most tiring sadly, is that even though we're both working FT, I'm still the one doing most of the meal planning and grocery shopping. :-/

[HannahSE23]

Hi Ellie78, I feel your pain re work and cooking for a family! My quick dinners are...

Tuna pasta - literally cooked pasta mixed with a tin of tuna, a tin of sweetcorn, a tbsp mayo and grated cheese.

Veggie soup - lots of vegetables cooked with a stock cube and whizzed up with a spoon of creme fraiche

Tortelloni - the spinach and ricotta ones with raw carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers on the side and some packet garlic bread

Stir fry - very quick especially if done with 4-min noodles and a packet chow mein sauce. Only the slicing of the veg/chicken takes time. My kids love trying to eat with chop sticks.

Jacket potatoes with some different toppings - we like avocado, bacon and parmesan or coronation chicken.

Patatas a lo pobre - cheap, quick easy Spanish dish, basically fried potatoes onions and peppers but delicious.

Chicken fajitas - it's a bit of a cheat though as I just fry some chicken in some BBQ sauce and the kids wrap it in soft tortillas with cheese, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and cucumber. Sometimes we do it with the packet falafel mix.

Hope that helps!

Just read that back and realised we eat a lot of toms, cuc, lettuce and peppers! Healthy though I guess.

Also corn on the cob is good!

[Convex]

ah saffron must be dispiriting. its the reverse in our house, i.e. I'm the one who probably does less, but we have talked about it a lot and decided that we are broadly happy with the split, for a number of reasons.

also i can't really cook so it makes sense for him to cook, when i cook its not very reliably edible, sadly. I'm excellent at laundry though!

[sanity girl]

My top quick meals for my kids:

Pasta with tuna sauce (olive oil, garlic, tin of tuna, bit of passata - cook together for around 15 mins)

Spaghetti bolognese (I'm afraid this does involve cooking the bolognese sauce in a batch but it really doesn't take that long - Sunday morning is a good time)

Sausages with mash

Sea bass fillets or salmon pan fried with rice and frozen peas

Fish fingers and oven chips

Homemade burgers - just squish mince together in a patty and dry fry in a non stick pan - serve in bun with cucumber/ carrot sticks on the side

Most meals are accompanied with broccoli which is one of the few veg both my kids will eat.

Other options - e

[canela]

do you have a pressure cooker? to do a batch of lentils, beans or chickpeas takes literally 5 minutes to prepare and then you just leave on the hob for an hour. Then have with rice. You can freeze half.

Just fry up some tomatoes in oil, add a grated onion, then add the lentils, salt and water, and cook. remember if it's beans or chickpeas you need to soak overnight first.

easy and very healthy! adults can add chilli flakes to make more interesting!

another very easy tea is pasta and pesto, with salad.

[Sally81]

I'm so pleased to see this thread and read that my dinner offerings to my son are quite similar to other people's!! I have such guilt about his food. My son is a fussy eater and takes AGES to eat any meal, so although I try very hard to get him to try new things, I have to stick to the things I know he likes seeing as it can take him about 40 mins to eat a meal he loves and more than hour if it's something new that he doesn't really want!

So, mine loves tuna pasta as others have mentioned and I mix with with some broccoli and peas as these are the only two veggies he likes.

He does like fish more than meat which is good so I think frozen salmon or white fish fillets are good and pretty quick...especially the ones you can get in the bag that go in the oven like that. (i serve with mash, or a bit of rice and veg)

Omelettes are another good quick option for me, usually quite plain for us - so with a bit of cheese, sometimes ham and always peas or broccoli.

Bolognese for us too. It's pretty quick to make and I have stopped using the jars of sauces and I use loads of fresh toms or whatever needs using up from fridge plus a tin or two of plum toms.

If I do him a frozen pizza I always add broccoli to the top.

One of his favourites, which I make and then split into batches is fish pie. There's a bit of cooking involved but it's pretty quick and once you have a few frozen they are a brill easy meal. I buy a fresh fish mix,cook with very finely diced onions, maybe a bit of leak (but he'll moan if he finds them of course) and cook with some creme fraiche or similar. Then I mash white and sweet pots together and whack on top.

Another tip I have found for getting carrots into him is to buy tinned ones. They are really soft so I mush them up and add them into things - especially the mash for the fish pie.

Mine is not a big meat eater but i've had success with turkey mince meat balls. I just ball the mince up almost dry fry and serve with penne pasta and a some tinned tomatoes.

Also...he often has frozen fish fingers/fish cake or some sort of frozen chicken steak in breadcrumbs.....Does everyone else?? I always feel guilty giving him these, especially when a friend tells me how she makes her own all the time!!

I think what makes feeding them hard also is that although I'm sure we would like the whole family to sit down together and eat, it's just not always practical and that's what i struggle with. My 4yr old needs his dinner pretty early, I'm sure this must be the case with other families.

[Pickle]

Life is too short to faff about making your own fish fingers/chicken nuggets - and I'm speaking as a mum who works from home, so in theory has time to make them. Unless there are allergies involved, shop bought is fine, and normal.

I can't add much, as being at home means I do have time and energy to cook evening meals, and I'm a keen cook. I make one meal that I eat with the kids, and my partner reheats when he gets in from work.

Winners for my kids are meatballs - I find it easier to oven cook them rather than fry. They like them most when I add a bit of Parmesan to the mix (which is generally just beef or pork mince, or a mix of both, some onion and some mixed herbs). Cook and freeze, then they're super quick to reheat with a bit of sauce and some pasta.

Bolognaise, a staple.

Macaroni cheese - I make cheese sauce if I've got milk that's needing used up and freeze it.

[lenster]

I love reading other people's meal suggestions. Does anyone have any easy suggestions for an 8 month old who can't have dairy, eggs, tomato or avocado?? Milk substitutes just don't seem to work well in cooking and I don't think she has enough variety. I've found sweet potatoes make a good mash alternative without needing butter/milk. Any other tips greatly appreciated!

[midivydale]

Am with you Ellie, and similar problems obviously with the citric acid and dairy issues so any tomato based stuff or sauces that people have suggested above are out for us and can iamgine would be for you too?

I rely on pesto alot and often cook a big bowl of ww pasta which will cover us for a couple of days and mix in pesto as a rule. I would then mix that up depending on what else he has eaten in the day but often ham/chicken/tuna/salmon/meatballs and then veg broccoli/spinach/sweetcorn/carrots/cucumber whatever.

It takes no time at all and I have been known to cook the pasta in the morning (as you know have an early riser) mix the pesto and when we get home in the evening mix with the protein/veg.

I do similar with rice (cook it with cocunut milk for flavour and kidney beans) then add protein and veg. Takes very little time.

How sensitive is he to the citric acid? I loves baked beans but have issues tolerating it so I rinse them in water (to get rid of tomato sauce before warming them and sometimes mix with pesto. Sounds gross but he likes it.

We have had alot of really late evenings lately and for super quick meals I sometimes go for porridge and add berries (have big packs of frozen berries in freezer). I mix the porridge with neocate for the protein.

Quinoa also takes very little time to cook (can also be bought in microwave cooking bags for added speed when times are desperate). Again mix it with veg and any protein that is around.

I can not cook for the life of me, am really terrible so I do rely on alot of veg/fruit/sallads which I am very lucky that I eats. The citric acid and food allergies makes convencience food very tricky. A gap in the market...

[midivydale]

Lenster, have you tried cooking with coconut milk?

[canela]

Another vote for early cooking here. Just bung on some rice/pasta/potatoes, and put some veg in the steamer, and let it all cook whilst you get ready in the morning. then the evening meal is half done! I just hate having to come in and cook.

fried eggs and rice are another hit with us.

[Fuschia]

Convex Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> saffron that reminds me someone (fuchsia maybe?)

> told me once you only need to get your kid eating

> 5-10 meals which is the 5-10 meals you eat which

> made me laugh at the time but is pretty true

>

>

ooh, I haven't been on here for ages, what a coincidence!

Other ideas for very quick meals - how about toasted sandwiches with some crudit?s - cheese and ham, pesto and cheese, tuna and cheese, those sort of things. Make with any bread, including wraps or pitta pockets.

Eggy bread

Frittata - chuck some left over potato/peas/broccoli in a pan with dash of olive oil/butter then pour in beaten egg, cook slowly then sprinkle with cheese and bung under the grill

[canela]

couscous! quickest thing around!

[dibden]

Loads of great ideas here... I'll be stealing some of these. Its always a struggle to think of kids meals

[srisky]

I feel your pain! Here are some meals that our family enjoy:

Scrambled eggs on toast with some veg on the side - super quick and tasty!

Another is sardine bolognese (but we use mackerel instead) - fry garlic, add: 2x tin mackerel in tomorrow sauce, 2x mackerel in spicy tom sauce, olives, capers and 2x can chopped toms and heat on the hob (everything is already cooked). Serve with pasta. My husband and I add chilli flakes to our servings.

This quantity is enough for 2 meals for a family of 4 (2 small kids) and can be frozen. Healthy, cheap and tasty!

Jacket potatoes, as above.

Pitta/toast pizzas - kids help make it: pesto on base with any topping

Roast loads of toms, peppers, garlic, onion - blitz with a few tablespoons of chopped toms & season. While roasting, dry fry some chopped chorizo sausage to release the oils. Add the blitzed up veg to the frying pan and warm though. Sever with gnocchi or pasta. Delish plus kids get their veg without realising it.

Lamb kebabs - mince lamb mixed with onions, garlic, chilli and mint, season. Portion off and freeze for another day. Take it out if freezer in the morning, then griddle/oven it in the evening - serve with pitta/burger, salad, humous.

Enjoy!

[cirrus29]

Love the sardine bolognese idea - though sadly mine won't eat tomato sauce! So true about weaning them onto the food you eat yourself - "fussy" is really a matter of perspective. My baby (10months)is allergic to egg too; current favourite in our house is grilled salmon (unseasoned for the baby, marinated the night before in miso, soy and mirin for the adults and 3 year-old) served with rice and blanched tenderstem broccoli. Kids eat the veg with their hands in front of the tablet while fish is grilling! Worth getting a rice cooker if you eat rice regularly. We have brown rice or short grain rice sometimes to change it up a bit.

[Mariamadeit]

slow cooker is fab for this, prep in the morning/night before and then just turn on or even use a timer switch, my children love spinach and ricotta lasagne, bolognaise sauce, stew, curries, whole chicken...

[lenster]

Midivydale - I've only used it in the odd curry or to flavour rice. Haven't tried it as a general milk substitute. Will give it a go.

[scareyt]

Pork stir fry - a packet of pork mince, in a frying pan on a high heat with garlic & whatever veg you have, fry for about 5 minutes then add noodles, some plum sauce & soy sauce for kids, and reheat later for grown ups with some chilli sauce. Zero skill or chopping time involved - I have a little handheld julienne peeler thing so I do carrots & courgettes directly over the pan once the mince is in.

Or ready made fish cakes from the freezer with a poached egg each and some spinach microwaved in the packet.

I sometimes make a big batch of pancakes if we're up early & have milk to use up, freeze any we don't eat that day and reheat in the toaster directly from the freezer for good breakfasts on a school day.

[scareyt]

Also we do a lot of fish fingers, sausages & macaroni cheese, and cereal for dinner sometimes. Which is a great treat.

My son's favourite emergency meal when he was 3 was cous cous with butter & cheese which sounds a bit weird but he loved & can be on the table within 5 minutes of walking in the door. I did it with a mixture of normal cous cous & barley cous cous to make it a bit more nutritious / less monotonous. And raw veggies on the side - peppers, carrots, broccoli or cauliflower.