Fridge raiders. Satan's own flesh?

[madmomma]

My reception age son doesn't like sandwiches at lunchtime. All last year he had various kinds of sandwiches and all year he left them and was starving in the afternoon. So this year he's asked for chicken fridge raiders instead of sandwiches. So yesterday I put a couple of little packets in his lunchbox along with the usual fruit, drink, yoghurt etc, and he's been told that only sandwiches are allowed for packed lunches. Aibu to think that as long as a child is fed adequately, it's not really any of their business whether he has sandwiches or chicken pieces? (which is pretty much what the fridge raiders are)

Personally I think there are worse foods out there than Fridge Raiders.

YANBU

Would they be happier if you cooked a chicken breast and chopped it up with some veg sticks?

Only sandwiches?!?

I wouldn't give fridge raiders myself but I often don't give sandwiches. Mine love pasta and pesto, hummus and bread sticks.

Have you been told this yourself? Could a dinner lady have asked where the sandwiches were or suggested he should have them rather than say he HAD to bring them in?

Thanks Alfie. Maybe they would, but the bugger probably wouldn't eat it then! But if they're saying it must be sandwiches then it seems like they're not too flexible.

Yanbu. Our school has 'The List' dum dum dummmm

It's a list of adequate food stuffs for lunch boxes. Anything not on the list is not accepted. And children are not allowed to eat it. The dinner ladies monitor this like food nazis!

Our school has a party day around Christmas time every year. The kids get party food. One year, they stopped my free school meals so I sent ds in with a homemade pizza, cooked the night before and chilled, so he wouldn't be left out as most of his friends would be getting the party food as per school dinners. The dinner lady told him off! I went mad.

But there is no arguing with stupid.

Is a fridge raider better or worse than a perparami?

You do get worse things, but they are pretty much crap. Sorry!

Make DS a Fridge Raider sandwich and he can just pick out the fridge raiders and leave the bread

Are they crap? Aren't they just chicken with seasoning? I like the roast chicken ones, have them regularly

There's a LOT of salt in Fridge Raiders. 1g of salt in each little bag, which is 16% of the RDA of an adult. Don't know that that would be for a primary aged child.

Loving cliffdiver's idea haha

Does a reception class child not get free school dinners?

I remember many years ago, my neighbour only ate shortbread biscuits for dinner. Every day.

Compromise. Put the chicken things in a slice of bread! School can't argue with that, he has a sandwich!

Ds can't argue with that, he gets his chicken!

Oops. Somebody beat me to it!

I can understand not allowing packaged processed foods such as FridgeRaiders, but saying only sandwiches is barking. There's no nutritional difference between say pasta tuna salad and a tuna sandwich.

That's insane. Tell them he has a gluten allergy and be done with that faff. ;)

Surely anything is better than nothing. What about kids who have hardly any appetitite. It really shouldn't be their business to decide what other people's children eat.

Slice up the fridge raiders and put in sandwiches. He can pick the bits out, and leave the bread if he wants to!

I wonder if the dinner ladies know how much salt is in a typical cheese or ham sandwich. I bet there's not much difference in the amount of salt between fridge raiders and many a 'healthy' sandwich.

FWIW cured meats are the work of the devil IMO. The nitrites in ham, peperami, bacon, salami, some sausages etc are said to increase the risk of getting bowel cancer- the incidence of bowel cancer in younger people is increasing.

Also smoked foods - I see that many food products now contain smoked salt. Doesn't this mean that eating them involves eating particles of smoke. Another risk factor for bowel cancer.

Char-grilled annoys me too. Em ' isn't 'charred' burnt? IMO it's a quick, unskilled, cheap and lazy way of getting flavour into food. Burnt food is another risk for bowel cancer.

So I'd say the roast fridge -raiders aren't too bad. provided your DS has a sugar-free drink, preferably containing aspartame because aspartame has been shown by research led by Nutrisweet (who use aspartame in their products) to be terrifically safe

On a more positive note how about oatcakes?

Mine won't eat sandwiches, but will have a wrap. Could you try that instead?

FWIW cured meats are the work of the devil IMO.

Wow. Slight exagerration?

My son doesn't like sandwiches v much. He has ham in crackers, cold pizza, sausage rolls occasionally, potato wedges... he also quite likes crusty French bread too. Veg sticks, fruit, yoghurt etc

Fridge raiders are reconstituted meat surely that's not healthy every day with the salt content.

I empathise with a picky eater but fridge raiders are just not good. Is there anything else he will consider ?

Fridge raiders are probably on a par with sausages quality and nutrition wise. Not the worst thing you can eat, but not great either. Fine on occasion but shouldn't really be the main source of lunchbox protein.

They claim to be 90% chicken (not sure if that is with or without the coating) but I think they can include things like skin and fat within that percentage and it will probably be the cheapest chicken they can find.

Agree that the sandwiches only ruling is stupid though - is it because they think the DCs will make a mess with things like pasta salad or hoummous?

The quality of that meat must be appalling. Pumped chock full of shit.

I wouldn't.

That sandwich only thing is ridiculous though.

Looking at the pack now, it says chopped and shaped chicken breast, so is that reconstituted?

I would go to the Headteacher and say that your DS does not like sandwiches, and it is your decision what he eats for lunch.