Nice quick lunches/teas for toddler?

[frazzledgirl]

DS is 2, pretty good about eating (veg and all). Dinners no problem - he has what we have, or meals I cook in batches and freeze (chilli, cauli cheese, that kind of thing).

It's lunches I'm so uninspired on.

Currently repertoire is beans on toast, spaghetti on toast, cream cheese sandwich, cheese on toast, hummous and pitta and grated carrot.

I need some new ideas! Any suggestions?

omlette
scrambled eggs
soup with toast
macaroni cheese

OMG I've just realised that I've turned into my mother

This summer holiday I've made a little picnic plate for my girls

fresh buttered bread, ham, chicken, cucmber, toms, peppers, carrots etc you know the type of stuff and just let them sit and help themselves and they absolutely love it!

They enjoy helping prepare it and then its normally demolished in a few minutes

I did make them omlettes the other day and neither of them ate that so won't be doing that again!

Muffin pizzas are always a hit - toasted muffin with tomato puree or tom sauce, grated cheese and veg and under the grill for a bit.

Soups are good too.

Or just a plate of odds and sods - bit of cheese, oatcake, tomatoes and cucumber bits, avocado etc.

Scrambled eggs or omlette are also popular.

These are good, thanks. LadyG, I was greatly encouraged when DS wolfed the scrambled eggs my dad made him.

He did not, of course, touch mine. Which dad taught me to make so same technique and everything.

Huh.

When I was little my mum never made "scrambled eggs" for us, they were called "aunt x's" eggs because hers were better than my mums

DD quite likes mashed up sardines on toast. Very quick and easy just partially toast some bread, mash up a tin of sardines in tomato sauce, spread on the toast and pop under the grill for a couple of minutes. Good brain food & cheap!

I do baked beans fairly often (salt-reduced) but butch them up with sauteed onion/mushroom/carrot/celery, tofu chunks, tin of kidney beans, froz peas and/or sweetcorn and a little shaving of grated cheese or leftover sausage bits - all over pasta.

the other thing I've got that is brilliant is a friand tray - I make a frittata mix (sautee onion/cubed potatoes, add froz peas, diced leftover sausage, ham or bacon, with fresh coriander or parsely - not necessary only because I've got them growing); mix 5-6 eggs in a bowl, stir all the above into it, pour into friand trays and bake 20-25mins. It's not quick but it makes 6 which is 2 lunches and a snack for me and ds.

and cold leftover pizza (home-made so lots of veg)

All these sound great, and hadn't thought of adding stuff to beans - brilliant.

Where do you buy friand trays, I want one!

You can make mini quiches in muffin tins, and they freeze really well. Just roll out pastry, cut circles, push into tins, then drop a bit of onion/sweetcorn/tuna/bacon/tomato etc etc in, then some cheese and pour in quiche mixture.

Mini calzone are nice - just pizza base mix with a blob of tomatoey sauce, some ham/veggies/whatever and cheese, folded over, egg wash and bake. V freezable

Cheesy muffins

Slightly poncey, but I really enjoyed making veg sushi with DS the other day - you just cook the rice according to the instructions, mix in rice vinegar, cool, then use seaweed sheets to roll it around avacado/cucumber. DS(3) thought it was really fun, and we both enjoyed scoffing it. You can even do tuna mayo in the middle or cooked prawns

we just had a sandwich filled with cream cheese, grated cheese and grated pear ('twas a bit hard so not nice to eat on its own). Dd1 called it "speshal pear bread"

Eggy bread is always a firm favourite.

If I have a batch of veg soup made I freeze down small portions for dd1 then add cold chicken/ham/sausages or whatever leftovers are in the fridge

I want to know what a friand tray is?

Friand Tray

my friands are rectangular, it's silicone (omg if you haven't tried that stuff DO) and hot pink. But I can't find it online, sorry.

how funny frazzledgirl i've just posted exactly the same request! Will now read your thread!

Egg & soldiers always does the trick!