Are my dinners rubbish?

Looks ok to me, OP.

I don't know if you do veg with your pesto pasta but I always chuck in broccoli for the last few minutes of the pasta cooking. Spring greens or spinach are dead easy as well.

Pottering about the house!

I try and do something from all the food groups roughly, ensure a few servings of veg, always try and have some greens and overall 'all the colours of the rainbow' for DC. So last dinner was lamb, steamed brocolli, cauli and carrots, and an orange. The night before, fish, corn and peas, and spinach and ricotta ravioli. Also a glass of milk. I might add some cheese or a yogurt or banana if I don't think they've eaten enough. I think half of OPs meals seem fine, assuming there's veg, but Monday/ Tuesday/ Friday and Saturday seemed less than ideal, also seems carb heavy.

I’d get sick of anything if I just rotated the same few meals each week.

No - it’s both. I can’t physically store all that stuff at once but I also don’t care enough to switch it up. I buy what I know I’ll use and what won’t sit lingering in the back of a cupboard or in the bottom of the fridge.

Both things can be true 😉

My dad does! When I was living at home I got sooo sick of greasy crap every Friday! For a while when I was a teenager there was a takeaway place that did basically a bit of everything. I was always pleased when the others chose that place (they loved the chicken tikka kebab thing) because I could order a jacket potato with ham and cheese. To this day Friday night is takeaway night in my dad's house.

And its 30 a week by the way, not a day,

Most MNs will say they easily achieve 30 in a day along with 23000 steps before breakfast 🙄

What do you typically eat for dinner? I can’t see how chicken fish and beef plus salads isn’t healthy for kids?

Markets are few and far between where I live in S England. Farmers market in nearby town sells things like plants and very expensive chutneys.
Nearest food market once a week , 25 minute drive away and most things cost the same as the Coop over the road plus petrol.
Nearest farm shop 10 miles away, not cheap also petrol.

A French market is a lovely thing but not so available here.

It doesn't seem that nutritious for growing children, don't notice much variation especially red meat and greens. Also it would boring if you ate that every week

Definitely not rubbish!

😂😂😂 thank you!

A salad with dinners is more than enough vegetables. I’m not sure what sort of salads most people on here are picturing?

Given 65% of the UK population is overweight or obese I honestly wouldn’t ask on a public forum. I find these answers so bizarre.

Your meals sound perfectly lovely.

Some people don't know they are born 😄 If I hadn't done the cooking from about 13 and up, I would have had the same 4 dinners on permanent rotation - one of which was Macaroni Cheese from a long life packet 🤢 . I have a friend who was given chops, green beans, rice and potatoes every single day for years - only Sunday was different. Your dnners all sound very nice - varied and tasty. However, if you had a 2-week menu, it would probably be even better. I have four quick and very different pastas that take very little more effort or time than spooning in pesto - that might be a good place to start.

They're totally normal

Egg on toast, with salad?

Seriously its pretty easy so dont knock it

Tbh, I never knew it was a "thing" till I joined here, its also how we eat

Which is fare enough.
Its not a storage thing then, it’s a choice.

30 sounds insane if you work FT and have other things to do besides meal planning but let’s try:

rice
garlic
onions
tomato
carrots
peas
apples
pears
bananas
strawberries
grapes
(so far so easy I guess, this is the base of 90% of what I cook)

cabbage
sweet potatoes
butternut squash
leek
(there’s the soup)

avocado
broccoli
spinach
raspberries
blueberries
buckwheat
mushrooms
black beans
white beans
bell peppers
red beans
mango
chickpeas
artichoke
lemon
lime
oranges

(can’t lie, realistically I don’t think I’ll go through all of these in a week; I just won’t)

Does no-one on MN have a child who will only eat one vegetable with their school packed lunch; which is the same vegetable which is eaten for months on end before it becomes disgusting and swaps to a different veg? 😫

by the way fruit is basically sugar so it isn’t necessarily that good for you. Especially as you age and possibly become insulin resistant.

I have assumed there is a salad dressing and the salad has plenty of variety in which case, I would be happy with that.

This week we have had Greek gnocchi traybake which includes feta, lentils and Mediterranean vegetables. Salmon with corn and roasted red pepper salad which comes with lots of vegetables and brown rice. Sweet potato, coconut and harissa soup with crusty bread. Lasagne and then, garlic and mustard chicken with brown rice and broth. Maybe there would sound less appealing if I said gnocchi traybake or just salmon with salad. They all have fresh herbs and lots of veggies and salad but you won’t get that from a simplified description. It all sounds lovely and healthy in the most part 😊

It probably does actually.

I mean, I could - but honestly, I just don’t care enough to bother. I’m not that interested in food so keep in what I know I’ll use on a regular basis.

For a moment I thought you meant martyrdom destroyed nutrients!

It actually often destroys certain nutrients.