What age is to old for jars?

~Chameleon~

Check out Sam Stern's cookbooks for simple, easy to follow recipes. He started cooking/writing as a teenager and although his books are aimed at teens/students they are great for all the family.

Moggins_2

I've found baby pasta sauce and gravy in places like b and m and poundland etc. good substitute for salty adult sauces. The gravy was only about 30p!

liney

An omelette made with one egg, filled with mushrooms and a little cheese was a favorite of my DS. He would have a ramekin of baked beans to go with, and i'd slice it so he could pick it up.

A splash of gravy to loosen up some mashed veg has been the staple weaning food for generations. Don't worry, and don't forget the yorkshire puddings!

sweetcheekz

I don't know if you have one in your area, but Sure Start centres often have free/low cost cooking classes for parents, specifically designed to support healthy eating for children. They also, normally, provide a crèche space to make it easy to attend.

margaretclare

liney wrote: »

An omelette made with one egg, filled with mushrooms and a little cheese was a favorite of my DS. He would have a ramekin of baked beans to go with, and i'd slice it so he could pick it up.

A splash of gravy to loosen up some mashed veg has been the staple weaning food for generations. Don't worry, and don't forget the yorkshire puddings!

OK, here's someone who knows about Yorkshire Puddings, which have been classic 'poverty food' for generations. It's basically a batter pudding which can be eaten either hot or cold or even with jam on Sunday tea-time (showing my age). Flour, egg, milk-and-water, well beaten, cooked in a very hot oven in greased tins, when they rise and are brown then they're done. However, maybe not quite what you're aiming at - something simple for a one-year-old.

Don't buy any of the fruity yogurts - too much sugar. Natural yogurt with a little bit of liquid honey - one-year-old will love that. Good old staple - mashed banana. Any egg dish - boiled with 'soldiers', scrambled, omelette. DH does what he cals 'grenkies' - pieces of bread soaked in beaten egg and fried. Or eggy-onion - onion chopped and softened in a little oil, beaten egg added, a variation on the basic scrambled egg. Eggs are full of protein and are good for you.

HTH

claire16c

I would really recommend the Jamie Oliver ministry of food cook book, or. Delias how to cook, or the basic delia book which has a recipe for pretty much any basic food you can think of.

Or if you want to cook something like lasagne but have no clue, just type it in google & you'll find a ton of recipes and just pick a simple one and don't worry if you're missing a few herbs or whatever just follow the basics.

You can also watch cooking videos on YouTube, get recipe books from your library. Oh and there is a book I have called Bbc good food, 101 one pot dishes - great for saving on washing up, bbc good food 101 pasta & noodle dishes - some of them only have a few Ingredients, and the 3rd is 101 cheap eats. Again only a few bits needed for each meal. They also show the calorie content etc. normally those books are 2 for 3 in waterstones, the recipes are really short & pictures.

Or sometimes you can get recipes on the back of sauce jars, like sweet and sour chicken etc.

If you freeze something you can always reheat it in the oven once you've defrosted it, or you can micro, just cook til it's piping hot.

margaretclare

I would second the Delia book on basic cookery. She really does get down to the basics.

Coming up to September, there may possibly be courses on cookery at your local adult education.

I've been cooking for decades but have never yet made lasagne, although my eldest GD can make it.

dancingfairy

lasagne is quite complicated to make. By the time you've made a mince sauce, a cheese/white sauce and then cooked it in the oven I've lost the will to live. :rotfl:
If I want to make lasagne I normally make a courgette and tomato one. Make a mixture of courgette and tomato and garlic/onion and serve with pasta on one night and then use mixture the next night to make lasagne so one night I've made the courgette thing and the next night the cheese sauce and chucked in the oven.
In terms of planning the week etc you could base it around a roast:
Sunday - roast - say chicken
Monday - cold chicken and chips/roast potatoes/boiled potatoes etc.
Tues - reheated chicken in gravy and veg/chicen curry/chicken risotto etc etc.

That's 3 days done already.
You could also have something like a fish day, a sausage day, a chicken day, a pasta day etc etc.
Definitely check out the oldstyle board - they seem very friendly when I've ventured over there and they will have loads of ideas. They also do a meal plan thread every week so you can see what sort of things other people are cooking and they are always happy to share there recipes.
Also batch cooking is your friend. Maybe cook on a weekend day when you maybe have a little more time and then freeze bits (ie a big spaghetti bolognese).
Check out recipe books aimed at students as they are normally cheap and quick (aimed at students with a limited budget, limited time, and a limited kitchen equipment), although you will have to keep an eye on salt/sugar content as they aren't always the most healthy.
Best of Luck on your quest
df

LannieDuck

I have an almost-2 year old. I understand what you're saying about your baby not eating the same things you do (we like quite spicy curries and chilli con carne etc, so not always appropriate for a baby/toddler). Some of my tips:

* Sweetcorn from a can, and frozen peas (heat in a microwave/boiling water). DD adores both of these - I think she likes the 'pop' they make when she bites into them.

* Chopped up carrot in water and heated for 2 mins in the microwave (or boiled if you feel up to it).

* Frozen prawns defrosted in a microwave (or left in fridge overnight to defrost).

* Stir fry - you can buy packets of stir-fry veg in the supermarket and bags of noodles, do a little bit for baby, and the rest for your dinner.

* Pasta and pesto sauce.

* Slices of melon from supermarket - my DD loves these. Wedges of apple.

Nothing wrong with jars occasionally (except price), as long as you supplement with some fresh fruit/veg. And my DD loves fish fingers.

claire16c

Home made lasagne is the best, when you make all the sauce etc yourself but it does take a long time.

If you want to start the easy way, just buy the pasta red sauce & white sauce in jars, and then you can put together with the mince & pasta sheets, that's really easy. I normally add some veggies when I do that & top with grated cheese. At a weekend I'd make the sauces myself.

You can always make double the mince part and use for spagbol and freeze for another day.