Recipes / tips for healthy snacks / light meals

[stoo_pid]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to healthy snacks or light meals I can prepare for my wife while I'm at work? Ideally I'd like to freeze them so they can be easily reheated in the microwave.

The reason I ask is, Mrs Pid is currently breastfeeding our lovely but permanently hungry 2 month-old baby boy and the problem is she rarely gets enough time to herself to actually make herself lunch. As a result she tends to end up snacking on unhealthy things like biscuits, cream crackers etc.

We're both veggies (although my wife will eat fish) & I had prepared a freezer-full of casseroles, stews etc that she could just pop in the microwave but it turns out that most of the ingredients gave our poor lad severe colic.

Any clever ABers have any ideas for things that are tasty, healthy, meat-free and easy to eat one-handed..?!

[stoo_pid]

of course, that should read: "prepare for my wife to consume while I'm at work"

[Litchick]

How about home-made pizza?

[magicdice]

Hello, I'm a student, so short answer: yes.

Here's some stuff she can probably do one-handed for herself (none of these take any real effort at all, and very little time):

Pitta bread with guacamole or houmous (I've never been able to spell that, sorry) is a good one. You can buy pots of it ready-made - put pitta in toaster, remove lid of dip, eat with toasted pitta. Requires no cutlery or crockery, but can be done that way with a little more effort if you find it unseemly.

Cherry tomatoes are good for snacking.

Grilled asparagus, peppers and courgettes is a good one, too, especially if you have a George Foreman grill thing.

Fresh tortellini done microwave-style - boil kettle, pour over tortellini, zap for two minutes, drain water off, eat. Stir in a couple of spoonfuls of cr�me fra�che, maybe some pesto too if you're feeling adventurous, and you're sorted.

Oooh, what's really nice is risotto. Cook about two fairly generous portions of rice as normal. Heat a tinful of chopped tomatoes, with maybe a bit of worcestershire sauce, a tin of tuna, courgette, brocolli, carrot, mushrooms, whatever you fancy. Stir the two together and voil�. Tastes great reheated.

Any of these hitting the spot?

[Blyss]

magicdice You need to move into my house ..your ideas are fantaistic!!
Stoo_dip though ...Your wife can easily open a can of soup or tuna , why are you running around doin it for her just cus shes had a child??
I have four kid and breastfed , worked 3 jobs as a chef and still managed to feed myself .
Tell you wife to fend for fend.

[sunflower68]

Blyss!!! I was about to say how lovely that Mr pid is thinking about his wife at this busy time in her (and his) life. It's nice to know there are some lovely blokes out there (Mr Sunflower is one too, I might add).

A lovely big bowl of Greek salad is good to have in the fridge to dip into, ditto the pitta bread. Rice cakes with hummous. Not sure which foods are troubling your boy though.

I remember when my kids were about 4 months old they loved the baby bouncer hung up in the kitchen door. By then I was glad to have my hands free to cook! This stage is hard but does not last too long. Best wishes to you and your wife. xx

[Frankie Babe]

Try making up a batch of pasta shells mixed with loads of mixed veg and a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes. Dead easy to make, freeze and reheat!!!

[stoo_pid]

Many, many thanks for the tips so far (particularly magicdice & sunflower - some inspiring ideas there!). BTW sunflower, the worst foods seem to be 'cruciferous' veg (broccolli, sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower & turnips - in other words half of our favourite food!) so the recipes so far are ideal :-)

Blyss, the reason I'm "running around" for Mrs Pid is a) I want to and b) we're a team & she does the same for me. The thing with Junior Pid tho is he never sleeps & never stops feeding (just like his Dad! :-) and he really is a (delightful) handful. If I could breast-feed as well, I really would, but unfortunately, that's not an option, so I figure preparing a few interesting ready meals for my exhausted wife is the least I can do.

[Blyss]

what can I say ??
im just jealous..LOL

[stoo_pid]

: - )

[linjo]

Don't know if its good for babe but when I breastfeed drank mint tea and babes seemed less windy. Also I changed to organic veg so don't know what if any worked but something did. I use to eat loads of organic ryevita type crackers with humous. Hard boiled eggs always to hand in the fridge - ready peeled together with celery, cherry toms etc. - "finger food." What a great dad and husband my third husband is my only true partner the others were just frogs!

[rcl1]

home made pizza - use anything as a base...baguette (cut in half length ways), naan bread, bagels, etc. easy to hand is usually a slice of bread.

get your base, cover with tomatoe puree(puree from a tube has more flavour than the jarred stuff as it is concentrated), sprinkle on grated cheese (or thinly sliced to save a few seconds). light dusting of mixed herbs and a light dusting of crushed chillies. (may want to skip the chillies till your wife stops breast feeding though, or just use them on your own). 10 mins in oven and hey prest. Eat hot or cold(after cooking). can aslo add any toppings you like, pineapple, peppers, mushrooms etc.

Will think of a few more for you. I am a veggie that hates cooking and loves snacks so will hopefully come up with more. enjoy!

[rcl1]

linda mcartney sausage rolls, delicious hot or cold so you can pre-cook them and your wife can help herself when she gets peckish - get the party ones for bit sized lazieness, easy one handed eating.

[rcl1]

bag of express rice, micro for 2 mins then flavour with lea and perrins (L&P is made with anchovies- fish).

Great for getting rid of blocked noses as well.

Start with a few drops of L& P then increase to your taste, too much can leave you with the sweats and numb lips - but thats the way I like it. ( told you I dont really like to cook).

[mindimplode]

Stuffed Roasted peppers;

Cut a pepper in half, top to bottom. Remove seeds, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10 mins (until it is softened - you need it to hold its cup-like shape!). Boil and cool rice. Chop up various veg - tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, red onion etc. Sweat off or oven until soft. Mix your cooked veg through your rice with lots of seasoning and corriander. Stuff you red pepper with mixture and place a piece of cheese (goats cheese is the nicest!) on top and grill until brown.

Large batches can be made at once then refridgerated or frozen - and the combinations of fillings are endless.

To reheat simply microwave!

There you go - healthy, veggie and self contained.