To ask - what do you make your children for tea if you can't be bothered cooking?

[spik]

What's your go-to on the nights where you don't have the energy to do a big meal?

@HappyHippy45

Yes. I'm the flat can thingy. We love them, always have.

Beans/eggs on toast or my 12yr old's fave since he was a toddler - vegetable or chicken flavoured savoury rice (microwave pouch), tinned sweetcorn & pre-cooked cocktail sausages or chicken - all mixed together in a bowl - takes literally 5mins!!

Honest question
If your child has a hot lunch, those that are saying things like crackers, cheese, ham etc is that what they have after school and between bedtime and that’s it?

I’m not judging at all just wondered and perhaps bringing up the old Mumsnet discussion about dinner/tea/supper/evening meal

Oh or those frozen microwave jacket potatoes with cheese, beans, and coleslaw, or tuna mayo.
Quorn sausages, tray of microwave mash, and beans.
Some kind of eggs.

My daughter has school dinner and a snack at after school club. I often do a plate of random bits, crackers, cheese, cucumber, tomato, pepper sticks and hummus, some ham or cooked chicken, fruit just whatever she fancies that week really and do that. Saves me cooking a meal she won’t eat all of anyway!

Papa Johns.

omelette, pasta pesto or tomato sauce if I have in freezer, fish fingers & oven chips, jacket potato. If it's weekend lunch - sandwich, carrot & cucumber sticks, hummus, olives, crisps - they love it & call it picnic lunch

"If your child has a hot lunch, those that are saying things like crackers, cheese, ham etc is that what they have after school and between bedtime and that’s it?"

Crackers, cheese, ham, Salad bits, email c is a "real" meal. Just bitty rather than (for example) Cheese and ham pizza with salad, it's the same meal really. Just doesn't look like a meal iyswim?

We often have those type of teas, eat tons!

Scrambled eggs and toast
That filled pasta with spinach and ricotta inside.
Pasta with homemade tomato sauce that I keep loads of in the freezer for these times
Microwave jacket potato with beans

I do lots of these as we both work till 5.30 and our toddlers go to bed at 7pm

I cook sat, sun and Monday when time is less pressed

Tuesday to Friday I do things like...

-Cheese and ham toasties

• Soup (fridge section of supermarket) with bread and butter

• Spaghetti hoops on toast

• Chicken dippers, chips and beans

• Cheese and beans on toast

-A batch cooked sauce out the freezer, ie. Chilli and make some rice, or bolognese sauce and boil some pasta

• A white wrap dry fried, add grated carrot and cheese, stick another wrap on the top and flip it over to cook. Cut into pizza shaped slices and serve with tomatoes and cucumber

• Dippy eggs with soldiers

• Sandwiches

Cant think of any more :)

Microwaveable Pilau rice(from Aldi) a can of salmon( the one with bones) and lots of salad, tomato, cucumber etc. DD just cannot have enough of that.

Pasta with cheese sprinkled over the top, pasta with pesto and cheese sprinkled over the top, pasta with passata and cheese sprinkled over the top or chicken in white sauce (out of a can) with boiled rice. DD is completely on board with this, but DSS has to be told that it's chicken supreme 😂

Fish finger sandwich on white bread!! With tomatoe sauce

Not just the kids I eat it Myself!!

Carbonara, puttanesca with passatta, pesto pasta with tuna/prawns and peas, omelette with tuna and cheese filling and salad, Spanish omelette with leftover potatoes and salad, jacket potato with tuna, cheese and sweetcorn, bruschetta with avocado, ham and poached egg. Failing all of the above a freezer back up such as fishfingers and sweetcorn, pizza and salad, tortellini and pesto.

Russian salad with tuna and eggs
Steamed fish with shellfish, lemon and basil in baking paper, veg and rice in a 3 tier
Griddled meat or fish in panini maker/George Foreman grill

All down to whether I can face 5 mins, 10 mins or 20 mins prep/tending to

I've usually got leftovers stashed away, but otherwise I'd do pasta and some sort of quick sauce with bagged salad.

I would LOVE to say takeaway because that's what we always did pre baby, but we're desperately trying to pretend to be healthy so the children don't pick up our awful eating habits. Once they've grown up and moved out I'll be back on the takeaways like a shot...

Nothing I make is long winded. We rotate between:

Tacos filled with minced beef, lettuce and cheese.
Spaghetti and meatballs
Pasta with ricotta and spinach
Chicken stir fry with vegetables and noodles
Fish fingers, chips and a side salad
Veggie burgers and salad
Omelette with peppers, tomatoes and a muffin

Big plate of ticki bits - strawberry’s, cucumber, sweet corn, sliced apple, prunes, hummous on toast, cheese, grapes, Quora eggs etc.

Loads of fibre, vits, feels like a picnic and super quick. No idea what the obsession is with hot dinners!

Is “tea” all they have after school and before bed, or do they have a dinner later on too?

Just Curious

Tea is a meal, rather than a cup of tea.

Soup and Sandwich
Pasta with veg
Spaghetti and toast
Ravioli and toast
Sandwich with cucumber, tomato, pork pie
Hot dogs

Love the lazy days but like cooking too

Thanks be to the Lord above I'm not the only one. My girl is going through a I hate everything that is food stage....... Yesterday evening couldn't listen anymore so resorted to ready brek!!!!!! I know bad mama

Panini...Part baked baguettes, cut and filled with cheese and ham/salami and cheese/tuna and cheese/corned beef and ketchup and cooked for about 3 minutes in the George Foreman grill.

Serve with a bag of salad or a tin of soup.
Lush!

Pasta with pesto & peas