CM CLUB:What do you feed your mindees'?

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lisalisa, it is mostly what we have had the night before, I have never cooked any differently. I use my combination microwave to do a roast chicken, it takes 35 mins for a beautiful crisp and moist 2 kg chicken.It is all simple stuff, easily made in advance, make one freeze one

I don't cook desserts as a rule, only apples and plums because of th fruit trees in the garden, so I buy hiuge pots of plain yog and fromage frais, I use the greengrocer for fruit, I buty my meat from the farm 5 min away and the mindies love going there each week, same as specialist fish shop, on a farm site, he lets the children handle the fish.

My own children are away in France and canada, but they cook properly for themselves too, I got a text from DS the other night - he's a sjki instructor in Canada, I'm cooking sea bass! he's obviously just got paid!

I batch cook too. Lasagne - chicken and bacon/beef, fish pie, couscous, sausage casserole, bolognese, macaroni cheese with ham, cottage pie.

I struggle a bit with lunches. I have 2 toddlers who only really like pitta bread with marmite for lunch. I tried a cheese snadwich the other day with one of them and he ate it, then tried it a few days later with both of them and neither would touch the cheese! I have managed to convince them that soup is good but could do with more lunchtime meal ideas. Jacket pots sound like a good idea but take quite a while and I'm not usually organised enough to get them ready in time for lunch!

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my version of fish pie is a can of tuna with peas mixed in, add a little milk and corn flour then put mashed poptato on the top and cook for 40 mins

All my mindees parents provide packed lunches!

shosha - how do u make fish pie - fancy doing that

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Today Braised steak with mashed pots, broccoli, peas, carrots, Plain Fromage frais and stewed plums

Tuesday Undyed smoked haddock and cod loin fish pie with sweet potato mash, green beans, savoy cabbage, Fresh fruit

Wednesday Roast chicken dinner, usual 3 or 4 veg and roasted new baby pots. Plain youghurt with raspberries

Thursday Lamb casserole, with parsnips, carrots, broccoli and potatoes. Fresh fruit salad - melon, grapoes, nectarine, blueberries

Friday Salmon with pasta and spinach and courgettes sticks
baked apples with sultanas and treat of ice ceam

Snacks, bread sticks with humous, rice crackers, cherry tomatoes, cheddar chunks, apple slices, dried apricots, pitta with dips.

Water only or milk if preferred.

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Wow, how do you lot do it?

I tell the parents I provide SIMPLE meals (but healthy) - I don't like to use the oven or do too much on the hob as our kitchen is open plan. I do beans on toast, baked potato (microwave), tuna, cheese, fruit, cucumber, carrot sticks, packets of raisins, fromage frais, jelly, different types of bread, crackers, hard boiled egg, sweetcorn, milk, diluted pure fruit juices, etc, etc. - anything that I can put together quickly and gives the right balance of food groups. If I've got children who will actually eat 'proper meals' I save some from the night before.

In school hols. I ask the older ones to bring a packed lunch.

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i like quick and easy recipes (i use 1 cal spray oil for frying)

today i did veg soup
carrots, onions, peppers all fryed up add 3 pints veg stock and rice bring to boil and simmer

i do a quick pasta dish to fry some bacon while boiling some pasta add bacon to cooked pasta and pour in a tin of chicken condenced soup

chicken and butter bean cassarole
4 red onions, 2 celery, 1 garlic clove, 6 leeks, 3 pints chicken stock, soy sauce, tinned tomatoes, 2 carrots, 400g butter beans, 4 chiken breast. serve with rice
fry onions and garlic
add celery, pepper and leeks
add soy, stock, tomatoes bring to boil
add carrots, beans and chicken
simmer for 1 hour

cod in butter sauce are good

boiled egg and soilders

couscous

baked potato with vartity of toppings (beans, tuna, cheese, ham, prawns

oh and BTW Ofsted lady said dont give them dessert as its full of sugar

I do curry's,spag bols,cottage pie,cornbeef stews,lasagne,chilli's-I always cook big pot foods as it is so much easier and cost effective.
On occassion I may do pizza/chicken nuggets/fishcakes but not often as that is a lot more expensive!