Best zero-effort (but healthy) meals for kids?

[whateverfloatsyourboat]

That's it really. Trying to devise a system whereby I alternate the level of effort, so that I might cook a full meal from scratch one night (ie roast chicken), use planned leftovers the next (ie chicken pie) and something super-super-easy the next (ie beans on toast). But I need more ideas.

The grind of cooking is getting me down - I want to give my children a healthy supper every night, but not necessarily spend hours preparing it, esp. as dh is never home before midnight during the week and my just-turned-2-yo has the attention span of a gnat and whinges around my ankles when I'm in the kitchen.

Any suggestions?!

I second onepiece - pasta is always easy. I either chuck in broccoli for the last few minutes, and then stir in pesto, or I heat some tinned tomatoes with slices of ready-roasted red peppers (the kind you buy in jars of brine) and chorizo blitzed in the microwave for 30secs.

Another failsafe I find is rice, cooked for the 12mins or whatever it is, with frozen peas and frozen sweetcorn thrown in at half way mark. Then also just add the chorizo as above (normally slice and halve to make it manageable)

How about roasting an extra chicken when you're doing one and freeze the 'spare' chicken in portions - just add rice/pasta/cous cous with some frozen veggies chucked in.

Thanks again for all these ideas - I'm usually thread-killer extraordinaire (even the ones I start), so sort of assume noone will bother replying and forget to check! So many useful tips here though, thank you.

DS loves this one in the Fay Ripley book (fab book):

Cook some pasta in boiling water.
Put a collender over the top of the pan and steam some salmon chunks and brocolli florets.

In a bowl mix some Boursin, tomato puree and greek youghurt. Add the pasta, salmon and broccoli and mix in.

If you have a freezer, make up a load of chicken dippers, much more healthy than the bought ones. You can defrost them in the morning:

Cut chicken into strips
Roll in flour, beaten egg and then breadcrumbs
Fry till golden. I serve with veg sticks and jacket or new pots .

DS's favourite is chicken drumsticks, so easy!
Mix equal parts dijon mustard and honey
Marinate the chicken in it
Cook in oven for half an hour.

an apple

or a Fruit Shoot

Cook double quantities when you do cook then freeze stuff in kid size portions so you can just bung in microwave come suppertime

Freeze portions of tomato sauce.

Tuna tomato pasta:
Half onion chop and fry. Add tin tomatoes and teaspoon cinnamon. Add tin of tuna (in spring water, drained) maybe some basil. Serve on pasta

Popeye pasta by Annabel karmel is v quick spinach and cream cheese sauce

I batch cook a lot for the freezer which means one week with lots of cooking then three weeks with hardly any effort!
I share really quick, easy, healthy meal ideas on my website, Www.friendlyfirstfoods.co.uk
If it's any use to you x