to question nursery as to why they are serving jam sandwiches to babies?

[choceyes]

My DD is 14 months old and goes to nursery 3 days a week.

I won't know whether I am being precious or not, but it annoys me that occassionally she gets given jam sandwiches and also tinned spaghetti hoops on toast for her afternoon snack. I would never give these things to her at home. She always has healthy stuff, no treats at all, cos she is not a big eater, so I don't want to fill her up with junk.

My DS, 3yrs, is also at the same nursery, but there's nothing much I can do to stop him eating jam sarnies, as he would want to eat what his friends eat. and as he eats fairly well most of the time he can afford to have the occassional junk.

The nursery lunches are fine, and they also do fruit, chesse, crackers, tuna sandwiches for afternoon snack , so this probably happens about once a week I guess (i mean she gets either jam sarnies or hoops on toast maybe once a week, the rest of the meals are fine).

I dunno really. I was talking to a friend about it at the weekend and she was appalled at the jam sarnies, so got me thinking maybe I should say something to the manager.

I'm not in anyway a health freak, and against giving kids sugar, but not at 14 months, it's too young for me. And the nursery serves them to kids above 12 months I think.

It's just there is NO nutritional value in jam sarnies. I@d rather they gave her a flapjack or something (and they sometimes for the older ones dessert), which although has sugar, has got good things in it too.

I'd rather have marmite

Seven DS and I were inspired by this thread to have a jam sandwich earlier and it was that good I'm going to have another one later.

OK I am being unreasonable, regarding a snack she will be gievn only once a week.

But a jam sandwich is still a junk food, whatever why you think about it. and I'm not accepting that I am being unreasonable about that. It goes against all the books/articles I've ever read on nutrition and my own education.

Laweasel - I don't want sugars with sweeteners given to my DD either.
Here's an article on breads
www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-bread-nutrition/Index.htm
and i wont' give wholemeal to young babies either.

that sounds nice, I got dd a jar of home made damsom jam a while back, almost wish I hadn't let her eat it as I fancy it now.....on a crumpet

Okay - A sugar free jam will have sweetners in it. Othwise it would be a bit of juice and mouldy fruit in a jar, just to be sure you know.

I thought I might get some opinions to whether I was being unreasonable or not, but when most posters ranted at me saying "well I give/gave, or I was/given as a child cakes/jam/crips/chocs...and it never did me any harm kind of ranting, I kind of thought, nah I won't take these people's opinion seriously. I was looking for an educated, informed debate and I didn't get it

Or to put it another way, when most people disagreed with you, you decided they were uneducated and uninformed and ranting.

Bear in mind that 200+ "you can have jam, its OK, no one dies" to a handful of "ooh its awful" responses are real, hard data

well that's news to me. even the st.dalfour ones have artificial sweetners in them? it doesn't say so on the bottle?

We had jam sarnies today too, just like he has every other day.

Lemon curd sarnie anyone?

I wonder why so many mums seem to brag about how much sweet stuff they give their kids. Is it a competition?

It is coded! But yes, it will be fructose I imagine.

hhm thanks. Just as well we hardly ever eat jam then eh?

You sound desperately insecure OP
When you get home have a nice hotbath and a and forget about this thread.

I'm a scientist. And I understand food labels. And it's not coded. Unless it's hidden with an indegrediant they don't have to list?

Arf at 'educated informed debate' about a jam sandwich.

Desparately insecure! Oh please...stop with the abusiveness. How do you think you are to make assumptions like that about me?

If the pectin is not from sugar it has to be from an artificial source.

You cannot make jam without sugar or a sugar substitute, it is completely impossible. It is not there to sweeten the fruit it is there to preserve and set the jam (with ref to pectin levels)

They have used a jelling agent which will get you part way there, but it is not enough on its own.

I said my piece earlier so not going to repeat it all but OP IMO YANBU.

Interesting point about artificial sweetners btw, didn't know that.

I have no major objection to sugar but that's not really what this is about is it. I don't get why just because the OP doesn't want her DD to have some nutritionally useless foods at nursery does not mean she is a food nut with no perspective.

I chose my DD's nursery on the basis that it just felt right and they would look after her. It is a brilliant place and they to the parents and don't think it odd when they ask for the food to be changed.
When the majority of parents asked for the high salt, processed and non 'home-made' foods to be removed, they listened, thought about it and sent staff onto nutrition courses.
Result is all food is 'home-made' on site by chefs (it's in the grounds of the local college so they emplou their own chefs who get to use the college's catering kitchens), no high salt food, no processed food and a huge variety of foods are offered including curry, chilli and, yes, home-made goats cheese and watercress muffins and I'm chuffed that they use my receipe for that as I brought some in for them to try one day (full of iron and calcium btw ). They also use the fruit puree spread from Holland & Barratt instead of jam.

The nursery managers are not snobs and nor am I, nor am I some health food obssessive. DD gets full-on cake, sweets etc at parties and we have a range of food in the house that we all eat that we explain can be eaten occasionally because they taste nice but shouldn't make up a big part of our diets.

I want DD to grow up knowing that no food is wrong or banned but that it's best for our bodies if we eat more of certain foods and have others as the occasional treat or a part of a celebration etc.
Fish & chips cooked in beef dripping eaten out of newspaper sat on a bench by the seaside in the summer is a fab way to spend time as a family IMO!

choceyes, as your link says - all bread is nutritious. Even white bread is a good source of protein and especially of calicium. Of course it's your choice, and if you feel strongly, ask the nursery not to give your dd a jam sandwich.

That's your choice - but it doesn't mean that one jam sandwich a week will harm your dd's health. And IMO a flapjack may have no nutritional advantages over a sandwich at all, except for the fibre.

OK I am being unreasonable, regarding a snack she will be gievn only once a week

Well, thank god for that and it only took 400 posts.

As for it going against everything you have ever read - we could all say that about anything. If I had only read certain books I'd probably think Hitler had a point.

YABU. A jam sarnie once a week is fine! In the past month DD aged 13 mo has enjoyed a VERY OCCASIONAL treat of mini cheddars, tinned spaghetti hoops, and quavers. Plus a mini bag of chocolate buttons a couple of times a week (has ten in, I counted!). Rest of the time she eats fresh veg, fish, unrefined carbs, so imvho the odd treat won't hurt!

I think op just wanted a fight

The jam sandwich is a red herring

Choceyes 'I'm a scientist and I undertand food labels'

and the rest of the posters on this thread are parents and they undertand jam sandwiches.

understand

EH? abusive ?
I felt some what sorry for you that you are still clinging onto the original premise of this thread despite sensible answers from posters regarding what constitues a balanced diet.
People who are trying to reassure you that a bloomin jam sandwich every so often is FINE.

St Dalfour jam is 56% sugar.