Cold meals to serve for dinner?

[Picklesandpies]

Hi all,

I'm only 6+4 but feeling so sick all the time. We have two dc so I'm really trying to find ways of coping with it while looking after them. I am really struggling with cooking smells which trigger my nausea. Ideally I'd like to give my children something more nutritious than a sandwich for dinner though!

Could I please pick your brains for cold dinners or ones which don't have a strong smell?

Thanks

Can you make a big batch of pasta or rice (not too strong smelling, hopefully) then serve with cold chopped veg and maybe feta or other cheese and keep leftovers to make rice or pasta salad? (If you save rice make sure it's in really thin layers to avoid food poisoning).

If you have a slow cooker you can prep in the morning and shove it all in and it will be ready for dinner - still cooking smell but you aren't having to stand over the stove to do it.

Or if needs be, a few weeks of sandwiches or even cold salads from the supermarket won't hurt them in the long run!

That's a good idea re pasta and veg. And slow cooker worth a try, thanks. I didn't know rice had to be stored in thin layers - I actually never eat cold rice as I'm always worried for that very reason!

Hummus with breadsticks, veg dippers, olives.
Buy a cooked chicken from supermarket and have with salad and French stick.
Cheese plate with crackers and lots of chopped up fruit?

My daughter would live on frankfurters straight from the packet but that probably doesn’t tick the nutrition box!

If you can face or get someone else to cook up a big batch of chicken, then portion it oit and freeze it, you can just defrost and heat and have fajitas - everything g else is cold.

Sympathies - fellow HG sufferer here, and would happily never cook again.

Salad, quiche, cheese/crackers, cold pizza, sausage rolls. Fruit salad for pudding.

My DS would happily live off cheese and crackers. You can always give them chopped apple or grapes if you want to add one of the 5 a day

Maybe the cooked salmon fillets you can get in supermarkets? The non-smoked ones aren't as strong smelling and then you can stick it with some salad or pasta or rice. But might be too fishy even precooked! Hope you feel better soon

Thank you so, so much for those suggestions. It's so good to have a few ideas. I think I'm so off food my brain has turned to mush and I couldn't think of any myself. I am going to write a shopping list! Crackers, quiche, veg dippers etc all great ideas.

@Bowlofbabelfish I'm going to ask a question that will make me sound very stupid but never mind. When you say 'cook a big batch of chicken' - a) do you do this with chicken breasts in the oven and b) when you say reheat - do you mean literally put it in the pan when it's defrosted and cook with peppers etc? I told you my brain has turned to mush. 😳 Also - I hope your HG eases soon. I do not envy you. 

@argumentativefeminist and @Blondemother Good idea re cooked salmon and cooked chicken too.

Thanks again x

In the depths of HG DS had a lot of random dinners

Some that worked quite well were cous cous with pre cooked chicken/falafel/roasted veg and pasta with ham/cheese/sweet corn/chopped tomatoes/cucumber

Pitta pizzas were also fairly inoffensive

Baked potatoes with beans and cheese, or tuna mayo, and a side salad.

Ham salad.

Both good ideas, thanks. I feel so guilty that I'm serving such rubbish most of the time - I just cannot wait to feel better!

Pasta was a god send for me. Or rice.

I used to be able to manage to cook some fajita filling and then just serve it up with wraps, dips, grated cheese etc. Tuna pasta salad if you can cope with the pasta. I could also manage to make potato wedges in my air fryer so quiche and wedges with salad etc.

Get a massive load of chicken breast (pre cut into strips if you can’t deal with handling it) and whack it in a pan. Fry it until it’s cooked then add the fajita spice (or don’t, of yoire like me and find it the grimmest stuff on earth.)

Cool, decant into freezer bags. Nuke in microwave as needed later.

Batch cooking helps too - again decant portions into bags. Lasagne, Generic Mince Type Sauce... then all you have to do is defrost it and add pasta.

Mini quiches? They freeze ok.

Mainly just don’t feel guilty - HG is just about surviving to the end I’ve found. Your kids won’t be harmed by a few crap dinners and a bit too much telly because you’re housebound and spewing... it’s only a few months.

My kids love a buffet dinner (and so do I when I’m feeling lazy!).

I get tiger bread baguettes, hummus, Spanish meats and cheeses, cold pastas, potato salad and any other bits like sausage rolls, etc.
They love the helping themselves aspect, and I love the non cooking 😍

How old are your DC? I've found it a lifesaver that mine get a proper cooked lunch at school or in nursery, which makes me feel much more relaxed about just doing a picnic for their tea.

Like the idea of potato wedges - they can't smell too bad. Pasta salads, baguettes etc also good suggestions.

@StruggsToFunc Dc are 10 and 7. They do have a cooked lunch at school so you are right, I probably shouldn't feel too bad if they have a lighter dinner.

Thanks for info @Bowlofbabelfish - batch cooking is a good idea. Might try to finish what we have a then ask dh to do some next weekend. You are right about just surviving it until it ends - the days just feel long right now and I wish I could just know the end date so I had something to aim for!

Really do appreciate all the ideas - it's super helpful.

As others have suggested batch cook some bolognese in a slow cooker and freeze then all tou have to do when ready to serve up/eat is boil up some pasta amd add your bolognese/ragu sauce. Not only does it save you from stabding over a hot stove for ages but also generally saves you the time and energy of cooking a meal from scratch.

Cruidtes and humous with breadsticks is a good one, healthy, nutritious and no cooking involved at all.

You could also again use the slow cooker to batch cook some pie filling, freeze in portions then can just defrost, pop in a pie dish, get some of at ready rolled puff pastry, pop the sheet on top of the filling and pop in the oven.

@InDreamland all really good ideas, thank you so much. I'm definitely going to try the pie idea.

Agree with dreamland - batch cooking is your friend! I did a lot in my instant pot as it's a pressure cooker with a slow cook function, and the lid seals in any cooking smells. It's worth putting an extra layer of foil over the top so that you don't have to smell the bubbling pot all day. I highly recommend the bags of ready-chopped onions, carrots etc. When you feel so nauseous that you can't face lifting a knife they are a lifesaver. The frozen ones are particularly cheap and don't have any smell at all until they defrost.

If DC are 10 and 7 then I'm sure they can then assemble their meal under your supervision - older can boil the pasta, younger can grate the cheese etc.

Oh if they have school dinners then stop worrying!

Good fresh bread.
Cheese, ham, chicken, hummus
Babybels, sausage rolls, mini scotch eggs, cocktail sausages, crisps
Carrot, cucumber, celery, tomatoes
Satsumas, apples, grapes, strawberries
Yoghurts
Little fairy cakes
Milk, juice, squash, water

Just rotate round for variety.
Mine would die of happiness on that diet. Plus it’s summer! They really don’t need two hot meals a day.

And as someone who has previously had HG- try and eat a snack or time your mess to help you during food prep.

Good luck, it’s hideous but honestly, don’t make life any more difficult for yourself right now than you need to.

Quiche is an easy one - buy one with loads of veg in, serve with salad. Or a dinner of bread, hummus, carrot sticks, cucumber, guacamole, grapes/apple?

Time your meds! Not your mess!