Meal ideas for childminder!!

[Cullercoats88]

Hello all, this may not be the correct place to post this tread so I will move if needs be, but I just wanted to get some meal inspiration for my minded children. I seem to be doing lots of the same food, pasta with various sauces, shepherds pie, cous cous with various veggies, fish cakes, and soups.
Does anyone else have any good full of vegetable type meals they like to cook for their children? Mine are pretty good with food and will tend to eat anything I give them!!

Noodles and stir fry veg always goes down well here. Sausage dinner or Toad in the Hole with veg and gravy is popular too. Veggie risotto is...tolerated rather than enjoyed but they do eat it with plenty of grated cheese. More popular is pea and parmesan risotto - a very simple recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Oh and vegetable chilli and rice and lentil bolognese instead of meat are liked by most of my kids.

What pasta sauces do you do if you don't mind me asking? I could always use some inspiration myself!

Sounds pretty good for minded children!

jacket potatoes are a staple here - served with choice of toppings & salad.

I do a slow cooker beany chilli served with tortilla chips & grated cheese.

Chicken curry (mild & sweet) goes well - but it's not very vegetably.

In summer I do stripe salad. I have a big tray, and I lay out 'stripes' of salad ingredients (ie a stripe of lettuce, then a row of sliced cucumber, then a row of grated carrot, stripe of grated cheese, stripe of boiled egg quarters, stripe of tinned sweetcorn etc etc ). Then I give the kids a tortilla wrap each, access to mayonnaise & invite them to make a salad wrap to their own taste.

You sound as if you provide a good variety of food already. Mw hen ours went to a CM they also used to have Jackets, toasted sandwiches, mini toad in the hole, mild curry.

Really struggling with mine, so links to recipes would be much appreciated.

Basic pasta sauce with pasta is getting a bit dull!

Goodness, these sound great! Wish my children would willingly eat anything other than fruit and bread tbh!!

ling I do a tomato sauce with tinned toms, balsamic vinegar, red pepper, sweet corn and courgette. I also do a macaroni and caulfilower cheese and a 'green' sauce which is pea, basil, green beans and broccoli blended with Philadelphia.

Risotto is a good idea, as is stir fry, quick and will last a couple of days!! I get sick of cooking several times a day x

Roast dinners
Mild curries
Build your own pizzas
Snack plates full of raw veggies (also great for picnics)

Casserole/stew type things

(Steals everyone else's ideas)

I make a pizza base and put little pots of toppings on the table for each child to build their own pizza. They enjoy it and it is great for keeping them occupied for a while.
Omelettes are fairly quick and easy and usually go down well. I get each child to mix their own egg with the milk in a mug ready for cooking.
I also do casseroles, stir fries, risottos as well as some of the popular basics like sausages, fish fingers etc.

Lovely veggie pasta sauce

Perfect to batch cook in advance to reheat quickly after a busy day, serve with pasta as it is or add chorizo or bacon if you want to. Blended, it makes a great pizza topping. The bits are very small so perfect with tiny pasta shells for spoonfeeding older babies or as a good sauce that clings to pasta shapes if doing BLW. It also layers well as part of a veggie lasagne.

1 onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic chopped finely
Olive oil
500g carton of passata (or a tin of chopped tomatoes)
1 red or yellow pepper chopped into tiny pieces
2 medium courgettes grated using a box grater or one medium aubergine chopped into fine dice
A splash of balsamic vinegar
Fresh or dried herbs

Fry onion in olive oil til translucent, add garlic and fry for another minute or two.
If using aubergine add to pan and fry stirring regularly til aubergine is browned and softened—you may well need more oil (is using courgettes see later)
Tip in the pepper and fry gently
Add the grated courgette and fry til softening
Add the passata and a splash of balsamic vinegar and the herbs (or red wine if making for grownups, if cooking for adults/older children add salt now, for babies /toddlers no salt is used)
Stir together and bring to the boil, turn the heat right down and simmer gently stirring occasionally until it is thick and cooked through (at least 40 minutes but I like to give it an hour and a half)

Old family recipe here (may just get outed by the name) invented by my Indian great uncle who was afraid his UK reared great nieces might not like spicy food

Uncle Richard’s Chicken

2 onions (chopped)
Small piece of ginger (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
400g Tin of tomatoes or a carton of passata
1 tsp turmeric
6 skinless chicken thighs

Put one onion, the garlic and ginger in a small processor (or pestle and mortar) and blend to a paste. Add the turmeric and pulse again quickly.
Fry the other onion in some vegetable oil until it is translucent and then add the chicken pieces and spice paste and fry gently til the chicken is sealed on the outside (don’t burn the spice paste)
Whizz the tinned tomatoes in the processor (no need if using passata) and add to the pan with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 40-60 minutes
Serve scattered with fresh coriander with rice (and peas)

Old family recipe here (may just get outed by the name) invented by my Indian great uncle who was afraid his UK reared great nieces might not like spicy food

Uncle Richard’s Chicken

2 onions (chopped)
Small piece of ginger (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
400g Tin of tomatoes or a carton of passata
1 tsp turmeric
6 skinless chicken thighs

Put one onion, the garlic and ginger in a small processor (or pestle and mortar) and blend to a paste. Add the turmeric and pulse again quickly.
Fry the other onion in some vegetable oil until it is translucent and then add the chicken pieces and spice paste and fry gently til the chicken is sealed on the outside (don’t burn the spice paste)
Whizz the tinned tomatoes in the processor (no need if using passata) and add to the pan with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 40-60 minutes
Serve scattered with fresh coriander with rice (and peas)

Old family recipe here (may just get outed by the name) invented by my Indian great uncle who was afraid his UK reared great nieces might not like spicy food

Uncle Richard’s Chicken

2 onions (chopped)
Small piece of ginger (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
400g Tin of tomatoes or a carton of passata
1 tsp turmeric
6 skinless chicken thighs

Put one onion, the garlic and ginger in a small processor (or pestle and mortar) and blend to a paste. Add the turmeric and pulse again quickly.
Fry the other onion in some vegetable oil until it is translucent and then add the chicken pieces and spice paste and fry gently til the chicken is sealed on the outside (don’t burn the spice paste)
Whizz the tinned tomatoes in the processor (no need if using passata) and add to the pan with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 40-60 minutes
Serve scattered with fresh coriander with rice (and peas)