Please help me with my family's diet, its terrible

[xxxJess123xxx]

Hi all, I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old. Both typically fussy. No allergies.
Our diets are absolutely terrible as I seriously can't cook. I'm the type of person who can't make an omelette or burn pasta for christ sake.
We eat shit basically. Ready meals, nuggets and chips, pizza. Lunches are sarnies crisps and some grapes etc.
I'm feeling like an absolute rubbish mum and I want to change but I seriously can't cook.
Does anyone have any stupidly easy, cheap to make, fool proof recipes for dinners for my family.
I am slightly overweight. Kids are good weights and take a multi vitamin each day. Eat far too much chocolate etc
I feel so ashamed 😞
Thanks x

Maybe just try substituting microwave brown rice for the chips and adding in loads of veg as a start?

Baby steps. Look at what you buy and do cook and try to think of slight alternatives which are healthier - try sweet potato chips, whole meal wraps, wholegrain cereal, try chopped banana on weetabix for breakfast, less processed meats etc

Everyone can cook. Those of us who cook well have messed up a meal 200 times before and learned from the mistakes. That’s an excuse you are using

Lots of basic recipes online and in cookbooks. What would you like to cook?

Whilst something like spag Bol for example had lots of steps, there are idiot proof videos?

@Prisonbreak

Everyone can cook. Those of us who cook well have messed up a meal 200 times before and learned from the mistakes. That’s an excuse you are using

I think many of us that can cook with confidence were taught to do so as well - either at school or by parents. School provision now (compared to the 80’s) is dire I’d it’s available at all. And people younger than me (50’s) are more likely to have had mothers who worked full time and took advantage of the proliferation of convenience foods meaning their children didn’t see them cooking from scratch and the opportunity to learn to cook was lost. No judgment there at all, it’s just how it was and I think there is a whole generation who just didn’t learn to cook.

However, I do subscribe to the view that if you can read you can cook as long as you are reading the right thing, which explains processes properly and Doesn’t assume the cook knows, for example, culinary terms and skills.

Nothing against making life easy for yourself too
Frozen mash potato or sweet potato (it's just potato!)
Packs of stir fry veg
Chicken from the hot counter
Salads (bag of salad, chop cucumber and tomatoes etc)
Quesadilla - like a toasted sandwich but with tortillas
Keep it simple
You learn a bit as you go, I never really got tomatoes until I put some salt on and now I love them!

This gives you 50% off first box, and 30% off first month (it gives me £10 I think but I don't currently have an active subscription so nothing to gain from it!)
I really like Gousto, you could pick the 10 min meals or the prep in 5 ones. Then you've got the recipe card to follow too
And definitely Jamie Oliver ministry of food
https://cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promocode=DANIE41889142&utmsource=iosapp

Spay Bol is super easy..as is a mild chilli.. shepherds pie..master a basic bolognese and you can use it as a base for loads of meals!

Fish pie is a favourite in my house.. buy the fish pie mixes from the chilled fish section, poach in milk, add bisto parsley sauce granules to thicken then pour into a Pyrex dish, top with mash and cheese and in the oven for ten/fifteen minutes!

Thank you everyone for being so kind, I have lots to read through and am determined to do better x

What mummy makes book has really simple and yummy recipes for the whole family- we use it most days

Ok, firstly, there is lots of good advice on this thread. Don’t panic. Honestly, everyone can cook, it’s just practice.

If you don’t know how to chop an onion, don’t worry about it for now. Chop both ends off, take off the skin and grate it on a cheese grater, or buy chopped frozen onions. Buy garlic granules from the spices section instead. Cut corners on the stuff you’re worried about and have fun with combining ingredients and flavours instead.

A few really easy ones- Chop up some broccoli, put it in the same pan as pasta and boil them both for 10 mins. Mix in a pot of creme fraiche and lots of black pepper and grated Parmesan.

You said you have a slow cooker? So put in 4 chicken breasts, a carton of pasatta, 2 big squeezes of honey, 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, 3 teaspoons of ground cumin, 3 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and a grated onion, cook on medium for 4.5 hours and then shred the chicken with a fork and throw it back in the sauce and mix round. BBQ pulled chicken - serve in burger buns with chips.

^Yum.

I have similar aged children and I suck at cooking but am gradually getting better with practice. There have been some horrible dinners along the way, but I can now get ok food on the table without having a wobbler and I'm really pleased about it. Bear with it op, because it is a skill and does take a bit of practice.

Initially I found things I could mostly do ahead of time then warm up were better, so that I wasn't getting flustered when the kids were hungry (stuff like bolognese or tomato sauce for pasta/ to top pitta pizzas).

Some slow cooker recipes are shit, so don't take that personally. Some are great though, and really good for the novice/ shit cook. I like the slow cooker lamb recipe in Nadia Sawalha's Disaster Chef book. If you know someone who uses a slow cooker a lot maybe ask them for their favourite family friendly recipes, or see what slow cooker books they have at the library.

I've found it helpful to get the hang of omelettes (I learned from Delia's How to Cook Book 1) and boiled eggs (dippy for lunch at home, hard boiled for picnics/ packed lunches). Basic, I know, but even doing dippy eggs has had me swearing in the past.

Maybe try nuts instead of crisps with lunches? My kids like unsalted roasted pistachios or almonds (to be clear, they prefer crisps).

Good luck! Mistakes along the way are to be expected, and you'll be really pleased when a meal goes to plan.

I would start with v simple dishes which are a combo of shop bought frozen or fresh ingredients and some simple cooking...eg
Cheesy pasta. Cook pasta in plenty of water, drain, stir in cream cheese, like Philadelphia, chuck in frozen peas and sweetcorn and then add ham or cooked chicken if you want!
Or pizzas using pitta bread or bagels, with tomato puree , grated cheese , sweetcorn and peppers . Grilled for 5 mins.
Also frozen mash is great if you have a microwave and you can use it to top cooked mince.
Or buy a precooked chicken and serve with the mash and cooked frozen veg.
Agree that some kids' cookbooks are easy to follow and have simple recipes.
Trial and error! And don't worry if you burn something or it doesn't go right, you will learn from it and everyone has to start somewhere with cooking, we've all made mistakes and chucked stuff in the bin 😄

You'll get the hang of it eventually OP, everyone has to start somewhere and the fact that you are so keen to change and get more nutritious food on the table is what will make the changes you do make stick. If you can pay attention to what your doing and follow instructions, you'll be able to cook for your family, it just takes time
And practice.
I meant to say in my earlier post too- tub of shop bought hummus, pitta bread, veg sticks and cold chicken is one of my sons fave dinners when it's hot and it involves no cooking at all. Definitely have a look in the prepared foods section of the supermarket for things like dips, cooked meats, jarred peppers etc to jazz up a plate of finger foods when you don't want to attempt cooking.
I think also you can buy in the freezer section bags of chopped onion, carrot and celery which is perfect if you want to try something like bolognese or shepherds pie as the hard work of finely chopping the veg is done for you. All you then need to do is brown the mince, add passata, stock cube, oregano and any other flavorings you want like Worcestershire sauce and leave to cook.

You don't have to go from all convenience into domestic goddess-organic-home-knitted-lentils you can do this in stages.

Use jars / tins but be a bit more discerning. Use them as a stepping stone.

So for a vegi curry you can buy a jar / tin of curry sauce and a packet of mixed frozen veg and stick them in a pan together, 10 mins later you have a vegi curry. While that's simmering put some microwave rice on and you have a meal.

You can swap the tin of curry sauce for a tomato based (passata is half the price and is just sieved tomatoes) sauce.

You are not a crap mum btw, you have asked a bunch of strangers for help and that's a brave thing to do.

@xxxJess123xxx - I will say it again as the PP said it so well:

You are not a crap mum btw, you have asked a bunch of strangers for help and that's a brave thing to do.

You said you don’t even know how to prep an onion etc.

Look on YouTube. There’s loads of different techniques, it’s just a matter of finding the one easiest for you. Or just buy ready chopped frozen!

Ds2 has taught himself to cook via YouTube. He was very resistant to me teaching him the basics,

I still look things up if I’m unsure.

And sweet potato chips - I do them on a really high temp, but you have to be careful not to burn them.

Nobody’s perfect. Just takes practice and starting with the basics - beans on toast is healthy!

Frozen Pre chopped veg is a lifesaver. So are the tubes/jars of “lazy” garlic, ginger etc.

Can I also suggest Jack Monroe's Cooking on A Bootstrap and Tin Can Cook? I've tried a few of those and surprised myself with the simplicity and tastiness.

Delia has a set of videos for her cookery school and she covers eggs, pasta, rice and pastry as well as cakes.
www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/second-term-perfect-eggs

How to chop an onion www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/techniques/sharpening-a-knife-and-chopping-onions

We also regularly have chicken breasts baked in the oven at 160°c, cover with foil, cook for 40 mins. Perhaps some butter or oil dripped over it to stop it drying out.
You can eat it with salad or as other people said, ready chopped frozen veg (say carrots and peas) New (baby) potatoes are so easy too, just cut in half and put in a saucepan with boiled water from the kettle. Turn up to high heat till its bubbling then back down till it's a gentle bubble for about 15 mins.
Keep it very simple.
Good luck (And I concur re sweet potato chips. Best left for eating at a restaurant!)
Also hard boiled eggs with salad if they /you like it. Or in a sandwich. Eggs go into cold water in saucepan. Turn heat to max with lid on saucepan. When the water is fully boiling (big bubbles!) turn the heat off but leave saucepan in place. Set a time for 17mins. As soon as it goes off, use a slotted spoon to put the eggs into cold water in a bowl or a fresh saucepan. It's foolproof!

I really rate Kids Eat in Colour. She has a blog and an Instagram account. She specifically targets fussy eater toddlers and she has a downloadable meal plan. Very simple recipes, shopping lists and a range of foods to increase exposure. Good for adults too.

I only cook sweet potatoes in the microwave.

Put SP in the microwave (do not peel) for 5 mins on full power, then turn over and microwave for another 5 mins.

Use oven gloves or a tea towel, get a knife and cut the SP in half, you can now squeeze out beautifully fluffy mashed sweet potato.

OP

What have you got in your cupboards now?

I'm sure between us (you and everyone on the thread) ca figure out something for today. We could do a 'live' cook along.