to think this IS an acceptable lunch for an 8 year old?

[Helenagrace]

I'm helping a friend out today as she has twin 8 year old boys and she's moving house house tomorrow. I've had them since 8.30am and in my text last night I said I'd "drop them back before dinner - about 5.30?"

I've just given them lunch. They were offered: toast (with peanut butter, egg, pate (homemade mackerel) or cheese), oatcakes (with the same options), half a packet of crisps, tomato, cucumber and pepper, fruit and a piece of home-made chocolate and cherry brownie.

Both have had oatcakes with cheese (6 each) plus salad, a hard boiled egg, an orange, crisps and a piece of cake.

My friend rang to see if they were ok and she spoke to one of the boys. Then I get a text from her saying she's coming to pick them up as she "hadn't realised they wouldn't be getting a proper lunch". I sent a text back saying that we were eating our main meal in the evening and I thought they were too and I've just had the reply back "yes but that's not really much of a lunch is it?"

It's a perfectly acceptable lunch in my house. Does anyone want to ring social services and dob me in for starving my children?

[Topaz25]

At least she apologised but I wouldn't do her any favours in future.

[Gruntfuttock]

Oh dear how embarrassing. I keep getting this thread and the 'meat' thread confused and therefore making nonsensical posts on both of them.

[KitKat1985]

YADNBU. How rude of your 'friend'! You did her a big favour having boys for the day, and that's the thanks you got!!! I'd be fuming!

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Both hot and cold food can be filling or not or calorific or not temp doesn't make any difference to that.

But I agree that labelling someone lazy cos food isn't hot is ridiculous.

It's more effort to make a salad tham throw a pizza in te oven, and would the pizza deemed ok the night be fire e deemed lazy eaten cold for lunch. Lots of left overs are eaten cold. Quiches, tarts, meats, salads you still had to cook them before. By janes standards she must be opposed to left overs too then because throwing together "cold components" would be more effort than zapping yesterday's stew.

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

I don't think carvery meat is fatty. I'm talking about a couple of slices of turkey or beef with no visible fat, accompanied by loads of cabbage, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, sprouts, peas and a single roast potato, half a stuffing ball, half a massive yorkshire and a small amount of gravy - eg what you get from Toby Carvery. That is the kind of thing I prefer to eat and find a sandwich unsatisfying in comparison.

Plenty of pre-made sandwiches have 500+ calories, and aren't very filling on their own, don't necessarily include any vegetables and are often accompanied by crisps or cake.

I was just expressing my preference and explaining that I didn't think that it was necessarily the case that hot food = unhealthy and cold food = healthy.

[squoosh]

I feel sorry for the two boys, they were polite enough to eat what they wee offered. But the mum's behaviour is the kind that might result in them not being invited to other people's houses.

[trixymalixy]

It's fine to have a preference for a hot or cold meal. What's not fine is to turn your nose up at a lunch someone else has kindly provided for you and label them lazy for not cooking a hot meal .

Onilkley, carvery meat is very fatty. I got a massive shock when I was using my fitness pal and scanned in the roast joint we had just eaten. Even though we had had only veg with it, no potatoes or stuffingor yorkshires, the amount of calories per portion was quite a shock to me.

[Martorana]

""Most hot food is main meal stuff."

Beans on toast? Boiled egg?

[Goldmandra]

So, if you had a plate of cold poached salmon, salad and potato salad you'd eat less of it than if it were hot poached salmon, new potatoes and green beans?

Sorry if this is becoming an inquisition. I just find it interesting and a little bit bizarre.

[TimeForAnotherNameChange]

It's not your tastes that are the problem Jane, it's your attitude to those of us who do consider cold food to be a main course. You're the one who started it by calling us 'lazy'. That's rude and insulting. You've simply had a taste of your own medicine. Deal with it.

[Quinteszilla]

Well, the friend did not bring a hot meal she brought sandwiches do clearly it was not the temperature she objected to...

[Quinteszilla]

Well, the friend did not bring a hot meal she brought sandwiches do clearly it was not the temperature she objected to...

[OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat]

The lunch sounds fine for 8 YOs, or anyone else. You do not need bread, or meat or whatever to make it a meal.

However, as some have pointed out, is likely to be about 700 calories, which is quite a lot for just one meal, and also demonstrates that cold food is not necessarily 'lighter' or less.

There are any number of hot, cooked meals that can be loads less than 700 calories, and certainly if you are on something like a Slimming World type diet, apart from salads, it is quite hard to eat cold food, because things like sandwiches are heavily restricted. Hot meals can be things like meat and veg in sauce, roast dinners with lots of veg, or chilli with lots of beans and veg, so not unhealthy and lacking in vegetables.

I much prefer hot food and eat 2 or 3 hot meals each day. Some of these are simple light meals like soup, or eggs or beans on toast, or omelettes and a lot are leftovers, or reincarnations of leftovers (eg chilli and rice, and then burritos using leftover chilli), so its not faffy, or hard work.

I am not overweight and don't eat more because I mostly eat hot food. I just very much prefer to have, for example, a cheese toastie or a slice of pizza, rather than a cheese sandwich.

My ideal 'lunch on the run' is a carvery, which if you stick to mostly meat and veg, and don't go mad on stuffing/roasties/yorkshire puddings is much healthier than sandwiches or similar.

I accept that others prefer different, and that's just it, preferences. Ironically, one of my siblings hasn't eaten a vegetable or cooked meal in at least 10 years, eating only sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and chocolate.

[Martorana]

"Most hot food is main meal stuff."

Soup? Bacon sandwich? Bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese? Pasty?

[BigBoobiedBertha]

Yes, I do eat more if it is hot because to my mind a hot meal is your one main meal of the day. I would end up eating my lunch like it was my main meal and then eating another main meal in the evening - not that I could manage that in reality, it would be too much. Much better to have something cold and lighter for lunch.

Most hot food is main meal stuff. I can't think of anything that you would eat hot that won't be something you ate as your big meal of the day except maybe toast.

[Martorana]

Why is a hot meal a bigger meal? I am always baffled by this. People to on and on about wanting their children to have something hot at lunchtime- it's bizarre! What is the difference between a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and cheese on it and a cheese and tomato sandwich?

[Goldmandra]

Personally I think having 2 hot meals a days would be a recipe for disaster - I'd end up eating too much, that's if I could physically eat 2 such meals in the first place.

You seriously eat more of a meal if it is warm?

[Quinteszilla]

Op your friend is a bloody attention seeking martyr in the " woe is me I am so busy and my friend can't even mind my kids properly while I move, I have to make lunch and drive over, as if I hadnt enough to do" sense of it.

[BigBoobiedBertha]

I'm with you Slithylove. I don't care what anybody else eats it is the fact that somehow hot food is superior and what the OP gave was a snack that gets me. Assembling a salad can require more effort than warming up a pan of soup for example, or cooking a pizza, it isn't a lazy option at all and anything more for lunch than the OP gave strikes me as a bit greedy too if you are having another big meal later.

Personally I think having 2 hot meals a days would be a recipe for disaster - I'd end up eating too much, that's if I could physically eat 2 such meals in the first place. I'd happily eat 2 cold meals a day, especially if it is hot weather. I love a nice salad with a bit of dressing, crusty bread and some cold chicken.

[slithytove]

I just love fresh salad. One of my greatest pleasures is sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, drizzle of olive oil and basil. Admittedly that one doesn't take much prep but it's so delicious. I grow the basil if that redeems me at all!

[slithytove]

Surely if it was hot food she wanted them to have, then showing up with sandwiches doesn't make sense? I'm guessing she just assumed the quantity was dinky.

At least she has kind of apologised and you can probably laugh about it when moving stress has worn off.

[doziedoozie]

Friends eat hot at lunch and tea, maybe pasta and sauce. Upshot is thy eat too little fruit and veg.

Really, how do you fit in the other 7 veg if you have a bacon butty for lunch, a huge varied salad for tea perhaps?, .......oh, no it has to be hot, ...again.

(Friend is overweight, her hubby not as he runs)

I love homemade soup and have it regularly but really fresh veg is best.

[ElkTheory]

The lunch you served was fine, Helena. Sounds lovely to me. You were very kind and considerate to your friend as well (I'm afraid I would have had to bite my tongue not to say something rather sharp, especially when she showed up with the sandwiches!), though it's nice that at least her DH had the good grace to apologise.

People have odd ideas about food sometimes.