Do you cook a decent healthy meal everyday?

[newlysinglemummy]

It is just me and 18month old dd who is a fussy eater and never eats what I give her. She does not eat all the same food as me.

So I often feel there is no point in cooking, I need some ideas of healthy balanced meals to cook everyday.

And I'm wondering if I'm super lazy or does anyone else feel like me? I think whats the point in cooking if it will only be me eating it?

I feel exactly the same (and I'm not a lone parent!) Dh often comes in late from work so the children have tea earlier - they often end up with some weird and wonderful combinations (eg. fish fingers and hot cross buns ) But I do try to make it reasonably healthy and make sure they have some fruit afterwards....
What's the point in spending ages preparing something that will just go in the bin?

dd usually ends up with jacket potatoe with bean or veg... I think i need some real motivation...

This week:

(most of the meals have been consumed by all of us. me, DP, DD (aged 2) and DS (11 months)

roast chicken
salad

Falafels (homemade)
babaganoush

chicken and mushroom risotto

veg pasta
salad

Pasta with tuna, peas, and broccoli

Rice with tomato sauce and chickpeas

Couscous and anything you like - peas, tinned pulses, roast veg, salmon, feta/halloumi...

Macaroni cheese with peas/leeks sneaked in the sauce

Spanish omelette with garlicky fried leftover potatoes and salad

Pancakes with bolegnese sauce/veggie chilli

BTW I totally get what you mean about it seeming a bit pointless when the DC just look at it and go [meh]

I make the effort to cook a healthy meal most days because it makes me feel and cope that bit better - if DD deigns to eat it, well thats a great bonus!

I am not a lone parent but my husband works away mon to frid. Most of the time we eat Jacket Potatoes, pasta dishes (dead quick and easy) and always have loads of rice in the cupboard. Make sure you have loads of tinned tomatoes, pasata sauce garlic, mixed herbs, tabasco sauce chick peas, tinned tuna and just loads of vegetables etc. most of my meals take no more than 10 mins to cook. I have to say, I rarely cook the traditional meat, potatoes and veg type dinners except on Sundays. As for the little one not eating the same as you, I would personally discourage that. Put the food down - and if after gentle encouragement they don't eat it, well tough! they soon get the message believe me - ive been there. Good luck.

A good very easy thing to do when motivation is lacking is pasta and pesto with peas/brocolli/finely chopped spinach..... etc.... in it.

Works a treat. Healthy, easy and very, very lazy.... (I mean shop-bought pesto, obviously)

Yes I do, every day.

I am not a lone parent but my husband works away mon to frid. Most of the time we eat Jacket Potatoes, pasta dishes (dead quick and easy) and always have loads of rice in the cupboard. Make sure you have loads of tinned tomatoes, pasata sauce garlic, mixed herbs, tabasco sauce chick peas, tinned tuna and just loads of vegetables etc. most of my meals take no more than 10 mins to cook. I have to say, I rarely cook the traditional meat, potatoes and veg type dinners except on Sundays. As for the little one not eating the same as you, I would personally discourage that. Put the food down - and if after gentle encouragement they don't eat it, well tough! they soon get the message believe me - ive been there. Good luck.

No I don't I work full time as does Dh and our freezer is tiny so I cannot bulk cook and freeze for busy nights.

I try and cook as often as possible.

no, but because I am not interested in food other than as fuel. This is nothing to do with being a single parent.

This week's evening meals have been;

• sausage & rice & roast veg (carrots, parsnips, leeks). I don't eat rice, so that was for kids, they ate a couple of the carrots under protest and none of the other veg.
• they went to their dad's, I had some veg soup (canned)
• omelette & chips
• chicken kiev, potato wedges, corn-on-cob for kids, sprouts and sauted leeks for me.

Often they have weetabix and banana one night a week.

Also, fishfingers & wedges, pasta with cheese on and some ham chopped and mixed in, shephard's pie - which they won't eat so they have some mince with tomato puree mixed in and rice, and I make shephard pie with the rest, roast chicken & trimming, chicken in (brought) sauce, jacket potatoes with cheese & leeks, poached eggs on toast, pizza & garlic bread.

Probably not balanced and healthy, but I really am crap with food and don't care enough about it to spend ages cooking. Don't think our diet will be sending us to an early grave.

Quite expensive, but if feeling really lazy, just a cheese sandwich and then one of those Ella's Kitchen veg purees. Fills 'em up and they get their dose of vegetables.
And fresh fruit.

No. I serve a decent healthy meal every day, but I don't always cook it - when I can't be arsed, I'll take some pre-batch-cooked stuff out of the freezer and defrost/ microwave it.

Also I try to meal plan, so that helps with not cooking when I know I'll be tired as it's a late work day, so need to do something quick/ in advance/ defrost something. Will plan that in.

Nothing wrong with sandwiches, bergentulip. Though mine want hot meal, so have got round that by getting soup out of the freezer, microwaving that and serving with sandwiches. Quick, nutritious and no effort!

good to see I am not the only one, I just need to get back into a routine of making nice meals, i think I will go shopping tomorrow...

Thanks for the ideas everyone, how do you make homemae falafel? I love that...

I do try but accept failure as normal and not a sign that I am a bad mother.

Pasta and veg are great - have with pesto sauce, tuna mayo, tomatoe and basil, just cheese or whatever you have.

This evening we had fish and chips, fresh breaded fish fillets and potatoes I blanched and roasted in the oven. Ds loved it. A bit of ketchup makes it just like the real thing but half, or less, the fat.

Cheese omelettes with veg and mash are also fairly quick and easy but also fairly balanced. I do one omelette between the two of us (less cooking time) and you can bulk it out with onion and peppers.

Tuna and pasta bake with sweetcorn and steamed root veg.

I was told about a meal called mash bash tonight. Basically, mashed potatoes, corned beef (or any meat, I suppose) veg selection (peas, sweetcorn, peppers, diced carrot, cabbage etc) all mixed in together and topped with cheese. Sounds like leftover heaven.

Jacket Potatoes are my saviour, I could always find something different in my cupboard or fridge to put in one. Suggestion: red onion-diced, strong cheddar-grated, mixed into fromage frais and seasoned. Is especially tasty if mixed the night before.

I actually love cooking, I just don't have the time.

Oh a good tip I got from here, is that parboiled potatoes/ chips are actually better after having been frozen. So I batch them as well and always have a supply of oven ready chips which can just be sprayed or brushed with oil - much cheaper than buying McCains etc.!

(and prob healthier - less fat)

This week myself and dd have cooked:
lamb meatballs and spaghetti

veg stirfry and tuna steak

baked potato and guacamole

cod curry and brown rice

veg soup and homemade rolls

I often can't be arsed but get dd involved - she is an expert garlic peeler! - and I think she eats it more willingly having helped.

please can you post your recipe for cod curry?

i am in the same boat with a 2 year old.i spend money on nice food spend ages preparing it just for her to snub it and ask for breadsticks instead.

I think it will get easier as dd gets older as I will be able to reason with her and say, if you dont eat this you wont be able to have anything else, but at the moment she just shouts din at me all the time...

ok I'm feeling much better now went to buy a few healthy bits today, fruit veg and salad, so will be eating healthier now. I am banning chocolate for both dd and myself for a few weeks as we hve been eating too much of it.

Has anyone got any healthy puddings I can give dd. She does not like fruit apart from banana which she will sometimes eat, so I give her that chopped up in youghart. But she also seems to be off youghart at the moment.

I know dd should be eating the same meals as me but she does not really like sandwiches that much so I think I will make her a batch of fish pie and meals like that so she can have them for lunch. Then for dinner she can have the same as me. But I do not eat chicken and she does so will just give her chicken with pasta etc.

Cod curry:

• slowly cook a chopped onion until translucent.
• add half a bulb of crushed garlic, square inch of ginger chopped
• I add chopped green beans and red pepper
• I then cheat and add a sauce (really nice mango and sweet pepper masala from sainsbury's last time)plus a tin of chopped tomatoes.
• cook this for about 20 mins and then add brocolli and a cod loin chopped into about 1cm thick medallions.
• cook for further 5-10 min

-serve and squeeze lime over the top plus coriander, delicious!

I make a lot of casseroles and anything you can bung in the oven and forget