Please give me some good meal ideas for my kids!?

Question

I have 2 boys (ages 4 and 8), and they eat really good, dont mind fruit/veg/fish/meat etc...

i am on a budget, and want to try some new meals with them..can you recommend any good family meals that are not too expensive please?

We normally have things like lasagne, spag bol, sweet and sour prawns/chicken, sausage and mash occasionally.

Answer 1

have cereal night!!

i do it and my kids love it...

Answer 2

hot pockets

Answer 3

i am very lucky with my four-year-old too, he loves veg and fish etc.

Here are some different things i cook that aren't expensive.

WRAPS: Really easy and cheap, can use almost any ingredient, Chicken, mince meat, prawns etc. with sweet corn, guacamole, lettuce etc.

NAAN PIZZA: just a pack of plain naan bread, spread a plain tomato pasta sauce over them then add any topping, cheese, salami, ham, pinapple, etc. grill for about 10-mins - easy!

COUS COUS: It's so cheap and again, you can add almost anything to it, sweet corn, peas, chickpeas, peppers, meat, pinapple etc.

EGGS: scrambled egg on toast, omlette with ham/veg/tomato etc. also, boiled egg and soldiers, boiled egg salad.

PASTA: with anything, macaroni & cheese, spag. bol., pasta with tuna, sweet corn and mayo.

PUFF PASTRY: just roll out some puff pastry and fil with anything you like, tomatoes, egg, mushrooms, chorizo etc and just pop in the oven (425 F or 220 C) for about 15-20 mins.

TUNA FISH CAKES: so simple, just mash potato, add a tin of tuna and anything else you want (peas or corn etc) then shape in your hand squashing the mash and tuna together, then just fry for 1-2 mins. (you can also dip into bread crumbs if you want but don't have to)

PIE: I just use any left over meat from day before (chicken, beef etc) and put it into little oven proof dishes, add anything like peas, carrots, or even baked beans, then, get a jacket potato and microwave, slice it when it's cooked and put it on top of the meat as a lid, then just let it crisp in the oven!

PRAWN NOODLES: this is a fav with my son, just chinease noodle, fried with prawns, baby corn and green beans and add any chinease sauce (black bean, sweet&sour - you can buy in a sachet for about 45p)

other easy meals are...

Chicken and Rice

Pasta with chopped sausages

Cheese on toast

Beans on toast with greated cheese

Vegetable lasagna (made the same as meat but with corgetts, mushrooms etc)

Mini roast dinner

Jacket potato with beans/prawns/salad/cheese

Tomato Soup

Carrot and Coreander soup

Hope i've helped x

Answer 4

try preparing meatloaf. its easy and cheap to prepare. recipes are availbe on the internet.

deep fried pork chops

fish and chips (british dish)

beef stew.

pork/chicken/beef barbecue

grilled tuna(look for small one probably  whole or slab tuna 1-2 lbs marinade it with lemon/ lime juice, 3 cloves garlic , salt and peppe for like 30 mins or overnight just put it in the fridge then grill it then rub some of your favorite barbecue rubs like hickory smoke, hot and spicy, etc.

Answer 5

Tater tot casserole-

Cook hamburger and mix it with on can of cream of mushroom and chicken (you can use either chicken or mushroom but the two are really good) Layer it with tater tots and bake long enough to cook the tots (20 mins) then layer with a little shredded cheese. It good and quick. Also, if your family eats onion and things, you can add onions, peppers, mushroom any thing you like.

Answer 6

well sounds like you have two great kids there. And are obviously doing a good job with keeping them opened minded with food and encouraging them to eat a wide range of different foods.

I think it's important to make meals fun and interesting for children of those ages, or any ages really.

But maybe you could let them help you cook? Cut funny faces into vegetables (with supervision obviously) and stuff like that.

Maybe try to give them something different that i haven't had before to try? Different to what you would usually give them.

Or ask them what they'd like to eat? Maybe they have an idea of something they'd like to try.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Sausage casserole

Mince casserole

Beef casserole

Chicken casserole

Ham salad

Chicken stir fry

Jacket potatoes with cheese and beans

Chilli con carne

Chicken/beef curry

Cauliflower cheese

Macoroni cheese

Cheese, onion and potato pie