Working mums and evening meals -ideas please

[scottie54]

Ds1 starts reception in September and we're hoping that most days he'll have a school lunch (subject to his dietary requirements). I work so a cm will do after school pick up but does not give food.

At the moment he attends nursery so he gets lunch and a light tea around 330. So by the time we collect and get home it's 515-530 and it's another snack type tea (ie small sandwich and yoghurt) before bed at 7. 15 month old ds2 has the same routine.

Just wondering what working mums do for evening meals? Cooking from scratch isn't really an option at that time and dc aren't fans of leftovers, dh isn't a fan of slow cooked meals

Quiche and beans always goes down well ( i have an extremely fussy ds and one that will eat anything). In fact, anything with beans works. I also tend to cook lots of veg when I cook proper meals, I.e Sundays or my home days so that you can give them something quick like fish fingers etc but with yesterday's reheated carrots, new potatoes etc.

Admittedly I've not had to cater for intolerances or allergies, but we've always worked on that kind of timescale - including when mine were pre-school. In at about 5.15/5.20, then start preparing tea. The majority of our meals can be cooked in 20 - 30 meals. Then sometimes to mix it up by making a lasagne or cottage pie the night before so you only have to heat it through, then sometimes you use the slow cooker so it's all ready when you come in, and sometimes you do have jacket potatoes or omelettes or something that others might see as a lighter meal.
You really don't want to get into having to send a packed lunch to the CMs - not very appealing, but mainly because you lose the "sitting down as a family to eat your main meal" once a day time, which is very important IMO.

I'm pretty much the same as you, but a year ahead. DS is just finishing reception and has a school dinner. I 'very never even entertained the idea of packed lunches, I want him to have at least one proper meal a day! He has a toastie/wrap/waffle type snack at after school club. He's too tired to eat much when he gets home at 5.30 ish. I make something ready to give him as soon as we get in. Either a cold packed lunch type meal, or pizza/sausage rolls warming up in oven (my oven has a timer, very useful) . Jacket potatoes too , but they often have these at lunchtime too. Lots of fruit and veg too. Nuts make a brilliant filling pudding. Fish finger sandwhichs go down well too, when we have time to make time.

We don't all have a family tea on weekdays, because 2 yo dd is more than ready for bed by the time DH I usually gets in.

Fajitas are my go to quick meal, buy a kit, check everything in the pan for fifteen minutes and serve in bowls, let them feed themselves. I don't know the dairy/eggs content of the average kit, but it's also super easy to make your own, and the filling will easily keep.

Lasagne would be great, but I can appreciate that it must be much more of a hassle if you are trying to avoid milk (I make mine with cheese on one side, no cheese on the other for the lactose intolerant members of the household); I did find a fantastic sweet potato cottage pie recipe on Pinterest which lasts for days (or would if everyone didn't demand seconds!).

I second making your own pizzas as an idea, as well as the old supper ideas. We often will have a bag of salad, cold meats, nice bread, Tesco's cooked chicken and some cheese. Followed by cake/fruit.

not quite the same as I am not working at the moment but my children do activities every evening between school and dinner so I find trying to cook a meal a bit of a problem.

Once the eldest started school we pushed dinner time back to 6pm primarily because hubby wasn't getting in from work until then so it meant we could still eat together but now they have started doing things it is much easier.

jacket potatoes on oven timer is always a good one - can just be done with cheese/tuna/chicken in white sauce from a tin/baked beans/salad etc.

we use frozen veg a lot because you can cook them so quickly.

things you can have cold - quiche, roast chicken (buy a whole cooked one then use it for packed lunches too), ham, cold sliced beef, smoked salmon, cook salmon the day before and put in the fridge - nice cold

I am lucky because I am able to put on casserole or stew during the afternoon but a slow cooker would solve that problem for you.

fish can often be cooked very quickly, you will also find thin cut/quick cook turkey steaks or beef steaks in supermarkets which are only between 5 and 10 minutes to cook I think so possible to do.

homemade soup if you can face cooking it in batches at the weekend, and mince as has been mentioned, that can go easily with pasta or rice (for ease of cooking supermarket frozen rice microwaves in under 4 minutes) or jacket potatoes.

pasta sauce can be made very quickly with just tinned tomatoes, chopped veg or cooked meat, a few herbs just on the hob for a few minutes.

it is difficult but it is doable and there isn't anything wrong with having non homecooked food some of the week IMO. You can only do what you can do. just try and make sure to do fruit for deserts and you will feel less guilty about having to do something not so healthy.

Have you had a look at the Change 4 Life recipe app? I use it sometimes when I am a bit stuck for ideas.

There are loads of quick but nutritious recipes on there.

School dinner at lunchtime, sandwiches for tea! Why on earth not?! Hot scrambled egg ones are a favourite. Also cheesy tortillas, wraps, pot of baked beans with bread (they don't like toast), cold cooked sausage with bread and butter.

If no bread in the house, it's fishfingers or half a fish portion, noodles and frozen veg (or buy those precut mixed bags of broccoli, carrot and beans etc), soup with cheese and crackers, pasta with philly or pesto, quiche cooked yesterday and served cold.