Exhausted and pregnant-what to cook?

[mariemalade]

I'm 35 weeks pregnant, have every pregnancy ailment going, with absolutely no appetite in the heat.

I have no appetite,but still need to feed my 4year old. Neither of us have been eating enough vegetables.

Any ideas for quick, healthy meals we can eat for lunch/dinner? Time saving tips would be great too.

Pasta salad

Bung a chicken in the oven. Buy ready prepped veg. Job done!

My quickest to prepare proper meal is chicken. Cut the underneath/ belly but off with scissors, flatten it out. Add herbs, today I used rosemary and thyme pushed under the Breast skin, slices of lemon and garlic salt and pepper. Takes five mins. Then I just put it on the oven surrounded by new potatoes and an onoin or two for 90mins, proper food imo, served with a salad.

Ready made vegetable or tomato soup.

Buy some precut carrot sticks and some cucumbers to wash and chop into sticks (easier than cutting carrots) and serve with hummus.

Ploughman's with cheese or ham or chicken or turkey plus bread and sliced cherry tomatoes.

Fish fingers or chicken nuggets with frozen veg.

Cook pasta, leave to go cold and mix with tinned sweet corn, chopped cucumber and peppers, plus things like chopped salad leaves or spring onions (can cut both with kitchen scissors if easier) and tuna or cubes of ham, chicken, turkey or cheese (or grated cheese to save chopping).

Buy a tray of chicken thighs and drumsticks. Toss them in a bit of garlic puree and herbs or paprika and lemon. Add some cherry tomatoes and frozen pre-prepped red and yellow peppers or mediterranean mixed veg if you are too tired to prep the veg yourself. Roast in the oven for 40-4 mins approx

Mix chicken stock cube with boiling water and pour over couscous and petit pois, a few minutes before the chicken is ready.

Or buy a ready made lasagne and a bag of salad. You're pregnant and hot and shattered - that's what ready meals are for.

Today we cooked up some southern fried chicken thighs and drumsticks mid afternoon then let them go cold.

Will serve with some green beans, sliced raw tomatoes and cucumber.

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

We already eat a lot of pasta, that's the one I'm worried about. Today I asked her what she'd like for dinner and she said vegetables. Insert guilty mum face here!

She loves roast dinners, but it's so warm, the thought of them makes me sick. I've just made a big pot of veg soup, which she also loves, should do us for lunches.

Any other ideas would be v welcome!

Beans on toast with freezer veg
Scrambled egg on toast with freezer veg
Good life falafel with pitta and salad
Fish salads - smoked mackerel, tuna nicoise
Chicken salad with pre cooked chicken.
Fresh pasta and sauce (make sure it has a protein source eg pre cooked chicken)
Breaded items eg chicken or fish with freezer veg or those microwaveable veg bags
Microwave frozen mash and cauliflower cheese
Microwave rice - quite a few have beans/ lentils/quinoa, so just need you to add veg or salad.

Freezer veg can be cooked in the microwave in very little time

Just find an easy protein, easy carb and easy veg. Mix and match!

More!

Omelette of various types.

Btw this could easily be your diet for a while as you will need easy meals after birth too.

Cheese, crackers & chopped salad bits

Nigellas frozen pea chicken thighs are good and so easy. Think the recipe is on her website. But it's chicken thighs, peas, leeks, garlic, dill and olive oil . Only chopping is the leeks shove it all in the tray for an hour and 15. New potatoes. Done.

I also do a big thing of med veg. (Cherry tomatoes, peppers, courgette, red onion, aubergine.) bake with garlic and dried mixed herbs. We normally have it with sausages and garlic bread. The next day I blitz it and make a pasta bake.

Stir fry and noodles is always a hit here as well. So quick and good for the heat.

Frittata is a good one with lots of veg and a big salad.

Falafel in Pitta with lots of veggie bits mine loves avocado and pomegranate seeds with hers

Jamie 5 ingredients roast tikka chicken is super easy and lovely. That's ok his website I think.

Salads and fish are nice in hot weather.

Greek salad with crusty bread.

Baked fish with olive and oil and lemon. Marinate a couple of pieces of white fish (e.g. cod, haddock) in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper for a hour or two. Add a little more olive oil to a frying pan and fry quickly for a minute or two on each side . Then put the fish, oil and garlic together with some fresh parsley and the juice of a lemon into an ovenproof dish and put into the oven for c. 20 minutes at c. 165 C (fan oven). Serve with green beans or a green salad and boiled rice, new potatoes or bread.

Tuna steaks flash fried and served with roast (or even boiled) asparagus

Salmon steaks roasted in the oven with a garlic, basil and olive oil marinade. Serve with new potatoes, cucumber salad and a dab of sour cream.

To increase your veg intake with minimum effort, try doing a vegetable first course before dinner every night. Boiled corn on the cob with a little butter and black pepper, bean salad (boil broad beans or green beans, add dressing, job done), sliced courgette fried with garlic and a little tomato puree, tomato salad (sliced vine tomatoes with chopped fresh parsley and dressing), carrot/celery/pepper sticks with a little bit of dip, grilled aubergines topped with a little Greek yoghurt and fresh mint, avocado and tomato salad or half an avocado with dressing in the hole left by the stone, melon and Parma ham (OK, that's fruit rather than a vegetable)...

Sorry, forgot to say for the white fish recipe above: cover with breadcrumbs before putting into the oven.

Another quick and easy fish recipe is grilled mackerel with a breadcrumb, herb and Parmesan crust.

Lentil, tomato, cheese and onion salad, it's a simplified Ottolenghi recipe.

Halve a pack of cherry tomatoes, lay on a baking tray cut sides up, sprinkle with salt, olive oil ant thyme (if you've got it). Cook at 100C for 40 mins. You want them semi dried.

Thinly slice half an onion (ideally red), soak on a slug of wine vinegar while the tomatoes are drying. Then drain.

Cheese, I use Gorgonzola, but any softish cheese would work, mozzarella would be nice, cut into 1cm(ish) cubes .

Chop some herbs if you have them, I use chives, dill and parsley, whatever is available.

Pack of ready cooked put or beluga lentils, open top slightly, microwave for 40 secs.

Mix lentils, cheese, onion, herbs, tomatoes plus any juices, dress with olive oil and, ideally, a little balsamic vinegar.

Actual prep time is only about 20 mins.

For us that makes a full meal, it's really tasty but you could add other raw veg like peppers or cucumber and add garlic bread or a green salad.

Tesco do a decent range of frozen veg. I've been keeping in a bag of the Oriental mix (I think it's called) for stir frys. Serve with soy sauce and noodles for speedy, filling meal.

Thanks again everyone. Love all the ideas. @TheHonGalahadThreepwood , can I come and live in your house?! The veg first course is a great idea. I often do crudités and dips, I should add it to my dinner rotation.

Will definitely try that Nigella chicken thigh dish too.

Loads of great ideas here already but what about quesadillas - 2 tortillas stuck together with grated cheese and whatever you fancy - shredded leftover chicken or sliced ham for protein, corn, spring onions, thinly sliced red pepper, sweetcorn, avocado etc etc. I like to include a sprinkling of cumin and some corinader leaves for a nod to mexico. I serve with salsa or simple chopped salad. A lot of recipes say to do in a frying pan but I find it easier to do 2 at a time under the grill.

You can also serve scrambled egg on top of or beside 1frenchfoodie 's delicious Mexican grilled wrap sandwiches.