Meal ideas for an 18 month old

[WewishyouaBUMPERLICIOUS]

Can you give me your meal ideas for an 18 month old?

Evening meal is fine mostly as she just has what we are having, but we are in a breakfast and lunch rut.

Breakfast is usually toast, but she doesn't really eat much of it. I occasionally give her cereal but again, doesn't eat much.

Lunch is usually snacky food like crackers, bits of cheese, cherry toms, quiche. She's not keen on sarnies. Sometimes I give her eggs in some form. But we are definitely in a rut. I need food that is easy to make. I also need inspiration for evening meals when DH and I aren't eating with her, e.g. that last 2 nights when we have had people over and eaten when she is in bed.

We are definitely in a rut. She's not one of these "eats anything" babies either. She would happily subsist on a diet of tomatoes, lasagne and satsumas, . Things she used to eat she doesn't really eat much any more, she doesn't eat a huge amount, though I don't have anything to compare to really. Inspire me!

Watching with interest, (in a similar rut!)

pizza
macaroni and cheese
falafels
spag bol
fish pie
dhal

My toddler likes blended vegetable soup, baked beans, boiled eggs, roast potatoes, cherry tomatoes, houmous with carrot sticks/breadsticks etc.

Oh, and quorn sausages

Various things on toast, beans, spaghetti, eggs cheese, etc
soups
omlette and other egg varieties!
cheese and crackers
potoato wedges
pasta and a sauce
pasta salad
those nice filled tortellini thingys
mostly homemade stuff although we do also have the occasional fishfinger sandwich! yum yum

We are in a rut, lunch is usually either:

fishfingers and peas
egg fried rice with peas and ham in it
macaroni cheese

Fortunately DS is at nursery 4 days a week where he gets lots of variety.

Thanks for the tips. Maybe I need to make a big cheesy pasta bake or something which will do lunch quickly for a few days.

Mmmm, falafels sounds good, but I would just eat them all myself!

I feel in a similar rut with 16mo DTs but the following have seemed popular recently:

Red Pepper hommous (bought) with grated carrot as a filling for a english muffin sarnie. Mine aren't keen on sandwiches all the time either - but these seem to go down well.

Salmon fishcakes made with tinned salmon and leftover mashed potato.

Drop scone type things with tuna and various veg (sweetcorn, peas, broccoli) mixed into the batter.

Turkey and apricot meatballs (just mix minced turkey with chopped apricot - I added a bit of BBQ sauce too!) with veg or pasta.

Second the falafel idea, mine LOVE this!

We're in a rut too, so watching with interest.
Our rut goes as follows:

Breakfast: DD has at nursery: weetabix and toast
On weekends she has: Porridge

Lunch: She usually has at nursery.
On weekends we'll have a stirfry with noodles or tuna melt or spag bol

Supper:
Sunday roast leftovers
Soup
Home made chicken nuggets with pasta and frozen veg
Lentil croquettes
Fish cakes with pasta and frozen veg
jacket potato with cheese and beans (as a treat)

Currently, we're trying to make pies (with economy-drive homemade pastry)
In the new year, I've made a resolution to try DD on:
falafel
couscous
and any other ideas this thread might throw up

mine has recently discovered homemade muffins for breakfast..i followed Nigellas tip and measure out dry ingreds night before and then mix the wet in following morning[on weekends] and have freshly made muffins..they definitley disappear fast in this hous eor batch cook some..yesterday i made 36 ..hmmm now where have they all gone?
other ideas..Quesadilla
mixed veg in either cheese or tomato suce
couscous with roast root veggies
ratatouille with jacket potato
homemade burger/meatballs ,spaghetti and tomato sauce
homemade chicken soup with noodles or rice
kedgeree
spanish omelette
smoked haddock...mash and veggies

filled pitta breads
jacket potatoe
naan bread pizzas (or muffin pizzas)
boiled egg and soldiers
omlette
tuna and sweetcorn pasta
spaghetti sauce and cheese
crumpets with any topping
bubble and squeak with egg and beatroot

breadsticks and hoummus
fruit salad
yogurt and fruit
fruit crisps
chopped boiled egg
cereal bars
yogurt coated raisins
prunes/apricots/dried pineapple/cranberries

hope that is a few usefull lunchy ideas theese are the sort of things ds liked to eat at 18months for lunch and for breakfast maybe:

scrambled egg
yogurts
fruit
dried cereal (if not 2 keen on mixed with milk)
sausage bacon and beans
muffins
crumpets
porridge

hope thats helpfull

ds is nearly 19mo and luckily very greedy so will rarely refuse food however revolting .
breakfast used to be toast all the time but we have now branched out into either porridge, readybrek, weetabix, crumpets (v popular plastered in butter), croissants or pancakes (at weekends when i can be arsed to make them) plus fruit.
tends to be one 'main' meal a day which like you is often something like the casserole we had last night, and lunch is either snacky - cheese on toast, scrambled egg, plus fruit and something like tomatoes - or something vegetably.
he loves stews of chickpeas, tomatoes and whatever veg is in fridge; pancakes with cheese and spinach sauce; veg soup; pasta with anything; leeks cooked til soft and smothered in cheese sauce plus bits of ham.
those little vacuum packs of gnocchi from supermakets, with tomato sauce and cheese also v popular. second felafels, bought or homemade; mini quiches (i make them to take to work for lunch); spanish omelette; sweetcorn fritters (basically like little thick panckaes with sweetcorn in. admittedly there is no form of sweetcorn he wouldn't eat.)
he also likes fishcakes, especially made with sweet potato; goujons of chicken or fish; rice with vegetables (peas and sweetcorn and whatever else there is) and bits of ham; mushroom risotto (usually made for us and left over); sardines on toast.
he does have couscous but doesnt seem that keen, shame as is blardy convenient. polenta with cheese is quite popular (oh dear we are exposed as ponces - have to say dh and me dont eat it).