beans mash and sausages is a healthy meal

[madhurjazz]

Mother in law thinks its junk food. But the beans contain 1 of your 5 a day, mashed potatoes are just veg and a good source of carbs and the sausages are full of essential protein.

We often have ketchup, this has been shown to reduce many cancers like prostate, and a glass of juice.

Seems healthy to me and not junky.

I wonder if lots of toddlers/ children are constantly snacking because they're hungry after eating low calorie foods at mealtimes? And if they're snacking on cucumber and carrot sticks the energy content is negligible.

I think if you have a couple of high calorie drinks like frappucinos and ice cream milkshakes 3000 cals a day would be quite easy. Or if you're drinking - when I was calorie counting I could hit 3k if it was a night out on the booze. I think it would be a struggle with reasonable portions of food cooked at home (such as sausage, beans and mash)!

I agree ego. My ds has a six pack and is skinny as you like but at 4 and picky he's not going to eat grilled chicken breast, kale and sweet potato mash - he'd eat the chicken and a tiny bit of mash under sufferance. He'd eat sausage, beans and potato mash though so I'd rather serve something he'd eat than something I know he won't and then he's not constantly pestering for snacks! My goal is to widen his repertoire a bit this summer though, going to try steak, broccoli and sweet potato fries this week!

Agree MrsD, Don't make a new range of healthy options alongside the other ones, just reduce the salt and sugar in the ones you already make.

We went to france the other day, and fuck knows what they put in their brown bread, but it was so sweet it was like cake, i couldn't eat it with a savoury filling. But it was French so it must be alright!

This thread has made me want sausages, mash and baked beans now!

Talking about kids and fat, there was a woman a couple of years ago who's son had malnutrition because she basically fed him on fruit and veg with little or no fat. She thought that she was doing the best for him but it was killing him. I cant find the article but anyone else can then I would be grateful.

So many people think that cutting out all fat is good for kids, when its dangerous and actually affects brain development.

I think this thread must have been started by the sausage marketing board. Sausage sales must have rocketed!

I am 3500 miles away in Carrefour giggling at the Heinz beans. Its a global problem I tell you

My toddler eats conventional children's food mostly. We try him with "adult food" but it ends up ignored.

He has sauasage, beans and mash, fish fingers peas and sweet potato mash, roast dinners, homemade pizza, spag bol, lasagne, cooked breakfast, puddings, full fat yoghurts, fruit and veg sticks, fresh fruit salads, he's keen on a quieche suprisingly and a garden salad, he also likes the odd happy meal...shoot me haha!

Meh didn't kill me, I'm a athletic size 10, DP is a athletic male. Everything in moderation all fine.

Its only one meal! I doubt they have it every night.

Disclaimer: any sensitive 'foodies/experts' may be mortaly offended by the following:

Last night kids and I had a 'treat' bacon, sausage and eggs ....fried not grilled!!!!! Cos kids wanted fried bread too

I am sure there are people holding their chests with horror right now but do I care, not a bit. Sometimes taste is all Proper bacon, proper sausages = heavenly fried bread

Its something we have about twice a year. Rest of the time its all grilled and maybe only once a month. Today we are having home roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings (although kids veg will be raw as thats how they eat it) Having a little of what takes your fancy now and again is fine.

As long as you arent living on McD's supersize every day and are balancing whats good for you with treats and not obsessing over food then who cares what others think.

I still think its more moderation rather than anything else. Op, that meal is fine. Anyone who says it isn't is a bit ott. Every night, no. Once a week, no issue.
As a kid my parents certainly did no obsessing over food. I had three meals and snacks and was a perfectly healthy kid, rarely ill. Even now when my diet is absolutely not as good as it should be I am rarely ill and I think it is partly to do with having a good, varied diet when I was growing up. Varied. We had 'Pudding' every night which was usually a chocolate bar once all healthy food was eaten.
I agree with a pp above, people are absolutely obsessed over food these days. It is a bore

To me this meal is just a waste of calories. I could just as well have a burger (carbs + meat + a nod towards vegetables).
You do not need carbs to survive - if you eat a plant-based diet, you will get plenty of carbs through the fruit and veg you eat.
Beans might count as one of your five-a-day but baked beans are far too high in sugar and salt. Same with ketchup. You'd do better if you rinsed tinned beans (or better yet cooked your own) and added passata and some herbs.
Sausages are generally not healthy - it's processed meat with fillers.
The old way of eating - carb source + meat + a veg as an afterthought is good to fill you up quickly but is not healthy. You might say your kids like it but then you are shaping their palate as well - you are deciding what they will call comfort food one they grow up. It could just as well be something healthy.

You do not need carbs to survive - if you eat a plant-based diet, you will get plenty of carbs through the fruit and veg you eat.

So we do needs carbs then.

I think she means like shitty white carbs bread Pasta etc. I follow low carb and the carbs I eat come from veg some fruit and nuts. I do eat white carbs on a day offs though or if I've exercised lots. Sausages beans and mash once a week though is balanced. If I don't eat the mash myself I just add more veg but in no way is it junk.

If they are low salt and sugar beans then thats better and i give mine quorn sausages instead. Theyre high in protein without all the fat

Me and my daughter have this meal once a week, sausages can be high in fat but you need fat in your diet? It's all about Moderation. If you have meals like this every night then yes it's unhealthy. If you have a balanced diet then no it's not. As someone said ^ it's not Necessary to have healthy meals every night, unless you're on a weight loss diet (which you're obviously not lol) xx

I follow low carb myself most of the time I just get irritated when the evangelical declare 'we don't need carbs'.

No the old way is fine. The 'new' carb low carb way is pseudoscience that you've been sold. There's nothing unhealthy about carb source + meat + veg.

If you have type 2 diabetes you might want to look at low carb, if you are overweight, want to lose and it works for you as a way of eating/reducing calorie intake then that;s fine. But to say eating carb sources is unhealthy is untrue and not backed up by science at all.

That's rubbish. We need carbs just not as much as we are told. I eat a lot of fat but under 50g of carbs a day. Plenty of exercise and energy to.

When you're feeding fussy children this can be as good as anything. I adore it, as do my children. We use reduced salt and sugar Weight Watchers beans. They're really tasty and I'd choose them now over any other type. Because I'm coeliac we eat gluten free sausages from time to time and they are such better quality than regular sausages as they have no wheat and are just meat. As a result the children eat smaller portions of them. Mashed potato is one of the best things in the world. When my daughter was younger and we couldn't get her to eat much this would always get eaten and I'd supplement her with ABIDEC.

I can see your MIL's point but I think you can get a bit too precious about things where children are involved. Children don't always want highly flavoursome meals because their taste buds can't handle it, especially if they have a sensory issue like mine does. I can't see that this meal is an issue as long as it's not every day.

Rinsing beans and adding passata and herbs is not very nice. You're forgetting the onions and garlic and olive oil and probably a bit of ground cumin...in other words the stuff that makes food nice. Interesting.

I'm going to eat pasta now. I like pasta.