help i'm a rubbish cook need to feed 16month toddler

[purplehaze]

Hi

Need your help

I'm a terrible cook can only do the basic's (i am planning on going on a cooking course)

my son just seems to live on sandwiches carrots and pasta!!!! I feel so guilty

Can anyone tell me there toddlers best meal time foods and some simple and quick recipies.

Thanks in desperate need of some food ideas.

xxx

An excellent book is Annabel Carmel toddler and baby weening book.
Its basic clear and really really easy.
I was the same as you and did not cook, now i enjoy it and have bought some more cook books and make all sorts of stuff.
Have you clicked onto the "recipes" title for some good recipes, there are hundreds on that.
Just go to the top of the page, onto "topics" then into recipes, ive used loads from that.
HTH.x

I'll second the Annabel Carmel book - it's got some really good ideas.

I try to give my ds what we're eating as often as possible. His favourites are: fish pie, shepherds pie, beef stew and roast dinners. If I'm making something suitable for him, I try and make a bit extra, and freeze a few meals for him. I average about 4 extra portions, and then these do for his lunches as well.

Also, even if you've just got some spare veg, portion this off and freeze it - pureed it will make a quick and nutritious pasta sauce.

HTH

I am too lazy for annabelle karmels book, plus not very good at following a recipe so I just use it for ideas.

Some of his quick and easy favourites are:

cheesy scrambled egg with tomato (usually cook in the microwave) with toast
Omlette with any veg(all precooked in the microwave)/ham/tuna etc
Pasta (fresh if I want to be really quick) with either tomato sauce, pesto, cheese sauce etc and veg
Shepherds pie, not cooked in the oven so effectively mince, gravy and mashed potato
Jacket potato with cheese, beans, tuna & sweetcorn etc
Egg in a cup - soft boiled egg, mashed in a cup with butter and toast fingers
Cous cous with chicken and either lemon and coriander or pesto
Butternut squash and bacon rissotto (got the recipe off mumsnet and it is delish and very quick)

I can't cook either but just have some trusty favourites that I can make really easily and quickly. Frozen veg is a good standby as well.

Oh and I do the same as laura, freeze loads of stuff we've all had like lasagne, bolognaise sauce, fish pie etc and use it when I need something really quick

ds loves this quickie meal:

fry some mince in a big sauce pan
add any veggies you want, I normally do diced carrots, tin of tomatoes, i diced onion and a tin of sweetcorn
simmer for about half and hour and add grated cheese on top when serving!

very quick and easy, freezes well.

I also found the Annabel Karmel book great. The recipies are really simple and easy to follow. A good buy. My sister bought me Cooking for Coco, some lovely recipies as well with some combinations you might not usually think of for children.

Hi, my 18mo eats

avocado
banana
satsumas
apples
yoghurt
omelettes with cheese
melon
strawberries
raspberries
cucumber
mango
peaches
grapes (cut them up small though)
cherry tomatoes (ditto)
peas
rice cakes
rice
grated cheese
baked beans
homemade tomato sauce for pasta: cut some onions up small and some garlic, fry them to soften, add atin of tomatoes, some oregano and some apple juice if you want it sweeter, cook and blitz in a food processor if you want to, pour over pasta
roast veg
baby sweetcorn (easy to hold)
home made Popcorn
pizza
garlic bread
eggy bread - break and egg, whisk briefly with a fork to mix it up, soak some bread in it and fry in a pan. Try to get her to have some vit c with any egg thing to help with absorbtion of iron from the eggs

Most of that needs hardly any cooking, good luck!