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Help - meal ideas please!

6 replies

Ohhgreat · 29/11/2018 21:52

Returning to work after mat leave soon and beginning to panic about how I will manage to make dinners for all of us! Will have 30mins ish to prepare cook and have it served, and my issue is:
DD (age 9) will only eat veg if it is carrot, broccoli or sweet corn (autistic so this isn't just fussiness, it's been those 3 for years and years!). Also has shellfish and coconut allergy.
DH cannot have dairy, and dislikes potato in all forms, so mash, boiled, chips, roasted, wedges all out (he will eat it if I make it, but he really does hate it so it's rather mean of me to force him to!). He also dislikes rice but not as vehemently.
Neither eat baked beans or onions. Good job I'm not fussy isn't it!
What on earth can I make for dinners?? Currently I can only think of slow cooker (meat, carrots, gravy, dumplings put in when I get home to cook for 30mins before serving), spag Bol, tuna pasta, curry possibly but finding a dairy free sauce that doesn't have coconut in it isn't easy!
Any other ideas?? I'm not a bad cook so will give most things a go!

OP posts:
Ricekrispie22 · 30/11/2018 06:11

If you serve spag Bol, does your DS eat onions and will he eat tomato sauce if it's on a pizza?

INeedNewShoes · 30/11/2018 07:06

I make curry with neither dairy nor coconut. There are lots of tomato based sauces. Will your DS accept onion if it is chopped finely in things?

Re your DP not liking potatoes, given your DS' restricted diet I think it's important he eats potatoes for the vitamin C etc. so I would keep some crusty bread rolls in the freezer and DP can have one of those while you and DS have potatoes.

Fish is great for cooking quickly. Salmon in the oven for 15-20 minutes with new potatoes and veg is doable in half an hour.

What about things like roasting a chicken on a Sunday then on Monday you could have chicken wraps for dinner and Tuesday chicken risotto.

Otterses · 30/11/2018 07:07

Gnocchi? We do it as a quick dinner here. Cook in a pan for 5 minutes, dump in a baking dish, add tomato sauce (secret tomato sauce in this house with broccoli, carrot, celery, etc.) and top with dairy free cheese and stick under the grill. It's on the table in about 15 minutes.

Would either eat fish cakes? Turkey and chickpea burgers? Both are really quick to do, even more so if made in advance.

Have you thought about making your own curry sauce and freezing in batches? Then you know exactly what's in it.

I know it's thrown out a lot on here, but daft stuff like cooking 6 litres of Spag Bol and freezing it really made my life easier when I went back off mat leave.

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Dawsonforehead · 30/11/2018 07:15

Potato and rice alternatives - garlic bread (I keep about 8 in the freezer!), crusty rolls and PP said, couscous, sweet potato/buttsenut squash

Honestly think the freezer is your friend for quick meals, at least some days of the week. I wish we could always eat fresh food but scampi, chicken Kievs, battered cod are all good options.

Fresh meat options - chicken wings/drumsticks, pork ribs, lamb chops all cook quickly. If you have a butcher near you they usually have a pre-marinated meat, supermarkets too but not always unless frozen.

Quick marinade - soya sauce, honey and sweet chilli sauce or ketchup.

anniehm · 30/11/2018 07:28

Look online at Jamie Oliver's recipes and buy a copy of 30 minute meals - you can adapt to avoid dislikes and allergies. Pasta is the best from scratch - I can do dried pasta in 20 mins, fresh in 15 with whatever sauce/ veggies etc you want (purée to hide from the fussy ones!) slow cooker is a good option especially in winter, but don't be afraid of part prepared foods like pies, a life saver in a hurry

Sleephead1 · 30/11/2018 07:41

you can do lots of things in slow cooker like chillie, pork or beef ribs , different cuts of meat ECT then you could serve with some for of potatoes for you and your son and bread rolls for your husband ? then just serve the veg your son likes. Stir fry are super quick aswell as Fritata, you could do tomato based curry in the slow cooker

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