To think this is a good enough dinner..

[cutthegraa]

Okay, so dinner for the family was (6 year old and toddler);

• unlimited homemade lentil soup
• unlimited warm crusty bread and butter
• unlimited cooked ham

So the 6 year old had 2 big bowls, lots of shredded ham added and few bits of bread and butter

I think that's a perfectly good dinner for a school night (especially given I work)

MIL thinks it's not enough at all....AIBU?

Beans, scrambled egg on toast is also perfectly fine for tea.

(If you like it, which I don't. I don't eat eggs anymore, but even when I did I couldn't stand them together).

Ignore & drink wine 🍷

Beans, eggs and toast is also a perfectly fine meal. Obviously you don't eat the same thing every day.

Your soup sounds fab. Does your Mil live on ready meals?

Yes please, because I intend to make some, plus some artichokes from the garden.

Farts all round!

Bit of stealth boasting going on here I think OP.

If your DH just said the girls were "having soup", are you sure she didn't maybe think you were giving them a can of Heinz veg soup and bread? Which is what I would assume.

A lot of people think of soup as a starter and they'll have a main meal too. In her defence.

OP we had almost exactly the same meal last night- homemade ham and lentil soup with homemade bread and butter, plus bits of shredded ham on top of the soup.
The kids loved it, I had the same and it was definitely plenty for an adult let alone a child.

Oh sorry, missed the bit where she took some.

Sounds delicious and filling! Any leftovers?

I'm an ex vegan and vegetarian. I eat meat now but don't always include meat in a meal.

My ex-MIL really struggles with that one.

My 5 year old had a bowl of dry bran flakes, a cup of milk and a slice of cheese. I would kill for her to eat a bowl of your amazing sounding soup.

I was going to ask for the soup recipe as well, Catchit

Sounds lovely.

I agree with pp. I would be over the moon if my 5 year old dd ate for that dinner!

Sounds mighty yummy !

Soup is nice, comforting and filling. Nothing wrong with it, healthy too, I believe.

Honestly it's not a stealth boast, sorry if it seemed that way! Toddler barely touched it and pushed her bowl away, if that makes anyone feel better 😁

So, it's from river cottage baby and toddler cook book (I've only amended it slightly) It says to do on hob. I've done it on hob, and slow cooker - no difference in taste. So this is for the slow cooker (same quantities if cooking on hob)

Carrot and lentil soup

• 2 onions roughly chopped (used frozen onions plenty of times)

• 2 garlic clove sliced (used squeezey garlic and its fine)

• 1kg of carrots chopped (I use slicing function in food processor)

• 125g red lentils

• 1l of stock (i use chicken or veg - powder or cube - low salt due to kids !)

Sweat off onions and garlic in a pan with a dash of oil

Chuck them in the bottom of slow cooker

Chuck in the carrots and lentils

Add the stock

Stir it about

Bing on lid, set it on low (as I'm at work). It's fine all day.

Use a stick blender to blend in slow cooker. Sometimes need to add more stock

I add loads of black pepper to mine

We vary what we top it with - shredded ham; grated cheese; veggie hot dogs (kids love that!)

Freezes well

We had lentil soup for tea last night, it's definitely a meal. I quite often make it the night before shopping delivery and fling in any floppy veg to use it up.

Cheers, for the recipe, my goto for us is minestrone, some times with bread, but also like to throw gnocchi in and grated cheese on top.

Is there any left? I can contribute wine and big bar of chocolate. Sounds like a lovely meal.

That sounds smashing to me. It is very hot here today though so I wouldn't fancy soup.

Growing up, soup and pudding was a Monday dinner using the leftover chicken from Sunday. Soup and rolls is really no different. It is, in my view, an excellent and nutritious dinner.

Of course it's a a meal sounds lovely too!

My DD (17) and DS (18) are perfectly happy with some nice home made soup with those part baked baguettes or a few chunks of crusty bloomer from the shop for dinner, spicy butternut squash and sweet potato is the current favourite. I have fed them similar probably about once a week since they were tiny, they just eat a lot more of it now!

I have to say I'm always baffled by other people's perceptions of what constitutes a "proper" meal. A huge vat of vegetable soup, plus bread and cheese is a fab meal.

omg op that is terrible send it over here and I shall dispose of it for you.

by eating it

some people have odd ideas about food. ex will happily eat processed meat and stuff out of jars and tins, but worries that the children are missing out by eating homemade vegetarian bolognaise or chilli... when questioned he could not think of any nutrients that might be missing...

Sounds lovely. A absolutely fine, my only concern would be the gas, lentils make me fart like a trooper...

YANBU at all OP. I make lentil soup lots. My kids love it. I put the ham/bacon in it though. I also use double your amount of lentils and more stock. If i grate the carrots instead of chopping I can get away with not blitzing it. If the kids ask 'are these vegetables?' I just answer 'no they are bits of soup'..

Sounds delicious, and perfectly sufficient
Sadly my teenagers have read your mils "meals" handbook and will not accept soup for tea - fools.

Yumyum!