To ask what the heck you cook young kids that's healthy and doesn't take forever?

[Iveprobablybeenunreasonable]

I'm back at work in 2 weeks, and won't be picking my dc up from nursery until 5pm. They are 3yo and 1yo.
Both good eaters
Current routine is start cooking at 4.45, eat at 5.45, bath every other night and bed at 7pm.
They have usually finished eating by around 6.10 (dinner followed by fruit or yoghurt etc) so they get a good 45 mins of downtime before bed

I can't drag bedtime out but I won't get home till around 5.10 once back at work.
All the meals I make seem To take around 1 hour. They won't finish eating till about 6.40 and then it'll be bedtime!

They can have a night of beans on toast (they usually have this after swimming lessons Fri night) and a night where i reheat something like a chilli out of the freezer.

But what else can I do that's healthy and doesn't involve loads of prep and cooking time?

I have time to do NOTHING in the mornings which rules out the slow cooker. I have to get me and both dc up and out the house by 7.15am.

DH is not around during the week

Help pleeease!

Batch cook after the kids have gone to bed, save some for the next day and freeze the rest. I can make enough Mediterranean veg pasta sauce to feed 30 in an hour. It can go with mince or meatballs or tuna or chicken, or it can be converted into a chilli.

Slow cooker. (sorry not read all replies) I don't brown anything, I cut veg the night before and leave in in water and put meat in slow cooker in fridge. Then next morning I just add the veg and turn on the cooker. Also put whole chicken in it with nothing else then when I get home it's just heat up some veg/noodles /mash etc

Just seen they don’t eat pasta. Eeek! You’re doomed OP!

Rice takes 12 mins, you can make a quick veggie curry or chicken curry in 20 mins! Im a vegetarian so have to cook both as my son wont eat the veggie version. I can make a meal in 30 mins, start to finish.
Hot dogs with relish and salad
Falafel wrap or leftover chicken wrap with salad, pickles and hummus
Baked potato with sourcream, sweetcorn and coleslaw and salad
Grill chicken breast after flattening with a mallet, then brush pesto on it, drizzle olive oil and serve with cous cous and salad
Tortellini with pesto
Pasta with asparagus and rocket with coriander pesto from a jar
Cod with spinach and salsa
Make pizzas but use flatbread instead of pizza base and add your toppings
Veggie fried rice
Coconut and peanut aubergine curry and rice or nan bread
Tuscan bean soup
Cheesy Avocado Quesadillas with sourcream and salsa
Linguine with lemon garlic and chill - 10 mins to make!
I also tend to bake on Sundays, so bake bread, cake and make a tray of flapjacks or granola on Sundays

I don’t have a slow cooker, but the timer on my oven is a lifesaver. When we needed a new oven, it was the only feature I insisted on. Sometimes I time a stew, bake, jacket spuds etc to be ready for when we get in - some that can cook a bit longer if needs be. Other times, I put the oven on to warm up and put stuff in the moment we get in - things that need less cooking.

Put on some quick cook rice. While it’s cooking, chop up a couple of frankfurters and fry them with whatever veg they like (I do diced carrots and broccoli usually). Then sweep it all to one side and crack in an egg. Whisk the egg up, then mix it with the frankfurters and veg. Add in the cooked rice and fry all together for a couple of minutes.

Quickest meal I do is scrambled egg, toast and beans. I get the no added sugar and salt beans that are in little pots which can go straight in the microwave. Also, (you may already know), scrambled egg in the microwave is amazing! Whisk up one egg, a drop of milk and bit of butter. 30 seconds in the microwave. It doesn’t look completely cooked when you take it out, but stir it around and it’s own heat will finish cooking it (don’t heat it for any longer or it goes rubbery)

@IamPickleRick If you have access to Morrisons, they do a sundried tomato paste that makes the most scrummy base for that pastry thing. I do a spoon of that with dollop of tomato puree, then whatever veggies are kicking about in the salad bin. No cheese for us as my awkward as hell kids can't process it and it makes me so resentful of all of the scrummy cheese I miss out on

Said 'scrummy' twice. Can you tell I'm a foodie fatty

You can chop everything into the slow cooker casserole dish the night before, and leave it all in the fridge......the morning you just need to put it in the base and switch on.

Also batch cooking chilli etc and then freeze and defrost through the day to heat up when you come in (with some 2 minute whole grain rice from a microwave pouch)

Or........another vote for everything on toast!

Google ‘dump bag’ recipes for the slow cooker. Dreadful name, but basically you just prep all the ingredients for a slow cooker meal, put in a ziplock bag and keep in the fridge or freezer until you need it (so can prep in the evening or at weekends).

Get up for work, switch on slow cooker, empty ziplock bag in and it’s ready when you get in from work, you can all eat dinner together.

Our DS had tea at nursery before I collected him after having a full hot lunch there. Didn't feed him again later.

If mine had a hot lunch at nursery we usually do “everything on a plate” for dinner. This consists of

1-mixed fruit salad- berries, apple, grapes, peach
I mix the fruit up daily so it’s not the same mix
2- meat- usually pieces of continental meats like salami or Spanish meats
3- a form of cheese- babybel or grated cheese, sometimes a cheese string or cheese dipper
4- crackers or toast- usually dd builds a sandwich with cheese, meat and crackers
5- yoghurt
6- veg pieces like carrot sticks or chopped peppers.

This is how I also make her packed lunches if she had them instead as I think it’s quite well balanced. We have a selection of the different components so some days she’ll have a sandwich with Greek yoghurt and the next it’s crackers with salami and a smoothie instead.

If she has had the above for a packed lunch We usually do a hot dinner. She seems to enjoy It more if she’s helped and it makes it quicker for me too. She’s been chopping mushrooms and peppers for the curry’s since she was 2 with a child knife. She knows every ingredient to make breads and cakes and will help with most of our cooking now aged 3. It speeds me up and busies her so she can wait for tea to cook. we used to do a toddler cooking class together which gave us loads of ideas.

Examples of her favourites:
1- Mexican (tacos or fajitas)
2- jambalaya
3- mince and dumplings (you can buy frozen dumplings)
4- panhaggerty or panack
5- homemade pizza- usually use pitta, then tomato paste with variety of toppings she chooses herself as a pizza party
6- curry’s- any curry with rice. Usually vegetarian
7- tuna pasta bake or salmon pasta bake- tuna infusions by John west with cheese and pasta is lovely
8- cottage pie with veg - we use frozen veg so there’s no prep just cook mince, add spices and pour in frozen veg.

Etc etc
2 of the dishes each week will be vegetarian, 2 will be fish and 3 will have meat to balance us out and again we mix these up.

We usually give her a high tea of fruit and veg with cheese around 3pm which allows us to eat together as a family around 6pm.

Soup with a crusty roll
Quiche and beans
Wraps with tuna or chicken etc
Also just put gammon joint or beef brisket in slow cooker then shred and serve in baps straightaway when you get home
Do your DC like noodles? Those are super quick and if you pre cut the veg the night before you can have a stir fry in 5-10 mins
Also I make big batches of potato wedges and store in the fridge to reheat and serve with meals

Micro rice, fried salmon fillet, peas, grated cheese.

Fillet plaice, micro new pots, brocolli

Stir fry veg, chicken and noodles

Pre-made cottage pie, mocrowaved

Gammon, egg & chips

Herta frankfurter hot dogs

Chicken goujons with sliced toms and cu arranged around the plate.

Nothing there takes more than 15 mins.

oh god get him eating pasta haha I was just about to come on and give you twenty trillion pasta variations! now you've stumped me.

cook some onions and garlic.add chicken or sausages(chopped) tinned tomato(or jar of dolmio) tin of beans or chickpeas.some paprika lovely little stew to serve with jacket or mash or rice or pastasausage and bean bake.sausages,tin of baked beans,tin of tomato.top with garlic bread for topping.bake
rice with some frozen veggies.
risotto.you can do quick oven ones now.

fajita wraps.
mince with jar of dolmio grated carrots and courgettes.(chopped if not fussy eater.onions and garlic.put in centre of wraps,lay into a dish.more dolmio some grated cheese bake

jackets. or sweet potato.look up looooads of recipes for twice cooked potatos like this
primrosevale.com/baked-stuffed-jacket-potatoes/
sitr frys.
bacon leek cheesy potatos
salmon and veggie foil parcels.same with chicken these are genious and can be done in oven or microwave.

mince doritos cheese on top grill

tray bakes any tray bakes any meat or veg or potatos chuck it on and cook.
they will love opening these.
www.chelseasmessyapron.com/foil-pack-italian-chicken-and-veggies/
www.chelseasmessyapron.com/foil-pack-italian-sausage-and-veggies/
www.chelseasmessyapron.com/foil-pack-creamy-salsa-verde-chicken-rice-veggies/
www.chelseasmessyapron.com/tin-foil-garlic-parmesan-salmon-veggies/

it can also be cheaper to cook more then save half and change it up for next time
so mince can be chilli or then topped with slices potatos for pie or pastry crust
chicek dishes can be with vegg one night then into a pie or stew the next
buy a whole chicken and cook it in the evening then wrip it apart for recipe the next day from the fridge or have with veggies and salad and bread.

I do the same thing Sammy and flog it to my DC as 'snack plate'! Really it's just a platter of cut up fruit, veg, cheese, crackers, strips of ham - whatever I have to hand really! I think this is fine for dinner when they've had a good hot lunch.

My DC are the same age OP.

THeir meals are basically meat, veg, carb - NOT TOUCHING OR CONTAMINATED BY ANY SAUCE!

Chipolata sausaces, beans, sweetcorn from freezer bag
Chicken that was cooked last night / previously, peas, mash (two potatoes, pan with lots of water is quick)
White fish - 'poached' in dish of water in microwave, mash or smiley faces, carrots cooked or raw, more sweetcorn.

I find the 'carb' element the slowest, so quick carbs include:
Bread and butter (v generous with the butter!)
Beans
Microwaved mini jacket potatoes (who cares about crispy skin on a Tuesday night?!)
Pitta - popped in toaster if I'm feeling like supermum
Wraps. Mini. These are enjoyed filled with ketchup with the chicken and salady bits on the side Not envy
Crumpets. Sausages, crumpets and broccoli. Totally legit meal in our house!!

Oh yeah broccoli. A bit of a fave in our house (yeah yeah, and chocolate, crisps and cake too!!) and it's super quick to cook. So if all else fails, swap your DC for some that do like broccoli.

@wineismycarb mine both love brocoli and crumpets so defo think I too can make a meal out of those!

All these ideas are amazing!

Cous cous is v quick. Just pour over boiling water.

Sometimes we eat tinned mackerel in tomato sauce with this. The kids love it. It’s got omega 3, protein, pretty cheap - I just make sure we don’t have too much of it (as I hear there can be high mercury levels in some seafood). Maybe have it about once per week.

Aunt Bessie mash potatoes, healthy sausages (Heck) and fresh veg.
Spaghetti bolonaise (how do you spell that?!)
Pasta with chicken, mushrooms and cheese
Tuna pasta with sweetcorn
Omelette
Oven frozen fish and chips with veg
I'll read the full thread to get more ideas myself

Chicken sausages, lower in fat and carbs than normal sausages and really tasty

Mine still have dinner despite breakfast, hot lunch and tea at nursery. I will put my hand up and say we are fond of a bit of freezer tapas - fish fingers, potato waffle and loads of veg on the side (mine favour peas, sweet corn and carrots) always goes down well. My eldest is not a fan of pasta either. In summer they enjoy a bit of a mixed platter of cheese cubes, cucumber/carrot/pepper sticks, ham, cocktail sausages, falafel, hummus (only the youngest likes that though) and other picnic type foods.

My five minute meal is fresh spinach and ricotta tortellini (doesn’t taste too strong for little ones) whilst that’s boiling I nuke a mackerel fillet. Then salad on the side. It’s my go to meal when I’m exhausted. I’m my mind it ticks the nutrition boxes but I doubt it actually does 🤣 it’s super quick though and my little one demolishes it.

Watching with interest...!

We are on a cycle of:

Protein: omelette / fish fingers / sausages (the good little company ones) with

Carbs: potato waffle / pasta / wrap / couscous / sweet potato wedges plus

Veg: peas / carrots / tomatoes / cucumber / broccoli

DS (2.5) at home won't eat any soup / pies / sauces / etc so I've stopped trying to make stuff and freeze it!