Meals for 1/2? Need inspiration

[Lovemusic33]

I’m stuck in the rut of eating the same meals every week, buying the same food in my weekly online shop. I have 2 DD’s, both have ASD, one is very fussy about what she eats and has loads of sensory issues with food so I either have to eat what she likes or cook separate meals, she won’t eat anything in a sauce or gravy, won’t eat much veg and hates trying new things, dd2 will try most things.

At the mom eat I seem to be living on salad, mainly chicken and occasionally fish. We have pizza once a week (dd1’s favourite) but I’m getting bored of the same thing. We tried Hello fresh but it wasn’t worth the money as Dd1 wouldn’t eat any of it and dd2 was a bit hit and miss with it.

We grow our own fruit and veg so at the moment we eat what we pick, we have a lot of courgettes, small squash, lettuce and soon we will have runner beans. So any recipes for courgettes would be great.

Looking for recipe/meal ideas that are easy to make for 1 or 2 people, I have a slow cooker and air fryer.

Give me some inspiration?

Lemony prawn pasta www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lemony-prawn-courgette-tagliatelle
Nasi goreng realfood.tesco.com/recipes/southeast-asian-style-meatballs-and-fried-rice.html
Pilaf www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-sausage-courgette-pilaf
Risotto www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tomato-courgette-risotto

You have my sympathy as my DD is very similar, probably not as extreme though.

Sometimes, like tonight, I make something I know I've got a chance of her eating. Other times, I give her something I know she'll eat and do something else for us.

Have you had a look at the Gousto recipes. They are for 2 and you can often do them for less money than by buying a box. If you and DD2 could try those a couple of times a week and let DD1 have one of her favourites?

I will take a look at gousto, we did hello fresh during the first lock down but found we had loads left over and it was hard finding things that me and dd2 would agree on eating (though I’m not fussy). I’m trying to diet which makes things even harder, dd2 loves the pasta dishes from Hello fresh.

Could you do a mix and match approach?

For example the menu is pasta and sauce
DD1 gets plain pasta with whatever veg/chicken she will eat on the side
DD2 gets pasta and sauce as per the menu
You get diet friendly courgette strips to replace the pasta with the same sauce as DD2

So you all get something that suits but it doesn’t feel quite as time consuming as three separate meals

I wish, dd1 won't even eat pasta...or meat...or most veg. She literally lives in pizza and potatoes with the occasional fish cake. Her sensory issues with food are extreme ☹, its taken me 16 years to get her to eat a jacket potato.

Sounds tough @Lovemusic33. Given how limited dd1s diet is you don’t have much option but to cook separate meals in which case the trick is definitely to have a selection of quick to prepare and batch cooked meals.

Chilli, curries, bolognese (meat or veg) can be batch cooked so you only have to reheat and add sides. They can be as healthy as you want to make them, lots of great recipes on BBC Good food. IMO spending the time every few weeks on cooking a batch of these is worth it for the time it saves us on weekday evenings after work.

Quiches or frittatas will last a few days in the fridge, add salad/chips/whatever.

Stir fries are quick and easy and don’t have to repetitive- change up the sauce and protein, have with rice one time, noodles the next.

^^ These would all be good for using up your courgettes too .

For busy evenings where we need to eat and go we’ll have quick meals such as

Filled omelettes
Tortellini
Veggie fried rice
Sautéed veg with pasta
Wraps eg Halloumi or falafel with veggies and salad
Don’t forget ‘something on toast’ type meals. I like a tuna melt or portobello mushrooms with brie & pesto. Throw on a handful of leaves and you’re good!