Is cauliflower cheese a meal?

[Icklepickle101]

I will be going back to work when DD is 6 months and also have a 2 1/2yr old DS so I need easy dinners theyvcan both eat. DD will be fed finger foods not puree/mash

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Well that didn’t go to plan!

I suggested cauliflower cheese with ham to DP and he looked horrified that it wasn’t a meal but a side. Is he right?!

Any other easy and quick meals they could both eat and preferably be made ahead?

Yes, cauliflower cheese with salad and crusty bread is a delicious meal.

I think it goes best with something else, sausages for instance.

Sounds nice. You can add macoroni and make a cauliflower/macoroni cheese hybrid if you want some carbs in there too.

I like cauliflower cheese as a meal with kale and squash added in. But might not be a hit with little ones.

We had cauliflower and broccoli cheese with some Gaelic & tomato focaccia the other night. Delicious! I've always had it as a main mea and not a side dish. Can add bacon, ham, leeks etc - and NEVER with a roast dinner!

I like the kale and squash idea!

I normally make Mac and cheese with butternut belended in to the cheese sauce so that could work here too.

*garlic! Nobody Irish on my bread!

In this country there are a lot of people who think a meal must contain meat and potaoes. I bet he doesn't think a hearty soup is a meal either.
I'd tell him to butt out of the meal planning unless he has sensible suggestions of his own.

It goes well with baked beans

We had cauliflower and broccoli cheese with some Gaelic & tomato focaccia the other night.

Gaelic focaccia seems like a contradiction to me

Short he is a bit like that, if I make soup he has to have it with some heavy carbs like a jacket potato or a shit tonne of bread and still thinks it’s not a ‘proper’ dinner

It's a meal here if we team it with some salad and maybe bread. We eat vegetarian food about 70% of the time. With ham, it's a complete meal for most people I'd think.

He’s out numbered. I’m sure the kids won’t die going without potato or pasta 1 night a week

I'd eat cauliflower cheese as a lazy meal. But go with more veg, less fat and complex carbs most days.

Alternatively maybe your DH can do the cooking 🙃, then he will be sure to choose things he likes.

Butternut blended with the cheese sauce? I have to try that. How much do you add and do you boil or roast it first?

Have you seen a food pyramid for toddlers? This one is American but the recommendations are pretty much the same in a lot of countries.

3oz of carbs is equivalent to 2 pieces of toast.

It’s definitely a meal here.

JoJo that’s over the day though not per meal isn’t it?

I’ll find the butternut quantities now!

I use double the cheese though or it doesn’t taste overly Mac and cheesey!

Do people really make sure that every single meal for their children contains all necessary food groups? It's surely throughout the day that matters?

Pickle, yes over the day. The point not I was trying to make is that if hey have cauliflower cheese one meal, it still is very easy to have a balanced diet that day by eating the other stuff (like carbs) at other meals.

Oh and I boil it and then blend but I’m sure roasting is nice too

For me, it's meal if served with crusty bread. I'm less convinced that it counts as finger food. But my kids are teens now, so my tolerance of goo is significantly reduced.

You can also use it as savoury pancake filling or as a veggie meal with some tasty new potatoes.