Super quick meal ideas

[Dreamsofus]

Does anyone have any recipe ideas for super quick meals please? Like no longer than 15-30 mins to prepare and make.

DS(7) is a very fussy eater and I absolutely hate taking time to make meals which get thrown in the bin without even being touched.

I follow My Fussy Eater blog recipes and have had endless recipes books from the library.

He will eat the following ‘dinner’ foods (most of the time):

Chicken
Fish
Curry & satay sauces
Baked beans
Scrambled egg (only)
Pizza (margarita or pepperoni)
Lasagne (a small portion, not enough to fill up on though)
Macaroni cheese (only the school lunch though)
Tuna
Rice (plain)
Burger
Garlic bread

He won’t eat:

Any vegetables at all including potatoes (except roasted)
Bolognaise sauce (so can’t make up batches and freeze)
Pasta (except stated above)
Stir-fry
Cheese (unless melted)
Eggs (occasionally will eat small amount of scrambled egg)
Tortilla (so no fill your own wrap etc)
Fish fingers
Pesto
And most other things which I’d be listing forever!

We follow all the fussy eater advice from the dietician, reading etc to no avail. He’s been like it since about 18 months old.

Ugh, that is really hard.

One thing that comes to mind is the Roasting Tin books - there’s one called the Quick Roasting tin. You basically put everyone in one dish, and bung it in the oven. If you did a chicken or fish-based one, then he could have that element and you could have the rest?

Satay chicken skewers, ready made, with some other bits on the side?

I also wondered about fondue if he’ll eat melted cheese. Roast potatoes (you could use leftovers), bits of chicken (again leftovers) and a fondue pot of cheese. Should be v quick to do.

I was a fussy eater and I feel terrible about what I put my mum through!

I’m sure you’re up to your neck in advice and ideas but there’s a v good kids dietician who’s on Instagram as kidseatincolor (she’s American), and she’s got specific resources for fussy eaters. Might be worth a look.

Well I'm not sure I can give you any 'recipes' but maybe a few options.
Fish would be one of my go to's because it it is really quick to cook. You don't really mention flavours although the fact that he eats curry and garlic bread suggests they may be ok.

Salmon or cod fillets baked in the oven with lemon juice, a dab of butter and finely chopped herbs. Or if he will eat it, coated in sweet chilli sauce. Serve with rice.

Similarly with chicken breasts, butterfly and grill to cook quicker. You could first marinate them in a mix of natural yoghurt and a mild curry paste, or a marinade of garlic and herbs, black pepper.
Or use a rub to flavour the meat, paprika, Cajun, Smokey bbq (you can either buy the rubs ready made or mix your own (just google Cajun spice rub). If you have a George foreman they are fab for chicken and fish.

I know you said tortilla were a no but have you tried cutting them into triangular tortilla chips? Bake and then top with beans and melted cheese. Or quesadilla.

Would he eat pita bread? Easy to stuff with grilled meat, fish and a bit of mayo, bbq sauce etc. Or you could introduce them as a pizza base.

Does he have school lunches or take a packed lunch?

If he has a hot meal at lunch time then sliced baguette with cold chicken, tuna would be fine.

@Rainallnight thanks, I’ll have a look at the Roasting Tin book. I have heard of it but I shall pop onto the library to have a look at it. I have an instagram account that I’ve never used so I will look that up too.

@AtleastitsnotMonday thanks for the recipe ideas - they are really good. He has school lunches but apparently leaves the vege. When he goes into Y3 we are going to mix n match between school and packed lunches as he does moan sometimes about certain lunches, but he won’t have the jacket potato alternative either.

Typically, he won’t eat normal bread - it has to be sourdough or bagels and it will only be with Marmite or Vegemite which long-term isn’t the greatest nutritionally; he will eat other things if the bread is toasted but not without. Gggrr!

Roasting Tin Book sounds great

It's very hard - BTDT!

You could batch cook and freeze a fish or chicken curry
Serve the lasagne with garlic bread
Serve the burger with wedges (not too dissimilar to roast potatoes). Both can also be batch cooked and frozen
Scrambled egg and baked beans together, plus garlic bread

How do you normally do the tuna?

Have you tried other bean dishes, like a mild chili (probably with chicken or ground beef as a veggie/vegan chili will likely have many vegetables)? How about a lentil or chick pea curry? Seasoned black beans? Any of these go well with plain rice. These may have a bit longer cooking time, but easy prep and you can batch and freeze, and you can add a simple salad for others in the household who'll eat it.

Can you find out what he likes about the school mac & cheese, or even what brand/recipe they use? Mac & cheese with fish sticks or chicken tenders would be an easy thing to do when short of time.

Is there any type of soup he would eat? Lentil, black bean, tomato, chicken noodle? That could round out a lot of meals, even the lasagne.

Can you explain more about his not liking bread? If he eats a burger or tuna or melted cheese, how does he eat them? Sandwiches with soup could be good, but only if they are sandwiches he'll eat. (Grilled cheese? Chicken? Peanut butter?) But also, something nutritious on crackers - tuna salad, hummus, plain cold cheese, etc - is an OK accompaniment with a nutritious soup.