OP -- I know where you are coming from. When our DD was little, she needed to eat within 5 minutes of our getting in the front door. She was very sensitive to hunger and once she was over the limit, became a total mess. And giving her a snack and eating dinner later wouldn't have helped, as her bedtime was soon thereafter. With two WOHP, it created a lot of pressure for quick toddler dinner. It gets better as they get a little older. At some point she was able to hold out for 30 minutes and we could eat as a family (in the dining room! with cloth napkins and tablecloth!), so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Just be warned that there is a risk of your DC not having as broad food horizons if DC eats separately from you.

What we relied on:
* leftovers, if they weren't too spicy
* frozen meatballs
* smoked salmon
* crab cakes
* shrimp
* frozen veggies (peas, corn, broccoli) with no sauce or seasoning
* eggs (scrambled, omelet or quiche)
* canadian bacon
* fruit
* cheese
* yogurt
* soups

As for eating meat... Remember that toddler don't have many molars and aren't very good at using them yet. That means it is really difficult for them to chew well. We found that ground meats were much more popular with DD.

Pasta, the magic food. Let them dip it in whatever they want and provide other fruits and veggies to dip and eat. They eat almost everything with their fingers anyway at that age.

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat leftovers. They (twins) have eaten everything and will continue to do so. I seriously don't understand prepping different meals.

Because if you have a picky eater, forcing them to eat meals that they don't like is a good way to create unhealthy eating habits as they grow. Some people think it is worthwhile for children to develop healthy habits and learn to eat foods they like and not to think of meal times as fights that make them uncomfortable and unhappy.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for the great ideas! I've made a list and will be trying some of these ideas in the near future. I guess I'll add that despite best efforts, DD is somewhat particular about what she eats, and hasn't liked meat of any sort yet. So that makes things challenging. But we keep trying

One of our twins also tends not to like meat (although he hasn't met a legume that he hasn't liked). So we do a little crossover sometimes. I make mini meatballs for them and I'll cook a few in with some baked beans (one of his favorites) and he'll eat them in the sauce on the beans. He also loves tomatoes and sometimes he'll eat meat if it has a little tomato sauce on it. Keep experimenting. It's taken months to find the meats that they'll eat.

Anonymous wrote:Goya black bean soup. Toddler loves it and you heat it up right out of the can. Nutritious, easy and so yummy!

I know it's delicious, but it has 600 mg sodium a serving. At least buy the low salt kind for toddlers.

Try english muffin "pizzas" in the toaster oven, along with a fruit/veg side.

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat leftovers. They (twins) have eaten everything and will continue to do so. I seriously don't understand prepping different meals.

Some people are different than you! Some don't eat at the same time as their kids! Some want their kids to have fresh food! Ain't it shocking?

OP here. Thank you all for the great ideas! I've made a list and will be trying some of these ideas in the near future. I guess I'll add that despite best efforts, DD is somewhat particular about what she eats, and hasn't liked meat of any sort yet. So that makes things challenging. But we keep trying

My kids eat leftovers. They (twins) have eaten everything and will continue to do so. I seriously don't understand prepping different meals.

How quickly do you want dinner done? I get home around 5:30 - 6:00 with our older daughter and start dinner for the family to eat about 20 minutes to an hour later when my wife gets home with our 20 month old and then go into bedtime routine by around 7:30 -8:00.

Stir Fry - simple protein such as beef or chicken with green peppers, broccoli or asparagus with oyster sauce, garlic or soy sauce gravy thickened with corn starch served with rice.

Since both kids love tofu, maybe a mild ma po tofu which is basically tofu with oyster sauce and ground meat. Add peas for vegetable. Use hot sesame seed oil to spice up my own servings.

Generally challenge is for the rice to get done before the rest of the food as that is usually the slowest step.

Use leftover rice to make fried rice.

Roast chicken is an easy one. We always have bone in skin on thighs which you just sprinkle with some salt and pepper and sear on both sides to get a nice crust and then put in the oven with some onions and herbs to finish for about 20 minutes during which time you can get potatoes ready for mashed potatoes or microwaved baked potatoes and sauteed vegetables in olive oil or butter and garlic. Once you take the chicken out, you can use the roasted and hopefully carmelized onions with the chicken drippings to make gravy. Can be done in 30 minutes easily.

Can do something similar to above with pork chops, but do those exclusively on the stovetop or you'll end up with really dry pork. To change up starches you can use grits and adding cheese to grits or mashed potatoes can add some variety. Also can mix chopped up leafy green vegetables to both.

Homemade pizza using pitas or lavash bread, tomato paste, mozzarela and other toppings. Fun to get kids involved in putting toppings on.

We keep some frozen flounder filets in the freezer and use those to make a variation on sole meunier which is really easy and fast since the fish cooks really fast. Dresge the filet in flour and pan fry in butter. Can also do simple pan fried salmon with just a little salt to taste. The other day, did an olive oil poached salmon filet. Most fishes can be done in 20 minutes or less.

Hope this is helpful.

I understand your issue. Our twins usually howl if they don't get their dinner about 15 minutes after we all get home from work (we all carpool together). So, we do a quick dinner for them and then I'll either cook for us while they are eating or after they go to bed.

We make sure that they have one protein, one starch and usually two fruits and/or veggies.

Proteins: white meat chicken nuggets, meatballs (I make up a batch of meatballs once every week or two and freeze half and use half), roast chicken, white fish fillets, stir fry beef (leftovers when we've had it), scrambled eggs

Starch: mashed potatoes, whole grain bread, breadsticks, whole wheat rotini pasta

Fruits: grape tomatoes (halved), grapes (halved), pineapple, watermelon, apple slices (or diced), cherries (halved)

Veggies: peas, green beans, cucumber slices, small broccoli florets, julienned or shredded carrots, celery crescents

We also sometimes substitute one of the elements of our leftovers will fill a particular element.

This way, I can have their meal ready in 10 minutes from when we get home and they can eat and we aren't rushed to get our meal done. But they are used to our food (most of these are either what we eat or the components of what we eat) so that when they can finally wait until slightly later, we can all eat the same thing at the same time.

Cook on weekends. Plan for each night. Pull out meal when you get home. Heat up toddler portion then and you and DH's wen you eat. It takes time to get a system running but once you do it is easy. Also, a bowl of cereal once per week is totally fine. Do oatmeal and fruit and you've jazzed up your kid's day.

I give her the black bean soup with diced avocado or a small amount of cheese sprinkled or sour cream on top.