Cheese on toast..again. How often do you have a cba day?

[Cba78]

At the moment I’m a sahm to my toddler. I generally make/cook every meal from scratch, lots and fruit and veg etc. Then maybe simple put stuff in the oven bits like fishfingers or a takeaway at the weekend.
I’ve had 3 days this week of really thinking I can’t be arsed and just having cheese or beans on toast. How often do you feel like this and do most of you cook from scratch or just chuck oven meals in?

@rc22

I would say cheese or beans on toast followed by fruit was a fairly nutritious meal.

It’s really not. But it wouldn’t do them any harm occasssionally.

@Bluntness100 Sure it is, especially with wholemeal toast! Slice up a carrot and a bit of cucumber on the side, sliced apple or a satsuma for dessert? You've got fiber, protein, veg, fruit, etc... What's missing?
I'd say the only danger of doing it too often is they'll get sick of it and there goes your cba meal...

I think with a toddler take the pressure off of yourself , there will be weeks where there are many CBA days and weeks where there are none at all.

I'm past the toddler stage but it still depends on what's happening, last week was a busy bugger of a week , they got freezer meals 4 times (mine are a lot older and I have the time to batch cook stuff to chuck in the freezer ,trust me when they were toddlers cheese on toast was a solid back up plan many a time).

I honestly think that we stress ourselves more than necessary, i use a slightly different saying as pp " all fed , all limbs attached and noone tried to burn anything down today" ....you can somewhat see what my house is like.

Suitable MN disclaimer - my DC haven't actually tried to burn anything down ,they like to refer to the one and only time I forgot about boiled eggs and they exploded I'm never living that down.

Op if you are a sahm, how about planning and prepping your evening meal in the morning when you aren't so tired? Even better if this is part of an overall weekly meal plan. I'm older with teens now instead of toddlers but I still do this as part of Flylady baby-steps. I remember how there's nothing worse than staring at the fridge at wine o'clock on a dark night when you've had a long day with a toddler, you've still got bed and bath to go, and you are racking your brains about what to serve for dinner.

Having said that, I don't think anyone suffers too much having beans on toast (nothing wrong with haricot beans in tomato sauce) or cheese, or poached egg on toast once a week as long as there is fresh fruit available.

I reckon toddlers often do well having their main meal at lunch time anyway, because they are sometimes too tired or too over-excited to sit and eat as much at dinner time.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Life is gently relentless with a toddler at the best of times, and that's without the small matter of a global pandemic.

I do this once a week, usually Monday because dc have (had) after school clubs so we were always back late. I do cheese on toast with beans on the side. I cook from scratch every other day of the week with occasional takeout. To feel better about it, I cut up some cucumbers and cherry tomatoes for them to have with and make them a fruit salad for their pudding!

Am eating cheese on toast right now.
On home made bread and with sliced tomato. I forgot to eat lunch today!
Beans on toast is a great cheat meal. I sometimes have it for late breakfast and skip lunch.
DH does all the fancy cooking. Everything I make pretty much is a cba meal. My rule is on the table from start to finish in 30 minutes for a quick meal. Omelette is my other go to.

@Lazysundayafternoons

Cheese or beans on toast wouldnt fill me up and I wouldnt consider it a good meal for DC (youngest 18 months).

If I have a cba day it would me just some meat/chicken with frozen veg - basically just pop the meat in the air fryer, put the veg on the hob and come back in 20 mins when it's all cooked.

Or else another quickie is Tesco quick cook pasta (which cooks in less than 10 mins) with some lean rashers (cooked in the air fryer) and a bit of cheese.

How is pasta with cheese and bacon a 'good meal' but beans On toast (much healthier in terms of vitamins, fibre etc) isn't?

I'm not really arsed about food to be honest, I eat when I'm hungry, which is usually just dinner every night because that's what families do right?

It's maybe a bit different for me though, I have a neurological condition that affects my hands mostly but I cook from scratch 90% of the time and physically can't eat the meal afterwards as my hands are so bad.

Things like cheese on toast quite literally save my life

Just have some stuff in the freezer for weekends? Either batch cooked or bought frozen, and then you have some quick and easy stuff ready to go. Although I prefer fresh, always keep frozen veg in so can easy add that to whatever as well. Cheese/beans on toast are fine, but 3 days in a row sounds a bit boring!

I’m confused by that too @WaltzingBetty surely a slice of cheese on toast made on decent bread with some carrot and cucumber and a portion of fruit is a much better meal for a toddler than quick cook pasta with bacon and cheese?

Beans on toast with some veg sticks or fruit and yogurt for after is a perfectly quick nutritious meal for a toddler..!

Beans are 1 of your 5 a day and way more nutritious then bloody bacon...!

Wholemeal bread is a better choice than quick cook white pasta too.

I live alone now and have lots of cba days, I also batch cook so if I want to really have something more substantial to eat I defrost one.
When my children lived at home I always made proper evening meals.
I do think some parents justify making something quick and light by thinking their children will have had a hot meal at school. I taught for many years and can vouch for the fact that school dinners are minute and on the whole mostly go uneaten.

If I CBA and there are others to feed I usually have some batch cooked stuff I can just defrost if not then bacon and egg or something with a jacket potato
Oven food eg pizza is another option
If I’m on my own and CBA anything goes
Last night I grilled a burger and had it in a wrap with cheesy coleslaw

I do this about three days per week. Two young DC I find cooking stressful with a toddler hanging by off my leg so I give myself grace and just make sure they have lots of fruit/veg to make up for it. I look at their diet on a full week basis not day by day and overall they have a very good diet so I don't care about eggs/beans/weetabix for dinner days! I don't subscribe to the "have to have a hot dinner" thing anyway even before DC. My mum HAS to have a dinner, even if we're busy and it doesn't suit. So rigid and tedious - like a toddler in a way

@thearmsofmine

When I made that comment there was no mention of decent bread, carrot, cucumber or fruit by the OP yet, so I was imagining a bit of cheese on a crappy piece of bread. But yes, now op has elaborated it does sound a lot better.

@Lazysundayafternoons Why did you automatically assume that though 😂

It’s always on whole meal cereal type bread, I’ve just added some cherry tomatoes on top and little bits of mushrooms with carrots sticks and apple. She’s had oats and yoghurt and strawberries for breakfast and avocado and hummus with rice cake etc for lunch. This is my easy day, as long as I try to include all the good parts throughout the day I don’t feel as guilty.
Just felt a bit 😬as I’ve thought this and done in three times this week (not in a row) need to get back on the game from tomorrow!
Having said all that, what I really love is someone to make a meal for me without me having to say..but that’s another story!

*I’d really love

I do think some parents justify making something quick and light by thinking their children will have had a hot meal at school. I taught for many years and can vouch for the fact that school dinners are minute and on the whole mostly go uneaten.

I totally agree with this once DC are at school. I think they almost always need a decent dinner then. Same with infants at nursery in most cases, except where the food is really good and the atmosphere calm. But in op's case her toddler is with her at home, so she will probably be having a good lunch as it is, so one or two lighter meals per week is not going to do much harm (as long as there is fruit and yoghurt in the fridge).

Nowadays , if it weren't for teen DC, I wouldn't bother to cook half as much just for myself. I find it's easier in the digestion to eat more at lunch than dinner too.

ON the digestion, not in!

Every day is a CBA day!

Do you have a partner op? Do they do any cooking at weekends? Sounds like you need a break!

@Cba78 sorry, I just took your first post literally and there was no mention of all the extras so when you said cheese on toast, it just sounded like cheese on plain toast to me. Sorry again for taking you up wrong.

@Thefirstnohell I do, but no, rarely cooks! I don’t mind during the week as obviously I’m at home and he’s at work. It’s easier just to get it all done and ready, plus Dd eats earlier than he gets home. But weekends, I agree he should cook at least one evening meal? He does dd’s breakfast on one of the mornings-eggs etc, but that’s it. I’ve just very loudly made her ‘Meal’ 😬as it really would help if he took the initiative and did it occasionally without it turning into an argument.
I think because all week I’m so on top of it all (aside from this week-clearly) at the weekend I’m just a bit 🤯
It will be a huge shock in the house when I go back to work..or do most people end up on the pattern of still doing it all? I’m not!

@Lazysundayafternoons No worries!
Yeah, it’s not an unhealthy meal, just the lack of effort makes me feel I’m not being a good enough mum, which I know is ridiculous..! Just one of those weeks when I’ve resorted to it more than I would have liked.

We no longer have any meals that don't have any convenience/ easy cook elements. It means I can cook and supervise the kids. If I do get a peaceful moment to cook then I prep ahead too. So if I'm making onion gravy I might cut up extra onion and freeze it for next time I use onions that kind of thing. When we bake it's either from a packet mix or as a fun activity the kids (often both!)
About once a week we have a toast based dinner but we also have a few nights of leftovers/ready meals/ takeaway/ freezer food etc. Roast chicken on Sunday becomes chicken and chips or chicken stir fry on Monday, and sometimes chicken pasta salad or chicken mayo sandwiches for lunch on Tuesday too. I'm a big fan of things like pasta bake, roast chicken and baked potatoes which feel hearty and satisfying but which you just basically bung in the oven after minimal prep, and wait. Add some salad, crudités, peas, sweetcorn/ corn cob etc. To anything it becomes healthier. We don't have dessert often, although there is always fruit and usually yoghurts in the fridge. Food doesn't need to be complicated. I think fish fingers are bloody brilliant. We eat them a lot!