Is this an adequate meal?

[Zarabell]

I'm talking in relation to portion size. I know it's technically not a healthy meal but I'm literally thinking size.

Family of 4, an 18 month old, 8 year old, dh and me.

Fish fingers, 3 for dh and 2 each for the rest of us.

Cheese and potato pie made with 5 medium to large potatoes.

1 tin of beans between us.

Of course the toddler had slightly less mash and beans than everyone else.

Fruit and yoghurt for pudding.

What do you think?

HandbagCrab Fri 09-Dec-16 14:47:57
Floured fresh fish is not fishfingers. Battered fish and chips made from potato do not go with salad, they go with peas, mushy or otherwise.

Agree.

And cheese and potato pie is not cheesy mash! It's a cheese, potato and onion pie with a pastry base and top! Well it is where I'm from, it's law !

Just worried about your own 5 a day intake. Beans count as one though but I think more that what you served pp. Just might be worth considering chucking a bit of fruit and veg in here and there for your lunch and breakfast.

Portion size I would just say more beans and an extra fish finger but then I don't really like them so hard to judge portion sizes. DD is 2 and will eat most of 2 fish fingers.

A toddler is having 2 fish fingers and a grown man is having 3? I think it's a skimpy meal, quite honestly. One tin of beans amongst 4, and, basically, a potato each? Not much of a main meal for the day...

I personally would have omitted the cheese potato pie as it's just carb and fat basically, and given more baked beans with veg like peas or sweetcorn and 1 more fishfinger to the active kid

Just carb? Dailyfail the body needs carbohydrate for energy. The way some people carry on here it makes it sound like carbs are poison!

I think its a bit scimpy - 1 tin of beans between 4? Dont think it really qualifies as a cheese and pot pie with only 5 pots but depends on how large is large. I personally would have 3 fishfingers, older child 2 and youngest 1 but more if she asked as they burn it off.

That's true middle class I didn't eat much fruit or veg yesterday myself.

Dh had more mash and beans than the toddler.

I don't get the big issue with carbs to be honest. I've always eaten a carb with my meal either potato, rice, pasta, I've never had any problems. I have a protein and a veg with it, sometimes the ratio might not be perfect but I'm sure it averages out over the week.

There are some odd food combinations.

Personally I wouldn't have fish fingers with mash. I'd have them with a jacket, wedges or potato waffles.

Aldo beans combined with peas/seeetcorn/other veg - urgh!

I don't like cheese but when I was at school cheese pie was like mash with melted cheese & egg mixed in to bind it. No pastry. It looked revolting

But that's your opinion. We like fish fingers and mash, we like cheese.

I find it odd that people can't understand that people like different foods to themselves.

Personally I'd never eat beans with broccoli or sweet corn.

I'm having fishcake chips & beans tonight. Yum!

I'd have fishcake mash and beans!

Although I've heard it sad on here that you shouldn't have mash and fishcake because the fishcake already contains potato.

I'd want more veg with that - beans don't really count. Very high carb meal which would leave you ravenous after a couple of hours.

Nor have I Zara. There are only certain things that go with beans, namely
Sausages
Chips
Eggs
Cheesy mash 😄
Fish fingers
Burgers
Nuggets
Jacket spuds
Cottage pie (not Shepherds pie)
and, on occasion, pies and hot sausage rolls.
Additional veg doesn't go with beans.

I think beans do count but not as an everyday choice.

I definitely wasn't ravenous after my meal.

Seriously, what's so bad about carbs?

I'm not a huge fan of veg except on Sunday dinners. I like beans & mushy peas (not together) & have them with lots of things.

And you lot would hate me as I usually have a couple of rounds of bread with most of my meals.

3 heaped table spoons of beans is 1 of your 5 a day for an adult which I'm guessing is nearer 1/2 tin of 415g than anything else.

This thread is going to give me a complex.

I never ever hear anyone in real life saying too many carbs.

My mum used to give us bread and butter with everything, although I don't do that these days, we were all slim and healthy.

I might give dh an extra fish finger from now on

I don't really think of beans as being proper veg, I know they are one of your five a day, but it wouldn't be my optimum choice, but I think it's fine once a week.

We eat cabbage onions and potatoes, mashed up together, with some fish, meat or sausages. We love it. I often mash carrots or cauliflower into the mixture. I have beans too, dh has salad.

Beans and corn in a bean salad?

And we often add corn to chilli con carne with the kidney beans (mostly when I've forgotten to buy the mince)

Sedentary adults probably don't need as many carbs as we would like but if it's not effecting your weight or health I don't see why it's worth worrying over. I'm sure stressing about veg rainbows, micronutrients and the carb content of carrots is not necessarily life prolonging anyway. And I like salad and have it lots, just not with fishfingers! :)

Definitely agree with you about the carbs, Zarabell. We were brought up on lots of bread and potatoes with a little meat or fish. We were skinny as rakes. I'm 56 now and never had a days illness in my life.
And yes, beans do count as a vegetable. Thats because they are a vegetable. (The tomatoes in the sauce 'count' as well).Some people on Mumsnet tend to turn their noses up at baked beans. The fact is that they're a pretty good source of protein and fibre.

No one can answer this for you but do remember today's news that 92% of women and men over 50 have a waist size which is unhealthy - for women over 34 inches. So most of us should eat less.

Find what works for you. I eat largely paleo, often keto and no processed foods and I would see a decent meal as a large piece of salmon and huge mound of veg (am another largely anti carb person) but that's just what suits me. I don't even eat a lot of fruit =- fructose so just about the only thing I would eat of your whole meal is the fish in the fish fingers and I doubt fish fingers have much fish in them.

Don't worry what other people think and just eat what feels right for each of you.

If you want him to loose weight the easiest way would be up to 150g protein and 200 - 300g veg per meal with no carbs. He'd feel full longer, have enough food on his plate and be eating healthily.

Trickier with kids but we eat a higher protein/veg ratio in this house. And have done since the kids were small. Carbs are not our default go to to fill up.

This thread certainly has brought out the protein obsessives getting themselves in a tizz over the tiny slithers of protein in the fish fingers while writing off all the other protein in the cheese, beans and yogurt as stodgy, heavy, carby processed crap.

Sounds quite nice, plenty of food and I don't see how anyone would be ravenous shortly afterwards.