Meal ideas for 1yr old

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

My DD is only 1 and already I’m sick of thinking up meals (lord help the next 17years).
Anyway I do the standard tomato sauce/ mince meat combos - but aside from this I’m struggling with meals that don’t seem dry. Meat or fish with a veg and potato seems dry. Want to limit the use of pre made sauces due to the salt...so please mns inspire me with either your meal ideas or sauce ideas..

We do pesto pasta (very easy to DIY pesto) with peas and courgettes and a liberal helping of grated cheese, always a hit. Dd still loves it at 2.

Quiche or omelettes are also quick and easy and good to hide veg in. Or just season scrambled eggs (DD loves paprika) and chuck some peas or sweet corn in while it's cooking.

Stir fry is also good for getting a variety of food groups in one meal, although I admit I am not overly precious about salt content with this and do use a splash of soy along with other seasonings.

Very easy to just buy tins of chopped tomatoes as a sauce for pasta and add in a random protein like tuna, some veg and some garlic and herbs.

You could do homemade soup with toast soldiers if you have a blender, carrot and cumin is lovely, creamy and mild for younger palettes.

Easiest thing to do by far is just give your dc what you are having and only add salt at the end to the adult portions. A one year old can eat almost anything and it will make your life easier if you only have to do one lot of cooking a night.

What about things with a white sauce eg macaroni cheese, cauli/broccoli/veg cheese etc. You could serve a white sauce with fish, and a low salt gravy with meat.

silkpyjamasallday Thanks for your ideas- mostly what I eat has a side glug of ketchup to make it all less dry- but will defo try your suggestions, maybe I’m over thinking the salt, low salt soy should be fine

AssassinatedBeauty it’s shameful but I’ve never made a white sauce- will google! Ta!

This guide from the Caroline Walker Trust has some great suggestions OP and even contains sample menus

Udon noodles (the pre cooked sort in a packet) are good with salmon/chicken/sweet corn/peppers.

I do tuna, mashed potato, sweet corn and cheese bake. Basically fishcake mix but cooked in a dish in one lump. Very popular

Is he getting plenty of oily fish OP? A quick lunch might be tinned sardines on toast which should be wet enough for you

I think you might need to get over the need to offer a sauce with everything though. At 1 year he’s more than capable of eating things like sandwiches, cheese on toast, homemade pizza, wraps etc.

JiltedJohnsJulie Thanks for the link.
Yep she has salmon and yesterday sardines with spinach, pasta and tomatoes mixed in.
I think I’m over thinking- still I appreciate all the new ideas

Yes, I think you might well be other thinking it OP. If you want to demonstrate to yourself that LO doesn’t need a sauce with everything, give them a slice of homemade pizza for lunch. I’m sure they will demonstrate to you perfectly that they are happy to munch their way through it

I bought the Baby Led Weaning Cookbook, and that’s got lots of good ideas in it - there are some nice breakfast and snack ideas in there too. I also feel like I’m struggling a bit sometimes! Homemade quiche is always nice if you have the time, and DS loves a sweet potato and chickpea curry because he can pick up the chunky pieces.