What age is to old for jars?

FatVonD

Mascarpone cheese melts to a nice pasta sauce, just make sure you have lots of veggies to give it a good flavour, I do mine with courgette batons, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic and salami, it's yummy but you should maybe leave the salami out if you're worried about the salt/fat content.

It's dead simple. Fry the salami in a little oil 'til it's crispy like bacon then remove from the pan. Throw in the courgettes and onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for another two minutes or so (until the skins start to go wrinkly) then dollop in the cheese and stir until it melts and starts to bubble. Throw in the salami at the last minute if you're having it on yours.

Et voila! Easy pasta sauce

merlin1

I'll try to help if I can, I'll put my input in bold, it's not meant be rude but at least it'll stand out *small print - its the best part of 14years since my boy was 1!

Kayalana99 wrote: »

My DS has just turned 1, and is still on jars atm.

Thing is, I have been brought up on oven food and takeaways/pub food (or mcdonalds better word) untill I was 16 I had never even tried pizza..or cottage pie...or well alot of things!!!!

I was actually raised in the pub trade so I feel your pain ha! however my mum was mrs merlin csbw (she said she always wanted letters after her name, 'cheif stop and bottle washer' is what she chose ) however she did batch cook many things in our tiny pub, and this is my first bit of advice. batch cook where you can.

So far my DS eats cottage pie with us but as I have been told the gravy is bad for him...idk. Fish pie he eats with us but again we use powdered cheese sauce so thats probally not ideal for him either although we don't have this to often, roast dinner he has most of this as well.

what gravy are you making your cottage pie with? if you are thickening with granules, then i would agree salt content is pretty high. make your mince mix with a stock cube as per, take his portion out (or a few portions worth if you've made lots) thicken his with cornflour, and you can do what you like with yours fish pie, do the same, scrap cheese sauce though. make fish pie with a knorr fish stock cube, and top your mash with cheese instead give him julienne carrots peas sweetcorn on the side and let him use his fingers to eat, in fact encourage it. the happier they are with textures in fingers - it will hit the hole ha!

Other then these meals we generally eat things he cant eat(or wouldnt be good for him)...like steak and chips..spicy chicken and chips...frozen pizza...

Chips, yep, not a problem (not every night though;)) do you have anything with your chips and steak? think again peas carrots mange tout, broccoli, cauli cheese always a favourite. he has chips and something if not the steak, and he will get protien from veg too. and as for spicy chicken, you can get him eating this, pretty much the same as fish pie and cottage pie, take his out before you put yours in? so take his out before you hit it with too much spice, but put a tiny bit in

Sometimes give him potato waffles and fish fingers...again have no idea if this is good or bad !! The only thing I really look out for is salt content as I have been told its bad for kidneys.

Nothing wrong with fishfingers and waffles now n then! just not every night

I have a baby annabel cook book but I find all the recipes comlicated, and for say one meal you have 10 differernt items and I can't afford for one meal to buy all these things, and when it comes to freezing things I am clueless, people say oh make cottage pie and freeze it...well if you put cottage pie into little meals are you still supposed to cook it for 40min or so? or do you pre cook it till its ready and use a mircowave when its frozen?

Anything you cook and freeze for baby should be treated as you would cook and freeze for yourself. defrost properly and reheat to grown up temp, then let it cool/blow on it if you're not sure stick a knife into the food then put the knife on your lip, if you say ow! and pull it away quick then its hot! then let it cool.

Thing is I am worried now he is getting abit to old for jars etc and I want to give him healthy meals but since I have never had anyone to guide me I am just absoutly clueless..................

Not clueless, just learning, so in a nutshell, variety, finger foods, expect gagging, eat together (he'll want whats on your plate regardless so make sure you give yourself some veg and he sees you eat it, let him take a bit a food off your plate to try) and get yourself over to old style forum on here!
Sorry bit of a rant but I need help. :eek:
I'll up your rant with a ramble

Best of luck x

Heffi1

Have a look here http://allrecipes.com/recipes/main-dish/casseroles/ and see if anything takes your fancy, sometimes it gives ideas on what you like and how to make easy meals.

Janepig

Thinking back after reading Merlin's post above, even if DD/DS were having something "unhealthy" with us such as fish fingers and chips, we would give them a side of mixed veg with it (even frozen mixed veg). Just to get them used to the veggies. It worked better with DD than it did with DS (in that DD loves veggies, DS not so keen) but it's just something simple you can add to something that might otherwise be not that healthy.

Jx

chocdonuty

I was just like you, brought up on freezer food and mum rarely cooked properly, we were well fed but just never learned how to cook properly ourselves, its taken a while but now I eat lots more stuff than I used too.
Generally I try different foods when im out or at friends and modify it to suit me. Taking out ingredients I dont like or substituting them for something I do, I definatly prefer simple foods and if recipes have more than a few ingredients then it puts me right off!
A simple cottage pie would be to cook some mince til browned, drain off the fat and then add baked beans and top with mash, so simple but very tasty, use low salt baked beans, you can add onions if you like and cheese on top.
Dont think you have to follow recipes to the letter, use them as a guide

Valli

When my DS was small and I worked FT I used to make a casserole at the weekend with fairly finely chopped vegetables and meat; light on the seasoning, then I would freeze it into small tupperware (type) pots. This would be thawed for his main meal and cooked with maybe a handful of small pasta, or served with mashed potato or rice. By making a different casserole each weekend I soon built up a stock of 'ready meals' for him.

Moggins_2

My little man is 16 months and I am a rubbish cook, but here are some of the meals he will share with us:

Lunch- scrambled eggs, toast, crumpets, beans on toast, hummus and something to dip with

Tea/dinner- spaghetti and meatballs (none of it homemade but I watch the quantity) , Pasta bake (again, jar) garlic bread, chips etc as a treat, roast dinners, chicken korma and rice, spaghetti bolognese, chicken fajita (fried chicken, peppers, onions, sweetcorn,mushrooms and lettuce in a wrap-great finger food!) fish cakes, jacket potatoes. I serve nearly everything with fresh frozen or tinned veg

barbaraemmerson

your food processor is your best friend - whatever you are having - chuck it in, whiz it round and he will eat it no problem. Freeze in small portions - don't need fancy boxes - freezer bags do the trick and a minute in the micro and it is good to go.
mind you - we all make mistakes......................
my son was milk intolerant so used to make all his food home made - batch cooking and freezing. Till I decided to just give him - and a young friend who was visiting, what we had the night before - spaghetti bolognaise - they loved it - but the midwife doing the clinic that afternoon was amazed at the waft of garlic that surrounded them!!!
They ate every last scrap of it !!!!!

Moggins_2

To begin with you could try one of the toddler trays but add your own rice
And veg to get him used to the textures. We still have some
Emergency food trays from time to time

kingfisherblue

Simple quiche - mix a pot of cottage cheese with three eggs. Add peppers, ham, courgettes, mushrooms, etc (chopped into small pieces) and cook in the oven for 20 minutes on gas mark 5. You can make a large quiche, or use a silicon muffin tin to make six small ones. They freeze well. This is a Slimming World recipe, but good for all the family. It's great for using up veggies, and handy to have in. Eat with salad - chop everything into small pieces and add a small pot of dressing to the plate if you want to. My son loves French dressing and tomato sauce (sometimes together )

Beans on toast, maybe with a sprinkling of grated cheese on top.

Mashed potatoes with chopped ham, beef or pork, and peas, sweet corn or carrots.

Steam some broccoli and cauliflower, add some cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese is lightly browned. I prepare and steam all my veg when I buy it, and freeze in portion sizes in food bags. This makes it quick and easy to prepare this dish, or to add veg to meals even if you have been out all afternoon.

Boiled eggs and soldiers.

Spray some Frylight onto a baking tray. Put a wrap down flat, and on one half add grated cheese. Add grated courgette, peppers, chopped ham, onions, mushrooms, garden peas, etc. fold over and cook in oven on gas mark 5 for ten minutes. It's a bit like a pizza, but healthier.

Chopped fruit in yoghurt - don't buy kids from age frais, it's full of sugar.

Slice potatoes and onions, layer in a narrow but deepish dish, add just enough milk to barely cover. Cook in oven for about an hour, or make it in your slow cooker. It's delicious, even though it sounds disgusting.

Omelettes.

Scrambled egg with beans, mushrooms and toast.

Small chicken fillets (can buy ready cooked from supermarkets) with mash and veg.

Cooked pasta in sauce made from tinned tomatoes, cooked carrots, cooked onions blended together. Add mince if required. Again, freezes well.

Sandwiches cut into four triangles are easier to eat - I find that toddlers don't mind a single edge of crust. Use one white slice and one whole meal slice for variety, or make open topped sandwiches with a roll sliced into two.

Add chopped fruit to ice cream. A wafer biscuit usually goes down well.

Rich tea or digestive biscuits with spreadable cheese such as Philadelphia.

Lasagne - buy lasagne sheets, mince and tinned tomatoes. Cook mince and any additional veg. Whizz together with tomatoes. Layer mixture onto bottom of dish, then place single layer of lasagne sheets on top. Add another layer of mix, then sheets. Another layer of mix, the sprinkle grated cheese on top. Cook on gas mark 6 for about 20-30 minutes.

Make potato wedges - cut decent potatoes (not cheap whites) into small chunks, spray with Frylight and cook in oven. Use a high gas mark, around 7-8, but time will depend on how thick you cut the chunks. Healthy chips can be made in the same way.

Tinned custard with a piece of Swiss roll makes a tasty dessert.