Help - will only have microwave, kettle & toaster for 2 weeks

[BalloonSlayer]

Having kitchen done - woo hoo!

2 of my three DCs are the dreaded chicken nuggets type kids. One is a good eater.

What the hell can I give them to eat? We can't even eat out all that much as DS1 (the good eater) is allergic to milk and eggs.

Then there is us. DH is a vegetarian. WTF are we going to eat?

Anyone who has been through this who can help me?

take-out pizza, soup, KFC, sandwiches, salads

Seriously, can you make some casseroles, pasta dishes, shepherd's pie type things to re-heat in micro? And ask a couple of friends to help out with hot stuff?

Can you borrow slow cooker from someone? A good friend of mine has coped for 6 months with a camping hotplate, slow cooker and microwave, so it can be done.

Good luck!

I did this recently for same time frame when I moved. My DS has a very limited diet too and is very difficult to feed at the best of times. For him I just threw good parenting out of the window and he had things like micro chips and noodles, hotdogs, etc. .

Normal eaters are fine. I found it not too bad for me. Make up some things like soups, stews, curries, casseroles and freeze them so they just need warming through (do you have or can you borrow a slow cooker?). Baked potatoes can be microwaved (not quite same as oven baked IMO but needs must). Cous cous very handy.

Couple of takeaway teas. Go to friends/relatives for tea one night.

Just go with it, the two weeks actually flies by.

Could you afford a remoska or a multicooker ? That would let you do all sorts of things

Thanks all.

Yes I think we will prob be ok as we can microwave a few frozen bits. Also we can get takeaways.

It's the flaming chicken nugget brigade that are worrying me.

I did it, for the exact same reason.

Those bags of veg that you do in the microwave were useful. Generally browsing around the supermarket for things that were relatively normal that could microwaved (I don't normally do that sort of thing!!) - the fish pies and lasagne were best, ime.

Cous cous you just add hot water to was handy.

Tho, 3 weeks on, I was desperate for my kitchen back. There is a lot of salt in the ready made stuff, and it made us all feel a bit sick by the end. If my parents had been closer, I would have gone and stayed with them at the weekends for some normality and detoxing!!

Not really the weather, but if you have a gas barbeque you could do sausages, chops, (or even a turkey, so I am told!).

LOL at couscous - DH thinks it's too "middle class" for him to eat . One of the long list of things DH sneers at; other items are avocados, skiing, four wheel drives, tappas, you name it.

Am longing to tell him it's all we can have, and he's got no choice, then feed him nowt but couscous for a fortnight. He'll be looking at skiing brochures before I know it .

Yes the bags of frozen steamable in microwave veg are handy for getting abit of healthy food with you meals, I also bought a bag of chopped carrot sticks (raw + fresh) for DS so I knew he was getting something healthy, and made sure I had plently of healthy fast food snacks in to balance out less varied meals just general stuff like fruit, yoghurts, cheese, etc.

Yeah give him couscous for a week you know you want to {mwah ha ha ha!)

Use this as an opportunity to get your kids off chicken nuggets!

Will you have a freezer? If so, get to Iceland and stock up on microwave meals. Most of their stuff is microwaveable.

Personally, I would add the cost of eating out or getting takeaways to the cost of the kitchen.

Could you borrow a steamer - not much good for the chicken nuggets but good for you - you can really do most things in it if you add enough buuter afterwards - salmon, chicken, rice, potatoes, veg etc...

Otherwise its a lot of jacket potatoes with beans on or cheese on or coleslaw on...

• let him eat couscous!

The Ainsley Harriot hot and spicy one is nice - love that this now makes me officially middle class!!

I like avocados too - and big prawns...

do the chicken nuggets on a low heat in the microwave. (with any luck it will turn them off them for good)

We have done this recently, DH and I stocked up on ready meals, but I also upgraded our microwave to one with a grill, so managed pork chops, steaks etc, and do sauseages and Fish Fingers for DC's, they were at nursery fro this period and had cooked lunches there which helped.

And can I just add that my parents whi are very definitely upper class, love couscous

Well there you go, Five.

DH maintains that despite being a home owner, living in a leafy suburb, driving a nice company car, working in a senior management job and earning a good salary he is working class and will remain so till the day he dies. He despises all things he deems to be middle class.

borrow a steamer, slow cooker and a george foreman!

alternatively treat yourself to one in the sales!

George Foreman grill.

Real chicken.

So out of curiosity, if you go out to friends and you were offered, tapas, couscous or avocados what does he do?

Bargainous indeedy.

The microwaveable steam cuisine type meals from M&S are lovely.

Tesco used to do little boxes of microwavable chicken nuggets. But that was a few years ago.

One word for your working class husband BalloonSlayer -

SMASH

Good luck with the kitchen - hope it only takes 2 weeks! (Ours was finished in 4 months...)