to think that this is a pretty shocking school dinner?

[anchovies]

Today my boys had Caribbean style chicken with spaghetti hoops and garden peas. Pink sponge and custard. Strawberry milkshake.

£1.90 a day.

Thought there must have been some sort of mistake but have just checked the published menus and that is what they had planned for today. Only other main meal was the vegetarian option which they are not allowed (again with peas and spaghetti hoops.) Could have chosen fruit for dessert.

Mentioned it earlier to my neighbour who also has children who have school dinners and she thought it was fine as "the carbohydrate is in the spaghetti hoops".

Wrote (yet another) email to our local council but am now thinking I may be wrong?

Why aren't they allowed the veg option?

Doesn't sound especially appetizing but what are you objecting to particularly? Hoops are fairly high in sugar an salt IIRC and nasty, sponge probably ditto, but they got some veg and presumably this is an unusual meal or you wouldn't be commenting? Chicken and peas without the hoops would sound better.

I'm not sure I'd call it shocking. Not ideal maybe; the hoops will be higher in salt than rice or potatoes. But you've got protein, carbs, veg, and would have had fruit if they'd picked that over the sponge. As a one-off it doesn't sound too bad.

Not enough veg option for everyone apparently, it was a vegetarian sausage roll.

Why spaghetti hoops not rice that's what I don't get?

Given that they could have chosen fruit instead of pudding and the whole thing only cost £1.90 I don't really see what the problem is.

Sounds like they cut and pasted the menus incorrectly, omitting rice and including spag hoops!

Ew!

Good grief. Apart from the dodgy mix of foods why on earth do schools still give 'pudding' at lunch time. Do children really need dessert after lunch? I wonder how many have another dessert after their evening meal as well.

It does sound like they picked it all out of a hat

Mmm ... it would have been much tastier with rice, I agree. But only a little healtheri, really.

Doesn't sound that bad to me, but then I was raised in the era of spam fritter followed by semolina and jam sauce. And the spag hoops would have been the veg not the carb!!

If they chose the fruit instead of the sponge it'd be ok. Spaghetti hoops aren't so very evil - would you balk at penne in tomato sauce with the chicken and veg?

Well, it's true that the spaghetti hoops provide carbs ... as do the pink cake, the custard and the milkshake, but it's a really peculiar combination. If they'd swapped the hoops for rice it would be a much nicer meal and probably work out cheaper. I agree it's a bit crap that they aren't allowed the veg option.

Rice would be better but the carbs are in the hoops I'd have thought. DD's school menu used to pile carbs on carbs so the vegetarian option would be a jacket potato and cheese but served with chips or some other form of potato and then hoops in tomato sauce instead of vegeatables

Rice or jacket potato would've been better and TBH I have never seen spaghetti hoops on the menu at DS1's school. But it doesn't sound that bad really. I'd have eaten it

All sounds very sweet. Presumably Caribbean chicken is in a fruity sauce although I admit to knowing naff all about cooking. But then sponge and custard and milkshake? What happened to water?

chicken with peas and spaghetti hoops

yum!!

"would you balk at penne in tomato sauce with the chicken and veg?"

YES! :)

Is the spaghetti hoops supposed to be the carbs bit? Not good. Couldn't they do potatoes, plain pasta or rice?

Desert seems fine, standard school dinner style and fruit is always available anyway.

Milkshake is normally a dessert option, not in addition to. I thought only drinks on offer was water?

I agree with LRD, it would be better with rice. And cheaper too.

Why spagheti hoops fgs? They taste vile and doesnt even go with the rest of the meal. I hate this mentality of 'children's food'.

Blimey, no wonder kids are such fussy eaters if this is their mums!

Bubbleymummy, aren't you supposed to have pudding after lunch and after dinner? I have, ever since I was a kid, and I give my DD something for pudding at lunch and tea.
This school dinner story has made me really hungry!

No aversion to spaghetti hoops, not thrilled with pink sponge or strawberry milkshake though. Fair enough they could have picked the fruit. Hard to get through to a 5 and 7 year old that an apple or orange is preferable to pink cake and custard though!

On the menu for tomorrow is "meatballs in bbq sauce with pasta or a sub roll with carrot roundels".

It's just so random. I would never dream of eating Caribbean chicken with spaghetti hoops!

bubbleyummy - for many children a school dinner is the only proper meal they get all day. So can't see the problem with offering a dessert. Presumably parents know that a dessert is offered at lunch so they can chose not to offer again later, should they wish.