Are my dinners rubbish?

This.
But otherwise, your menu looks fine.

It’s not bad necessarily ,but you could add some garden peas and chopped, sautéed courgette to it. It’s also really easy to make pesto and is much nicer than in a jar.

They are absolutely fine.

Feel free to come round and cook for me.

I think because there tends to be more salt and fat than if you cooked it yourself.

also for chat gpt make sure you have the remember history toggle on so when you tell it, hey plan a plant based menu for seven days including snacks, include gluten free options and no mushrooms, it will remember and incorporate in the future. I find it very heklpful for meal planning specific to my health needs - its briliant. I also ask it to rate what i have eaten and it gives feedback and tweaks to meet my goals

Sound nice to me but more veg needed.

FWIW in my country it’s perfectly normal to have rice and potatoes together in the same dish

I think it’s going to depend on the child. An omelette wouldn’t cut it for mine, for example.

I love pasta + pesto on itself but I’m hungry after 30min. If I was serving it to DD I’d add at least some chicken breast. That should be quick enough to sort.

id add some pulses and beans in there to bulk things up and boost plant based protein- you can easlily make bean chilli or lentil spag bol and freeze it which is a godsend when busy. Chickpea curry, lentil sloppy joes, puy lentil salad etc.

I am acutally have pesto pasta tonight as my treat, tomorrow is a tofu and veggie bibimbap and then i also have a beetroot and coconut curry on the list for later in the week as well as some nice salads and homemade soups (pea, watercress and leek yum). I batch cook as i work full time, am studying and have a side hustle and theres noone to cook with/for me.

We get sushi take away and chicken with salad and rice with nan take away doesn’t have to be unhealthy.

Your dinners are absolutely fine. We work stupidly long hours here in the UK, so well done for cooking most nights and for training your 7yo to be a fuss-free eater who eats all sorts.

I'd probably just ensure there's a well-stocked fruit bowl for anytime snacking, if you're not already (but you seem like you probably do)

This

It may not be nuggets and fries but it’s not going to be healthy in comparison to home-cooked food.

you can add peas and carrots or other veg. And some parmesan cheese?

Is it the sound of your meals that have been deemed rubbish or the actual meals? On paper the meals sound fine but you may be making a pig's ear of them. I have a friend who, I would say , can't cook. Their meals sound fine, too, but it's the blandest food ever. Lasagne where they just add a tin of tomatoes to mince with a stock cube and no other seasoning. They just can't be bothered to cook well.

Who has told you that your meals are rubbish and what qualifications do they have in nutrition that is making you listen to them?

If it’s your DC who are complaining, then I’d agree with them. Nowhere near enough potatoes and beige food in there for my taste. But there’s a reason children don’t get given meal plans as part of their chores.

Other than sushi (which even then isn’t a proper serving of vegetables unless you order a side of wakame) I can’t think of a single thing available on deliveroo where we live that would be as healthy / balanced / low in salt as a home cooked meal. And anything super healthy that’s a takeaway - maybe a chicken salad no dressing from a local restaurant - I’d be wondering why on earth you wouldn’t just chuck it together yourself ? Or even picking up some “gastro pub” prepped meal deals for £15 from M&S would be cheaper and healthier

I'm not clutching my pearls at the takeaway it’s the fact that its weekly (both the cost and nutrition)

Obviously a typo, I'm multitasking here as I forage, graze and ferment. I meant 311. McDon-al-ds? Haven't heard of it. Sounds ghastly.

I make pesto and pasta with chicken, pine nuts and spinach (bit of cream). It’s delicious.

Nothing wrong with pesto and pasta. I always put parmesan on and sometimes garlic bread. I hate pesto on anything other than pasta. We probably eat it once a month or less.

Why is everyone assuming takeaway is unhealthy? We rely on deliveroo on weekends but it's not fish&chips/nugges/fries.

Perhaps add chicken to the pasta w pesto?

In fairness salad can be really healthy or it can be a few leaves drenched in dressing.

I agree that “ normal “ children eat yoghurt that has flavouring. It isn’t the best but it’s not the end of the world. Our school serves it as a pudding.

The salmon and eggs are, as you say, good nutritious foods. There aren’t masses of veg listed, but we just don’t know what op’s salads look like. My mum’s look like a raid on a greengrocer: you can cram a lot in a salad. But a few lettuce leaves and some bean based nacho topping isn’t loads of veg if that’s what it is each week.

Well, exactly

I'd personally add cheese and maybe sundried tomatoes, but on it's own it's great - one of my favourite student staples!

I’ve never understood why people think pasta with jarred pesto is a meal on its own

because it's delicious and if you served something else with it you'd have less room for pasta with pesto

People talking about how salad doesn't contain vegetables
People saying that a child not liking plain yoghurt means they're too reliant on junk food.
Saying that a weekly menu that includes salmon, salad, vegetables, roast dinner, eggs, pasta and rice is unhealthy.