To serve this portion size to my children (pic inc)

[Blondeandinept]

My son is on the 75 centile for height , 20 for weight. My daughter is 50 for height, 25 for weight.
As a family we are very very slim (in 5'7 and weigh just under 8 stone). We're very fit, gym, sport etc

My mil saw this and was appalled. Said it was way way too much. My children would be peckish an hour later if they didn't have this kind of lunch (it's the weekend, hence all the breaded items!).

My son is 6, my daughter 3.5

I only have one response to other people's opinions on your child's eating habits. 👊. Seriously. That looks like a pretty balanced serving. Definitely not too much , just right. Ignore & keep doing what you're doing :)

Where's the carbs, is it homemade, no iron, not enough veg, too much, not enough.
I do love a bonkers MN food thread

terrifying I was thinking the same, op was asking about portion size not what she should be feeding her kids

The smaller plateful looks the same amount as what I give my 3.5 year old. she doesn't always eat it all. Sometimes you have to give more to ensure they are having the option to eat a variety of things (knowing that they probably won't touch some of the choice).

Oh all the comments about carbs have washed over me.

One meal. I showed a pic of one meal and asked about portion control.

I know that some posters are profoundly concerned about what they perceive as the lack of carbs on the plate. Let me calm you down.

Today they had scrambled egg on 1.5 slices of toast followed by fruit salad for breakfast.

A roast for lunch, including meat and gigantic pile of veg and three roasties each. Followed by some dried apricots and walnuts.

Banana and a mini Milky Way for a snack

And dinner was a roast chicken sandwich. Followed by natural yogurt with raspberries.

One meal, I showed a pic of one meal, and from that a number of you cry out for more carbs. Is it any wonder there's diet issues in this country, whether that be obesity, anorexia or simply food obsessives. It's not healthy, it really isn't.

Green your kids (and everyone else's) are just as irrelevant here as all the carb talk

It was just an example and not just about my kids...anyone would be hungry not too long after a plate of fruit for lunch, for instance...it's a sugar hit, with few carbs and no protein to keep you feeling full.

My point is that carbs/protein ARE relevant in the context of portion size. Two boiled eggs, wholemeal bread with butter and salad sticks is probably a decentenough lunch for many dc although the portion may be small. A plate of six cut up apples would not be, although the portion would be huge.

It's pretty impossible to just comment on portion size and not take into account the content.

Mil thinks it's too much? Seriously? I think it's a tiny portion and my children need a much bigger portion than that.
Isn't MN weird?

It's pretty impossible to just comment on portion size and not take into account the content.

People mentioning carbs - I sometimes leave carbs off my kids' plates because I know they would go straight for it then refuse to eat anything else on the plate. Perhaps OP does the same? This way they will hopefully eat the meat and veg - then, if they are still hungry I give them some carbs. Always worried about thier vitamin intake!

It is actually today's lunch.. DD eats them frozen and thinks it's ice cream . (Normally she prefers frozen frubes so this has been lurking at the back of freezer for a while)

Why is that funny Blonde?

If, for instance, I posted a picture of three cut up apples and asked 'This is my 6 year old's lunch...is this portion enough?'

Would you really respond with 'oh of course, it's a plate full, that's plenty'? Really?

Just made chuckle Green, that's all.

It was impossible not to.

Meals need to be balanced over the course of a day or even a couple of days.. Every single meal need not have the exact carb/protein ratio if it balances out in other meals. It's perfectly possible to comment on portion size alone.

Oh nice idea boo!

sometimes leave carbs off my kids' plates because I know they would go straight for it then refuse to eat anything else on the plate

Yeah so do I...with ds2 anyway. He would happily eat a plate of plain pasta and leave the chicken and veg...I limit his carbs by necessity.

I'm not particularly bothered about carbs...I just think it's naiive to think you can ask about portion size without taking content into account.

very single meal need not have the exact carb/protein ratio if it balances out in other meals

I agree...but posters aren't to know that. They don't know that he's having a big chicken dinner later, or had eggs for breakfast (or whatever).

This isn't a plate of 6 apples though, it's a meal with several different things the potion size for this meal is fine, maybe slightly small taking my kids appetites as an example. I'm sure op said it's a lunch too not the main meal of the day so a pile of carbs isn't really a big deal

I think protein and vegetables are more important for children than starchy carbs. Carbs are everywhere, in absolutely everything, so it is impossible really for a child not to be getting enough. Much more often, they are having too much carbs, in the form of simple sugars, which in excess amounts is the cause of obesity.

Re, portion size, my 6-year old would be wanting a little more than that.

I agree Booboo...I was just making the point that I think content IS relevant when talking about portion. So comments on content are also to be expected.

"One meal, I showed a pic of one meal, and from that a number of you cry out for more carbs. Is it any wonder there's diet issues in this country, whether that be obesity, anorexia or simply food obsessives. It's not healthy, it really isn't"

Maybe you should let the govt know you've solved all the dietry issues this country has? I'm sure threy'd love to know it's as simple as you've decided.

Chill out bakeoff! Have one of your biscuits (goodness knows you love the carbs)

Oh I'd tell them if I have a solution. Seeing as I don't...

It's pretty impossible to just comment on portion size and not take into account the content

Yeah, for some people that would appear to be so...

And the OP posted what her DC had yesterday for snacks and dinner at Sat 19-Nov-16 12:57:15

Looks OK to me, maybe slightly on the small side.

If MIL thinks this is way too much , what would be appropriate? Surely she would love to tell you OP

blonde it didn't work quite so well with the pots but the tube yogurts make excellent healthier alternative to ice poles.

There's some shocking understanding of nutrition on this thread!

Nicknameused

I know banana is a carbohydrate, but I would count that as fruit unless I was on a diet. I also know that fruit contains sugars, but unless I was diabetic I wouldn't count that as a carbohydrate either. And nuts are protein and fat, not usually considered as carbohydrate.

Fruit, bananas and nuts are all carbohydrates! It doesn't matter if you're a diabetic - it still carbohydrate.