Back to work- need easy/quick nutritious toddler-friendly meal ideas please!

[JumpingJellyfish]

I have recently returned to work and now work 3 days/week (9-5). I have a DD (18 mo) and DS (3.8 yrs). I usually make home-cooked evening meals for us all (we eat together) which when I wasn't working I'd make in the afternoons. I am now struggling as I'm also a part-time student and work every evening and usually one day at a weekend, and don't have time to cook in batches as a consequence so am increasingly relying on soup/bread/fishfingers/cous-cous etc. on the evenings of my working days... Would love to be more inventive but I'm so short of time-
any good meal ideas that can be cooked rapidly or made very quickly the night before (while making packed lunches etc!)?

To add to the fun the meals need to have a higher-fat option if possible (or amenable to sneaking in extra butter/creme fraiche etc.) as DD has cystic fibrosis and needs lots of calories (unlike the rest of us!)

Would very much appreciate ideas from all you busy mums of littlies!

Thank you.

To be honest one of my childrens favourite meals is fishfingers mixed vegetables and rice. It is actually a fairly well balanced meal!

Can you get hold of a slow cooker?

Or does your oven have a timer?

I frequently put a chicken in the oven when i go out in the am and it starts cooking during the afternoon. new potatoes & frozen veg don't take long once you are in.

Also I make up all the sandwiches for the week in one go and freeze them. It makes making lunches up much quicker.

Also, Asda do a frozen casserole mix tip it in a big casserole dish with whatever you fancy, chicken, beef,sausages whatever add in some peas or anything else u like ( i normally use leftovers)chuck in some stock and tell your oven to cook it for a couple of hours.

As you can tell I hate prepping veg!! I even have a big bag of frozen chopped onion, makes things like spag bol / cottage pie much quicker.

Don,t know if this helps or not? good luck

Apparently DH has a slow cooker! I've never used it but it sounds like a very good idea... Do you use it like a casserole- ie. meat/veg/potatoes/stock all in one?

Unfortunately we have a very basic oven with no timer (but hopefully will be moving in a few months and it's on my list of things I want to change!)

Had never thought about buying pre-chopped veg but it really would save me a lot of time (and like you I really don't enjoy prepping veg esp when in a rush!)- the extra expense would be offset by the reduction in stress at the mo I think! Definitely a good tip!

Do frozen sandwiches go soggy once defrosted? DS really like 'crunchy' sarnies so not sure if this would work but would love to give it a go! What fillings work ok when frozen?

Thank you!

Ok! Slow cookers great for casserole stuff! Yep Chuck it all in!!!

Funnily the prechopped veg isn't more expensive as long as you buy it frozen its the fresh prepared stuff thats expensive + no waste either! If you can get to Makro they do suberb ready chopped stuff ratatouille / roasting veg. I stick roasting veg into my casseroles too MMMMMM!!

My friend normally cooks double servings when she does things like cottage pie. one for the table one for the freezer. if everything is all ready to go it takes the same amount of time.

As for sandwiches I actually use rolls. ASda again are good they do big pack of freezable rolls so I buy those, I use vitalite because its freezable ( lots are now check the packet) and I do plain sarnies of chicken/ham/ whatever they will eat.

When I make the lunch boxes up the night b4 I put any salad in separatley ( carrot lettuce, toms cue etc.) by lunchtime the next day its really good, not soggy at all according to my dp and he's really fussy!!.

I partly started doing this because once they are frozen you aren't wasting sandwich fillings/ bread and I know I have enough for the week.

gotta go!!