Children's meals - Eating on their own - Meal ideas

[tildaandarchiesmummy]

I have a DD who is nearly four and a DS who is nearly 2 and baby no.3 on her way. We eat breakfast as a family and saturday and sunday lunch and dinner as a family. But during the week the children eat at 18:00 and have children's meals. My husband gets back from work at around half 7 which is when the children go to bed, soo hence while we feed them early. Do you think their could be any problems related to feeding the children on their own???

On saturday we will have a fish meal which both me and my husband as well as the kids will eat and on sunday we will have a roast dinner.

During the week the kids tend to have:

Monday - Pasta and pesto with chicken, peas and sweetcorn
Tuesday - Chicken goujons, rice and carrots
Wednesday - Fish fingers, new potatoes, peas and beans
Thursday - 2 slices of Pizza - pizza has vegetables + chicken on it
Friday - Pasta and pesto with chicken, peas and sweetcorn

Do any of you have any other ideas for kids meals during the week, would like the children to have a different meal each day, as often they end up having pasta for lunch as well.

Can you not keep some of what you have and warm it up the next night? Saves cooking a separate meal all the time.

That's a good idea Sirzy and i actually had not thought of doing that, sometimes me and my husband have dishes such as Pialla which the children would like and would be ok to reheat.

Tbh I couldn't be bothered to make seperate meals so DC eat what we eat and if needed, I just keep the dinner warm for DP.

Most of the dishes will be fine in the oven at 80 degrees for an hour or two.

So I can't really recommend kids meals- mine eat things like all kinds of roast meat and veg plus mash/rice/couscous, seafood pasta, smoked salmon pasta, soups, pies etc etc plus as the weather gets warmer we tend to have substantial salads, with avocado, chicken, eggs, bacon, seafood etc and baguette.

Well my mum makes the children's dinner two days a week when i am at work, i am just looking for another child friendly meal to make it more interesting.

Things like spag bol, pasta bakes and soups are always good. I try and make big batches and freeze it, makes life much easier

Fishcakes? you can make a batch and freeze them. Go with any veg, really, and a change from fish fingers.

Yes fishcakes are a good idea - do you use tinned salmon/tuna to make them? My husband and i often have them, but generally we but the supermarket ones. I like the soup idea, it would be a good way to get fussy DS to eat more vegetables also i could make it less thick for baby no.3 when she begins weaning. Thank you for all the ideas, i made the kids a pasta bake tonight and DD said "i love this dinner mummy, it much better than the green pasta you always make" so i am guessing she likes it.

I have made fishcakes with tinned tuna, with fresh white fish fillets and with smoked fish too - any. Add a bit of paprika to the mix. And they freeze, which is a godsend.

Well done on the pasta bake. Mine regard it suspiciously.... I love it!

Stir-fry (basic one of carrots, broccoli-both of which you microwave briefly do they are not completely raw when they hit the pan- with re pepper, mushrooms, sweetcorn, and spring onions if they're mild) with sesame oil and soy sauce. Serve with rice - 1x microwave pouch does 3 child portions. Add tofu or cashews for protein if you want. Total prep time - less than 10 mins.

Omelette - spinach (defrosted from frozen), mushroom and cheese. Total prep time - 5 mins. Or do a frittata using leftover veg.

Pancakes - I buy these for peanuts from my next-door boulangerie but they are easy and cheap to make and freeze. Fill with leftover roast chicken or small off-cuts of salmon with cream and appropriate veg, eg mushrooms and sweet corn or leeks for chicken, broccoli and peas for salmon. Put pancakes into an oven-proof dish, add filling and roll into cylinders. Sprinkle with cheese and bake til the pancakes are warmed through. Prep time - 20 mins incl warming the oven.

Quiche - useful for using stuff up. Serve hot or cold.
Sandwiches and crudités - when you know they've had a proper lunch
Humous, falafel, crudités - ditto.

Also cottage or shepherd's pie: fry up beef or lamb mince with onions, garlic, carrots, seasoning, and portion out for freezing. Make a mash with potato and any other root veg or squash you like, and portion out. In the morning grab 1 bag mince and 1 bag mash, leave out to defrost. In the evening layer the mash over the mince in an ovenproof dish and heat through. Serve with a green veg.