To tell you about my lockdown kids meal wins

[Edenspirits]

I am so so so so so sick of lockdown & cooking constantly for 2 kids - I can barely be arsed to chop an onion let alone have the mental space to be creative in the kitchen (I normally love cooking but all joy has been sucked out of me)

So I set myself the challenge of how to get veg in my kids with least possible effort and preferably zero chopping of very much

disclaimer- they do normally get fresh veg

Here’s my evening meal menu- aibu to ask for your meal wins too? I am veggie but the kids eat fish too:

Monday - frozen Mediterranean veg, frozen roast potatoes, frozen veggie sausages in one big oven tray. Frozen broccoli and peas on the side

Tuesday- whole meal pasta & frozen sweetcorn in one pan - tuna and mayo added at the end. With chopped cucumber and tomatoes (I did chop something)

Weds- frozen mixed veg stir fry with packet brown rice & quorn crispy nuggets

Thurs- Jacket spuds, beans, cheese with pre prepared salad

Friday- vegetable dhal (frozen veg & red lentils) with pre bought naan breads and pre cooked rice

Saturday- veggie chilli (mixed beans in tomato sauce out of a tin), tacos. I will make guacamole out of real avocados, grated cheese!

Winner winner no chopping and barely any cooking.

Lunches are often ‘fresh’ supermarket veggie soups with bagels & fruit.

Tell me your meal wins if you too are barely clinging on to any cooking sanity!! I feel a bit more relaxed this week as a result!!’

I've given up thinking about dinners.
Tonight dd had a homemade McDonald's🤣🤣
A burger wrapped in kitchen roll
Fries served in a small box
Heinz ketchup ( from McDonald's)
Small individual ice cream
All served in a happy meal homemade box.
She thought it was great, she will probably want it again tomorrow.

Quiches are so easy if you buy the ready made bases. Cheese, eggs, cream and any other stuff you fancy - eg frozen peppers, smoked salmon, broccoli etc.

@Lockandtees I don't know what we'd do in this house if frozen soffrito mix didn't exist. I can knock up a spag Bol/chilli in minutes, although it's obv better if I take my time.

If I'm feeling lazy, I bung packet brown rice in the microwave then fry it with eggs/stir fry veg and soy sauce. DS1&2 seem to like it.

When I didn’t have fussy kids I used to bung frozen chopped spinach into all sorts, definitely earns its space in the freezer.

I’ve started more short cuts - frozen fish pie mix, ready made bechamel and frozen mash makes an easy fish pie, served with a generous portion of frozen peas.

i’ve never heard of soffrito mix- will add to my list for next shop as kids like a veggie bolognese!

@Beamur my kids would love your salmon dish!

Love the home McDonalds too @ParkheadParadise!!

Sounds good to me!

We do a one pan omelette with veggie sausages from frozen (then cut them once they’ve defrosted a bit), frozen veggies like onions and peppers, add a sprinkle of cheese and put under the grill

Another thing is to put some mince in a pan (veggie mince is fine) then use any seasoning - Thai style or fajitas or taco seasoning etc is fine, then serve with little gem lettuce and any toppings. Nice to let them make their own wraps and you can pimp them with guac / cheese / carrot batons / cucumber strips etc etc depending on what the theme is

Fried rice and quesadillas. You throw any old veg in there and they barely notice.

Ditto hand pies - roll out short crust pastry and cut into rectangles or circles, plop on some veg, fold over and seal the edge with a fork and bake. In the same vein, sausage rolls stuffed with all sorts of veg are very popular.

Pizza - DIY toppings but the rule in this house is at least three veg

Baked chicken thighs in an Asian-y style marinade, rice and green peas.

Roast veg with rocket and feta

Middle Eastern-spiced mince with cubes boiled potato and peas, with greek yoghurt and pita bread on the side

Frozen white fish spread with pesto and wrapped in bacon before baking, green beans and broccoli

Baked sweet potato with baked beans and coleslaw and a green salad.

My DDs also quite like some quick pickled veg alongside cold meat and cheese and bread.

My kids like when we have a theme night once a week. Like we had "KFC" theme which was chicken nuggets (could use quorn or soy nuggets), chips, baked beans and corn on the cob. We did "Pizza Hut" too which was pizza, garlic and herb dipping sauce, potato wedges and garlic bread (carb heavy I know!). Also done McDonalds breakfast which was egg all muffins (just egg, cheese slice in a English muffin so veggie) with hashbrowns. We also have these cups which make slushy drinks, and do movie night with slushy drinks and popcorn.

Haha, I LOVE THIS! I thought it was just me.
I've just made a shepherds pie with frozen diced onions, frozen carrots and frozen mash. Such a fucking cheat, but the plates are clean! Must've been a hit!

Generally my go to meals are; pre diced chicken, I will throw that in olive oil and nandos rub and leave for a few hours, or a day.
With the nandos chicken, give the tenderstem brocolli a wash then put it in the microwave with a bit of frozen chopped garlic and a couple of tbsp of water. Perfectly steamed!

Other nights, pre diced chicken, balti paste, peppers roughly chopped, red onion quartered, thrown in the same mixing bowl for half a day, then throw it on the grill, serve with naans

Do the same with fajita seasoning.

Breakfasts are often steak, wilted spinach and tomatoes.

Another meal I go to is beef stew, frozen onion, frozen carrots, frozen brocolli, frozen peas, lean diced beef, a few beef stock pots, topped up with water, goes in the oven for a few hours. If I've got potatoes or sweet potatoes they'll often go in too.

I also am known to throw a bake in the bag chicken in the oven with pre prepared roasting veg and parmentier potatoes in too.

Lol I've got quite lazy with my cooking. I barely eat it anymore and its healthier for everyone if I don't get over involved with comfort food

I made 'Mac & cheese' for my 2 by cooking pasta and melting butter & dairylea triangles into it. Chucked some cucumber and avocado on the side to make it feel healthier and look less beige. Both told me it was the most delicious meal I'd ever made, 5 out of 5 stars.

I'm now very reluctant to ever put in more effort than that while making their dinners as they're so easily pleased

@GoodnightKevin

I made 'Mac & cheese' for my 2 by cooking pasta and melting butter & dairylea triangles into it. Chucked some cucumber and avocado on the side to make it feel healthier and look less beige. Both told me it was the most delicious meal I'd ever made, 5 out of 5 stars.

I'm now very reluctant to ever put in more effort than that while making their dinners as they're so easily pleased

We do this with Philadelphia

Veg fajitas are dead easy

You can make veg burgers / fish cakes and freeze them

Fajitas are always a hit here too.
Also tacos with chilli, cheese and salad . Quesadillas. Burritos. Enchiladas. Nachos. Ok, most Mexican/ Tex Mex food.

Mine like curry with some combination of rice, naan, popadoms, samosa, Bahjis, pakora, raita, mango chutney and lime pickle. If there's something they don't like there's lots of options (we Usually have 2 curry's). Chinese is also great. Sticky ribs (I think you can vegan alternatives now), sweet and sour (we have chicken and veg but could do prawns or just veg), Curry sauce, prawn crackers, egg fried rice or veg fried rice, noddles, even chips go alright, prawns in batter, spring rolls.

I think the meals with lots of components usually work the best. My old faithful is jacket potatoes, with bowls of beans, cheese, tuna sweet corn mayo, sometimes coronation chicken or bbq chicken mayo, grated cheese, and salad.

I think frozen veg are fantastic and I cook from scratch 99% of the time.

Frozen onions are brilliant.
Frozen broccoli is great too.
Frozen cauliflower and cheese from Aldi is so popular I roast two bags at a time to keep the peace!

Life is too short not to take shortcuts when possible.

God yes! Frozen mash! I haven’t mashed a spud since moving back from Spain - where there were no such convenience potatoes 😂

Convenience Potatoes is a ‘thing’ on our shopping list - could mean mash, waffles, hash browns etc depending on how much space is in the freezer.

Convenience Potatoes is going to be the name of my band 🎸 🥔

Mine loved pesto chicken for my convenience meal - while pasta is cooking, warm through a jar of ready made green pesto with a tub of creme fraiche, throw in a few frozen peas/fresh spinach/whatever veg and some pre-cooked chicken, mix with pasta (keep a tbsp or so of pasta water to loosen if necessary). Serve with salad/garlic bread or on its own for fussy ds. 15 minutes from start to finish.

@MissJeanLouise

Mine loved pesto chicken for my convenience meal - while pasta is cooking, warm through a jar of ready made green pesto with a tub of creme fraiche, throw in a few frozen peas/fresh spinach/whatever veg and some pre-cooked chicken, mix with pasta (keep a tbsp or so of pasta water to loosen if necessary). Serve with salad/garlic bread or on its own for fussy ds. 15 minutes from start to finish.

I always roast two chickens at a time for the above type of fast dish, be it a stir fry with rice or noodles, or a pasta dish.

Breakfasts are often steak, wilted spinach and tomatoes.

is this a typo???