Help me sort my eating/cooking habits for the sake of my ds!

[BabiHapus]

Me and dh were together for 10 years before we had our ds, which gave us plenty of time to develop some bad habits eating wise! Our idea of cooking is putting some processed beige food in the oven for 30 minutes. Delicious and fine by me but we have a baby now who is weaning and i don’t want him to eat like this all the time! Now and again is fine of course, everything in moderation! We have a lot of take away which we are working on before ds gets old enough to understand fully what we are eating.

AIBU to ask you for your easiest healthy meals, ideally 4 ingredients or less for a lazy girl who wants to do the right thing for her baby?

Until now I’ve been cooking single veggies, fruits etc and freezing them in ice cube trays as you do...but he’s soon going to need more than single foods!

Any recipes/easy ways of cooking much appreciated!

Tortilla quiche: 4 tortilla sandwich wraps in a cake tin, add 5 beaten eggs plus whatever fillings you fancy (cooked meat, mushroom, veg, cheese tomaties etc) bake for 50mins. We have with salad.

My quickest meals:
Eggs. Boiled eggs with soldiers. You can also boil carrot/green beans etc to dip in the egg.
Peanut butter on toast as a snack.
Jacket potatoes with beans or tuna.

Chopped veg and pitta or bread with humous/cream cheese to dip in.
My children have loved frozen peas as a snack since they were babies.
Batch cook sauces(tomato and red pepper, cheese and spinach, bolognaise)for pasta. So quick to defrost and you can hide loads of veg.
My children loved any form of 'picnic' so just cheese/ham/ egg / chicken etc with whatever salad/veg you have and some toast/bread.

My DS really likes fishcakes. Bung frozen salmon in the oven, with sweet potato, serve with veg for you. Save a piece of salmon and some sweet potato and when it's cool make into little fishcakes.

Ham/egg/spinach pie: in a lasagne style dish layer spinach, 4 eggs - just crack shells tip egg into dish, and ham (or other cooked meat) add blobs of soft cheese (philadephia style) top with pre rolled puff pastry. Bake for 30misn to cook paatry. Ok that's 6 ingredients but very simple.

You need to learn to cook a decent variety of dishes so you don't get bored, and will give you lots of ideas for trying new things.

Try Jamie's Ministry of food or Delia's How to Cook

I do a very quick and simple 'cheats' Bolognese. Fry some mince, add a tub of tomato and basil sauce from the fresh pasta section in the supermarket, heat through and serve with pasta. Add a side salad if you want extra veg.

Winifred is right about batch cooking. A tomato sauce freezes really well so if you're up for a bit more cooking (Sunday afternoons are a good time) two batches are as easy to cook as one and a great way to hide some extra veg.

I've recently been experimenting with creamy sauces by using soft cheese. Bring one cup of chicken stock to the boil and leave to reduce by half. Boil some tagliattelli/spaghetti, drain and add to the pan if stock. Mix together just over half a tub of Philadelphia with two egg yolks and then add this to the pan with the pasta, stiring until well mixed. I sometimes add prawns to this or serve it alongside salmon and asparagus. Very tasty and looks surprisingly impressive for something tgat is quite easy to cook.

Corned beef hash - potatoes onion carrots corned beef and cheese
Stir fry- noodles any meat and a mixed bag of veg
Lasagne
Slow cookers can be amazing bung it all in in the morn turn it on ready at tea time
Tuna pasta peas and mayo
Jacket potato and whatever topping you fancy
Scrambled egg on toast with bacon (quick and easy my fav)
Sausage mash peas/beans
Fajitas

Variety of veg, chopped and shoved in a roasting tin. Bit of oil, seasoning/garlic/herbs/salt/pepper. Chicken portions on top. Into the oven for an hour.
Veg can be: peppers, sweet potato, onion, courgette, aubergine, squash, cauliflower, broccoli etc.

These may not be 'perfect' but they are nutritious and I don't know any kids that don't enjoy them so they would be my top ten. I have a two year old and a 6 month old and both love tasting these things. I'm weaning my little girl on whatever we eat so here we go...

1. Tomato sauce for pasta

• 1 clove garlic chopped and big splash of olive oil in a frying pan for a min. Tip in tin of plum Toms. Low temp. Squash Toms with wooden spoon. Stir a few times till reduced (anything from 30 mins to hour)
• allow to cool. Freeze in ice cube trays.
• thaw one ice cube per child and add to cooked pasta with any of the following - chopped olives, tuna, grated cheddar, peas, sweet corn, ham...

Kids LOVE it. So easy and nutritious.

1. Fried egg on toast

1. Beans and cheese on toast

1. Leek and potato soup with dippy bread

• two slices leeks, 2 bits of celery sliced, 2 peeled and diced baking pots. Fry in tablespoon of butter for ten mins in big pan.
• add 500ml of chicken stock (enough to cover veg so might need more or less)
• cook for 20 mins.
• blend with stick blender.
• serve with bread & butter cut into fingers for dipping.

1. Eggy bread

• whisk egg, add splash milk, dip bread in
• fry in but if butter

Cut into strips & serve with squeeze of ketchup or fresh strawberry's and blueberrys

1. Bits and pieces

• Cucumber Batons, Toms chopped, grated cheese, dollop of hummus, sliced toasted pita, handful chopped olives, strips of ham, chopped boiled egg...... you get the idea. Anything goes!

1. Oven cooked fish fingers, sweet pot fries and peas

• slice sweet potato into chip shapes. Toss in bit of oil. Oven cook for 20 mins on 200.

(Or normal oven chips!!!)

1. Pizza muffin

• slice English muffin in half , spread Tom purée on it, grate on cheddar, few bits of chopped pepper and sprinkle oregano.
• oven bake for ten mins on 180

1. Sausages & mash

• fry sausages & buy ready mash. Serve with boiled broccoli and bisto gravy

10. Eggy rice for family

• garlic, ginger, oil & veg (eg peppers, oak Choi & spring onion) cook for five till softening then add healed tablespoon of mild curry powder & same of soy sauce
• add a pack of ready cooked rice. Heat through
• in separate pan scramble and cook 3 eggs
• stir egg in to the rest of the dish and serve with a drizzle of sesame oil. YUM!!!!

Good luck!!!

Roast chicken...it's ridiculously easy. Buy a whole chicken. Get it out of packaging. Put it in a roasting tray...drizzle with olive oil or dot a little butter on it. You can squeeze a lemon over it or a few sprigs of herbs but it's not essential. Check cooking times and temps on packet, but I find it generally takes about one and a half hours...you check its cooked by inserting a knife or fork in thickest part of leg and checking juices run clear.

You can serve with anything, potatoes, rice, salad, nice bread, pasta.

Get a slow cooker
Bung whatever meat in there with whatever sauce or gravy or stock
Add roast potato (we sprinkle flour on before putting them in oven, no oil)/veg/pasta/rice.
It's how we make Spag bol and curry etc. Even cook the mince for Lasagne in there then just make cheese sauce on hob and bung it altogether (bbc good food recipe for cheese sauce)
Can make endless stews in there. Just add the potato and veg into the slow cooker. Make dumplings (butter flour salt pepper and any other herbs or flavour), transfer stew into oven, pop dumplings in and cook until dumplings are brown.
Tinned tomato + any veg ya like and mix with electric mixer, add salt and pepper (maybe smidgen of sugar) for taste and bamn pizza/pasta sauce
Pizza base can be made with Greek yogurt and flour (I think it was those two... Google two ingredient pizza)

Very easy and deliciously pasta I make.

Fry cubes of bacon and sliced mushrooms in a little oil...when bacon is cooked add a big spoon of garlic and herb cream cheese and let it melt down to form a sauce. Mix this with cooked spaghetti. So quick and easy.

if you're happy doing some batch cooking/freezing of meals for your DS then I'd get an Annabel Karmel book, i've made my DD so many yummy meals from her recipes! Then you dont need to worry about making whatever you're cooking for you and your DH work for the baby

Soups! I forgot soups.

Broccoli and blue cheese:
Boil a small, peeled and chopped potato in vegetable stock for about 10mins. Add a chopped broccoli (leaves, stalk and head). Boil until broccoli is tender (about another 10mins should do it). Add 2oz of blue cheese and blitz with a hand blender.

Pea and mint works well too. I can't remember the ratio (I think Nigella had a good recipie) but it's pretty much just boil the peas in vegetable stock, add some fresh mint leaves and blitz until smooth. Kids really like this one as it's quite sweet.

Chicken soup is a great way to use up leftover chicken after a roast. Strip the leftover chicken meat from the carcass. Gently fry one onion and a garlic clove until soft. Add 1-2 carrots (depending upon how much chicken meat you have), the chicken meat and some chicken stock (again how much depends on how much meat). Cook until the carrots are soft.

www.thekitchn.com/recipe-crispy-white-beans-with-greens-and-poached-egg-242818

Make a Bolognese sauce...there's lots of different recipes but at its most basic you.

Chop an onion
Fry in a little oil until softened.
Add a packet of minced beef
Fry until browned.
Add a can of chopped tomatoes
Simmer for 45 minutes..add a splash of water if it looks dry.

Once this is made you can use this for several meals..

Serve with cooked pasta for spaghetti Bolognese.

Layer with lasagne sheets and a white sauce for lasagne

Top with mash potatoes and bake in oven for cottage pie

Add a can of kidney beans and some chilli powder and serve with rice for chilli con carne

Add it to cooked penne pasta..Mix well...put in an oven proof dish, top with grated cheese...voila, pasta bake!

children love macc and cheese so it's worth getting to grips with how you do a simple cheesy white sauce (flour, butter, milk, cheese)

Pour onto cooked pasta and bake

Easy Thai curry

2-4 chicken breasts chopped
Thai Taste brand curry paste from supermatket, red or green - start with 1 heaped table spoon but I usually more like 3. I like this paste better than any of the other ones I've tried. Get the 200g bag, not the kit.
400g can coconut milk (full fat is nicer but I use low fat version - find Sainsbury's particularly good - def not ASDA!)
2 tsp oil
Veg - whatever you fancy from button mushrooms, mini sweetcorn, mangetout, sliced red pepper, green beans

Heat oil to low-medium in large frying pan, add paste, gently fry to release flavours for a couple of minutes. Turn heat to medium and add chicken and stir until it has a bit of colour. Add coconut milk and veg. Heat until bubbling then simmer until cooked (perhaps 20 mins). Towards end of cooking (after the chicken is cooked through) you can taste and add more paste if needed. Cut a couple of chicken bits in half to check they are cooked. Can optionally add 1tsp fish sauce and sugar as per the packet instructions but absolutely not necessary.

You can add veg in stages to get it all cooked to just the right perfection, you can fry the chicken first until brown if you want, but above method is easier.

Served with rice - eg microwave rice plus (lots of) chopped coriander if you have some. To be healthier add more veg and less rice.

PS No I'm not mad suggesting curry - both my boys loved it as babies and still do. Thai nice and cramy and you can start mild.

Egg fried rice. Mix scrambled egg, microwave rice, frozen peas and corn.

Pasta. Tin of fish. Peas. Corn. Philadelphia. Mix.

Get the recipe book Eat Shop Save from the current TV show. It shows how to make quick, cheap and easy delicious food.

As everyone has said a spag bol is super easy. More than four ingredients but then you’ll be wanting to get loads of veg into your baby. My toddler loves spag bol more than anything, and I chuck whatever veg I have at any given time in there. As long as there’s tomato onion and beef mince he’s happy.

There’s a new veggie cookbook doing the rounds called ‘The Green Roasting Tin’. It’s full of very simple one pan dishes that can be chucked in a roasting tin in the oven and just cooked. I do this for my fussy son, roast everything all together then purée if I need to. Simple, effective and lots of delicious recipes.

You need to break out of the idea that things only need four ingredients and start getting creative. You’ll end up enjoying it, I promise! Seeing your child being nourished by food you’ve made yourself is a nice feeling.

Ah these are brilliant, thank you all so much

I think the Jamie Oliver 5 ingredients book would be perfect for you OP.

Avocado and hummus with wholemeal toast. Wild salmon topped with mayo, squeeze of lemon and dried rosemary under grill 10 mins, with microwave quinoa and peas.