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Please don't hurl abuse at me, just come and give me honest opinions!!

24 replies

positiveattitudeonly · 11/10/2009 13:48

DD3 is 15 years old and has been very unwell for over a year, although is now slowly recovering. I am having a crisis of confidence in anticipation of an appointment on Friday where I have been told that her diet needs to be discussed. I had always thought that the family ate pretty healthily, but would appreciate some other honest opinions. The quantity of food cannot be in question as she is spot-on height/weight wise.

Breakfast
Bowl of nut clusters OR Bran flakes Or toast (maybe with Choc spread, but only allowed on a Saturday morning)
Drink of apple juice.

Lunch
Homemade bread with mayonnaise (doesn?t like butter) Ham and salad.
OR Cheese and ham salad
Or small pasta salad

Afternoon snack ? If she has one. Probably only 3 or 4 times a week.
Pack of quavers
OR homemade oat biscuit
OR grapes
OR homemade scone

Main meal. (I will give you the meals for the last 4 nights as an example)
Homemade Shepherds Pie ? peas & carrots in it, with sweetcorn.
Chicken breast cooked in gravy, boiled potatoes, peas & carrots
Jacket Potato filled with tuna/mayonnaise and sweetcorn
Homemade Lasagne with leeks.

Puddings (The 3 she has had this week.)
Homemade oaty apple crumble
Choc brownie with a scoop of ice cream
Meringue with ice cream and kiwi.

DD3 does not like fruit. We have no carbonated drinks in the house. Since the beginning of the year we think she has had 4 or 5 ?fast food? meals as treats.

OK so thanks for reading and I will take on board any honest opinions. I don?t think its bad, but will accept critisism, (but please be nice, no rotten tomatoes thrown this way please, or I may throw them back!!)

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shootfromthehip · 11/10/2009 13:52

Doesn't sound too bad to me- why are they concerned?

I suppose the only thing I would say is that she could have a yogurt/ fruit instead of a pudding.

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Bucharest · 11/10/2009 13:53

Looks fine to me

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colditz · 11/10/2009 13:55

Um, do they need to discuss her diet as in looking for intolerances? Or do they need to check that she does actually have a balanced diet (remember, they won't know what she eats until you tell them)

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TheFoosa · 11/10/2009 13:56

looks good, no junk, lots of homemade stuff

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Meglet · 11/10/2009 13:56

It looks ok to me. I can't see why there should be problems with that.

Are the discussing her diet as a formality to tick the boxes? Or is she likely to need a special diet that they need to tell you about?

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Doyouthinktheysaurus · 11/10/2009 13:57

Sounds fine to me.

Seems pretty normal.

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BloodRedTulips · 11/10/2009 14:02

depending what her health issues are they may have meant they planning on putting her on a high dairy/carb/protein/fibre diet.... i doubt anything negative was meant by it at all.

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jasper · 11/10/2009 14:04

can I come to your for tea?
sounds lovely and pretty healthy

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IwishIwasmoreorganised · 11/10/2009 14:09

It sounds like a pretty good diet to me.

In our house we have more fruit and yoghurts but our kids are still a lot younger so I have 100% say over what they eat!

I would try not to worry about the appointment (easier said than done, I'm sure) and just be honest about what she eats and how much.

Let us know how you get on.

xx

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hippipotamiHasLost69lbs · 11/10/2009 14:10

I think it is fine - healthy, wholesome, home cooked food. I cannot see any problems with it
Your menu looks similar to the kind of dishes I cook - cottage pie with carrots, peas, mushrooms and onions hidden in it for dinner tonight for example
With homemade banana/apple/raisin cake topped with vanilla ice cream for pud.

What are they (they being the powers that be) worried about regarding your dd's diet?

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orangehaze · 11/10/2009 14:11

Hi her diet looks absolutely fine to me and she's lucky to have such a concerned Mum.

I don't know if this will help and I'm no medical expert, but I've known a few people who were ill long term with symptoms like getting thinner, tummy problems etc. They were diagnosed with Coeliac disease and Crohn's disease. I think these conditions mean the digestive system can't absorbed the nutrients in the food properly (or something)I think both can be managed with an adjustment in diet, (avoiding gluten in flour for Coeliacs) and maybe with pills(?)

I'm not saying this is what your daughter has, but I just know friends who have been in similar position.

Hope this helps, and her diet looks great!

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positiveattitudeonly · 11/10/2009 14:14

Thanks for all the comments.

She has been seeing a clinical psychologist to help her come to cope with a long term debilitating illness. She has said we need to discuss diet, but no, she has not asked before. I think I maybe being a little sensitve and expecting to be shouted at, but she said that she needed to discuss it because she saw a McD wrapper in the house when she came a few months ago. Sent me into a total guilt panic! Not just ticking boxes, though I don't think, Meglet.

Shootfromthehip - Agree about the fruit and yoghurt. She does not like fruit or yoghurt, but I can get her to eat fruit if its "disguised" in a crumble, or sponge and I do buy frozen yoghurt instead of icecream regularly.

Thanks again. My confidence is returning!!

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positiveattitudeonly · 11/10/2009 14:17

Orangehaze - Thanks. She was tested for coeliac before a diagnosis was confirmed. that came back fine.

Jasper - Tea at 6pm. One more is no problem, regularly have 8 - 10 around the table! Bring a bottle to collapse with later!

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redsofas · 11/10/2009 14:18

the diet looks balanced and tasty to me, mostly healthy foods and some treats are good, i agree with iwishiwasmoreorganised and id say maybe more yog/fruit but also my dc are still young and i can choose what they eat allot more than you can choose what a 14 year old eats! sounds good though, why are dietitians worried?

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positiveattitudeonly · 11/10/2009 14:20

Ignore the random ? in my original posts - Not sure what happened there.

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MiniMarmite · 11/10/2009 14:44

Hi PA,

This looks absolutely fine to me and it sounds like the CP wants to just make sure - perhaps she has no idea about what you all eat as a family and wants to check there's no cause for concern.

The only things I might look at if I were at all worried is changing to a relatively low-GI breakfast like porridge (I personally find bran can be difficult to tolerate and nut clusters are a bit high in sugar) and consider ensuring that DD always has a low-GI morning and afternoon snack - many people consider that women/girls in particular benefit from 6 smaller meals a day as it maintains a more constant blood sugar level. Honestly though, I don't think you have anything to worry about at all and well done for all the homemade food. I think most parents of 15 year olds would feel really pleased if their kids were eating this well.

Is there any possibility that your DD might have mentioned any food issues that you might not be aware of? Or is there any history behind your DD not liking fruit that she might have mentioned to the CP? Just clutching at straws really.

Hope your discussion goes well.

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MiniMarmite · 11/10/2009 14:47

Oh, and just thought it might be that there is evidence that recovery from the illness your DD has had might be helped by a certain type of diet as I think BRT might be suggesting.

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Pyrocanthus · 11/10/2009 14:55

I honestly don't think you need to worry that her diet is going to be criticised, PA - lots of home cooking and plenty of veg.

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Countingthegreyhairs · 11/10/2009 14:57

That diet looks very good to me PA and a darn better than many ...

I don't think you have any cause for worry at all.

Children need a bit of fat and a bit of sugar - not that there is an excess of that in your menu - just right if you ask me

It's interesting you say your dd3 doesn't like butter - that's the same as my dd - who has a slight milk/dairy intolerance - it's not as strong as an allery but she just doesn't digest dairy products very well. I wonder if that is worth looking in to?

The only reason I mention it is because of calcium quotient (but she can get that from other sources (green leaved veg etc). Does your dd3 drink milk or eat cheese? How does she react to ice cream?

But that's nit-picking really ....

Pat on the back to you!!! Maybe they are just doing a routine check or maybe it's her relationship with food they are looking at rather than the food itself. As I say, I can't see anything wrong with your menu at all - in fact I'll be around later for one of your chocolate brownies

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elliepac · 11/10/2009 15:23

Hi PA, don't have any specialist advice and as you know am not the world's greatest cook etc. myself but just wanted to offer my support/advice. From what I can see DD's diet is way better than a lot of the teenagers that i work with so i really don't think it will be criticised.

Oh, and don't let Ctgh eat all those brownies, save me one!

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positiveattitudeonly · 11/10/2009 16:38

Thank you all!!
I knew I could count on you lot to set my mind at rest.

Just me being paranoid, maybe. I went all defensive straight away because of the comment about the MCd. wrapper.

Brownies all round, but CTGH !

DD loves cheese and is fine with icecream, just doesn't like butter, but it sort of runs in the family, neither does DD1 and I am not having it at the moment (for diet reasons), so not unusual in this family, although looked upon as weird if we go anywhere and ask for plain bbread and a slice of cheese/ham/chicken etc.

I'll come back on Friday and let you all know what its all about.
Perhaps it will be a miracle cure if she eats a certain something! Oh I wonder what it could be??? Carrot juice? Prunes? Avocadoes? Caviar? Chocolate cake? .....

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ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 11/10/2009 16:45

It seems absolutely fine. The only small thing I might change would be to include some protein (other than milk on cereal) at breakfast time, but that's nit-picking and mine tend not to eat any significant protein at breakfast either so I'm in no position to judge.

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pushmepullyou · 11/10/2009 16:46

Looks fine to me too

Am all indignant on your behalf about the apparent assumption that the presence a McD wrapper in the house means you need dietary advice though . I have all this to look forward to as DD grows up I guess!

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optimisticmumma · 11/10/2009 18:38

Looks fine PAO. Only thing I would suggest is some egg sometimes for breakfast for protein and maybe hummous/cucumber for a snack.
If my teenage DC ate as well as this I'dbe thrilled!!

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