to think a sandwich lunch is a "proper meal"

[SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker]

Teenagers are arguing that it isn't and they should have two hot meals a day.

We have bread and sandwich fixings (lettuce, tomatoes, meat, cheese, peanut butter etc) and fruit. Also beans and eggs that they can have on toast instead if they want. They can have as much sandwich stuff as they want so long as it is fairly balanced... i.e. no just eating five eggs and no veggies or half the fruit in the bowl.

They say it isn't a 'proper meal'.

My argument is that

1. please save the other food for family dinners
2. too expensive to eat two big hot meals a day. Two teen boys at home all summer can get very expensive.
3. it has the same nutrition... carbs, protein, vitamins, calories etc as a full meal.

A sandwich is an emergency lunch, only acceptable if you have to eat in a huge hurry. I'd prefer a bar of chocolate if I were in a hurry though.

However, could they not make an omelette or stir fry with the basic ingredients and use eggs or noodles to finish them off??

Sandwich not lunch? What the hell do you people eat every day? What do you eat at work?

Of course it's lunch!

To be fair, I kind of hate lunchtime as I'm rubbish for coming up with ideas, but I rarely fancy a huge meal at that time of day. A sandwich or something on toast (beans, egg) or pizza (the same thing, surely?) is perfectly adequate.

A sandwich is an emergency lunch, only acceptable if you have to eat in a huge hurry. I'd prefer a bar of chocolate if I were in a hurry though.

But a bar of chocolate isn't lunch! How can a bar of chocolate be lunch?

I think a sandwich is lunch, although I wouldn't expect just a sandwich and a banana to keep a teenage boy going for 6 hours (1pm lunch, 7pm tea). But throw in a Smoothie, a yogurt and some crisps/nuts to go with that sandwich and banana and I think that's adequate. Besides, they could make more sandwiches if needed and as long as healthy snacks are available it shouldn't be a problem having a filling breakfast of porridge/similar might help too

sandwich lunches are a disgusting british thing that is a pathetic excuse of a meal

your kids could prepare their own lunch tho

Sandwich not lunch? What the hell do you people eat every day? What do you eat at work?

^^ What on earth do most mumsnetters have for lunch? Both DH and I work in environments that don't have the luxury of an office canteen (do they still exist? ) - I can't even leave the premises for a 'lunch break' - DH takes sandwiches every single day, as do I most days, sometimes I might take a salad with a roll - which is more or less a sandwich anyway. We don't have a microwave or any cooking facilities where I work. My teenage DS also takes a sandwich for lunch - he could have a school meal but prefers not to.

I can't believe that so many of you have the time and inclination to prepare
gourmet lunches. Actually my sandwiches are pretty much 'gourmet' anyway. . A nice sandwich and a piece of fruit or crisps/cake is a perfectly adequate lunch.

san - genuine question, what do you eat for lunch? Fine if you are at home with cooking facilities, but assuming you are at work, what would you eat? And if you didn't have a canteen, microwave or the ability to leave your place of work - what would you do?

As I've said several times I don't expect A sandwich to fill them up. I don't buy crisps for regular at home lunches because they are junk. They can buy them themselves if they want them (we have two supermarkets within a mile walk) or we have them if we are having a picnic somewhere. There is greek yogurt in the fridge if they want some. Not sure it would occur to them.

They usually do have porridge in the morning during summer. Cereal during the school year because it is quick.

Wondering who is going to tell all the mums of school kids with packed lunches that sandwiches are no longer suitable for lunch.

Oh and my kids have never gone six hours without something else. I could cook a roast dinner with all the trimmings and make an apple crumble for pudding and they'd still come looking for a snack three or four hours later. Ds saves some of his school packed lunch to eat on the bus on the way home.

Bread is only really used to bulk out whatever it is your eating, it serves no other purpose really.

A sandwich or soup is definitely not an evening meal if they are eaten on their own either, none of my family would be happy if I only served them soup or a sandwich and then nothing else, there would be a riot.

So the trace minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre serve no purpose?

Ok so again soup is not an evening meal.

I'm guessing chili and rice is an evening meal.

But chili soup and bread is not. Does rice somehow magically make it a meal or is that it is on a plate not in a bowl?

Ditto chicken stew vs the exact same thing but with more liquid. I'm guessing chicken stew is a fine meal.

What about ham and beans with a side salad and a hunk of bread. How is that any different from ham and bean soup with onions, carrots and tomato in the soup and a side of bread.

I do not understand this reasoning at all.

personally i skip lunch altogether if the only thing on offer is a british style sandwich. i wouldnt expect my kids to do that tho.

Not read all the replies, but YADNBU! Nothing wrong with a sandwich type meal at lunchtime, and a hot meal at tea time.
Definitely not the norm to have two hot meals a day!
Sandwiches, beans on toast or whatever perfectly fine at lunchtime, then a big meal at teatime.
I'm guessing if they're teenagers though they're probably telling you in their own unsubtle way that they're 'starving' though in the way that teenagers regularly drama llama and starve
Maybe make the lunch time more substantial? Big jacket potato with tin of beans and grated cheese, or tub of pasta salad - pasta takes 10 mins to cook, and stir in carton of passata. Add chopped spring onions, red peppers, mushrooms or whatever they like.

I understand OP is British, but if her children are card-carrying Californians, well, just to say, beans on toast is not a thing in California or any part of the US.

It is cheaper because if they have soup or pasta then there is a bunch of complaining if we have it for supper because they are now lunch meals.

Having soup for supper (I'm assuming supper is the word you use for the main evening meal - which here is tea) then soup is not enough.
Fine for lunch with some crusty bread, but soup for tea/supper is a bit crap.
If you have soup for supper do you have anything else with it? You need a main meal if so. That'll be why they're getting hungry!

I understand OP is British, but if her children are card-carrying Californians, well, just to say, beans on toast is not a thing in California or any part of the US.

Can't profess to know anything about the daily dietary expectations of Americans as I've never set foot there (unfortunately, as would love to go one day.)
OK, then, if beans on toast not the norm for lunch, there must be something else more substantial and a change from bready sandwiches if that's not what they want.
How about big bowls of couscous? Takes 5 minutes. Add chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, spring onions and whatnot...
Or fish. Protein is filling. Get loads of salmon and put it in a huge salad.

I think sandwiches are fine

You mention the clearing away if everyone cooks something different

but I also think they can clear up after themselves at that age, so if they want to cook pasta etc, tell them to feel free, you shouldn't be washing up all on your own anyway

I grew up in a house where this happened a lot, shift work, me eating at funny times on account of activities etc and also being the teenage vegetarian. We all just cleaned up after ourselves. Much easier and quite right for teens.

Of course sandwiches are fine. If they want two hot meals I presume they know where the cooker is!

Tess All of your suggestions sound really good, especially salmon and salad.

Soup is a light lunch, or supper, or a starter . Soup is not dinner. Also why not just buy the bread your ds likes?
Sandwiches are lunch but only if accompanied with something else eg crackers, fruit, yogurt, cheese, pasta salad, flapjack etc, or obviously soup.
You have teenage boys , sandwiches are really not enough.

They love beans on toast they like both American and British food. I was talking more American style beans, like chili beans or cuban black beans though. We do get Heinz from time to time.

Sandwiches are fine, they are strong and healthy and a good weight.

Yes they should clear up. Teens should do a lot of things. Unfortunately it often does not happen without nagging and I'm sick of that. Even if it does they often miss a bunch. After having them around the house for several months I am over nagging crap I don't need to nag about.

Why do I not buy the bread he likes?

1. goes stale quicker
2. nutritionally much emptier, he likes crust white bread with little fibre or nutrients
3. more expensive overall
4. we have flour, he can make that if he wants to. He did today
5. the rest of us like the other kind. He doesn't hate it, it just isn't his preferred choice.

Again, as no-one has answered me. If the soup I make has the same ingredients as a "proper dinner" then how is is not good enough by itself? The only conclusion I can draw is either it isn't traditionally what is served for dinner and therefore sounds all wrong or you all eat crappy soup.

Seriously one of my sons' favourite soups is Posole which is a traditional Mexican soup. I make it with the following ingredients

chicken thighs, onions, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, peppers, chili, oregano, hominy (a treated corn that when ground makes masa that tortillas are made from),beans, lemon juice, stock and paprika. The soup is hearty and filling and is served with chopped onion, avocado and more coriander and sometimes sour cream or cheese on top.

I challenge you to eat a big bowl of that and feel like you still need dinner.

Totally unreasonable! A sandwich is not a proper meal. That's what you grab when you are out and being cheap or can't find anything proper. I can't imagine sandwiches for lunch every day. Sounds miserable.

That Pasole soup sounds amazing and I'd love it, along with the kids.
It's still a soup though, and not a main course!
Why? You need why. I'll hopefully try to explain but probs end up making a hash of it!
Chicken thighs are delish. In soup though, it's just that. Chicken, veg and herbs. even if some beans are put in too that's still only pulses
You need something else for the main evening meal otherwise people will hungry. You're missing a main food group for ravenous no I'm never full teenagers.
Carbohydrates. They're growing, they need it. Side portions of potato wedges and crusty bread alongside the soup.

thanks for trying :)

The beans have carbs in them, so do the carrots and the hominy has lots of carbs in it and it is one of those giant cans, ditto the beans. I'm fine without bread but we often do have bread with it. Seriously, it is very rare that my kids have any space after eating soup.

My teenage brother often prefers sandwiches (especially in this hot weather). He's over 6 feet tall and a big eater. Sandwiches are sufficient for him (he does eat mountains of them in one sitting though).