Nursery Meals - appalling?

[TheBlushBaby]

I have been looking at nurseries and the meals provided. I plan to raise my son plant-based with white meats occasionally, and with no processed foods. I like to cook everything from scratch and can happily make extras. I make all sauces, seed loaf, and everything else I can.

Of course this works under our roof as it's how we eat, but this isn't the way for everyone.

I was very shocked reading the meal plan for the nursery. Can I send my son with packed lunch? Does their menu seem very carb heavy to anyone else? It's all cheese, breads, pastas, potatoes! Am I overthinking this?

In fairness JigglyTuff, I'm equally as anti-sugar/anti-salt as VIP is. I can't always control who feeds my kids what, but when they are with me I only rarely give them chocolate, biscuits etc on occasion and I never cook with salt.

They have a very balanced diet overall which I think is what VIP is getting at

Not lost at all, (smug much?) but wrong.

The ignorance is in those that think toddlers should be low carbing. A plant based diet is not healthy for very young children.

And did you miss that OP doesn't even have a kid yet? What does she know about feeding them?

lovelymess I've addressed this a few times - I'm in no way against carbs, just the processed to hell ones which have no nutritional value for children. High carb foods that have some nutritional value and aren't refined and processed are ideal and I intend to make them very often as I already consume them regularly. Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, wild rice, legumes, beans, seed breads, potatoes, corn and so on are all fantastic high carb options that hold way more nutritional diversity than white bread smothered in marmite.

user1483808257 we best retreat to our yurts and hippie vegetable gardens where we all run around in the nude for summer solstice!

Kids need carbs, as they are so active! I think unless your child has a food allergy, let them eat what the school serves! It is not fair for the child to feel left out for no reason other then you do not like what is on the menu. My husband tried to tell the school not to give my daughter any pudding after lunch, when everyone else got it. The first and only day they did this, she was crying because she wanted the pudding like everyone else. I told the teachers, please allow her to have it and just do not tell my husband! I felt awful when I heard my poor DD (2 at the time) felt left out and was crying. She does love her food....so poor thing. She eats a lot, (including veggies, fruits, meats, CARBS!). But she needs it as she is so active, climbing, running etc. She is very petite in size even though she eats a lot. I see kids who are restricted on foods and they literally beg others when out for food, eat off the floor etc....like they are starving (mom has them eating super healthy - fruit and nuts only for snacks, healthy meals etc)....which is just not enough. My kids would be absolutely starving if only given nuts and fruits for a snack, they would need an added piece of toast or a biscuit...something carbs.

Fwiw I think that all this "calculating" and strict rules is contributing to the problem.

In the sense that for Instance reducing or taking away sugar amd reducing fat has now lead to the ability to give massive pieces of cake pretty much guilt free. But when you have to resort to sugar free and fat free stuff usually they are far more processed and have far more ingredients than they would normally. So cakes are made with a highly processed low fat spread which contains multiple emulsifiers and preservatives as opposed to actual bitter containing one ingredient.

Meat is of course expensive so these guidelines are now written in a way that permits minimum use of the protein source by using it in stews and soups and pasta dishes or cheese sauce things where you really can get away with very little or the meat comes in the cheapest forms imaginable as it's obviously going to be low quality like ham mince stewing meat and pre grated plastic cheese.

So what looks like an ok menu can in fact be a very poor quality highly processed menu

Ideally I think things should be inbetween. That middle ground between mung beans and ham I was talking about

blush if nutrition is sooooo important to you why are you thinking of cutting short how long you breast feed for so you can inject poison into your face? Why doesn't "clean" and "healthy" extend to not poisoning your face?

mamabear I addressed this carbs assumption some people have made in a post just above yours. I explain that I'm happy for there to be plenty of carbs and I for one definitely eat a high carb diet - they just aren't refined or processed. They're all natural and as close to their original form as possible to retain nutritional value.

Neither did I when mine were that age ThisAintALoveSong. But I didn't prime them to turn down things with a smug statement either. And you need to accept that if you're going to go for mass childcare, they are going to serve a diet that the average toddler will eat. If that is unacceptable to you, then you need to find another form of childcare or compromise. Otherwise the next 18 years are going to be utter hell

grumblebumble I haven't responded to these comments about my Botox yet because I thought it was honestly ridiculous. But here we are.

It isn't a vanity thing, so don't make that assumption when people discuss cosmetic procedures.

I grind my teeth and chew terribly on the insides of my cheeks and tongue while sleeping. Botox is injected around my jaw to soften these muscles and stop my grinding and chewing which was causing me major issues and tightness of the jaw. Mouth guards weren't working for me.

I'm 20, what wrinkles am I trying to prevent or get rid off? Really?

Through my pregnancy I've been lucky enough the effects of the Botox haven't worn off much but I have a back up mouth guard for when they do (if they do) but like I said, mouth guards tend not to work on me. I take them out in my sleep or get them out somehow and have to wake up in the night to put it back in.

User 461 OP has stated more than once that it's not carbs she is against, it's heavily processed ones with little nutritional value?

I am lost on the repeatedly raised point that she 'hasn't even had the baby yet' I don't see the relevance. I started researching what was nutritionally best for my baby and I whilst pregnant, whilst breastfeeding and whilst weaning, before I had my baby? I spent time speaking to, and getting appointments with, the relevant people to ensure my baby would get the best - if that makes me 'smug' then so be it.

You will almost certainly be waking several times in the night while breast feeding so you can put a mouth guard back in. What about the chemical peel and "few other procedures" you have planned for your postbirth "downtime"?

Ah but user14

You should know this is mn where more thought is put into what knickers you should buy or what film to watch on Netflix than what to feed your kids. Far more important to have them scavenge out the bin and mainline aspartame to show how laid back you are and suggest anyone removing the sixth packet of Haribo at 645am has food issues.

GrumbleBumble which is why I said I would be stopping earlier instead of not breastfeeding at all. I know I'll be awake to pump and feed, but 8 months down the line, hopefully they'll be sleeping well at night and so will I, which is when I won't be waking up and I'll need treatment again.

And what about those? What's your point? I am clearly failing to see the connection between those and Botox I get because I wake with a bloody mouth otherwise.

Gileswithachainsaw Said so well! I suppose the rest of us are simply performance parenting - can't be because we want to do what we think is best for our little ones, right?

You've been rumbled op. Chemical peel?! Yes of course the Botox is for 'medical' reasons!

blush my point is you are in a blissful prebirth bubble of ignoranceinnocence where all 8 month olds sleep through, pumping and someone else feeding works and you get "downtime" with a new born.
As the old military saying goes "no plan survives contact with the enemy." FWIW mine slept through from a few weeks old but would not take a bottle/cup until he was over a year old so every single feed came from me. In short you really have no idea how the next year or so will turn out and high ideals are fine in theory but rarely work out how you think they will.

I've decided to get a chemical peel because my skin hasn't been great during my pregnancy. Are you actually making a leaping assumption to say because I thought of getting a peel, my Botox is cosmetic? It literally serves no visual purpose at all.

Wait til you read a competative eating thread blush

Despite the obesity epidemic it would seem the entire of MN have kids who drink 6 pints of milk a day, snack continuously and devour two 8oz steaks three helpings of wedges and a bucket of salad every mealtime and still need their clothes taken in as they hang off them

I think we all look back and cringe a bit at how extreme we were at times with out babies and toddlers but I think it's nice to see people actually care. Inevitabley standards do "slip" as they get older. But that's just part if finding that happy medium it's not giving up. It's not either kale salads and organic guinea fowl or red bull and a big Mac.

It's something inbetween. I don't get the ridicule I really dont. However it works out I think it's great that people care about things enough to look at a nursery menu

I also think that people here are being deliberately dim. The same menu can be made appallingly or lovely it's all depends on the set up. And if school dinners are anything to go by standards can be really low and still adhere to guidelines.

The kind of carbs you are talking about are great for adults but they are very high in fibre and little children can't deal with too much as it fills them up too much and they can therefore lack calories. Also google toddler diarrhoea.

One of my baby cookbooks ( River Cottage Baby and toddler) advises making bread half white half whole meal for this reason.
You are sounding a little over influenced by clean eating/ Deliciously Ella type thinking and for tiny children this definitely isn't wise.

Quorn is quite high in salt...too high for young children to eat in regular quantities IMO. I think they should have put more effort in to the vegetarian options but the meat options look great to me.

Grumble totally agree that I may be idealistic, but I am lucky and have lots of support. My partner doesn't have to work except for one day a week. I have a lot of family to help out, as well as help during the night if we feel we need it in the first few months. We'll see how much time I have at the end of the day, but I'm not at all worried about the first few months. With a ratio of three adults to one baby 24/7 hopefully I can survive.

It's important to remember to blush that you will never win here.

If you posted your parents were feeding your kid too much crap you would be told to pay for the childcare where you would have more say. But if you have a problem with a child minder feeding them orange food three nights out if five or abnursey serving a highly processed or uninteresting or generally a bit rubbish a menu then you are singling that child out and causing issues etc

I also think that these guidelines everyone is so ok with are absolute rubbish. The whole change for life thing that advises all this low fat sweetener laden stuff which is far worse for you than the original product and is also sponsored by the very people manufacturing the substitutes, let's not pretend that it's really done with the health of people in mind.

I was disgusted by the shite they were feeding kids at our nursery, and on top of that a pudding each day. Bought sausage rolls, bought garlic bread, baked beans CANNED SHIT'PASTA'. I wouldn't feed that to a dog.

Your menu looks better than ours was was except for the sugary pudding each day. Children do need a lot of carbs as they expend so much energy but they do NOT need added sugar.

We also cook everything from scratch. Locally produced organic vegetables and meat; grains, legumes, homemade bread, organic milk and cheese etc. Yes I was disgusted too by the amount of processed food given to the kids but we are in England and I think this is how most people eat?!

Just tell them the things you absolutely draw the line at and request an alternative. Tell them no pudding, you want the child to be given some cheese or fruit instead.

Ignore GrumbleBumble, she's just a jealous troll, whose kids probably live on chips. Stick to your ideals, giving your kids a taste for good food is a precious gift and one of the best things you can do for them. You don't need a ton of support to raise them to love vegetables! Jesus, kids will eat whatever they're raised on. Mine adores bitter radicchio, spinach, olives, blue cheese - everything!
Nursery and school meals a shite but as long as you raise them on the good stuff at home and limit sugar they get, they'll grow up healthy with a good attitude to food.