PLEASE inspire me.. what should I do for ds's supper tonight? so so so so bored of pasta & sauce...

[Spink]

he is 2.3 yrs and I always seem to be giving him some kind of pasta sauce variation. Time for something new!
It has to be quick to make (I've got a 5 month old too so can't be too long in the kitchen) and eggs are a big NO.
Any ideas yummily received

[psychomum5]

can you not take a portion of your food out every night to save for his dinner the night after, just reheating it??

[AitchTwoOh]

mini burgers stiffed into half pittas? very quick to make, i use mince (der ) and grate a carrot in and also some cheese. sometimes i put harissa in for a bit of kick but alternatively a blob of tom puree or nothing at all. mix into blobs and fry. serve with some salad, guacamole etc.

[Spink]

psychomum - eek, if only I was eating proper meals at the mo I would... but dh is working all hours and I am grabbing a sandwich or having an omlette or something.. think that's part of the problem, I'm not really in a meal-planning place at the moment

marmaduke beans are the other staple in our house after pasta and I'm trying to keep serving them down to twice a week He would LOVE your suggestion though!

[Spink]

ooh think I'll try the burgers.. he could even help if I can persuade him raw meat is not for eating.... on second thoughts maybe not.
do you just use beef mince?

[BonsoirAnna]

Fish fingers and mash
Sausages and mash
Risotto

[AitchTwoOh]

yep, beef mince. it's basically a cheeseburger all-in-one. dd rolls them, she's three, i'm pretty sure that she did it when she was two as well.

[psychomum5]

ahh, I see.

right then.....

beans on toast
soup (you can make some up in batches and pull out portions when needed)
rice dishes.

plus, being summer, you could make up plates of picky bits rather than a hot meal. there is nothing that says that children have to have a hot meal everyday anyway, and sometimes, you can get more goodness into them with cold meals and salad type stuff anyway. mine like wraps, cold chicken stuff into pasta, chopped veg with dips (well, the girls like the chopped veg, the boys a less keen).

HTH

[Spink]

thanks Aitch.
psychomum, that's a good point, I get a bit fixated on the hot meal thing... one of my probs too is that while ds used to love chomping on veg (thanks Aitch again, BLW went down a treat), it's part of his two-ness to shun anything he can identify as a veggie. so I hide things a lot - hence pasta sauces...

[Spink]

I don't hide all things in the sauce!.. just veg

[AitchTwoOh]

hahaha. yes, dd went through phases of that too, she's recently gone back onto spinach after an absence of about a year. i found it was just a question of letting her dislike some stuff but always keeping broccoli, cucumber, carrot, peas etc on hand as she remained on fairly good terms with them. you shoudl have seen her last night trying an asparagus spear, i thought she was going to barf the poor thing. her sister was chowing down on them at least.

the roughly grated carrot makes the burger nicer, though, it's not just for veg sneakery.

[Maveta]

I batch make food too as dh and I tend to pick at night and therefore don't have part of our meal to keep for him iyswim.

Staples (apart from the ubiquitous pasta sauce) are

chicken noodle soup (a BIG fave)
lentil and bacon soup
'arroz a la cubana' which is rice, tomato sauce (home made or jar) and an egg on top (another big big favourite)
sandwiches
fish or chicken with rice or mash

I am not hugely inspired either but I think he eats these on a pretty steady rotation and seems happy and healthy enough I also struggle to remember that he does eat a big hot meal at lunch at nursery and doesn't necessarily need another big hot meal at night, every night.

[AitchTwoOh]

oooh, tell me about the egg thing, how do you cook it? fried?

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

salmon rice and peas/sweetcorn - put rice on to boil, steam salmon over the rice for five minutes or so, bung peas in with the rice for a minute or so at the end.

mix rice, flaked salmon and peas in a bowl, put on some butter and pepper, it's completely yummy!

And lots of omega 3.

I buy two salmon fillets and chop them into DS sized chunks and freeze them, then it's easy to get a chunk out and whip it up in seconds.

[luvaduck]

cous cous with steamed veg all mashed together

make a big risotto - eg leek and mushroom and freeze portions for later

annabel karmel ( i know i know - but this is good quick option when in a hurry) does a nice ready meal to heat up with chicken and rice without any crap in

cheese on toast with steamed veg

[Spink]

ah, good good. He likes carrot, actually - well - he likes chewing it but not so much the swallowing.
I'm trying not to put vegetable pressure on ds and just offer stuff and then not react too much however it goes. Avocado used to be a sure-fire hit but he is really off it. How do you make your guac? maybe that'll float his boat..

[AitchTwoOh]

oh osh yes salmon, that's out ultimate quickie meal. i am revoltin though and buy those fillets that are pre-packed frozen from m and s. you can just puncture the plastic (i KNOW, i'm so not a hippy) and the salmon self-steams in the micro. i then do some pots and peas in the micro while the salmon is cooling. LAZY.

[Spink]

3 new posts while I was typing that!
Yay thank you, all great ideas

[AitchTwoOh]

nothing elaborate, just avo and a squish of lemon and some smushed garlic. me and dh attend to our tabasco and spring onion needs separately as dd1 prefers without.

i wish to point out that the lazy micro meal is for when dh and i are having a takeaway and wish for it all to be OVER asap. dinner, i mean.

[AitchTwoOh]

also most supermarkets do half-decent breaded chicken now, no additives etc. i keep that sort of thing in the freezer, we have those in pittas with toms lettuce and cucumber yoghurt etc. it's a good snacky tea with olives and nibbly things.

[AitchTwoOh]

oh yes btw if no avos in house then grated cucumber squeezed and then added to greek yog and a bit of nutmeg is another good sauce.

[Maveta]

some great ideas here, am loving the steamed salmon idea, think i´ll have to get a steamer...

the egg - we fry it (is that bad??) though you could poach it if you like I guess, you want the yolk to be all yummy and runny though and it all mixes up into a pretty revolting looking mix but is a huge hit. And a pretty staple meal for kids around here as far as i gather. I do sneak spinach and other things into the tomato sauce when dh is looking the other way (sacrilege!)

[AitchTwoOh]

it sounds delicious. i do love a fried egg.

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

we just steam it in a metal sieve Maveta, just plonk it on top of the rice pan, if that helps!

[orangina]

shepherds pie? fish pie? salmon baked in the oven with potatos and veg? soup? Is he old enough for roast chicken drumsticks (and potatoes and veg)?