IABU but half the time I don't know what to feed my kids

[monkeymamma]

So toast and roast potatoes cause cancer. Cured meat (sausage, ham) cause cancer. Kids shouldn't eat more than a teaspoon of sugar over a 20 year period and no salt should be added to anything.

What should my kids be eating?

I have two (5 and 2) and the youngest is fussy to the point I am going to ask the HV for advice.

The 5yo wrote a meal planner for the week to help me with our weekly shop and this is what it says (these are his choices I should point out)

Bolognaise
Fish fingers
Curry
Toastie
pizza

(He gets a cooked meal at school too).

The above just doesn't strike me as healthy. The bolognaise has loads of hidden veg and is made with lamb and will be served with broccoli. The curry is homemade with chicken, veg and apple. The toastie will be ham, cheese and mushroom (the only veg the 2 year old will knowingly eat) and the pizza will be made with hidden veg sauce and both will be served with raw carrot and cucumber.

But the toastedness of the toastie and the hamminess of the pizza and toastie now worries me. And overall it just doesn't sound 'healthy' iywim.

If you would say your children (of similar age) have a healthy diet what would it involve? Are there kids out there who will eat e.g. lentils and spinach and whatnot?

Actually DS1 will eat spinach (but only raw) but he will not eat (and nor will the 2 yo): quiche, soup, anything with butternut squash or sweet potato, avocado. 2 yo will eat bananas and baked beans (not together obvs) but the 5 yo will not.

Both kids will, with some cajoling, eat chicken pie and fish pie. The 5yo will eat a stir fry and noodles (e.g. prawn and broccoli).

I loathe cooking meat that's just meat (e.g. chops, ribs, a roast). and I don't think it's so healthy that i need to feel guilty about not doing it (do i?).

We do try to do meals together but DH is not home till past 7 so the kids do eat together in the week (then family meals at the weekend).

Breakfast I don't feel so bad about as they have porridge (the 2 yo) which I have stopped sweetening as he doesn't seem to care and yoghurt and fruit (the 5 yo). But I feel like the rest of the day is fairly bad.

I also let them have ice creams and loads of sugary yoghurt. The 2yo is addicted to biscuits which we don't have at home but they seem to pop up in his line of sight almost everywhere we go and there are well-meaning people everywhere (I find) with treats for my kids.

The 5yo has a krispy kreme obsession which means I can no longer take him to tesco (or anywhere else they are on sale).

For the 2yo he has various 'safe' foods he will eat reliably, but if there is a foreign body in there (e.g. if I added spinach to his pizza, say) the whole plate is pushed away and there's no more eating that day. Other than biscuits

Any tips/recipes/meal ideas? Am I the only one to find family catering a bit repetitious and tough?

[LivingOnTheDancefloor]

My 3yo DTs are quite good with food, not fussy at all, not sure if it is thanks to me, but here is what I give them...

I always try to pair something not-so-healthy with something healthy, for ex sausages and steamed veg.
They get a small serving of each, if they choose to only eat the not-so -healthy food and ask for a second serving they are told to finish everything first. Usually works.

My go-to dishes, always easy to prepare and (I think) healthy:

• Mash mixed with tinned tuna and random veg
  
• Lentils/carrots/pieces of ham
  
• Soup, bread and cheese (no "kid cheeses", selection of hard/soft)
  
• Broccoli/cauliflower florets and fillet of oven cooked fish
  
• Pasta with any leftover veg and grated cheese, or pesto
  
• Prawns with courgettes
  
• Meatballs with random veg
  
• Carrot batons and hummus
  

Dessert is fruit/yoghurt/fruit puree or every other day a treat like biscuit, cake, small piece of choc...

[GertrudeBelle]

Amy two (5 and 7) will eat mountains of raw peppers, cucumber, carrot, and cooked edamame beans, green beans, sugar snap peas, broccoli and baby sweetcorn. (DS1 would happily eat a whole cucumber, whole pepper and two whole carrots in one sitting - I am not like that at all!).

I often load up their plates with these easy favourites and a smaller portion of their main food (which often they're fussier about and gets pushed around their plate). Then tons of fruit as snacks/pudding.

It's not haute cuisine but I can relax knowing that they've had lots of fresh veg.

[picklemepopcorn]

You have a two year old that eats mushrooms? You are doing something right...

[formerbabe]

It is difficult, made all the more difficult when you have children who are fussy eaters.

The only rules I have are no fizzy drinks and eat vegetables and fruit with every meal.

[BitchQueen90]

My 3yo DS has toast every day for breakfast. And we have roast potatoes every Sunday. 😁

I don't worry too much. The government seem to think anything other than green veg is terrible for you. I try not to give DS too much sugar, he has chocolate every Friday after nursery as a treat and a couple of bits at the weekend. I avoid processed stuff and just make everything from scratch, we have red meat about twice a week and takeaway on Saturday night - pizza or similar. It's just about moderation.

[SparkleShinyGlitter]

Toast is fine unless more of less burnt and even then I imagine you've had to eat a loaf a day to raise cancer risk!

Yes things like sausages, bacon isn't great but once a week having a decent quality sausauge isn't going to cause any great harm.

I believe only processed ham is a problem, and even then only if you eat a lot of it. So unless dc are having each day I wouldn't worry or you could cook the ham yourself and then it's not processed surely

My dd is just a baby and won't wean until next month but for me & dh we eat a lot of veg/carbs/ and have fish once a week and meat twice a week I do tend to avoid red meats as I prefer chicken. We don't have much processed stuff and cook from scratch where we can so we know what's in our food

[Gymnopedies]

I have a big pan with lids and chuck all sorts of veggies (often some from reduced aisle or frozen from a bag), carbs type thing (rice, pasta, potatoes, quinoa) with some water and gravy granules/tomato sauce/cream/other sauce if needed and meat/quorn/fish/seafood. There are lots of combinations you can make, DCs are told to leave out the bits they don't like (3 years old mostly fishes out the pasta or rice and 1 years old use the whole lot to splatter the floor).

[Yokohamajojo]

Try and breadcrumb a salmon fillet! that has worked with my fusspots, and now they actually like salmon

[CripsSandwiches]

It's often the reporting that's the problem. I find it highly unlikely that you feed your child enough roast potatoes to significantly increase their cancer risk.

Lots of fruit an veg and not too much processed food, especially meat. Sugar occasionally as a treat. If they'll have sealed wholemeal bread give them that rather than white. Everything else is just noise.

[blueskyinmarch]

My DD eats a ham toastie almost every day - she is DOOMED. Except she looks like a very healthy 19yo to me.

OP - your meals look absolutely fine. Stop reading the food scaremongering stuff in the news and trust your instincts. You will probably find your DC widen their food choices as they get older any way.

[mainlywingingit]

Those choices are fine if paired with veg and fruit and yoghurt for pudding.
Just don't burn the toast and give it daily!
Cured meats can be weekly that's fine.

Cheese, peas and noodles (Philly & cheddar)
All sorts of risottos are a hit and easy to make
Homemade Quiche
Mackerel with tomato sauce
Tuna, pasta, broccoli bake
Chicken supreme
Chicken pie
Salmon pasta w. cheesy Philadelphia sauce
Puff pastry pizzas
Chilli con carne w kidney beans and rice
Chicken schnitzel

[MaQueen]

I totally ignore the guidelines, just can't be arsed.

I always buy organic meat, fruit and dairy - so that's pretty healthy.

We eat a lot of homemade chilli and bolognese and sausage&bean casserole (I only really do one pot cooking if possible). I also do a lot of 'wraps' made with breadcrumbed chicken & salad. Once a week we have pizza & garlic bread, and once a week we have fish & chips.

We're all very healthy (can't remember the last time we had coughs&colds?).

[Oly5]

Your menu is fine and healthy!
The processed meat rule is if you eat a lot - like every day.
A bit of ham and bacon isn't going to kill them. They are also full of iron!

[LIZS]

Ham/cheese pasta bake, served with spinach or broccoli.
Shepherds pie ( hide veg)
Fish?
Roast?
I don't think you should worry about squash, sweet potato, avocado etc tbh.

[monkeymamma]

Orchid they love parma ham! Thought it was one of the 'bad' meats but I'll be sprinkling it liberally now.

greynunu you're right about the worrying! The bolognaise does have some contraband lentils in. I have to be careful about proportions though because one time my hand slipped and both DH (!!) and DS1 said they didn't like it. (They didn't/don't know about the lentils but it must have tasted a bit thicker than usual.)

Felicia the lamb is a weird hangover from DS1's very early life when he had an allergy and I did an elimination diet with no cow's protein. So we stopped having beef and now all prefer lamb! I do worry one day DS1 will grow up and have bolognaise in a restaurant and be like 'hang on...' because my 'bolognaise' is full of non-traditional elements!

Thanks for all the tips guys! They are all useful!

[AButterflyLightsBesideUs]

Your meals sound fine. My daughter would never give me 5 choices like that, she would say "sausage & mash" 5 times

She will also quite happily eat:
home made burgers
meatballs & spaghetti
salmon
fishfingers
chicken nuggets
buttered chickpeas
occasionally poached or boiled eggs

with some combination of mash/wedges/jacket/new pots/cold plain pasta/rice/bread/broccoli/corn on cob/cucumber/defrosted but raw frozen peas. I make her have one item of protein, one carb and one veg/salad on her plate and try not to think about the absurb or unappetising combinations she ends up with as a result.

I think that is it.

To be honest her favourite meal is a "picky plate" ie cheese sarnies, cucumber & tomatoes, and if I happen to have cold sausages or sausage rolls or wotsits to add that is apparently the Best Meal Ever.

I've stopped giving myself a headache over it. I'm sure she'll branch out eventually.

[greynunu]

I too think your meals sound pretty healthy for normal small DCs (i.e. fussy!). Worrying too much will also give you cancer

You mentioned struggling to get beans & pulses into the family. Have you tried disguising lentils in a cottage pie? My DS is pretty suspicious of veg in general but will wolf a lentil pie down. I just replace mince with a tin of lentils and it all cooks down to look much the same as a meat dish. If that is a bit challenging then maybe half mince half lentils.

I also make up big batches of my own baked beans and freeze in portions, I can then add in lots of hidden veg and control the salt & sugar. I don't feel so guilty dishing up a baked potato or chipolatas when they're served with those beans.

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

Your bolognese is made with lamb And served with brocolli?!?!

I think that menu sounds fine. I make a lot of mince base meals as you can blend in a shit ton of veg to make it more healthy. At least once a week we have pasta (might be lasagne, might be with pesto) and pizza at least once a week too.

I don't sweat it. They're still little, if you don't make a big deal of veg then they don't see it as the shit choice!

(I did see a recipe for veg nuggets earlier - broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blended together with an egg and bread crumbs, then coated in more bread crumbs and baked. I think I'm going to try that with chips and ketchup to balance! )

[DJBaggySmalls]

Just feed them what they will eat and enjoy.

At least they are not filling up on balls of wet newspaper after a day of rammaging through a landfill site in a third world country.

[Starduke]

My 2 are exactly the same age as yours. I think they have a healthy balanced diet but it isn't very varied.

They eat:
Chicken casserole (so chicken in a tomato sauce with carrots, beans, leak, brocoli, potato or sweet potato and sometimes apricot). The 5 year old will eat it with a bit of rice but the 2 year old won't

Lamb casserole - identical to above but lamb instead of chicken

Fish pie (if bribed with ketchup)

Pasta and tomato sauce with cheese and ham (for the 5 year old only)

Pizza

Vegetable soup

Lentil soup

Cheese on toast

Plus yoghurts and fruit.

The 2 year old likes chips. The 5 year old likes chicken nuggets.

And that really is about it. We stuff loads of vegetables in all their meals.

One thing we can't get them to eat is bolognaise unfortunately - think it's the texture.

[arethereanyleftatall]

I know this meal my dc eat will get ridiculed on here, but they do actually love it, and it's bloody easy.

I buy the ready made (red and white) quinoa packs. Then I chop up anything I find - normally it's tomatoes, cucumbers, pomegranate, apple, raw pepper and carrot, peas and corn (from freezer), cubes of cheddar cheese, cold chicken if I have any, and walnuts. Mix all together. It looks lovely, takes ten minutes, the pomegranate and apple and cheese mean the dc genuinely love it. Dh likes it. I find it too healthy tbh so I normally add a turkey dinosaur to my dinner once dc are in bed!

[monkeymamma]

Oh what lovely replies! Thank you for being so kind :-) (I was expecting 'OMG monkey you are killing your kids' types responses. Or 'OMG stop worrying you sound mental'!) You are absolutely right about health scares. I need to stop listening to the radio.
Lapin and somewhat it's really nice to hear it's not just me! It's a thankless task sometimes isn't it. Although DS1 did say at bedtime 'mummy you're the best cooker in the whole world' so my skills in heating up fish fingers haven't gone completely unnoticed .
twenty those are my favourite foods! Sadly they are exactly the kind of thing they push back against. Baby DS1 ate hummus but has now rebelled. Any beans or pulses are reviled (I blame DH as he also dislikes this type of food and like DS1 is all about the meat. If I fell under a bus they'd just live of chorizo). They will both deign to nibble a boiled egg if I make them though!

[OrchidaceousRose]

I actually think your kids eat an alright range of fruit and vegetables for their age, compared to a lot of kids I have known,especially as you're getting a lot of hidden veg in there too.

Why not just make the ham on the pizza Parma ham- lots of Parma hams have no nitrites in them, which is the harmful bit of processed meats. It will cook as the pizza cooks so the texture won't be too different by the end.

And as for the toaster, the advice is toast/roast to a golden yellow colour.

I know you mentioned not liking cooking meat that's just meat, but roasting s chicken can make meals easy. If you have a roast chicken in the fridge it's easy to whip up meals quickly- chicken with salad, chicken with vegetables, chicken fried rice, chicken noodles, chicken pizza, chicken with hidden veg sauce on pasta. You can buy ready roasted chickens in the chiller section of the supermarket if you really can bear to roast your own. A big chicken can mean a couple of days of easy meals.

Also, I did read somewhere that part of the reason small children- up to about 3 or 4 years old, don't like fruits/vegetables because of some of the natural chemicals in them. The chemicals that have evolved as defences agsinst insects/much kids etc. Their little bodies just aren't as good at dealing with them as adults and older children. So sometimes peeling things is the answer as most of those chemicals are in the skin, and partly just trusting their instincts and waiting for them to grow out of it (as long as overall they have s healthy, balanced diet, and it sounds like they do).

Good idea to get the 5 yo involved writing a meal plan, and it's really not s bad one. Lots of adults make less healthy choices than that.

[MistressPage]

Relax OP, your kids diet sounds perfectly fine and normal

[hoddtastic]

pitta with beans, hummus and salsa... kid friendly. Ha!

I eat that stuff, DH eats that, my children? One of them (the milk and meat avoiding one) would maybe eat that, the others? No chance!