Outrageously PFB question

[garliclover]

I know this sounds apallingly indulgent, but are quinoa and amaranth pops to go in cereal (like they sell through goodness direct) as nutritious as the proper cooked stuff?
DS allergic to diary, eggs, wheat and soya and trying to find ways of getting nutrients other than Readybrek and formula....and he hates cooked quinoa.
Thought mners would know...

If he hates cooked quinoa, then I wouldn't be convinced
he would like the Pops. Open to being corrected of course. If you are buying other stuff, and someone else would eat it, may well be worth the small element of risk.

Never heard of pops, but I used quinoa flakes in fruit puree to thicken up, which would mask flavour, I'm sure they'd easily go in porridge too, they go in soup as well.

We eat those Quinoa pops and the Quinoa and Rice crunchy ones, also millet pops - they are really nice, have good levels of protein. DS also hates taste of cooked quinoa but eats these cereals a lot and likes them

Great -- didn't think I'd get any replies so am really pleased. Thanks! NerfHerder, so you can use those flakes without having to cook them? I'm such an amateur at this...

Well- when I've made puree/compote (just stewed fruit- apples, plums, blueberries, apricots, pears whatever) it's still hot, so I pop the flakes in and stir, and they sort of cook through. Same with soup, stew- I freeze a lot of stuff in small portions for my children, then if it's a bit runny after microwaving (sorry- shoot me now MN!) then I add a few flakes and let it cool to a temp they can eat it at, by which time it's cooked through in the food IYSWIM. (this applies to the fruit too- sometimes it's a bit watery after a quick defrost, so you can just put a few flakes in then whilst it cools.) I find blueberry is good as it hides the taste

I also used to use an amaranth-based porridge (Plum baby porridge, maybe called '4 cereal porridge'?) to thicken fruit.

With normal porridge, you could just put it in at the beginning with the oats of course.

Even though my children are older than yours (I'm guessing! they are 5 and 2) I still do a lot of small portions of frozen home-cooked food because DH and I both work FT and we like the children to have a proper meal in the evening but have very little time. Also my son is very, very fussy, and actually compote/puree is about the only fruit he'll eat, so we get through a lot of that (in yoghurt, porridge, on toast (!), with ice cream , or just on it's own).
HTH

That helps a lot, Nerf! Given me good ideas. I work almost FT too and need things that are convenient. Freezer and microwave indispensible! DS is 13 mo and not yet too fussy, though he has strong preferences for certain things. Sometimes when I have a particularly busy work week we get stuck in a rut because I put convenience above everything else (and feel slightly guilty :( ).

Can he eat rice? You can actually freeze it: cook as normal (eg when you're having curry just make a bit extra); run cold water over the remainder (you have to cool cooked rice quickly as there is a bacteria that grows on it otherwise); put a child's portion into a freezer bag and freeze flat. Takes about 40 secs in microwave to cook a small portion from frozen- just cook in the bag with it slightly open. (Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs here, sorry if so)

I use couscous as an accompaniment to various things because it only takes 5 mins to cook through in small amounts, though that would be dependent on finding a wheat free type and I've no idea if that exists or not, sorry. My DS cannot eat egg, but there are some great noodles he loves by Clearspring- we buy soba- they have them in sainsburys. They're v quick to cook through too.

You could probably also make sweet potato mash and freeze it. I have done normal mashed potato, but it can be quite watery (good opportunity to add flakes )

Have you looked at the gluten free breakfast cereals in the "free from" sections in the supermarkets. There are some flakes by Doves farm that are a bit like cornflakes or bran flakes that might be OK _ my dad is Coeliac and eats them ( not sure how much sugar is in them though)
You can cook all sorts of things with corn or rice flour and there is a mixture that is supposed to be good for gluten free baking that you could use to make things like muffins ( use apple puree instead of sugar to sweeten them if you prefer) There is a whole book called Baking without eggs that I bought on Amazon as DS is allergic to eggs(amongst other things) and another allergy book that I can't quite remember the name of something like allergy free cooking for kids that has some good ideas in it it had pictures of hedgehogs on it

I meant to ask- does he eat meat?

I freeze meals such as:
chilli con carne
chicken curry
beef goulash
chicken casserole
beef stew
lamb and sweet potato stew
lentil dhal
moroccan lamb / chicken
cowboy special (sausage and haricot bean casserole sometimes with a little bacon in it- a sort of adapted boston baked beans, but my 2 love it)
spaghetti bolognaise
cheese sauce for pasta (you can buy non-dairy cheese... but I have no idea how awful tasty it is)

I usually use the avent via pots to freeze food- the large ones do both my children, the small ones a portion for my 5yo. I also use ice cube trays, particularly for pasta sauces, and of course compote, and I just have a great stack of freezer bags in there, ready for use. One of the good things about having such a variety is that if I've planned something for dinner but nursery then served it that day, I can switch quite easily (even if cooking dinner from scratch- what we don't then give to the children can be frozen for later use IYSWIM).

I found a good curry sauce when I was dairy-free whilst bfing DS (dairy intolerance)- they sell it in sainsbury, in a pouch... but I cant remember the name, or see it on their website, or ocado, sorry. Sainsbury do their own 'freefrom' range korma sauce though, in the free from aisle. It's quite quick to do the curry whilst the rice is cooking, stir-fry the chicken/beef, throw in frozen veg, pour over sauce, serve.

This is wonderful stuff -- thank you! Yes, he eats rice and meat and have followed your advice re rice. Am also freezing stews and will try lentil dhal and a sausage casserole too. Only problem is that our freezer is tiny and rubbish, so will prob invest in another small one which my DP won't mind putting in his study...
alison, have already ordered those books on amazon -- can't wait!
I've got a chicken steam-roasting in the oven and some garlic squash baking... freeze fest tonight! (if it all fits...)

sounds great!