To think banning fried eggs is a step too far?

That's my experience too. He was often opting for the sandwich option (cheese or ham) rather than the cooked options.

We are now down to school lunches only on fish n chips day

England’s brilliant PISA performance seems to indicate pretty good progress on this…

Nothing wrong with making changes but they need to be the right changes.

Wow that's bad. Were they really limited for time or something? Doesn't teach them much at all! My DD does home ec in Finland and they are taught to make everything from scratch, each week they make several different things (in groups, so part of the group does some dishes and the rest does others) then eat them together in class. For instance if they make burgers they will make the bread from scratch as well as the patties.

Fried eggs in oil are revolting that's what's wrong with them, slimy pukey little things, just thinking about them makes me wretch! 😀Scrambled is much nicer!

Exactly.

Your brain needs fat. It is composed of fat and water. Around 25% of the brain's dry matter (fat) is cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary for speedy brain signals and neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin to cross synapses effectively.

This was one of my first thoughts too. If kids don't eat the food, I imagine the parents will just switch to packed lunches instead.

Nothing wrong with a fried egg! Nothing wrong with oil! Eggs don't absorb oil so it's one of the best ways to cook them.
I thought we had moved away from the idea that a low fat diet is the healthiest?

It's not about fat it's about frying- and there is a difference.
Healthy fat are good. Frying changes the food a lot.

The idea is to avoid fried foods per se in school, so it's easier just to say no fried foods.

I can't see how eggs fried for mass consumption are actually very nice- they need cooking and eating straight away.

Well it’s all rather pointless- my son eats fairly healthy and does a lot of exercise. The food in the canteen now is just limited the kids are now all just bringing packed lunches.

Schools should be teaching kids moderation. It’s like these parents who ban chocolate, first chance a kid has they’re stuffing their faces with it.

it’s just going to turn kids off thinking about healthy food. There’s no education round it.

Burford Buff in olive oil and butter 😅 ffs.

Tbf OP I think its kind of a moot point. Never ever known a school to do fried eggs anyway. Far too much faff and probably don't have the equipment. If anything they would be poach/baked in muffin like trays in the oven. (Or pre-made frozen omelette!)

Not so say there is masses of work to do with the education system but the shocking stats on childhood obesity for kids in Year 6 (and adults) is condemning them to a lifetime of ill health.
So it's not a bad idea to try to make changes, is it?

Nothing wrong with a fried egg! Nothing wrong with oil! Eggs don't absorb oil so it's one of the best ways to cook them.

I thought we had moved away from the idea that a low fat diet is the healthiest?

Why can't we just feed children a diet full of unprocessed home-cooked food?

In the 70s and 80s we ate pudding every day at school and after tea at home as well and it didn't make us overweight. It was home-made so not ultra-processed. We didn't snack between meals because we had, had our sweet treat with our meal. We were only allowed sweets or crisps on Friday after school when we got our pocket money. There wasn't any processed snacks in the cupboards at home- there was fruit or bread if we were hungry after school and milk to drink.

The way many children eat at home now is completely wrong, that is the problem, not school dinners.

The school I work in supplies healthy school meals and children won't eat them! They want plain pasta, chips, sausages, chicken nuggets, etc as opposed to the vegetable lasagne, carrots and broccoli, roast dinners etc. that they are offered.
Most bring a packed lunch containing crisps, chocolate biscuits and sugary processed yoghurts instead. Their parents pack them far too much for their age- there is a fear of children being hungry these days so when children shun fruit and vegetables like young children naturally do they are not encouraged to eat them, they are replaced with things parents are confident their children will eat. These are inevitably bland, starchy and processed foods, so children never learn to like fruit and veg or foods with diverse textures and flavours so we are ending up with a generation of children with limited diets.

I’m just pleased that the government has clearly sorted out all the other problems with education (lack of teachers/behaviour/attainment etc) and now have time to turn their attention to how schools should cook eggs and telling them how many grams of ketchup they can serve……

@ObelixtheGaul me! With lots of black pepper and a slice of wholegrain toast, and a heap of home-grown organic cherry tomatoes. I think that might have to be my lunch.

Isn’t it? I’ve never seen a submerged egg!

The problem is that the people who come on here saying that their child loves an organic fried egg and organic avocado on home made sourdough are not the people who need these goudelines.

Supply teacher here(primary): I've walked through scores of breakfast clubs (to get to the classroom) and I have never seen a child eating an egg. Breakfast club are not cafes and rarely have cooking facilities beyond a toaster.

Anyone else really fancy a couple of fried eggs, now?

The first time I saw an egg being submerged in oil and fried, it really made me feel sick.

It is possible to fry an egg without submerging it in oil, and therefore significantly reduce the oil content. But for some reason, that's not the done thing in this country.

Hopefully not cutting good fats from diets of kids (or anyone) seeing that fat is needed for Brain function and Brain Health.
The stuff that needs to be cut is the rubbish oils that are added to so much food. Olive oil, butter and natural fat in milk, cheese and yoghurt your body can actually use is what we need.

If you have picky kids they will be picky regardless.

You ever heard that expression you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

That is a picky kid. You can give them healthy food but if they won't eat it....it just becomes a demoralising waste of money, time and effort.

I'm howling at folks getting excited about eggs, the only way to eat them is omelette with plenty ketchup.

Such a gourmand is our Tarquin, innit?

We were the same. However, my Mum had it easy because my brother and I would eat absolutely anything. My aunts (one on each side) cooked the same kind of things and were also producing good plain traditional Scottish food. In spite of this each of them had one child who was a very picky eater. The rest of us were baffled by it.

I would say asking your children what they want to eat is all part and parcel of saying things like 'Shall we go to the park now?' instead of 'Right, time to go to the park'. Endless questions and decisions offered, in marked contrast to the old days when parents just told children what to do.

Yeah I had a similar upbringing. We just got what we got!

I do have total respect for the fact that a lot of people, adults and children alike, might have a thing or two they just can’t stomach like mushrooms or fish with bones or whatever. But I constantly find myself in the company of kids who will literally only eat their favourite foods and nothing else.

I do ask my child for input into meal planning etc so maybe you’d eye roll a bit with me 😂 but it’s more to get her involved with food and nutrition, there’s no way she’s getting sausage and mash 7 nights a week and it wouldn’t even cross her mind that she could demand this.

This is so true. One of our DC had to make a dip at school. The first ingredient on the shopping list was a jar of mayonnaise, then some cheese. That was it.

The food tech they did wasn't fit for purpose and they only had a few 'lessons'.