To have thought my dcs diet was ok until I joined mumsnet?

[Meandmygirls2009]

I have always thought my dc ate ok, but since joining mumsnet and reading lots of posts I am worried that I do not feed my dc a healthy diet! Typical day consists of:
Breakfast: bagel and orange juice
Snack: grapes
Lunch: cheese sandwich, mini cheddars, raisons
Snack: 2 chocolate digestives
Dinner: home made spag Bol, strawberries

Does this sound ok? I am worried the daily mini cheddars and digestives are too much after reading what other children eat :(

what Egosumquisum and also I would add using a toothbrush, I find that really helps keep teeth healthy!
My kids drink sugar straight from the cane, the problem with sugar is that in a lot of food it's refined and processed and far removed from it's natural form. Some people have gone OTT about sugar because they believe all sugar is the same. It's not.

Good diet advice is fine. Extremism and hysteria isn't. It is quite shocking what crap is spouted about what we eat. If you look at pretty much any food, someone will tell you it's terrible for you. That way madness lies.

Can't remember where I read it but the advice "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" now sums up my attitude and the sugar/carb/processed/inorganic fetishists can disappear up their own fundaments.

You just need a balance with everything in moderation. You do not want to make food an issue and as soon as you label something as 'bad' it becomes instantly desirable.
I think we all know the very strict parent whose child is a nightmare for trying to get hold of banned food once they are out of sight. The only one not to know is the parent.
You have to eat the same diet. They do as you do, and never as you say. It is totally useless giving your DC a rice cake while you have a chocolate biscuit, or water while you have coke. The only message they get is that yours is nicer!
Lots of exercise and regular tooth brushing are necessities.

Not a popular opinion on this thread, but it's worth remembering that UK diets are not wonderful comparatively. Our obesity levels are high.

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/29/uk-western-europe-obesity-study

The five a day advice is a case in point. Many other countries are encouraged to aim for more.

We all need to eat. It is a sociable activity and should be pleasurable and relaxed. It shouldn't become an issue or it is a battle ground and it often gets way too much importance.

And they know if you do your eating of 'forbidden' foods in secret!
You have to have controlled your eating and exercise. There are too many who can't do it for themselves but can do it for their children - another thing to cause resentment.

I am just really shocked at the backlash on this thread against posters who are genuinely trying to give sensible, balanced advice

A lot of the time it doesn't come across as advice, just someone being domineering and authoritative. sometimes (and I mean this across MN as a whole when food threads are started, not just this thread) it can read as the poster apparently giving advice is just boasting about how great they are or investing too much into what strangers over the internet are eating. I agree with PP on this thread suggesting eating disorders could be a cause for all this evangelicalism.

This is another example of only on Mumsnet. Ive never come across the food police in RL.

Food and meals are a daily activity. Evangelicalism has no place in it.
All eating a balanced diet- plenty of exercise - no need for snacks , but the occasional treat won't hurt- watch the portion size and forget about it!
If you keep off processed food in the main it is a lot easier.

Glad to fully agree with you for once Ego.

I tend to stick to one treat three or four times a week, rather then three or four times a day. But each to their own.

Looking at your menu, it breaks down in to three categories -

Wheat - (mostly naff white stuff?) - bagal, cheddars, spaghetti, digestives, sandwich bread. Can you include other grains - oats, rye for example.

Sugar - digestives, orange juice, grapes, strawberries. Obviously berries are great and lower in sugar but he's better off eating an orange, rather then drinking orange. Can you swap some of the fruit for veg?

Protein - cheese and spag Bol.

Raisins are high sugar

egosum
I'm sorry, but what that article says about dried fruit is nonsense. The only thing it said that was accurate was the dried fruit is sticky. So then, brush your teeth or rinse your mouth out when you are finished eating it?

Yes you do remove the water when you dry the fruit, but the sugar content stays the same. 1 raisin will have the exact amount of sugar that 1 grape does.

I make my own dried fruit, so don't often check the fruit available at the store, but the simple solution is to check the label to see if sugar has been added.

It talks about drying the fruit releases all the intrinsic sugars, but seriously, chewing the fruit does the same exact thing.

This study contradicts what a lot of people have said about juice vs. whole foods. It also includes carrots as one of the foods that can harm your enamel. It basically says the it doesn't matter whether you eat the food whole or juiced, or even raisins, they ALL had a bad effect on tooth enamel when a variety were eaten 7 times a day. Any fruit or vegetable that had Carbohydrates in them.

Yes I know that, but have you ever dried a banana? It's virtually the same size. What about an apple? Grapes are almost all liquid so they shrink more. I don't think you should declare all dried fruit to be bad because some of them are easy to over eat. You are still getting all the fiber in the dried fruit which helps you to stay fuller longer and slows down the absorption of sugar.

Intrinsic sugars are located in the cell walls, so if I cut up a load of strawberries, waited an hour, then eat them, are they now as bad as raisins and I shouldn't let my child eat them?