Lunch for my 2 year-old and I

[cloudlesssky]

I'm very good at following recipes, and had no trouble with the "Serves 1" from my old student cook book.

So now I need lunch recipes that serve me and my toddler, so, "1 and a half"
From briefly perusing Amazon, there's no such thing as a "Mum and Toddler Lunch Recipe" book that doesn't come with "Serves 4" or "Makes 16".

It feels like the only recipe I have these days, somehow, has turned into something-on-toast.

What are your best lunch recipe books that don't involve making lunch twice? What should I change in my approach?

It feels like I'm holding my breath playing a game of operation. Help! Annd this became a mini-rant.

Specifically a recipe book?

I don't use recipes, just make her whatever I'm having normally. Eg
Jacket potatoes (1 large, 1 smaller)
Pasta salad
Sandwiches or toast
Type of ploughmans or similar picky plate with cold meats/cheese/salad/veg
Quiche
Savoury muffins or pie
Leftovers from a dinner

Make a serves 4 meal then portion up and freeze leftovers? I don't really do recipes for family meals but make up stews, spag bols, chillis etc or if I'm doing a tray bake with fish or chicken I adapt the quantities but adding a bit more or less.

Just make more and freeze if a recipe. Or make it up

So we have soups and casserole the things in the freezer frozen in approx portions but would make loads to start with.

Otherwise just roughly see what it looks like on the plate. Mine eat lots of leftovers from
Dinner the night before for lunch the next day

I've never used recipes for my toddler and I lunches. It's always been by what they can help me cook. So lots of scrambled eggs, stuffed potato skins, pancakes & fruit, toasties, crackers with cooked meat on the side & a small cheese selection, risotto using veg& any leftover meat from the previous nights roast dinner...twice a week I would take us to a cafe to introduce them to a vague idea of what a school dinner hall is like (they are served at the table in school to a set menu).

I was going to suggest a ploughmans... A bit of everything.

I know its probably frowned upon but I used to give my DD beans/hoops on toast.

Jacket potatoes are great too..

I batch cook soup and have that every other day with fruit / bread / cold meat / cheese / random fridge stuff. Then one day fish (smoked haddock / fish fingers / salmon fillet in foil) with potatoes and veg. And other is eggs or baked potato with topping. Boring but easy!

We just have sandwiches and/or soup for lunch, main meal in evening.

Can you not just use your "serves1" book and make 1 1/2 times the quality? If you want a family recipe book Fay Ripley's Family Food is good - tells you how to adapt recipes to make them more toddler friendly

The 'baby weaning cook book' has loads of simple recipes to feed small families, tasty and easy to prepare.