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?

I think it's sad that so many people only associate unhealthy food as having 'joy' in it. Yours kidding yourself if you think the food today is healthier. The amount of rubbish that parents thing to think makes an acceptable meal for their child is shocking. The posts here pretty much prove the point that many adults are simply in denial about it.

'sweet' was pink sponge with custard and a sugar syrup laden milkshake. Do you really think that is healthy? 'pasta' was in a sugary sauce too....but you know....Lalalalalala....

But how big the portions, 'bubbleymummy', and what proportion to the rest of the meal in relation to the rest of the food eaten for the day? That is the key to it all...

It's all too easy to fall in with the hype, start making excuses for fat children saying that they only eat healthy foods and it must be a medical thing. No foods should be presented as 'bad', they aren't. It's just that in the old days, a child's portion of sausages, for example, was one to one and a half in junior school... how many is it today? Ditto desserts, small bowls, quarter to half full, not near the brim.

The big change has been in exercise levels, not diet - less school sport,kids being cooped up in the house by anxious mothers.

That is what is driving obesity.

Yes it's not a combination I would serve at home, but believe me I've heard so much worse. It's reasonably balanced and would fill them up for afternoon.

School dinners are very convenient, but if you're really concerned about what they're eating, you have to pack a lunch for them.

"No foods should be presented as 'bad', they aren't."

I think this is the problem - some foods ARE bad for you. What is wrong with teaching children that? Not in a scary, obsessive way. My DS(age 5) is aware of what foods are healthy and what foods are not and that we don't eat unhealthy food that often because it isn't good for us.

I accept that portion sizes also come into play - in relation to healthy food too. There is no NEED for unhealthy food to be given to children (or adults for that matter!). I also agree that exercise is important too and yes, many children today just do not exercise enough but that doesn't negate the fact that if we shouldn't be feeding them so much unhealthy food in the first place.

Think about what your child eats on a daily basis. All those 'little bits' add up. Sugary breakfast cereal, crisps, sweet drinks, biscuit, sponge pudding, custard etc etc on top of fats in 'healthier' foods such dairy products, meat etc. If you add up all the sugar and fats etc that they get even in a healthy diet then you would see that all those little extras from the sweet foods are not needed and are not good for them.

"What is wrong with teaching children that? Not in a scary, obsessive way. My DS(age 5) is aware of what foods are healthy and what foods are not and that we don't eat unhealthy food that often because it isn't good for us."

Sorry, but thissounds like one of the precious mums in the supermarket...

"We don't eat that horrid chav food, do we Lucinda - We eat these nice organic carrots and sprouts"

Everything in moderation, and lots of exercise - its worked for millenia :)

Lunch for ds is now an eyewatering £5.40 a day! To be fair it is cooked from scratch in a 4 star restaurant and brought up to the kids! i have offered to volunteer with the serving and clearing up of left overs blush

Binfullofmaggotsonthe45 £5.40 a day, 4 star restaurant. What sort of school does he go to?

I agree that chicken, rice and peas would have been a much more normal combination. Wouldn't it be cheaper per portion to provide rice?

In this household, spaghetti hoops(on toast) is a lazy, back up lunch.

bubbleymummy... No, foods are not bad, none of them, but some should be eaten in very small quantities.

I think that the 'success' of parenting comes home to roost (or not) once the children have left home, when they are shopping, cooking and eating for themselves and making their own decisions. I don't set much store in what a 5-year old says by rote, to be honest.

Calories in must not exceed calories burned off, the body has nowhere to go with those extra calories except store them on the body. It is that simple.

At my daughter's school there is always a choice of 3 different meal options: ie today- roast chicken OR cheese and potato bake OR tuna salad. This will be accompanied by veg and roast potatoes Plus strawberry swirl sponge and custard for pudding.

Menu runs on a 3 weekly basis - so one set of meals for one week, another for the next week, another the week after then start back with first weekly menu again.

They also have unlimited amount of fresh water, plus fresh baked bread, fruit and extra salad/veg everyday if wanted/needed.

Cost is £2 a day.

Does not bother me with the puddings. Parents at our daughter's school who send in packed lunch usually send in crisps plus cake/chocolate biscuit so cant see the difference really.

Plus we are not into really doing puddings at home.

Typical menu for our daughter is:
Breakfast- cereal/toast with either milk or'and orange or apple juice

Midmorning- milk and fruit (school provide fruit free)

Then she will have her lunch and pudding

Tea time- will be something like beans/spaghetti on toast, bread and soup, poached egg on toast, boiled egg and soldiers etc.

Sometimes she will have some more fruit and a yoghurt, or some cut up carrot sticks and cucumber sticks

Then she will have a glass of milk before bed

Lying, yes they are. Some foods are simply not good for us to eat, they are bad for us, they are not healthy. I do not use the word 'bad' to describe food to my son but I will certainly tell him it's not healthy or isn't good for us. Say it whatever way you want - all foods are not equal. It's ridiculous and harmful to teach your child that a bar of chocolate is equivalent to a piece of fruit. how on earth is that going to benefit them as an adult? I can't wait to see how this generation turns out with that kind of logic.

"Sorry, but thissounds like one of the precious mums in the supermarket..."

Really? Not sure how explaining to your child about healthy food compares to what you've written at all. Is there such a thing as 'chav' food?

bubbleymummy... I didn't say that all foods are 'equal', what a ridiculous assessment of what I wrote, it's annoying too.

It's not a competition, you know, and teaching kids about nutrition is pretty basic stuff. I disagree with your stance, not your viewpoint.

I'm not sure how you can teach a child about nutrition without explaining about healthy/unhealthy good/bad food tbh.

I agree with Lying Witch. Bubbleyummy- LyingWitch did not say chocolate was the equivalent to a piece of fruit anywhere in her post.

I also think that if you are TOO strict with your kids and diet they will go the other way when they leave home and buy forbidden Pot Noodles and live off Quavers. It's about balance. (I've seen this happen at uni- kids from strict homes had to taste the forbidden fruit gums).

My kids are allowed chocolate, sweets and desserts but they also know about five a day, have favourite fruits and veg and know the difference between goodness food and treats. Nothing is forbidden but low nutrition food is given in small occasional portions alongside a mixed and healthy diet. Bubbleyummy- you sound a bit uptight about it all. It's not arsenic.

Apparently Iceland sells chav food.

Food is fun as well as providing nutrition. Many experts advice an 80/20 balance, where you eat 'good' food at least 80% of the time and then relax a little. Have some cake, wine, crisps now and then won't hurt and bringing children up to understand moderation might help not only understanding of nutrition, but prevent eating disorders born of well-meaning 'healthy' eating advice.

That dinner doesn't sounds great to me, but I'm sure the kids ate it up. Important they get enough food in them.

I must say though pink sponge and custard?! Surely you mean sponge with pink custard?

Am fascinated by the idea of a "sub roll with carrot roundels" - does that mean a sandwich with carrot circles?

totempolehe is in an International school in Switzerland, and the building is above a restaurant who agreed to cook for them. Lunch is about normal price though!

Chocolate features on the menu in the week a few times, chocolate and cheese feature heavily everywhere....it's Switzerland!

Yet strangely the are the healthiest people in Europe, lowest BMI's etc....

Mainly because kids have to walk to school (even your parents taking you is a no no, and I mean from 4 years old!), they have a few hours of sport everyday at school, swimming is part of the curriculum, and in the evenings no one is sat infront of the telly, people are out, exercising, walking, cycling, sledging, whatever the weather people are exercising, whatever their age.

The other thing...they eat in moderation. I agree with the portion sizes.

My mother was hideous with her relationship with food, and it really affected me, surviving for weeks on fecking beetroot and tuna. When i went to uni and tried chinese, indian, pizza express it was really hard not to overeat.

I try to maintain a normal perspective with DS, and yes it is a treat, why? Because you can't eat a MacDonalds everyday, too much would not be good, however one on holiday isn't going to affect you. My son knows there is a lot of sugar in ketchup for example and that he shouldn't pile his plate. He watched that programe about the girl eating a cup of ketchup a day who had to have her teeth removed. Since then i allow him to put his own ketchup on and he has really self moderated. I also never encourage him to overeat, if he's full, he's full. He doesn't need cajoling or tempting. I never offer sweets, if he fancies them he asks for them...once every few weeks normally and usually ice cream.

It's moderation in all things that we seem to lose in the UK, and the culture around food. I was astounded the last time i came over and visited Asda, aisles and aisles of crisps, pizzas, cheap sweets and processed meals. No wonder people just fill up their trolleys if they work long hours, it's so easy.

i know I'm going to get flamed for this but I found crap food so cheap in the UK too. I was given £1.50 for school lunch a day and I left school 22 years ago. When a Mc Donalds costs £15 you really think twice and opt for an alternative. When a steak costs £18 in the supermarket you savour a small portion and cut down on red meat! Even though the ave person may earn more here, they could not afford to eat like a lot of UK people do!

If pink sponge and custard was on the menu everyday, yes i'd complain, however if it was once every few weeks then i'd be okay. It's the combinations that sound a bit strange, it doesn't sound like a balanced plan for a week.

No one is saying that the other extreme of living on salad is good. There is such a thing as a satisfying, enjoyable healthy diet you know. ALthough we shall obviously just have to agree to differ. I prefer to teach my children about healthy food, not give them sugary, stodgy food everyday and not allow them to think that they need to fill up with a pudding or dessert after lunch and/or dinner.

bubbley, they need lots of carbs, what's the problem if that is ocassionally some cake and custard?

What frustrates me is that ds, in reception, will often choose the most unhealthy options he can.
But, we both know that he has a healthy breakfast and a vegetable intensive dinner. So, I don't see it as a huge problem.

I often wish there was no choice - it's this healthy stuff or nothing. That's what it's like at home. Understand that some children might not eat if this was the case. And it's a bit mean!

It's the children who don't get healthy breakfast, dinner and enough exercise to burn off excess sugar that i feel sad for.

spaghetti hoops somehow count as one of your 5 a day so carbs and veg in one serving

It is a bizarre combination, but really wouldn't bother me if dd got that for her school lunch, it could be a lot worse.

The pudding isn't a problem for me either, I don't do pudding at home and after school snack is usually fruit or veg not crisps or cakes.

Time wasting - why does it need to be cake and custard? Why not give them a healthy carbohydrate? I don't object to the occasional sweet thing (as I said earlier) although our perceptions of 'occasional' probably differ too - but I don't convince myself that it is of benefit for them to have it to 'top up' their carbohydrates.

he is in an International school in Switzerland, and the building is above a restaurant who agreed to cook for them. Lunch is about normal price though!

Ah right, yes Switerland is expensive. The restaurant offering to cook is brilliant. It must be a challenge for the chef to keep in budget.

Some food in the UK is really cheap. Iceland is probably the cheapest and it's nearly all ready made rubbish. It's dirt cheap so the ingredients can't be all that good.