Dinner ideas with complicated allergies, please help!

[BarbaraVineFan]

My DD has recently started Reception. She goes to after school club Mon-Thurs and gets 'tea' there (something like cheesy pasta or a sausage roll) but she still needs a snacky dinner when she gets home. The problem is that she is allergic to nuts and legumes, so peanut butter or beans on toast are out and so is hummus. She used to have an egg allergy, and although she has grown out of this, she is still not keen on eggs, so scrambled egg or omelette is no good. She is also allergic to fish.

I am struggling to find a range of healthy things for her to have, bearing in mind that it doesn't need to be a full meal. So far I have made
Sandwiches - cheese or ham
Toasties, ditto
Soup with bread - she loves this, either home made carrot and sweet potato or Heinz tomato if I'm in a rush
Crumpets with cheese
Avocado toast
All.served with cut up fruit and veg, apart from the soup!

Can anyone think of any alternatives? I have thought of bacon, but this isn't very healthy for her and she already has it once or twice a week at breakfast club.

Tofu so many ways to cook it
Actually is tofu part of the legume family?!

It isn't, but she used to have a soya allergy as well and last time I tried tofu she had a reaction- I think although she is ok with small amounts in soy sauce etc, the large concentration of soy protein in tofu doesn't work for her unfortunately.

Would porridge for dinner be weird? She loves porridge

Id go with expanding on the soup. Google recipes based on ingredients she can eat.

Or just batch cook and have smaller portions of main meals.. pasta, stew, baked potato

Porridge be perfect.

Hello I have been using Chat GPT to meal plan and it's an absolute life changer. I copied in your OP and it said the below.

1. *Mini Pitta Pizzas* – Top wholemeal pitta with tomato sauce, cheese, and any veggies she likes, then grill for a quick snack.

1. *Veggie Muffins* – You can bake savory muffins with veggies like spinach, carrots, and cheese. These can be made ahead and are easy to warm up.

1. *Chicken or Turkey Wraps* – Use soft tortillas with thinly sliced chicken or turkey, some veggies like cucumber or carrots, and a little cheese or cream cheese spread.

1. *Quesadillas* – Fill a tortilla with cheese, spinach, and chicken (or just cheese and veggies), then grill it like a toastie.

1. *Cold Pasta Salad* – Cook pasta in advance and toss it with veggies, cheese, and a little olive oil or pesto (without nuts). This is easy to make and store for a few days.

1. *Sweet Potato Wedges* – Baked sweet potato fries with a little dip like yogurt mixed with a pinch of salt can be a tasty, more substantial snack.

1. *Cottage Cheese or Cream Cheese with Crackers* – You could pair this with veggies or fruit for a balanced snack.

1. *Savoury Rice Cakes* – Top rice cakes with things like soft cheese, sliced turkey, or mashed avocado.

Chicken drumsticks
homemade chicken goujons and dips
potato skins
stuffed mushrooms
bagels
wraps - quesedillas are a favourite here
cheese and crackers
porridge - not just for breakfast!
bananas and custard
nachos for a treat

This is awesome!! @Jezzballs2000 i never thought of using Chat Gpt - genius, thank you!

@Beautifulsunflowers some fab suggestions there! I think she might implode with delight if I gave her bananas and custard for dinner 😂

@craigth162 good shout, I do batch cook.sometimes and she always enjoys a little portion of bolognese or something.

Just because it doesn’t have to be a full meal doesn’t mean you can’t cook a meal and just give a smaller portion, give her a bit of what you’re eating or portion things up to last a few days

Pasta with bolognaise/ pesto/ cheese/ tomato sauce etc
Noodles with stir fried veg
home made ‘pizza’ - tomato paste, cheese & veg on tortilla wraps or pitta breads cooked under the grill
fajitas - or tortilla wraps with a filling such as cheese, chicken and tomato
Pancakes - sweet (eg: banana, blueberry) or savoury (eg: cheese)
Baked potato with bolognaise
charcuterie style plate - cucumber and carrot sticks, grapes, cheese, cold meat, crackers, crusty bread,

Jacket potatos

Chicken burger...I stick a chicken breast in the air fryer and put it in-between a brioche burger bun.

Mini pizzas

I also thought of using those microwave rice pouches to make different types of fried rice. In fact i think she might accept the tiny pieces of egg in egg fried rice, as long as there were plenty of other flavours and textures in there.

Google bento lunches might find something good?

Is your family vegetarian OP? The options you have suggested seem very carb heavy and low in protein. Sandwiches, crumpets, toasties, soup/bread, and avocado toast.
I'm not a dietician though.
I was going suggest making chickpea (gram) flour type patties, but they are legumes! Spelt flour and other alternative flours have higher fibre and protein than regular, wheat flour. Grated courgette, onions, sweetcorn and/or peas mixed with flour and eggs can make patties which can be frozen. I add a mild curry, but depends if you DD likes a curry flavour? You could add chicken or ham if you do eat meat or just have as a veggie patty option, but add protein via a chicken drumstick or thigh.

Could you batch cook lasagne, pasta bake, cottage pie and cut into single serves which could be defrosted easily?

We have the same thing with a hot meal given at after school club. We just do a family dinner once we're all in and don't stress about the kids eating much if they've eaten well at ASC. Sometimes they eat loads and sometimes next to nothing. Much easier to just be making one meal in the evening!

Fried tomatoes and mushrooms on toast.
Crackers and cheese with cucumber and tomatoes.
Stuffed peppers with rice and veggies.
Stuffed mushrooms with cheese.
Baked sweet potato with filling such as spiced chicken/pulled jackfruit.
Sweet potato wedges with a homemade veggie/meat burger (if you struggle to find shopbought).

A dip my DC like is something I made by accident. Can't remember what I was trying to do now. It's whizzed up spinach and broccoli/peas (cooked!), with cumin and coriander. It goes to a hummus like consistency, and I do add tahini but it doesn't really need it. They like dipping carrot sticks and stuff in it.

Are lentils/couscous okay? That with mixed veggies and some sort of protein. Quinoa too.

A small portion of spaghetti bolognese? Bolognese sauce over a jacket potato?
Small portion of curry if she eats it? I'm saying small as you mentioned snacks stuff!

Avocado on toast. Guacamole with pitta breads.

I don't eat meat but eat loads of fish and cheese, so I'm trying to think of snacky-stuff we'd have sans fish! You could probably add meat to some of these. Me and DS are coeliac so we're a GF house and he had dairy and soya allergies as a baby. Nightmare, I feel your pain!

Oh and the dip I've made loads of times without peas!

Similar allergies over here with my 5yo DD.

Teas she likes at the moment:

Tesco free from pesto (no cashews) with pasta and chicken

Bacon sandwiches

Sausage and mash with gravy

Melted cheese sandwich with tomato soup