# Do you give your toddler frozen stuff..



## stardust599

... like fish fingers, potato waffles, chicken goujons etc.?

Or tinned things like spaghetti hoops or beans/sausages?


I have always given LO homecooked things (or the steamed toddler meals if LO is too grumpy to let me cook). But coming up with a home cooked lunch and dinner every single day is getting a bit draining now at 28 weeks preg! So when we did the shopping tonight I bought some Birds Eye waffles and fish fingers for LO's dinner. I thought once a week I could give her something like this?

But I felt horrible when I made it for her dinner :-( She seemed to enjoy her first taste of frozen food and liked dipping it into tomato sauce :rofl: And I served it with a huge portion of peas and carrots to make me feel better.

Do you feed your LO frozen food?

Also, my Mum (looks after her 2days while I work) has tried giving her tinned spaghetti hoops or beans and sausages which she says are perfectly healthy occasionally for lunch but has said that LO is utterly disgusted by them :rofl: When do LOs normally start eating stuff like that? Me and OH never really eat them (they are kept in the cupboard for like twice a year or something) and LO has always had the same homecooked meals as us but I don't want her grossed out by them either! Plus it would be nice not to have to make it a lunch/dinner from scratch the night before I go to work maybe just once a fortnight or something I could have a night off and and send her with a tin!


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## MrsT&Ben

Once a week or so yes! Don't see a problem with it, he gets a good variety of food the rest of the time :)


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## pichi

yeah - we sometimes give Pixie some spaghetti on toast or for tea she likes some fish fingers. it's not like she gets that every night so i wouldn't see it as bad.

as long as there is a balance it's fine.


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## charlotte-xo

Alfies had fish fingers, waffles etc there's nothing wrong with them it's fish and breadcrumbs and potato :shrug: posted without finishing :dohh: sometimes its impossible to cook every meal from scratch and anyone who does it at every meal i take my hate off to them, whenever Alfie has fish fingers or whatever I always make sure he has plenty of veg with it aswell but there's really no harm in giving frozen every once in a while.

Xx


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## Lulu

Yes, we do. In fact tonight he is having fish fingers and some batchelors pasta n'sauce. Daddy cooked and we haven't been food shopping to don't have a lot of options. He has baked beans on toast at breakfast or lunch sometimes too.

Some weeks he might have a couple of meals like that - frozen/tinned stuff but then sometimes we won't have anything like that for over a month or so. He has a varied diet so I don't worry and sometimes we just don't have the time or the energy to cook a meal from scratch. 

He's going through a phase of not really being interested in fruit so I'm trying to overload the veg side of things (obv not tonight :lol:), fortunately he loves veg. It all balances itself out eventually so I wouldn't worry about it too much.


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## pichi

i've tried to make a little 'menu' for the week just so i can have things made etc... but i've still to get around to sorting that out! :haha:


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## gingajewel

Yep, i really dont see anything wrong with it! Megan has a varied diet and sometimes that includes freezer foods - i really dont worry about it tbh! Xx


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## louandivy

Not a huge amount just because I don't really enjoy most frozen food either! She has fish fingers/lemon sole goujons from the freezer, veggie sausages, peas, sweetcorn and frozen berries, but I tend to make sweet potato wedges rather than any kind of frozen potato product as its healthier and Ivy actually prefers it.


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## holly2234

Erin eats them sometimes. Usually she has fruit, veg and mash etc because they are her favourites. But once or twice a week i will cook her potato wedges or waffle and sausages or fish fingers or something.

She has a very varied diet so there is no problem :)


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## isil

Boy has fish fingers once a week, on a Monday when we've had a long day at work/childminder! He has had smilie faces before too, but I tend to just boil some potatoes for him. It's pretty quick and cheaper. 

I don't see a problem with it, the only reason I cook from fresh the rest of the time is that I enjoy it, it's cheaper and I like to know what's going into meals when I can. Boy always has frozen peas and sweetcorn too!


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## stardust599

Seems like I'm a bit uptight about it then! I will try and relax and give myself a break from now on! 

Any other ideas on really easy things for when we're having a bad day??


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## pichi

omlettes are good, scrambled eggs, macaroni cheese with some ham and peas mixed through is nice and simple/quick too :)

other things that are good are home-made soups that can be frozen in little batches and you can put however many hidden veggies in there as you want :) Also, i found a good recipe for pizza dough (very low salt and no yeast)that can be frozen too - that way you can make your little one a pizza and know EXACTLY what's gone into it


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## leoniebabey

LO loves fish fingers, smiley faces etc. 
He loves spagetti shapes too he'll have them on toast.


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## pichi

leoniebabey instead of smileys have you tired asdas potato stars? they're far less greasy and there's a lot more potato in them :).


just remember getting told a quick meal too - a tin of tuna, a tin of spaghetti hoops ontop of that then mash on top that. stick it in like a lasagna dish and stick in oven and it's meant to be great


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## Mee_Mummy

Yes, but not often - this is only because I can't stand frozen processed food...apart from chips! I try to cook fresh everyday & we have simple lunches like, sandwiches, soups, crackers with cheese, cheese & beans on toast - stuff like that, all served with veg & fruit for afters.

Good quick fresh meals are:
Jacket potato (my DS loves tuna & cheese with this!)
Pasta in any kind of homemade sauce (you can freeze most sauces for a week)
Homemade mini pizza's.
Spaghetti bolognaise (you can freeze the bolognaise)
Shepards/cottage pie - I always make double and freeze the other half.
Fish pie.
Poached salmon with tatties.

Plus you can make your own chicken dippers, fish fingers & fishcakes. They freeze well and are healthier than the shop brought versions - I think so anyway.

There's just a few.. But I definately know what you mean about just can't be bothered to cook fresh all the time being pregnant!! Xx


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## leoniebabey

pichi said:


> leoniebabey instead of smileys have you tired asdas potato stars? they're far less greasy and there's a lot more potato in them :).
> 
> 
> just remember getting told a quick meal too - a tin of tuna, a tin of spaghetti hoops ontop of that then mash on top that. stick it in like a lasagna dish and stick in oven and it's meant to be great

Nope i've not tried those! Will get some in my shopping this week, thanks :thumbup: x


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## CaptainMummy

Paige has it sometimes. She has chicken dippers, fish fingers, potato animals from Tesco (like smiley faces) she had mini potato rostis today with chicken for dinner. Id say she has a freezer meal once or twice a week. No harm in that, she gets plenty of goodness!


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## pinklizzy

Erin has had waffles maybe twice and the same for spaghetti hoops on toast but I try not to give her any other frozen food. I make chicken nuggets with pesto and bread crumbs which she likes.


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## HellBunny

Sometimes J has fish fingers/potato shapes, oh and beans too he has, though i don't give him any tinned sausages or sausages in general (except the veggie ones) he has had chicken dippers twice aswell lol.


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## polaris

Yes, Thomas has convenience foods like fish fingers, sausages, waffles, chips, maybe once or twice a week. He also normally has beans on toast at least twice a week for lunch as he loves them. I am a bit funny about non-free-range chicken so I've never given him chicken nuggets or dippers but I've recently made a big batch home-made, which was much easier than I expected and they taste delicious. I made a big batch of them and have them in the freezer, just as easy as the shop bought ones once they are made.

Occasionally we will have a shop-bought quiche or pizza but I would normally make my own.


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## 08marchbean

I do give tinned ravioli or tinned macaroni on occasions when we are going out ad she needs an early tea or for any other reason that I havnt made our dinner yet and she is hungry! Not very often. She also has fishfingers chips and peas sometimes if not eating with us. 

I do try and have small portions of homemade meals in the freezer for these occasions but it doesnt always work out! she is eating more now so we dont always have leftovers to freeze! 

I def dont see it as a problem for the occasional quick meal if we are in a rush/going out or whatever.


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## louandivy

stardust every week I find the time to make a quick healthy tomato pasta sauce - just onion, garlic, chopped courgette and peppers, chopped tomato, a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of worcester sauce. So then I have a big batch and give it to her with penne pasta if we are in a rush, and for lunch use it as a tomato base on pitta with cheese sprinkled on top as a little mini pizza! It is also good to serve like a kind of ketchup with sausages and sweet potato.


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## sparkle_1979

Ruby has them maybe twice a week the rest of the time she eats pretty healthy. Every day she eats lots of fruit and veg, so it doesn't worry me.


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## MrsBandEgglet

Yep, Arf does and to be honest I struggling to get him to much else at the moment. He loves fish fingers and asda's equivalent of smiley faces. We never have frozen chips though and always make our own. He would eat beans every single day if he could. Vi is a lot more discerning lol and wants to eat nothing but brocolli, peas and sweet corn. Neither will eat pasta, chicken or sausages. We do cook a lot fresh but it's almost like Arf prefers the processed stuff and I just want him to eat so I confess I give him stuff that I know he likes and will actually eat. I cannot for the life of me get him to eat any vegetables at all but he eats as much fruit as he can stuff down during the day.


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## Cattia

Yes, Abigail quite often has fishfingers, sausages, baked beans etc. She always has one home cooked meal a day like Shepherd's pie or fish pie that I cook in batches and freeze, then the other meal will be sandwiches, something on toast or something out the freezer. As a working mum I feel that one home cooked meal a day is good enough going! I have recently discovered home made pizza and I have to say this is my new favourite, the dough takes a while to make but you can make it in big batches and freeze it, so all you have to do is throw pasata and cheese on it and put it in the oven.I think it has a lot less salt than shop bought pizza. She also never has chips, just because I don't buy them.


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## Lellow

Hmmm frozen peas, sweetcorn and Quorn foods like sausages/burgers/mince.
Aymen loves carrot and potato waffles and fish fingers too.
He has that maybe twice a week on my 2 long days at work. He has his dinner at nursery, but i like to know hes definately full so a couple of fish fingers, a few waffles and some peas are just a small meal he can pick at and then leave when hes full.

I dont see freezer food as a huge problem a couple of times a week, esp as all his other cooked meals are made with fresh ingredients.


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## OmarsMum

Fish fingers (bird's eye cod fish or salmon) & frozen French fries (I air fry them without oil), sometime I use frozen chicken nuggets. He gets them around twice a week


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## Zizzle

Yep, couple of times a week. I'd love to give him home cooked stuff everyday but sometimes it isn't possible. It wont hurt them.


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## Jchihuahua

Daisy has things like beans on waffles, tinned pasta shapes etc for her lunch sometimes when I'm at work as it is easier for my husband as he's not much of a cook and also has a colicky and very difficult Tommy to deal with. I always do a proper meal for her in the evenings though and she has loads of fresh fruit throughout the day.


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## Nats21

Yeah Callum does, not all the time as I still enjoy cooking for him and he'll have what we do most of the time. But things like waffles or veggie fingers he enjoys so will have it every so often xx


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## hattiehippo

Tom would have fish fingers, potato croquettes and spaghetti hoops every night for tea if I let him. As it is he has tea at nursery 3 times a week and fish fingers on 1 or 2 of the other days.


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## Mynx

Evie occasionally has fish fingers or chicken nuggets but she absolutely hates tinned spaghetti and baked beans! I often put baked beans into my home made shepherd's pie or casserole to bulk it up a little and she'll eat them in those but on their own, she hates em lol!


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## Farie

Nim often takes veggie fingers and or beans to preschool for lunch. She also has Poms on occasion. 

She doesn't like fish fingers much or tinned spaghetti tho

Everything in moderation lol


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## Lu28

Aisling has frozen food maybe once a month and tinned beans once every couple of weeks. When I wasn't working I made homemade fish fingers and chicken nuggets etc. She eats her dinner at the childminders so I only have to take care of the weekends anyway so it's easy for me not to resort to the freezer! :lol:


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## fluffpuffin

Isla loves baked beans and has them maybe twice a week or so but she's not so keen on tinned spaghetti. She loves fish fingers too and I get the 100% cod ones so they're very healthy actually. She likes potato waffles or hash browns so I serve them with some meals. I don't see the harm :shrug:, yes they contain more fat than some home cooked food but at that age they need a certain amount of fat in their diet.


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## MrsVenn

Not really but that's because she's a fussy madam and is picky over what I make her too so regardless of whether it's come out of a packet or not. I see no harm in frozen food at all, all in moderation. On a side, all of my main veg and fruit is frozen :thumbup:

Molly is a bit partial to a chicken nugget though and will have the odd fish finger so I have those in the freezer just incase. She won't touch potato smilies or waffles but will eat wedges.. someone explain to me the difference?? :dohh: She won't eat baked beans at home but does at nursery too, again, I see nothing wrong with this. It's food at the end of the day.


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## rwhite

The way I see it, everything's okay in moderation :thumbup: There's nothing we won't give Lachlan, especially if it's something we're eating at the time...if we gave him something different he would flat out refuse to eat it until he got some of what we were eating (McDonalds- case in point :haha: so now we're cutting down on our takeaway intake).

Lachlan has tinned spaghetti on nights we are in a rush or dinner is taking ages and he's got to go to bed, he'll have spaghetti and toast. His diet is fairly varied so I feel he's getting what he needs and an occasional easy 'no nutrients' sort of meal isn't going to hurt :)


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## Dream.A.Dream

He has fish fingers and reduced sugar/salt beans sometimes :) Maybe once a week? x


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## Emz1982_in_uk

Yep, once or twice a week. Mostly fish fingers and waffles and occasionally chicken goujons. Our peas and sweetcorn are frozen as well. He does like tinned spaghetti and baked beans and will have those about once a week too.

I made my own fish fingers the other day and froze them. They are actually very easy to make. Also homemade macaroni cheese takes about 15 minutes if you make your own cheese sauce , so pretty quick. And we freeze bolognase and chilli that we make


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## KellyC75

Yes....:blush: 

I am a terrible cook, but am trying to pick up tips from here :winkwink:


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## rwhite

MrsBandEgglet said:


> Yep, Arf does and to be honest I struggling to get him to much else at the moment. He loves fish fingers and asda's equivalent of smiley faces. We never have frozen chips though and always make our own. He would eat beans every single day if he could. Vi is a lot more discerning lol and wants to eat nothing but brocolli, peas and sweet corn. Neither will eat pasta, chicken or sausages. We do cook a lot fresh but it's almost like Arf prefers the processed stuff and I just want him to eat so I confess I give him stuff that I know he likes and will actually eat. *I cannot for the life of me get him to eat any vegetables at all but he eats as much fruit as he can stuff down during the day*.

Lachlan is exactly like this, too! Drives me nuts :wacko: :lol:


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## eddjanuary10

Ihsan likes potato waffles and sometimes he will eat fish fingers. I have tried him with other things from frozen but he won't eat anything and he used to like baked beans when he was about 1year but won't touch them now. Everything else he eats is made from scratch so I don't mind :)


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## jd83

Yep, I do easy stuff like that a few times a week if I don't have time for anything else. I wish the good food would just cook itself for me! lol


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## mummy_ellie09

Yeah but I do try to give him 'proper' food too


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## tu123

Lo used to like fish fingers but not any more. She hardly ever eats anything tineed ir frozen but that is because she is a madam with eating.

I would have no problems using freezers or tinned food occassionally.

Things like tinned beans, hoops, etc, often have plenty if vitamin c and iron in them. They aren't that bad IMHO.


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## jenny82

About once a week he'll have a quick meal like that, usually on a Saturday if we've been out all day. It doesn't bother me, tbh I enjoy the odd fish finger sandwich - gross! He eats tonnes of fruit & veg though and will eat most things I cook for him so I don't see it as a problem :)


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## lozzy21

Yep, infect tonight iv stood and cooked bolagnsise from scratch and then realised were out of pasta so were having it with oven chips lol


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## dani_tinks

Yup. I have a fussy eater, he refuses almost everything! We tried home made beef stew today and he refused it.
He loves waffles, alphabet letters, fish fingers, veggie fingers and any frozen chicken. Its a pain but i'd rather he eat that than nothing at all.
Im lucky he loves fruit and eggs, so somehow he does manage a ballanced diet :)


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## KittyVentura

Yes. Fin has Fishfingers, chicken goujons, beans, waffles etc. Not everyday but he does have them. The boy is a bean fanatic xx


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## RHR

Yes I do and also make sure that dd1 has plenty of veg with it, or fruit after. Not all the time but occasionally is fine.


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## Hellodoris

E would live off baked beans if I let her... 

On nights when I've been working she has quick easy teas, soe tinned bits, some freezer bits. Mainly she eats homemade and will practically snaffle down lasagne without chewing! 

Due to OH's wheat intolerance we make our own pizza, sauces and pasta so we know what goes in most things.. Still she does once a fortnight have fish fingers and wedges.


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## going_crazy

DD will have fish fingers/sausages once a fortnight, maybe once a week - I don't see any harm in it.

I always do a big batch of bolognaise sauce and freeze portions so that when I am in a hurry or cba to cook, it's easy just to defrost and serve with spaghetti/pasta. I also batch cook & freeze fish pie and cottage/shepherds pie.

I gave DD beans on toast for lunch the other day, and she refused to touch them! Gonna try it again soon though

xx


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## MadameJ

My kids have something that is frozen at least once a day,wither its sausages,waffles,chicken nuggets,veg,pizza fingers,mash tatties..the list goes on! They eat such a variety of fresh/frozen/homemade etc that I don't see any of it as a big deal. They have at least one homemade meal a day wither that's freshly made or defrosted its still homemade!

I stick by the moto..everything in moderation.


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## tashyluv

We always have fish fingers, waffles in the freezer. When we go shopping we usually plan out what we want for the week. This includes around 5 homecooked meals, occasionally it will be stir fry/curry in this case little one will get something out the freezer. She likes making her own topping for her waffle which is cheese and beans!!


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## storm4mozza

yes and i have for quite a while now. i cook them in the healthiest way i can (like using a george foreman grill) and choose healthy options in spaghetti alot of time time but he loves them as long as i keep the balance right i see no problem x


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