To believe we've forgotten how to eat healthily

[Yoruba]

I'm so completely fed up of the school serving up so much rubbish, with seemingly no understanding that its unhealthy. It is really really hard to find good evidenced advice about healthy eating for children. There seem to be contradictory reports coming out all the time, and I say that as someone who is really interested in this subject so it must be harder if you don't.

The school meals are utter rubbish. They have a sugary rubbishy pudding every day, sweets at every possible occasion and now they have seen fit to start selling ice creams after school to raise money.
Im not even THAT strict I don't think, I'm happy for her to have these foods but evidence shows that eating them regularly alters your taste buds and makes you crave them more. I think they should be occasional foods we eat as PART of a healthy diet, not every day.

But at the moment I'm feeling like a lone voice and I hate dd feeling like she's missing out in not having what her friends are. I don't want these things to be "forbidden" objects of desire.

It just seems as though there is very little knowledge now of what is actually healthy for children.

:( what lovely children peat

It won't be all kids though, many have packed lunches. I've never had a problem with dd being upset at what others are eating.

No it probably depends on the type of children of course Giles, although she used to go to a lovely school in Devon but even there the vegetarian option lunch was not good.

I guess in lucky in that dd hated school meals so whatever they get, it's not enough to make her want to go back to them.

However in all honesty I wouldn't care if she did want to eat them for the cake because I know it's not what's best for her and whether she eats her lunch or not, at least I am able to give her a good dinner at tea time because she's not so full from lunch that she can only manage a sandwich.

It's not ideal obviously that a child leaves half her lunch as he or she wants to be like other children, but, if you have a child like mine who can't eat two cooked/main meals then it's still better to send the packed lunch because you can make up the rest at home.

Whereas if she's full of bread pasta and cake, I've got no hope.

They never give them enough of even shxx food to fill them up though ! Esp. if they run about a lot.

:o

yay to real food campaign.

Lovely stews, mashed potatoes (with butter and a bit of salt please!), vegetables (not just a salad bar), nice pasta dishes, etc.

school dinners are so sad now.

Fried fish fingers are "bad", so now they get soggy "baked" ones.

Salt is "bad", so soggy chips with no salt.

It is like taking "bad " food, taking out what makes it tasty (fat and salt) and present is as "good" food. When really, there are plenty of good food options that are neither too salty or fatty.

That would presuppose that there were good imaginative cooks who would work for a pittance sourcing good local food etc.. Brave there aren't are there?

I was thinking why not do good lentil curries and rice for the veggies? They are tasty and cheap, it could be an option for everyone too.

Exactly brave

No seasoning at all makes things really bland and often frying is the main sauce of the flavour so your left with a bland anaemic u satisfying meal.

You can't take away salt and sugar then not put more effort into the taste.

Last time I went to our school family lunch some of the parents were making little "jokey" digs at my DCs packed lunch.

"Oh my goodness, Little Tinkly has a wrap! With salad in! And a banana!"

I imagine if I had made digs at their kids sausage rolls and penguins there would be an outcry.

Tinkly That is amazing. Although thinking about it, it's not actually ,I can't believe the shxx that highly educated MC parents eat with their dcs at a Summer Producteurs Evening in Richelieu (where you can choose from a number of incredible freshly cooked for you foods).

Tinkly - well, I would have said something, it's mean carrying on like that!

Often sentences like "if you want to criticise my child's food please can you do it later or reflect on why you feel you even need to make snide remarks in the first place"

Of course, I have a limited circle of friends!

It's weird when everyone is aware how unhealthy the population is but I reckon they don't even equate what they eat with their arthritis, IBS, cancers etc.

ppeat - there is a sceptical emoticon but it's [ hmm ] not [sceptical] :o

Started the children's menu thread here - mixed reactions to say the least

Some rather depressing reactions.

I went to the dentist today and I told him that I had been arguing on a parenting site on the necessity of drinking water. He just looked world weary when I said that some parents just had an aversion to it and wanted their children sipping sugary drinks all day.
He obviously has no influence and has to put up with the results. Yesterday he had a mother sobbing because her child needed such massive dental work he had to have a general anaesthetic and, as he pointed out , it was purely her fault.

Better than that-the best words a dentist can say 'fine-see you in 6 months time'! (probably due to the water I drink )

Did anyone see that dentist program last night? I felt so sad seeing the little child anaesthetised.

No-but my dentist led me to believe that he saw many children with dreadful teeth-although the mother sobbing was one of his worst.

I was put under twice as a kid to have teeth removed, I remember being scared. We all drank squash and passed the time with biscuits.
The last time I was out with ds and my Mum he spilled hes water in the restaurant so she poured some of her lime and soda into hes cup, she thought me very ott when I was snippy with her that he doesn't drink juice.

Its weird when everyone is aware how unhealthy the population is but I reckon they don't even equate what they eat with their arthritis, IBS, cancers etc

Absolutely.

Wahey, MNHQ replied on the menu thread.

Timely as I was getting quite embarrassed surprised at some of the replies.

Regarding the dentist, I had no fillings as a child at all, eating a diet with pudding after dinner and cake at weekends. Possibly because there was water to drink, fruit juice once a day, or tea. Food was kept mainly to meal times also, so teeth were not being bathed in constant acid.