What can I feed this child?

[3in4years]

My 5 year old is fussy and underweight. I am not a brilliant cook, and have little time. He doesn't eat much at school so I need to give him dinner in the evening. Any quick meal ideas appreciated.

Won't eat:
Meat
Meat substitutes
Fish (except fish fingers)
Tomatoes
Any veg
Rice
Couscous
Eggs

Will eat:
Mashed potato
Fruit
Bread
Houmous
Peanut butter
Pasta
Cheese
Chips
Yoghurt
Pizza
Lentil/ pea pasta
Baked beans
Dried fruit
Cereals and porridge
Pancakes

My go-tos are tortellini with pesto, gnocchi, carbonara without ham but with hidden egg, past bake made with soup, fish pie with tiny bits of salmon, macaroni cheese, lentil/ pea pasta with cheese sauce, fishfingers and chips, pancakes with ground almond, peanut butter sandwiches, sweet potato and houmous.

I am so bored of the same meals all the time, and worried about his lack of fruit and protein. Any ideas gratefully received. Thanks

Another one is 'courgetti' (spiralized courgette) mixed in with ordinary spaghetti. The downside is of course it's lower in calories than pasta but if you mix a high calorie sauce like pesto or cheese sauce with it it should balance out, and it's another way of working more veg into him.

Avocados are really high calorie so they're good. Also peanut butter, and other nuts if he'll eat them, and bananas.

I’d be eats pancakes have you tried a super thin omelette?

Have you considered taking him off school dinners? You sound like you’re doing a good job at home, but if he basically misses a meal every day he isn’t going to gain weight well.
Cheese sauce can be brilliant for helping them to start eating new foods. When mine were little and not sure about meat I used to cook chicken separately then cut it into tiny pieces and stir it through the cheese sauce so they didn’t have to chew it too much. I used to make all sorts of weird meals to be honest . I don’t lie about it being there, I just make it really easy to eat.
Have you tried tomato and mascarpone pasta sauce? The mascarpone takes away some of the acidity of the tomatoes so it’s sort of a gentler way to get used to the tomatoey taste. It’s also high calorie.

Greek yogurt is surprisingly high in protein. The full fat version mixed with his favourite fruit might be a hit for him for some healthy calories.

Thank you. I feel new enthusiasm for his diet now!

I think the school weighing system can be a bit of a blunt instrument and if you have concerns about his weight (understandable with the letter back) you should see the gp before worrying too much

"Significantly underweight" sounds so alarming, but looking at the BMI bands and that he is 2nd centile for weight (and has tracked that line? Height?) it seems like the more slight end of 'normal' (which is a pretty wide band).

Growth and weight should really be plotted over time if there are concerns.

His actual diet looks really ok, he eats different textures, covers all the food groups, eats things that a lot of kids would yuk at.

If he really doesn't like school dinners, then do packed lunches, something you know he'll eat, take the pressure off.

If its any consolation my DS would only eat 6 foods at that age, this lasted a few years. As PP said just let him have what he'll eat and keep offering some of yours. No big deal if he won't eat it, praise if he does. My DS is now a strapping 15yr old who tucks into all sorts including curry, they get there when they're ready