Training schedule help with meals

[caffeineandcalpol]

DD 14 is now on an intense training schedule every day. I work FT and family are helping me with drop offs on odd days, but it’s predominantly me doing the running around, I’m struggling with nutritious meal ideas on late nights. Happy to meal prep but I can’t think what as I usually cook from scratch every night. She needs a snack for after school to fuel training and a main meal when she comes in. This could be 9pm ish.
please help me with ideas as this is all new to me

What is she training for? in? That could make a difference.

After school, sandwich, fruit, egg muffins, omelet, toast, toastie, sausages, cook and let go cold, wraps, hummus and pita bread.

\Do you have a slow cooker? I have a small one that does two portions. I make this quite often.

2 x chicken fillets or 4 thighs - skinned and cubed.
A few slices of leek, a few sliced onion, add a tin of condensed mushroom soup and a pot of creme fresh.

You can add more veg and serve with rice or potatoes. Eat one portion then put the other in a pie tin, add a pastry lid and freeze for another day.

When you are making a family meal cook a portion for the freezer, it can be defrosted during the day and then microwaved, I currently have a chicken dinner in the freezer.

Curry - in a slow cooker or cook and freeze in single portions.

Soup, again in the sc with a chunk of nice bread.

Rice (in a pan or rice cooker) with cocoanut milk, tinned pulses, chopped veg and nuts.

CHicken tikka kebab with salad and flat bread with raita.

If you are cooking for the family serve up a portion and leave to be microwaved later.

Tray bake, salmon, chicken or veg.

@sashh shes a climber. She’s training about 3/4 hours a day.
I don’t have a microwave, never had a need for one.. until now.

Wow, climbing. Good for her.

I think you do need a microwave, or maybe a small air fryer. I have a microwave with built in grill so I can cook things like a chicken and it be browned.

I'm thinking that if she is eating at 9 pm she probably doesn't want anything too heavy. Hugh FW does a sort of home made nutritious pot noodle, He puts veg and cooked meat in a kilner jar with seasonings and then adds water.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/diy-pot-noodles

I make an 'Asian broth' (I watch far too muck Masterchef Australia) I use a cube each of frozen ginger and garlic, put in a pan, add seasoning (a veg stock cube works but you can add chilli and soy sauce).

Add boiling water tot he pan and add veg, bok choy, broccoli, fresh chilli, mushrooms, noodles if you want.

Not completely home cooked but a tin of curry sauce and a packet of mixed frozen veg will get you a curry in 15 mins. You can add a couple of hard boiled eggs for protein.

Stir fries are quick and you can prep everything beforehand.

Keep you cupboard stocked with quick cook pasta www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/255340108 It takes just 5 minutes and therefore works well if you’ve already made a sauce and you’re just heating it up. This is a really quick Bolognese www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/beef-recipes/10-min-spaghetti-bolognese - buy pre-chopped mushrooms.

I do lots of stir fries with frozen prepared stir fry veg, cooked chicken or prawns and straight-to-wok noodles. They are normally on the table within 15 mins. We also like this recipe:
10 minute peanut noodles lucyandlentils.co.uk/recipe/10-minute-peanut-vegetable-noodles
Egg fried rice is quick, especially if you use packets of microwave rice www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/sesame-pork-egg-fried-rice
10 minute curry healthylivingjames.co.uk/10-min-chickpea-spinach-curry/ with microwave rice

We have had moments like this too. It's not clear if you're there to give her the snack or she must make it herself and ditto meals. I second the suggestion of an air fryer - it transformed our ability to manage quick meals under these sort of conditions. And really, a small microwave can be very helpful for quickly heating up batch cooked meals like stews/curries etc. Also for things like microwaved rice or prepped veg.

The sorts of things we do when we're all eating at different times like this:

Jacket potatoes - we're doing this tonight in fact. I'll cook them and prep them soon (using microwave and air fryer - I'll stuff them with cream cheese and tuna) then everyone just sticks theirs in the air fryer for five minutes when they're ready to eat.

Fish cakes/chicken kievs/crumbed chicken - I might do a big pile of veggies - steamed/stir fried etc, and then again, everyone just sticks their piece of chicken/fish in the airfryer. If you don't have a microwave either, maybe have some cooked rice and they can eat up the stir fried veg with the rice while the other things are cooking.

Tacos/fajita type things - the core bit is made in advance and left on the stove top. DS/me/DH can fry our own halloumi or meat/chicken to go in it and stuff in a tortilla OR, if I do tacos, stick a taco in the air fryer while the meat is warming up.

Snacks:
Flapjacks etc.
Sandwiches/bagels
wraps with salad and a bit of chicken or halloumi
Sometimes I buy those ITSU frozen gyoza. I want to try them in the air fryer too as a good way for DS to sort them out for himself more easily.
Eggs - DS quite often whips up a quick bowl of scrambled eggs with toast/bagel before he goes to his sports group.

Also, I often keep a packet of fresh stuffed pasta in the fridge too. Can be served with just pesto or some olive oil, or sometimes I buy a tub of pre-made sauce or leave extra sauce portions in the freezer. This is particularly good if I'm not around at all and need to leave it to them complete.y.

Thank you so much this is really helpful.
I think I’m going to buy an airfryer. There’s a good offer on one at the moment.
sorry I haven’t given enough info on the first post.
she gets home from school and grabs a snack, sometimes I make a sandwich/pasta/chicken for her to eat on her way to training. She then climbs for a few hours and conditioning training. I tend to get home from picking her up between 8-9pm depending on where she is as she trains at different venues. So I’m making tea at that hour, happy to put slow cooker on some days but I know she will soon get bored of those kind of means (and so will I) luckily my other DD7 eats with grandma after school. I’m sure we will get into a routine, it’s just chaos at the moment

Boil up 6 eggs at a time and keep them in their shells in the fridge for a quick snack that's filling and full of protein.

Other snacks

• nuts
• bananas
• full fat yoghurt
• cottage cheese
• frozen berries
• crackers

These can be combined - so yoghurt with maple syrup, berries and walnuts or yoghurt, peanut butter and banana is a tasty high protein, filling snack.

• porridge or overnight oats with seeds, berries, peanut butter, cocoa powder. There are loads of good recipes online.

Quick meals

• scrambled egg or omelette with whole grain toast
• stir fry
• fajitas
• tacos
• pasta with pesto