Struggling with Dinner Ideas: Seeking Easy, Kid-Friendly Meals for a Busy Schedule

[rickkinsella]

If they are fussy, take away the stress by doing the meal they like, and then a meal you like, get things that cook in the same time frame, once you stop being so stressed over it, mealtimes are a breeze and everyone eats, we all have different likes and dislikes xx

 

[prayer282]

My grandchildren love shepherds pie. Brown mince (I use turkey as less fat) add onions cook for 5 mins, add lots of diced carrot, pint of gravy. Cook potatoes, mash. Put meat mixture in oven proof dish top with mash and the grated cheese. In oven for 30 mins. Perfect.
Also Tuna bake. Layer tuna, sweetcorn,peas, condensed cream mushroom soup (with a little milk added). Then cooked thinly sliced potatoes. Repeat and finish with grated cheese. Cook in oven for 30/45 mins

 

[petarjons]

The best advice I was given was to continue cooking a variety of meals but to remove the stress of others not eating/liking it provide a few accompaniments on the table so everyone can help themselves I.e. carrot sticks, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, garlic bread, wraps, cheese, nachos etc. (I tend to go for 2/3). This works well for us all and makes dinners a lot easier and enjoyable!
We also offer the dinner deconstructed to the littlest one who is super fussy. This means I know she will eat the plain spaghetti but may taste the bolognaise and who knows… one day she may even eat it! Hahahah!
Good luck!

 

[stairwaytodavid]

Could you make them theirs so like chips sausages with beans or pizza or pasta wtc and batch cook your own adult food? So you can have your spicier more adult dinners and they will eat without moaning

 

[stairwaytodavid]

I also never had to do this for my eldest but I need to hide my youngest veg I just blitz his sauce sometimes means to pots but a save the aegumentsbxx

 

[flowerbud]

Sit and write a list of every meal that you will all eat then link the ones u can make as spag bog and shepherds pie ect .. then just look at it and pick something .. I've always cooked different ...

 

[vgriffin]

Definitely get a slow cooker and no hand casting yesterday I made a curry in mine literally tikka powder I added turmeric cumin (small amounts and added coriander made a paste with some passata then put onion finely chopped and mixed it all up with a good splodge of tomato purée and garlic then bunged the chicken into it stirred and turned it on packet of rice in the microwave hey presto tasty dinner minimum effort could do exactly the same with so many things like bolognaise and chilli or a stew with chopped spud and chopped carrots or just frozen veg in it

 

[mwai]

Toast

 

[tommy061]

I'd say meal plan, prepare earlier in the day. Slow cooker, or bulk cook. My girls always moan, I'd like to think I give the nice stuff, but basically they want to eat nuggets everyday!!!

 

[firebolt]

Soup and sandwiches, pasta, eggs and beans on toast, jacket potatoes, stir fry.

 

[blindly28]

Sending you love and hugs. Food is annoying, especially if your the one who has to think about it, prep it and then watch our little darlings throw their toys over it. We do a lot of hot dinners at school etc, just to take the stress away.
I’m not sure how old your kids are but would it be possible to sit down and write a list of foods they would want? I know our list would start with pizza and such but after a while they move onto things like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken fajitas ( altered for home with salad not cooked peppers- I do a choosing salad for all including grapes and they make their own) this actually doesn’t take very long to add up, more annoying to wash up/
The kids eat a lot of pasta in the week with either Passata or pesto and then I try for something like pie, mash and veg, sausages mash and veg/beans ans sometimes a roast at this time of year. Get the kids involved in cooking if their old enough and you can. But don’t stress it and good luck x

 

[kamleshchristi]

Highly recommend getting ‘bored of lunch slow cooker book’ and if you haven’t obviously a slow cooker. It’s literally amazing and my kids are enjoying them all. It’s like a magic pot xx

 

[cuber]

If they have had hot school dinner , maybe toasted sandwiches, or picky bits now and again to help , beans on toast that kind of thing xx

 

[forever_holy27]

Hello fresh

 

[andhow]

I know how you feel! Similar in this family. I am resigned to cooking two separate meals but try to keep some elements the same.
Eg pasta - boys have tuna mixed with Mayo or pesto and bacon/ham/chorizo/broccoli and we’ll have something more creative.
Mild chicken curry with rice and naan - boys pick out the chicken and make sandwiches with the naan.
Toad in the hole. For everyone!
Or we have something I’ve done in the slow cooker earlier in the eg beef bourguinon and I cook freezer tapas for the boys.
These are when I’m feeling like cooking- also do toasties, ham wraps, mezze platters (ie hummus, breadsticks, cucumber and chorizo) and endless peanut butter sandwiches.

 

[saviati500]

Ah I could of wrote this myself!
I have never enjoyed cooking, to me it’s just a necessity.
Will be trawling through this for some inspiration x

 

[anthony112409]

Mine were fussy so we went through recipes and decided what we’d like to try. Get them to cook with you. Once you’ve found things that they like, batch cook. It’s a pain to begin with but will definitely pay off in the end.

 

[sheena247]

> Sausage & Mash
> Fish & chips & peas
> Pasta
> Breaded chicken with potatoes and other vegetables
> Gammon, egg & chips
> Lasagne (veggie or with meat)
> Pizza
> Burgers
> Shepherds Pie
> BBQ chicken melt
> Pulled Pork
> Jacket Potato
> Toasties
> Soups
> Wraps
> Rice dish
Those are just some ideas.
I write a meal plan each week and buy what I need for that week. Fresh food ingredients should be used at the beginning of the week and cupboard/freezer ingredients towards the end of the week.

 

[grebotto]

@sheena247 ooooooh gammon egg and chips. Have not had it for ages

 

[mattzilla]

We help yourself so meal is in the middle of the table and they select food for their plate. Dont think about meals they eat think what the incredients are. So chicken nuggets they eat chicken... really easy to make them from scatch and kids can help.