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Original poster

We are sooooo fed up of chips and fritters... please can someone help?!!

67 replies

TLO · 03/10/2006 14:04

Can anyone spend a bit of time reading this and then giving me some ideas of meals we can have that are healthy and simple to make, we are very willing to try, but I just don't know how!

We have found ourselves in a real rut and I just can't seem to find a way out of it. We are a family of three (soon to be four, DS is 4 years old) and at the moment we are living on things like egg and chips, battered cod and fritters, pizza, and the very occasional jacket potato here and there and aside from the fact that most of what we eat is obviously unhealhty and expensive, I am sick to my back teeth with it!!

Now, we have gotten into this situation over the years because I really can't cook, which means DH has to, and after a long 12 hour+ day at work he can't be bothered to do much more than shove something in the oven/fryer (can't blame him!!) but I am really going to try very hard to learn to cook, especially if it means we have something nice to eat.

The other problem we have is that 9 times out of 10 we all have different dinners, we are all terribly fussy eaters:

DS won't eat anything with any sort of wet/sloppy sauce (gravy, soups, stews), although he loves rice and pasta, we can never find anything to go with it because of the sloppyness, he is also very very very reluctant to eat any fruit and veg, we give him dried fruit and fruit juices, which helps a bit but he has absolutely no fresh fruit and veg. he actually kept a strawberry in his mouth for over an hour a few weeks ago because he just wouldn't swallow it - this is what worries me the most, I can't physically force him to eat it.

DH cannot stand even the slightest bit of onion/garlic/peppers, we have to check every single ingredients list to make sure there is no onion/garlic powder in it, and he isn't keen on many vegetables although will eat lots of fruit.

I am not keen on curry powder, and although I love things like homemade stews and shepherds pies and things like that, I never feel like I have had a proper meal if it doesn't include chips, I do realise that is utter nonsense and I am really trying to change my POV on this. I am very lazy with food as well, would much rather grab a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar than an apple.

The other thing we can't get our heads around is we have read people saying stock up on fruit and veg and salad stuff, it is cheap and lasts for ages, but when we do try to follow this we end up bringing half the fresh food aisle home with us (which usually costs us more than our usual shop - we aim for about £100 a week, would like to bring this down rather than upping it!), eating some of it, and then chucking most of it in the bin on day 3 because it has gone off, or dried up, or gone brown or something....

I know I have waffled on, and it is a big ask, but if anyone can help us find some good healthy meals that we will all eat, that I can cook, that doesn't include sodding chips, please help us!!

OP posts:
bobsmum · 03/10/2006 14:07

P"Lan your menu for a week then you won't waste your fruit and veg. We're just starting to kind of do this and our bill has gone down cos we're not wasting stuff. Find 5/6 meals you all like and just keep cooking them til they're dead easy. Don't abandon chips if you all like them. If you must buy oven chips gets the lower fat ones, or even better - make wedges with that spray on oil which is rather good!

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:09

This is where the problems start, I can't plan the meals because I can't think of any that we will all eat.

OP posts:
lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:14

I suggest a simple beef casserole, use the ingredients that your dh would eat, chuck some carrots in it, a few mushrooms maybe. You can then do rice with it and I also have a dd who won't eat 'gravy' so i take some pieces of the meat out and serve them, without any gravy with the rice.
Will he eat tinned sweetcorn? as it's really easy to serve with a casserole & rice.

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:18

OK, now I am , how do you do a cassarole? What goes in it? Beef carrot and mushrooms obviously but is that it? Do I have to cook the beef before it goes in with the veg?

LOL I am sorry I know this sounds really pathetic, but I just really don't know!

And no DS won't touch any veg at all, he isn't even keen on potatoes but will eat them from time to time.

OP posts:
lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:25

I would brown the meat first. Buy something like braising steak or stewing steak, cut it into chunks, roll in flour with salt and pepper, the fry in some sunflower oil until brown, then chuck it into the casserole dish or slow cooker. the put whatever veg in it you want. Cook slowly at about gm3 for a couple of hours until the meat falls apart.

If you cook a shepherds pie I used to 'hide' onions, mushrooms, carrots in it then blitz it with the hand blender before giving it to the dd's - they still don't know what I put in it but you've got 3 sorts of hidden veg in there.

It's hard isn't it when you've got fussy eaters.

lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:26

oh forgot - I add about 1/2 pint of stock (beef oxo!) to the casserole before you cook it - not too much though or it will be too runny.

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:31

Brown the meat in a saucepan?

God I feel like such a dunce!

If I blend the veg doesn't it go a bit runny? DS won't go anywhere near anything sloppy/wet.

Thanks by the way, I am desperate to get something sorted!

OP posts:
Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:35

And I guess GM3 is gas mark 3? ( - I do remember something from cookery in school!!!) but do you have any idea what temp that is in an electric oven?

OP posts:
Enid · 03/10/2006 14:36

buy lots of veg

cut it up and steam it for 5 mins then freeze it in bags

also frozen veg is fine - peas, those bags of peas, carrots and sweetcorn, green beans

put a chicken breast between two bits of greaseproof, bash it flat, then cut it into bits and coat it in egg then flour and shallow fry it. Serve it with plain rice and lots of veg - not runny and healthy, we all quite like this with soy sauce on the rice and veg

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:36

Oh, and I forgot to ask, is that stewing steak in a tin any good, only because I am pregnant and raw meat (especially if it has fat on it) isn't going down to well at the moment (I have to walk straight past the fresh meat aisle in Tesco!)

OP posts:
Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:40

Thanks Enid, that does sound lovely, only questions are do I use any oil (and if so what type?) and how long roughly does it take to cook?

OP posts:
Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:41

Sorry, what type of flour do I use as well?

I know I am useless.....

OP posts:
MrsScareyFish · 03/10/2006 14:42

does you local college do cookign courses?
relaly recommend delias how to cok books
get them fomr the library till you knwo if hteya re any good

MrsScareyFish · 03/10/2006 14:42

endi why do you pre steam veg?

WideWebWitch · 03/10/2006 14:43

There was a thread ages ago with some great simple healthy recipes on it, I'll see if I can find it.

lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:43

ah yes it may do, unless you made it really thick.

Yes brown it in a frying pan.

I've just made some meatballs for our tea, just using mince, breadcrums and an egg. I chucked it all in the food processor so it is nice and smooth. We're having sweet potato wedges (dd1 will have hers mashed!) and ketchup with them.

WideWebWitch · 03/10/2006 14:44

here you are please help me change my life thread, lots here

lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:45

yes use tinned stewing steak if you like, just don't mash it into the gravy.

Plain flour - I buy Tesco value flour.

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:45

I haven't got time to do cooking courses (although think I need them!) the baby is due next month!

I will check out eBay for the books - thanks.

OP posts:
marthamoo · 03/10/2006 14:45

I think you need a cook book too - Delia Smith is good for simple, family-type recipes, or one of Jamies Oliver's books - his Jamie's Dinners one is good, basic family food. Try your local library if you don't want to buy one.

lucyfercat · 03/10/2006 14:47

add this website to your favourites - it's a really good one, full of simple recipes that you can browse through until you happen upon one you like!

WideWebWitch · 03/10/2006 14:49

I have a spare copy of Nigel Slater's real fast food because it was free the The Observer recently. If you CAT me I'll send it to you.

MrsScareyFish · 03/10/2006 14:50

i dont rate his recipes
like the books but never cookf rom them

Original poster
TLO · 03/10/2006 14:51

Thanks everyone I think I need to get these books sorted out, and get some tools, is a food processor the same as a blender? Do I have to use one?

Will have to go and get DS from school, but will look at that thread WWW as soon as I get back.

We are off to Tesco tonight for the weekly shop, is there anything anyone can recommend to start me off? I really like the sound of Enid's chicken and rice, we will all eat that, any more ideas?

Thanks again I feel more positive about it all already!

OP posts:
ishouldbedoingtheironing · 03/10/2006 14:54

I never used to be able to cook either when I was married 1st time around.
My ex did all the cooking
Then I got divorced and cos I had a 2yr old decided I had to learn.
Beg steal or borrow a cook book and start with the easy recipes I like Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson - Nigella does kids recipes and all the veg is blitzed in the food processor and my kids have NEVER guessed that they are eating celery carrots onion etc.
I now really enjoy cooking and am not bad even if I say so myself!!!