Meal ideas for toddler

[CwinkleCwinkle]

My 18 month old is dairy free and can't have tomatoes or peppers. I am running out of ideas for dinners and we're all getting bored! Before we worked out that she can't have tomatoes, she loved bolognese, chilli and things like that. She never seems to like pork, she does like fish and she loves mashed potato and gravy.

I'm looking for preferably big batch recipes that we can all eat, especially stuff that freezes well and is quick to get on the table after work.

Her favourites at the minute are white bolognese, salmon, mince and gravy and chicken stew.

To complicate things, my husband can't eat pulses or bean dishes - the odd bean is fine but a bean stew wouldn't be.

Any suggestions?

If you have a slow cooker - beef stew mash and veg... chicken casserole... sausage casserole... Quiche chips and salad (assuming she can have eggs?? I know they are technically dairy just most people i know who are dairy free can have them sorry if I'm wrong!!).. mild curries (made with Coconut milk)..

Fishfingers chips and beans?! 🙈

Jacket potatoes with various fillings... again handy if you have slow cooker/airfryer!

You might need to accept that you batch cook and freeze in portions so that your husband and your daughter can sometimes eat different things.

There's a gut health doctor recipe for creamy dairy free linguine which we like - it uses tofu and soaked cashews for the sauce, might that work for you?

Try also toddler-friendly Thai curry (make your own paste and freeze paste or complete dish), also satay-style sauce with peanut, low salt soy sauce, lime and honey/maple syrup over noodles with veg and protein of choice. Not a freezer meal but VERY quick especially if you use a ready sliced bag of stir fry veg

Have a look at the allergy chef blog, there's a recipe there for notomato sauce could be just what you're looking for Nomato sauce

Pasta (orecchiette) with broccoli and anchovies is delicious, healthy and very flavoursome. It isn't freezer friendly, but it's ready in 30 minutes.
Another quick pasta favourite is prawns & courgettes in our home.
Pan fried sea bass fillets are ready in 4 minutes and my kids love them. With a side of roast potatoes (regular or sweet) and roast vegs (like courgettes) you have a nice and easy meal.
A mild coconut-based curry can also be a good idea and it is good to batch cook. I make a simple version of korma with butternut squash and chickpeas, but you can substitute these for chicken.
Oven baked frittata with your favourite vegetables is another nice idea, with a side salad and some bread it makes for a decent midweek dinner.
Going into autumn I would look up soup recipes as well.

Thai chicken curry https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/thai_chicken_curry_06763 - freezing instructions are at the bottom of the page. I used to reduce the amount of curry paste when my dc were a lot younger.
Tuna burgers https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/tuna-and-sweetcorn-burgers-with-roasted-pepper-salsa?recipe_id=7525dfb2-919e-11ed-a7d3-5be233d67dfc - you can freeze them before cooking

Just make Bolognese without any tomato in it. You only use the puree for colour really.

Eggs are not dairy!!!
Dairy is mammal milk.
Eggs come from birds (or reptiles - but I'm not aware of reptile eggs for sale in the uk supermarkets).

I would do meals that can be constructed at the table to suit everyone.

Chicken or steak fajitas, lettuce, spring onions, avocado, tomato and peppers (for the grown ups), dairy free yoghurt and cheese

Ditto above but tacos with beef mince

Chicken souvlaki, salad, tzatziki, flatbreads

Peiking duck wraps, rice, salad stuff to bulk it out

I I would absolutely make bean/pulse things for everyone but Dh (he can sort an alternative). Your dd has limits on her diet already and I would not limit them even more. Your Dh can just eat something from the freezer that night.

I make my own pesto:
Pine nuts
Basil
Sun-dried toms but you can of course miss these out.

Pesto pasta
Pesto on a wholemeal flat bread with toppings to make a special pizza.

We make easy chicken / sausage casseroles in the slow cooker with stock pots and roasted veg.

My 2 year old likes Korma at the moment made with haricot beans and various veg (he won't eat any meat at home...)

Fish pie
fish cakes
Shepards / cottage pie
Chicken & broccoli pesto pasta
stir fry and salmon
satay chicken

Fish pie
fish cakes
Shepards / cottage pie
Chicken & broccoli pesto pasta
stir fry and salmon
satay chicken

Risottos could work. Chicken and leek is a winner here.
Chicken and broccoli hot pot.
Spaghetti with Butternut Squash and sage.

Pesto?

Thank you all for the suggestions! Lots to look through 😀

Pestos of various kinds
egg based dishes
jacket potatoes
dairy free pastry - roll out sheet, spread with something like pesto, tapenade, anything and top with any other toppings. Cook like pizza.

I would accept many people’s reality that until either your DH or DD is able to widen their diet, you might have to grab 2 tubs from the freezer and serve each with the same sides.

To clarify, we often do but the more options I have of what we can all eat, the better.

Google “Nomato sauce” to usebinntge place of tinned tomatoea. it’ll open up the world of “tomato” based dishes again.It’s essentially veg puree of beets and squash.

Also “ White bolognese”.