To ask for your fastest toddler-pleasing meals?

[NoSherryForMe]

I try to be organised and make sure my DD(3) doesn't get to the RAAAARRR HANGRY stage, but sometimes life intervenes or I miscalculate. Please, please share your top meals that can be prepared in minutes on the hob and/or microwave (heating the oven takes too long in this situation!) DD is in danger of turning orange from surfeit of beans/scrambled eggs/spaghetti hoops on toast!

And quick cook fusilli from sainsbos cooks on the hob in 5 minutes.

Omelette with veg
Cheese on toast

Pasta with peas, sweet corn, soft cheese and cheddar!

Feck sake, I'm no toddler but I would eat everything put down here!

Just a tip re pasta. If it is dried, put it in a bowl or pot of cold water for a few minutes. If I am going to cook pasta I put it in the bowl in the morning. Softens it up, and Takes two minutes to cook from a kettle of boiling water. Less starch too. Result!

That's amazing, honeyfull - I had no idea you could do that!

NoSherry,

Yep, it really works. Obviously the longer you can leave the pasta in the cold water the better.

Drain it out when ready to cook, rinse again in cold water and straight into a pan of boiling water from the kettle. Honestly takes two to three minutes at a fast boil. Well you can do five minutes and I won't have a go either!

God, I have such a fussy toddler most of these really quite yummy ideas simply would not fly!

As such, emergency meals are generally a ham sandwich. He has only recently realised cucumber is nice. Doesn't do 'visible' veg.

My daughter (8) is the least fussy child I know, wider variety of foods than a lot of adults! So I'm blame free for toddler DS irritating eating habits - it's nature to nurture

Quick cook dried 5 min penne pasta is the go to staple in our house! We have tesco quick cook penne which is fab.

Mix with Philadelphia, peas, broccoli and ham (bung the broccoli and peas in with the quick cook pasta and it all does in the same time)

Microwave rice with shredded chicken, peas, broccoli a bit of stock and anything else we can find in the fridge!

Toasted pitta bread cut into fingers with some chopped carrot and cucumber sticks. Houmous dip or 'special sauce' (mayo and ketchup mix) a few chunks of cheese and any other veg they'll eat

Mashed avocado sandwiches or mashed avocado and banana mixed together as a dip

Pasta with frozen peas (cooked in with the pasta) and lots of grated cheese on top.

Omelette add whatever veg they like

Sandwich, mini cake/flapjack, cheese cubes, chopped veg on a plate. They always appear to love picnic style

Tortellini pasta ( fresh stuff in supermarket cooks in 3 minutes) with a batch cooked tomato sauce warmed in the microwave

Cheese on toast

Mini "pizza" use a wrap some tomato purée, cheese, whatever topping put in the oven for a few minutes. Give them whatever chopped veg they like as a side

Scrambled egg on toast
Eggy sardines - tin of sardines in tomato sauce mashed up with a tiny bit of garlic paste and maybe a finely hopped leek. In the oven in a little dish for 5 mins. Out, crack an egg over he top, back in the oven for another 6 or 7 mins until the egg is cooked. Leave it standing for five mins to cool (the egg also keeps cooking) then put it on toast!
Sardines on toast
Gnocchi with tomato and cheese sauce.
Fish fingers, mashed sweet potato and peas. About 15 mins.

And the fastest of them all...

One of those Hipp microwave meals

I cook bolognese and pasta then freeze it in portions so takes 3 mins in the freezer. Same with a mild chilli - freeze and serve with micro rice. Heck micro rice with packet microwave veg and some ham thrown in

Frozen microwaveable rice and veg bags with egg thrown in.

Fresh gnocchi and frozen peas in together to simmer - cooked in 2-3min. Drain and grate some cheese over.

Tinned macquerel and mash potatoes (the smash type).

In the spring and summer we usually have a cold meal at lunchtime as it is less work. We generally have salad (cucumber, sweetcorn, tomatoe, olives, etc) with cheese and bread or sometimes ham or humus. breadsticks dipped in cream cheese or cheddar with cream crackers for snacks but could work with veg too.

I'm putting this thread on my watch list so I can never back to it when I need a fast idea.

Tilda kids sunshine veg rice takes 40 seconds to cook and is the backbone of many of my meals. Just chuck in extra veg, bit of chicken, whatever you have 👍🏻

Place marking !

Frozen mash is amazing, and ready in a few minutes (serve with tinned orange stuff). Its available in lots of supermarkets now, and our Co-op sells frozen sweet potato mash which is fab too. There are no added ingredients, just mash/ butter and seasoning.

My 2 year old doesn't know that macaroni cheese is supposed to be served hot, i occasionally just open a mini-tin straight onto his plate

Oo yes and waitrose/ Ocado do a fab frozen risotto 'base' which you can just add whatever veg/ meat to. 6 mins in a pan and goes down very well here.

Also 2 minute fresh filled pasta with stirred through sauce is the go to here.

Or eggs/beans on toast.

Can't you prepare something and heat up on the day? My staples for nephew are cheesy veg mash or macaroni.

Stir fry- rice or noodles. Few slices of chicken/ fish/ steak/ frozen prawns in hot pan, add few strips of pepper, onion, spoon tin sweet corn, teaspoon teriyaki sauce. Add noodles/ rice. Voila. Too much salt for everyday in teriyaki but fine occasionally when the hangry kicks in. Also a firm believer in McCains quick cook French fries-5 mins in oven 😵

Stealing all
These

I do jacket potatos in the microwave and serve with whatever i've got to hand.

Also batch cook curry/chilli etc so it can all be nuked.

Sausages and beans in a tin on toast