Working parents - how do you manage to cook dinner...

[Noomininoo]

I have 2 DDs aged 5.4yo & 2.4yo. I work pretty much full time. DD2 goes to nursery & gets fed 3 meals a day (plus snacks) there so I have no worries about her diet (as they follow very strict policies about how much salt, sugar etc they use in their cooking & always use fresh fruit & veg in their meals).

The problem I have is feeding my DD1. Twice a week DD1 goes to after school club & so we generally don't get home till gone 6pm. Of the 3 remaining days, 1 day she has a swimming lesson after school & another day she has Rainbows so on both of these days we generally don't get in until gone 6pm either. Given that she goes to bed at 7.30pm & in that 1.5hrs I have to a) cook/prepare the dinner b) get DDs to eat the dinner c) help DD1 with her homework d) bath the DDs & e) get them ready for bed (inc stories etc), I'm really struggling to find healthy dishes to make which can be prepared, cooked & eaten within (say) an hour.

DD1 does have school dinners on the days she goes to after school club but tbh I've seen Jamie's school dinners so I'm not under any delusion that these are in any way healthy.

At the moment I'm kind of falling back on quick & simple meals that are not particularly healthy such as Oven chips with fish/chicken etc, pasta with ready made sauce, Soup (from a can) & sandwiches etc none of which are great. I'd love to be able to cook her nice healthy meals but I just don't have the time.

How do other working parents cope with this? Any quick & easy menu suggestions that are also healthy? Oh & they do have to be easy as cooking is definitely not my strongest skill

I only have one meal idea to add to this. Moroccan lamb cous cous. Chop up some lamb neck (make it small) and marinade in lemon juice, honey and olive oil, coriander, cumin, and harissa, along with some dried apricots and sultanas. You can do this the night before. When you get in, fry the lamb. While it's cooking, chop up a carrot and chuck it in, along with the fruity marinade. Then chop up and add a courgette. Then a pepper. Make up your cous cous. Add cherry tomatoes and olives to your lamb pan. When the cous cous is ready, dish up. It takes me 20 minutes flat and can be eaten by small children using a spoon (which is nirvana in this house - the mess that can be created using a small knife and fork is a wonder to behold, frankly).

I do a lot of stuff the night before - make up a curry, let it cool - they're better reheated anyway. We also use marinades a lot - an easy way to spice up an otherwise boring bit of meat or fish, and you can then grill which is healthy. We eat a lot of salads and quick veg, and I make meat balls in advance so we can have spaghetti and meatballs with home-made tomato sauce from the freezer - quick and simple.

Another nice thing is mince - of whatever kind - knead in some of Mr Patak's finest (paste, not sauce), form into kofta kebab type things, grill, stuff into a toasted pita with a nice yoghurt/mint dressing and a ton of salady bits. You can prep the mince and the yoghurt the night before.

turn routine around a bit.
we get in, I through something in the oven (casserole type stuff, thrown together in the morning), put dc in the bath, dinner, homework, bedtime...

Steamed salmon is v quick. Put small or cut potatoes in saucepan of boiling water (use kettle for water and new pots are great - no need to peel), give 10 mins; stick piece of salmon in steamer pan/colandar/sieve on top with green veg on top; put lid on and give about 5-10 mins depending on size of fish piece(s). If nearer to 10 mins, then stick veg on top after 5 mins. Serve with a wedge of lemon/mayo/ mayo with some herbs/quickly fried chopped ginger with chilli and a spoon of soy sauce. Here's a fancier version
www.taste.com.au/recipes/21440/salmon+with+sesame+greens+ginger+soy+dressing

I love threads for working parents, as I am one of them :)

My DC eat at nursery and school/afterschool club, so I only cook a light dinner ? they don?t eat as much after coming home. However, I made a vow to myself only have a healthy dinners and nothing pan-fried, no sandwiches and no fast food from a pack/tin. They get enough of junk at school/nursery (fishfingers/burgers sort of thing). I cook soup at least two days (homemade with veggies, beans, meatballs, chicken etc.) and make sure DC eat at least a little. We love slowcooker for casseroles and stews. We love cottage cheese bake from the oven. Sometimes it?s just a fruit salad with natural yogurt, honey, fruits, raisins, nuts or coconuts, which makes it nutritionally balanced and children very happy.
Sometimes they like something simple, like cooked rice (on its own!!).

Things would be easier if we had a microwave, but we chose not to.

oooh forgot about gnocci! So quick, and serve with smoked salmon, halved cherry toms, basil.....

When we eat something the kids might like, I scoop out a toddler sized portion and freeze it. When stocks of these mini portions get low, I batch cook and freeze 5-6 meals so there's always something healthy and easy ready.

You can do pasta with homemade stuff just as quickly as with a jar. I used to chuck veg in after 5mins to boil with the pasta (carrots broccoli sweetcorn peas) at this age, serve it dry with a bit of cheese or chicken added or else a v quick sauce of passata and herbs. Baked fish with rice and broccoli. Homemade soup with big chunks if bread. I found the slow cooker a total waste of time, everything was watery.