Are my dinners rubbish?

To be honest I wouldn’t eat any of them

@spoonbillstretford yep I think you’re exactly right re. people talking about what they’d like/need as a middle-aged woman as opposed to what a 7yo child wants and needs.

MN in general though is very middle class and I think often incredibly ignorant about how millions of families live day to day. Comments on here about broad beans and adding leafy greens are just an obvious sign of that.

Also I think some posters are commenting from a perspective of a middle aged individual providing for themselves and looking for optimum nutrition/low carb/weight reduction. The needs of children are so different, plus there are a myriad likes and dislikes in a larger household and possible allergies. At the other end of the scale there seem to be people giving children two big dinners a day or saying kids can't have an omelette and veg for their dinner which gives you some insight into childhood obesity levels. Omelettes are one of the best, most filling and nutritious quick dinners you could have and by definition must be freshly cooked too. And they can be pretty chunky with three eggs, cheese, meat etc. I would give a bit of toast or potatoes as well for kids but it depends on what they've eaten the rest of the day.

You don’t need loads of variety in every meal though, as long as it’s varied across the week/month then you’re fine.

No, it’s added nutrients and variety. Variety is key when it comes to fruit, veg etc

Looking at them in isolation, they are not rubbish. However, a few tweaks such as including some leafy greens and a bit more protein with some of them would make them more balanced. Wholegrain rice, pasta, if not already used would elevate things further.

Exactly. The food snobbery on here (and on MN in general) is ridiculous. I think a lot of these posters would be horrified by how many families eat every day if they think this is poor.

A lot of the delivery places also do orders for supermarkets and other shops.

But I suspect a lot do have more than one a week but don’t announce it on here as they’d be torn to pieces by the UPF brigade 🤣

The amount of delivery bikes you see now I’m guessing most people have more than one a week and just aren’t admitting if.

Also if you takes you longer than 40 mins to make a casserole or lasagne (not including cooking) then you’re slow AF 😂

Laughing at a takeaway a week being a bit much. 😂 it’s really not if you don’t over order. How odd

I don't think anyone would be showing a nutrtitionist because there wouldn't be any concern.

Well as the focus of my comment was about nutrition for children, no, I’ve never known a child not have a “main” meal each day.

Also, no one said other food doesn’t count. OP said fruit is available throughout the day for the child. No other info has been provided, which would suggest the evening meal is indeed a “main meal”.

Adults are entirely different with an extremely diverse range of eating patterns.

I honestly can’t be arsed with this thread any more, it’s ridiculous. Show any nutritionist what OP has written and they’ll agree Mon-Weds is a bit shit. Many of us do meals that are a bit shit sometimes. It’s fine. But let’s not pretend it’s great nutrition when it’s very clearly lacking. The knots that people are trying to contort themselves into to defend three nights of below-par food is mind-blowing. You think it’s an outstanding menu? Great. Keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, me and other mums will be a bit more honest with ourselves when we serve up dinners that aren’t amazing, but everyone eats.

I’m out. I have no energy for pigeon chess.

Agree
Our main meal if at home is at lunchtime.
When I was working in Germany we all had a big lunchtime meal as well often eating out in a cafe or local restaurant which was all very normal there.
Evening meals were generally smaller and sometimes just a soup or cheese board.

I find the concept of a 'main meal' as if non of the other food eaten in any particular day counts utterly bizarre, especially if its in the evening.

Do people really go all day eating not very much in anticipation of getting most of their nutrition and calories in a single evening meal and cannot see that not everyone eats like that?

I think you undersold your first menu because your updates add there’s lots more protein and fruit/veggies included.
For me, it does sound a bit bland and boring though.
If your family are saying it’s ‘rubbish’ find out what this actually means. It could be anything from portion size (asking for 2 carbs) to wanting more healthy stuff to wanting more unhealthy desserts. I allow my family to choose a main dish probably twice or three times a week. It may just be their faves never get served up!

I’m not overweight and they seem very light to me!

Veg with the pesto? It needs some.

My only negatives would not be taste or rime related, but there is no protein in Monday or Tuesdays meals, and I would potentially be concerned about the amount of UPF and red meat, depending on what roast or takeaway. But I would suggest whoever moans picks up some cooking as it is really really hard to have the time and the money to cook healthy tasty meals 365 days a year! Me and my hubby share sorting meals, and we do 6 good meals a week and 1 is always something like fish and chips, frozen pizza, macdonalds etc due to how late we get in that night and how tierd and hungry we are by then!

Someone mentioned earlier about increasing fruit/veg intake and OP said fruit is available throughout the day.

I’d assume if the children (or adults) are eating a hefty meal earlier in the day, there would be plenty of extra veg to add to the tally. Would be more than a bit weird to have the main meal earlier but no extra veg at all, especially given how much salad is served in the evening.

I’m not the only person to have made the assumption and OP hasn’t corrected anyone. Happy to be corrected if that’s not the case.

Also, FWIW, I sometimes give my DC a bit of a crap dinner. It happens. But I’m not under any illusions. I know when I’ve been a bit rubbish. The difference is I wouldn’t post about it to ask for opinions, then get arsey when people respond pointing out what’s wrong. Some people do fantastic dinners every night. I’m not one of them, although I’d love to be 😂🤷‍♀️

@WhineAndWine1

sometimes you want a meal that can be prepared in ten minutes. Not everyone wants to be a martyr to the kitchen

I completely agree …
The amount of people on this that wrestle with being kind & nice ..

@OhHellolittleone

she really doesn’t need to do that. There is already plenty of veg in her salad. It’s just more expense and time consuming

There’s constructive criticism and then there’s being unpleasant.