How and what should I feed my daughter? Advice needed please, can't work this out at all

[BarbaraVineFan]

I am a single mum to a DD who is 3 in October. From September she is going to be at nursery very long hours (7.30-5.30) while I work.

The problem is food.. In order to get there for 7.30 I will need her to get up at about 6.30 in the morning. I don't need to give her breakfast as she will get that at nursery. However, the nursery serves the main meal at lunchtime and then a 'high tea' of sandwiches type thing at about 4pm. So by the time I get her home at 5.45ish, she will need to eat again. But I can't figure out how to do this or what to give her, considering that she will need to get to bed quite quickly in order to have enough sleep for the next day :( how should I do this? Does anyone have any suggestions? I am scratching my head to work out what to do! Thanks in advance :)

I give my daughter a bowl of cereal 🤷🏼‍♀️ It fills her up and she’s already had a hot dinner at nursery

Maybe Weetabix or porridge, or cucumber/other veg sticks and toast fingers with humous or other dip. Or small portion of pasta, or other main meal but a small portion

Could you give her a portion of your dinner from the night before? That would be quick and easy.

Mine used to eat 4/4.30 and be in bed for 6/6.30 and they really don’t need to eat less than 2 hours after they last ate. But you could do milk and a banana, a weetabix or toast if they were really hungry which is what I did when i moved ds to a 7pm bedtime and he’d eaten at 4.

Toast or cereal - no need to cook anything.

Something on toast
Egg
Beans
Cheese
Peanut butter
Jam
Banana

Bowl of cereal, toast, fruit, cheese toastie etc.

DSs nursery used to do this and he never wanted to eat after and he is usually quite a big eater, if it's the same as ours they do snack in the morning and afternoon too (things like pitta humous and apple, or crumpet with nut butter and plum - odd but that's what he had this week) and pudding after the hot meal and they offer milk with meals not just water. So you may find she doesn't want anything, if she does, yogurt and fruit, small bowl of Porridge, banana, piece of toast etc is likely to be plenty

Also ours serves good at 4/4:15 and if I pick up at five they are often still eating

Ours have always had a snack plate when they get home from nursery - lots of fruit chopped up, crackers with cream cheese, cake, cocktail sausages, sometimes a yogurt.

Thank you all. I was thinking I should cook something but I think you're right, cereal or toast and a banana is a good shout.

Mine just has a banana and a glass of milk.

Toast, Banana, Beans, Yoghurt, baby Bel, fruit, crackers. Anything quick and snacky.

I remember being horrified at this when DS moved 'up' a room at nursery, with a (very lovely) nursery nurse telling me this was a really good thing because then we could all eat dinner together. Yeah, because the cooking fairies come in an hour before I finish work and have everything ready for me coming in!

I ended up doing a version of batch cooking, where I cooked and froze small portions of pasta, stews, very mild curries etc that could be microwaved in a couple of minutes just to give him something hot. We also did things on toast, soup etc. He ate as soon as whoever picked him up got in, then a wee hour of play, bath etc then just milk and a couple of fingers of toast before bed.

Porridge, scrambled eggs, peanut butter on rice cakes, fish fingers, fish cakes, potatoe cakes, nibble plate with cheese Tom's and cucumber, pasta pesto, soup, beans, couscous, rice, cereal,

My daughter has porridge usually - or if we have leftovers from last night (maybe a Dahl or some pasta or something I heat a bit of that up) or else just a sandwich / toast / cheese - whatever I have really

If she starts at 7.30 will they not give her breakfast? Ours do. Also mine is in 7-5 and when we get home they have a snack plate so fruit, cheese, ham, crackers, pitta bread, raisins etc.

Not sure I agree with all these suggestions.
Most of what she will be eating will already be processed, from the breakfast to the lunch and tea. Make soups, or some other sort of fresh whole food that include vegetables. A Dahl as someone suggested, some lentil stew, roasted veggies, soups served with real parmesan and some croutons. All can be done in advance in the weekend and then heated in a few minutes for both of you, eating the same thing at the same time.

Been there with DD1. She'd have a banana, slice of toast or small bowl of porridge and be absolutely fine.

If you tend to always cook stuff she could eat, you could also keep back a tiny portion for her to eat the next day too? But I'd save yourself the effort and do a second brekkie as supper. Cheese on toast or a half sandwich would also work x

Our son's nursery is like this but they have tea at 3! 3! I couldn't believe it when they told me.

In winter, they have a proper, hot second meal so we do some toast or other snacky item when he gets home. In summer, it's more sandwich-based so we do as others have suggested and give a portion of our tea from the previous night or something from the freezer stash - or a very quick pasta! It's hard not to make it really samey but I don't think you can stress too much over it. Their actual meals are homemade at nursery with plenty of fruit and veg snacks, as others have said.

(Also, I used to feel really guilty when I didn't pick my son up until 5:30 - until they told me that most kids are there til nearly six! Good luck!). Xx

I would do something very simple like beans with toast fingers or spaghetti hoops with grated cheese. Add some slices of carrot, cucumber, apple, pear or chopped banana on the side if you think she needs more of her five a day. Easy to get this all ready in less than five mins.

I’m also a single mum with a nursery child. On nursery days I don’t make her a hot meal, she is usually starving so she has a roll, fruit, ham, yogurt and cheese. I will normally have a soup or a sandwich or occasionally splash out and make myself something grown up that she would not eat once she is in bed.

Why are you assuming it will be processed? When I worked in a nursery breakfast was porridge or toast, lunch was homemade, shepherds pie, vegetable risotto, curry, chicken pie, roasts etc with homemade puddings fruit crumbles, steamed puddings and always a choice of yoghurt or fresh fruit. Tea was homemade soup, quiche, beans/egg on toast or sandwiches with fruit/yoghurt.

Both of mine went 7.30-5.30, don't sweat it. Lots of children do.

A little supper snack is a great time to get some extra fruit and veg in - crudités and dip, fruit and cheese, veg soup.

Stuff on toast is fine - beans, cheese, mashed banana, avocado. Do it between wraps and you can call it a quesadilla

I also batch cooked a lot of stuff in small portions and served with microwaved frozen veg - chicken drumsticks, fish pie and shepherds pie in ramekins, pizza scrolls, muffin tin pies, muffin tin omelettes. Plus any leftovers you have from other meals.

Make and freeze a stack of sauces and throw over quick cook pasta - cheese, pesto, bolognese, broccoli, tomato. Add extra veg to all.

Ham, scrambled egg and instant noodles with frozen veg = "stir fry"

Small portions of salmon can be frozen the. poached in milk in the microwave in minutes. Freeze potato/sweet potato mash and peas alongside

We just do snacks; crackers and cheese, cucumber, fruit, those baby cereal flapjack type bars etc.

They always got a great home-cooked meal at lunch time and always had two portions.