School "healthy eating"

[QueenBear]

Just want ti make it clear before i post that I am very happy with the education my DS receives, he has come on in leaps and bounds so no issues with the school "academically" - however I cant hell but feel a bit confused over this one.

Current topic is "healthy eating". Children have been keeping food diaries of the fruit and veg eaten etc. Having guests come in to do exercise class this week ( as well as pe) etc - all well and good ( considering my mom calls me the "food police" 😂 )

But... he has come home with a letter saying that as part of their "healthy eating" a £3 contribution for a class trip to..... Frankie and Bennys for pizza making?!?

How on EARTH is that healthy? I assumed a class trip to a farm to fruit pick.. or a letter to ask each child to bring in a different fruit to make a fruit salad etc.. but no. Pizza. Now we do have treats once a month at home, we have made a pizza together before and have a baking session monthly where we have quality time together in the kitchen. But either i am being an idiot, or unreasonable to understand why the pizza making is a healthy school trip!!! Anyone able to make me have the aha moment and understand?

I have never had a F&B pizza so cannot comment on them but I assume the school are going as many restaurants, supermarkets and indeed other shops offer these educational events free or for costs only. I know Tesco's do farm to plate sessions. Pets at home do Pet Care ones etc

This makes it an incredibly easy food related trip and I guess is showing kids how to cook rather than just buy processed as healthy eating really starts here

But I think it is more about convenience in organising a trip than quality of education to be honest

I hate the whole concept of food as a "treat", something to look forward to after a few days eating the "awful, healthy" stuff, or as a "reward" after a bad day at work.

Pizza isn't very healthy though really. It's a meal made mostly of bread. Wheat is a cheap and easy way of feeding the masses,. It's at best filler and at worst a cereal killer.

Having the occasional pizza is ok. But as part of a healthy eating lesson, no.

OP if you are keen on healthy eating, could you offer to help with a lesson?

I totally agree with the "no such thing as healthy or unhealthy food" as this is exactly what I teach my children. It's the quantily of various foods in our diet that leads to a healthy or unhealthy diet - it's all about balance.

Why is everyone saying homemade pizza can be healthy? Sure, it can, because you leave out all the salt, sugar (in the tomato sauce), use less cheese, wholemeal flour, use more veggies and don't do a stuffed crust like at Frankie and Bennies! I love takeaway or going out for a pizza, but I am not deluded that this is a healthy meal, and if you look at the calorie counts on the average deep pan pizza, it will become obvious that they are unhealthy due to using up more than one entire day's calories for one meal!

My dds infant class went to Tesco on a Farm to Fork visit, Tesco even paid for the coach. She came home with loads of educational material, the larger corporations do invest some effort in these things. F & B isn't a small outfit, this could be a good thing.
And probably fun.

Thankyou those with helpful replies. F&b is known for its high fat content - hence the . I am baffled as to why they didn't make pizza at school (they have made pancakes and stew in the past) so find it a bit odd. I very much advocate the things in moderation - it just concerns me that he may perceive a place like f&b to be "healthy".

cereal killer 😂😂😂

Those poor weetabix

Maybe F and B are doing a healthy version with them specially for the school project

Bread is at best filler and at worst a cereal killer.

Oh nonsense.

Pizzas are white-bread sandwiches in a different form. Four times the price though.

A traditional Mediterranean diet does not include much in the way of pizza. Soup made with beans and veg and pickled veg probably play a bigger part.

I wouldn't be happy about this trip being part of a healthy-eating topic. Better to spend that time cooking from scratch or doing some horticulture.

OP an awful lot of children won't have cooked a pizza from scratch and Frankie and Benny's is as good a place as any to begin.

We're a slim, healthy family...we make our own pizza...all of it is homemade and I consider it a reasonably healthy meal now and then. We don't slather them in cheese...just a bit...and then a ton of veg on top with a drizzle of olive oil.

If these kids are secondary age then making fruit salad would be a bit basic. Basic for anyone over 5 really!

I have to say...it would be unfortunate if this were the start of a trend in schools. Linking up with fast food places isn't idea.

What next? Field trips to McDonald's to make a burger?

Rogue my pizzas aren't expensive. I buy flour in bulk and make a very thin base. The veg is three times the thickness of the dough.

And if I use only a little cheese then that's a fine meal for children now and then. You don't have to use white flour either.

The only time I went to F&B's I got a bad case of the runs. Didn't have pizza though.

I know you don't have to use white flour - but Frankie and benny's do. Same with most pizza restaurants.

Unless the pizza is served with salad or another veg it will usually have hardly any veg content. Eg a mushroom and pepper pizza will probably only have at most two mushrooms and a quarter of a pepper.

Pizzas made from scratch at home can be reasonably healthy. However a Pizza made in a Chain restaurant like Frankie and Bennies - Far from healthy. I had something with grated cheese from there once and I'm pretty sure it wasnt actual cheese!

So YANBU for thinking this is not a great way to teach kids about healthy eating. A far more sensible idea from the school would be to take them to an actual restaurant - as opposed to one where they just take everything out of the freezer - and have the kids watch a proper meal being prepared and get involved that way. If they really wanted the pizza element then an actual independant pizza restaurant would have been a better idea.

I agree it will be fun for them, but it certainly isnt promoting healthy eating!

I'm sure your pizzas are delicious Jonesy.

Promoting f and b's pizza as healthy food though....

Oh op you are being crazy,

Mine went to Burger king and found out how to make a burger with lots of veg so its healthy. Probably3+ portions in a burger.

This sounds like a fab idea, pizza is such a notoriously tricky food to get children to eat.

at jdoe8

Educational too - introducing the pupils to all sorts of healthy foods like broccoli, cabbage, whole grains etc

Rogue I'm sure when the teachers are trying to think up ways to engage the kids in cooking, they're not worrying about white flour.

Some of these kids come from homes where chips from the chippy and a bag of crisps is their staple diet.

Seeing a pizza made from start to finish is a learning experience.

Seeing a pizza made from start to finish is a learning experience.

Yes it is. But it isn't 'healthy eating'.

YANBU
I agree with PP, a pizza can be healthy. However I doubt the f&b one will be low fat, low salt and high in veg...
More like the school wanted to do a meal as part of their healthy eating week (good idea) but didn't wanted to deal with fussy eaters so chose the easy option.

I think its brilliant. Too many schools are pushing the notion that only vegetables and quinoa are healthy.
Nothing wrong with a bit of pizza, fair play to them for having some sense.