Are these meals ok?

[thenewkitchensink]

So we used to do cold lunch meals for both kids, sandwiches, crackers, fruit, yogurt etc. So they would have 3 portions of fruit with their lunch, and then perhaps 2 portions of veg with their evening meal.
I’m really struggling since my eldest started school.
She has school dinners (and 2 fruit snacks at school), so I’m begrudged to cook another hot meal for her at tea time.
That leaves what to do with our 2 year old.
He refuses point blank to have a “proper” hot lunch although this would be the easiest option, think it’s perhaps that he’s tired before nap time and just can’t be arsed!
He will have things like beans, scrambled egg, omelettes, spaghetti hoops.
So he’s now having things like
Breakfast - toast and fruit
Lunch - scrambled egg, beans, toast, omelette, toasties etc.
Tea - with his sister, sandwiches, crackers, fruit, yogurt etc.
I feel really bad as he’s not getting a proper hot meal.
I really don’t want to batch cook stuff for him like casserole to heat up for tea when his sister is having sandwiches, as he will only kick off and want what she’s having anyway.
On the other hand I’d rather not cook a whole evening meal for them both if DD has already had a 2 course hot school dinner.
What do other people do?

School dinners are small and usually are not good. You should be making your children a proper dinner in the evening.

As long as his meals are nutritionally balanced over the day, a hot meal isn't the be all and end all. You could always compromise and vary the evening meal with soup and cheese on toast some days, pizza and salad others, cold cuts or quiche others...

School dinners are tiny. I cook an evening meal every day even when ds had hot school lunch.

Well - on one hand, there is no nutritional difference between a hot and cold meal. Your son isn't going to come to any harm eating what he's eating assuming he's getting his fruit and veg/protein/carbs.

However, just because your DD has had a cooked school lunch doesn't mean she can't have one in the evening too! There's no rule that she's only allowed one!

Is she hungry in the evening? Some school meals are better than others. Ours are fab, but weren't until early this year, so you may find she wants another full meal anyway.

I don't really understand why a meal has to be hot to be 'proper'. I suppose that in freezing cold weather a hot meal would be more comforting, but there's nothing inherently more nutritious about hot food - in fact, the cooking process makes many foods less nutritious...

It does sound as though your DC are eating more fruit than they are veg and I think ideally the balance should lean more towards the veg (if they'll eat it).

My DC take a packed lunch to school (sandwich, salad bits, fruit, crisps/cereal bar) and their evening meal is often something that most people would consider 'lunch' food - hummus, pittas and salad, scrambled eggs with waffles and fried tomatoes, soup and bread, pizza and coleslaw, etc.

Could you not just mix things up a bit? Give them both sandwiches, etc. some evenings, but lighter meals like omelette, soup, beans on toast others?

There's always the weekends to have 'proper' meals together, and before you know it your LO will be at school too.

I’d be doing a hot meal for both of them in the evening especially with winter coming. School lunches are not the best in my opinion you don’t know how much they’ve eaten and my nanny kids regularly have cheese toasties or jacket potato for lunch.

What do you eat at night? Seems odd that you “begrudge” cooking your daughter a hot meal at night. Can she not just have some of what you’re having? It’s quite normal to have two hot meals a day, you know.

I always did a hot meal in the evening regardless of lunch.
It needn't be too complicated, omelette or fritata with veg inside, beans on toast with fresh veg on side, veggie pizza plus humous with veg to dip, wraps with chicken or ham plus salad, veggie soup etc.

I would just cook a meal in the evening. No need to overthink this.

Batch cook and give everyone a hot evening meal? As pp said you appear to be overthinking this.

Her school dinners are huge. I’ve seen them when I’ve popped in to drop something off.
And she won’t eat a big hot evening meal after 2 portions of fruit and a 2 course lunch.
Perhaps I’ll do a hot evening meal for them both but give her a smaller portion.
There was just food going to waste when I was cooking her a usual evening meal.

Yeah I agree with others it’s quite weird that some people seem to think having two proper meals in a day is somehow overkill. I mean, I don’t think it’s a problem whether a meal is ‘hot’ or not. Just seems odd to think children should only have one full meal in a day. My children have something like avocado or tomatoes, eggs and toast or Porridge at breakfast, the school hot lunch and then a full meal like a curry or something at supper. And they’re still hungry for more. School and growing are tiring things.

Sandwiches for tea are fine once in a while but id just stick to normal meals for dinner as the norm......my son has 3 courses for lunch but i'll still feed him properly when he gets in. Sandwiches / crackers for evening meal is a bit rubbish and seems pointless if youll be cooking for yourself anyway.

Mine get a proper meal in the evening. School dinners are tiny!

I've always done a proper dinner after school, even if they have had school lunches. The school lunches tend to be small and eaten relatively early in the day. My DC have always come home starving!

Though, I don't slave over a hot stove every night or batch cook. I'll put some chicken breasts on a griddle, microwave a jacket potato and boil some broccoli for example.

Mine (older but this has always been the pattern) often have three cooked meals a day. For example - today

breakfast - egg and beans on toast with cheese
lunch - chicken and vegetable curry at school with a pudding
dinner - salmon en croute with potatoes and veg

They will probably have sandwiches for lunch on a saturday and for Sunday "tea" after having had a roast at lunchtime but that's typically the only time.

I agree there is nothing inherently better in a meal being warm rather than cold but the reality is that a cooked meal is more likely to have the right amount of veg with it.

Don't you eat in the evening?

Mine has school dinners but I still cook a hot meal in the evening, partly for the sake of younger DD and partly because I have no idea how much she eats at school. Plus it really doesn’t matter if both meals are ‘hot’!
Just cook her a smaller portion if food was going to waste?

Plus she often has a hot breakfast too... this morning was a poached egg and beans on toast! She’s a tiny little thing (she’s 4 and on the 9th centile) but loves her food.

I wouldn't worry about the hot meal v cold meal thing as long as someone already said they're already having their allowance of veg etc. DC has school dinners and often has a sandwich tea when he comes home.

The only thing I would be cautious of is the little one becoming too fussy about not having a meal and then it being a pain when you eat out or he goes to school. Might not be an issue for you but would be with my DC!

Make a hot meal for them both but make a double batch of whatever you are making, freeze the second batch and then you can just reheat it another day. You will quickly build up a stock so you aren’t have to cook every night.

It's fine, Britain has an obsession with only a h or meal bring a good meal that the rest of the world doesn't

Like Clarks shoes being the only shoe that won't cripple toes despite everywhere else managing without

The temperature of the meal does not impact its nutritional value.
By the time the winter sets in you may find that they both want soup or stew anyway.
btw: school dinners are v small.

The temperature of a meal doesn't impact on its nutritional value but with many children its an awful lot easier to get a veg loaded spaghetti bolognese down them than make them chomp on three genuine portions of chopped up raw veg.

Another one wondering what you eat. Can you not just cook something in the evening and give him some and her if she is hungry,