Argument over Billy Bear Ham

Get a teddy bear shaped cutter, get decent ham and cut out the shape yourself. You could even mix it up with other shapes he might like. I did this when mine were a similar age and would only eat sandwiches if they were dinosaur or train shaped!

Really not a big deal.

As my mother the food professional would say, "There's no such thing as junk food, dear - only junk diet."

At parties *

Evidence that processed meat gives you cancer please

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/11/03/report-says-eating-processed-meat-is-carcinogenic-understanding-the-findings/

Plus thousands of research articles if you'd make the effort to look. Eating significant quantities of processed meat is a known cancer risk.

When other people look after your kids you have to accept their standards. You can decide whether their standards are good enough for you, but if they’re not then the solution is for those people not to look after your kids. Of course, there’s plenty of scenarios where you can make a polite request in the first instance. I had to ask my parents to refrain from giving my 2YO fizzy. I was nice about it.

So… if she was never intending to send her kids to you again OP then she should have just kept her opinions to herself. If they will be with you again then her options are to either politely request or accept your standards are different.

Getting shitty with you is awful behaviour.

Your friend is being weird.

Personally in this house we only have decent quality free range ham. it’s usually organic and nitrate free, so salt pork I guess more than ham as we know it. But I accept we’re the outliers and that outside this house the DC enjoy all sorts of food that in my opinion is low welfare, processed crap. I don’t try to police it or cast judgement.

The appropriate response of your friend is the same as I gave mine when she brought my DC home charged up on too many sweets and having had a MacDonalds for tea ‘thanks so much for having DC, hope they weren’t too much trouble’.

Yup. A gateway drug to Antipasti. One day it's Billy Bear, the next it's Nduja and black olives, possibly the most addictive substance this side of chargrilled artichokes and breasola.

It's nutritionally no different to sausages or other luncheon meat type products, it's just the same thing made into something that's fun for children.

It's not scraps 'hosed off' the carcass, because that's mechanically recovered meat and they have to declare that on the labelling.

Not great as a staple part of the diet, but absolutely no issue occasionally.

Yep - unless you’re child only ever eats fruit and vegetables they WILL eat processed crap.

is it classism because Billy Bear is a right common little bastard? If Precious has been given Serrano Ham would mummy have said “oh how lovely”

Personally i think its gross but my kids love it and i buy a pack weekly 💁

I dont complain about what anyone else feeds my kids im just greatful to have a break from the endless making of meals and snacks.

I wonder if all these horrified parents have children with perfect diets that never touch anything processed.

chicken nuggets?
packaged sandwich meat?
sausages?
burger?
pizza?

The list is endless

Obviously a child living off purely processed unhealthy food isn't great, but most kids will have things here and there for convenience or at perfumes etc.

but ffs horrified over a slice of luncheon meat? 😂😂😂😂😂

I’m going to have to pick up a packet on the way home now. Love Billy. Fond memories of pulling the various features apart.

Your friend is being completely ridiculous (As are all the sneery posters on here) and I wouldn’t be offering to have the DC over any time soon.

You would think so!

She's bonkers! I never have it to my now adult kids but I'm sure they've eaten it at parties, along with a load of other crap! Is she going to police the child at parties?
How did you respond to her ridiculous outburst?

Billy Bear ham is a gateway drug.

Dry funny and typical MN to someone who said it’s the same as having a cigarette 😂😂😂😂

Evidence that processed meat gives you cancer please

Farking hell she’d hate me, I would give them Haribo at that age just to keep them quiet.

Oh give over! The odd slice of luncheon meat is not the same as smoking 😂

And yes, I agree with this - ALL processed meat is extremely harmful, but there are levels of quality and Billy Bear has got to be very close to the bottom of the list. 🤮

I would be horrified if my child ate Billy Bear ham. It's disgusting, processed, incredibly unhealthy. Did you know that processed meat is as bad for the body as literally smoking cigarettes and just as carcinogenic? Please don't feed this to your child or anyone for that matter! I'm usually pretty relaxed about food, but absolutely draw the line at processed meat like this.

Yanbu. I love Billy bear. Sometimes I still buy it and have it in sneaky sandwiches in crusty rolls when noone can see me! 🤣

As an omni, I'd have replied to her question either 'yes. Mechanically recovered bits of dead pig.'

I think any vegetarian would be reasonable in replying in a similar way. Or 'Yes. Bits of animal. That's why I don't eat it, but they asked for ham and I wasn't about to force my beliefs onto your child'

I've never tasted Billy Bear ham.

As others have said (repeatedly), Billy Bear isn't ham. It's luncheon meat. If you want suitably Mumsnet references, it's like cheap Mortadella (and similarly tasteless).

She sounds like a snotty cow. It's not exactly "good" food but as a one off nobody's going to die. It's higher in fat that "normal" ham but lower in salt. I wouldn't have a problem with it and would just be appreciative you'd fed my kids and kept them amused.

Ha! Brilliant 🤣

I've never tasted Billy Bear ham. I now feel my life is incomplete.