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?

Looks fine to me. I'm thoroughly impressed with the menu at my DS's nursery which is a bit more varied than yours I'd say. This week the main meals are:

• fish cakes, new potatoes, peas and sweet corn
• spiced lamb casserole with cabbage and rice
• pork sausage and bean hot pot with carrot, swede and potato mash
• spaghetti bolognese with green beans and carrots
• chicken potato layer pie with carrots and broccoli

Pudding every day with lunch (not tea) but some days it's just yoghurt or fruit, traditional sponge type puddings are only twice a week. DS is in the baby room and I asked for him to just have fruit and yoghurt every day for now.

As a PP picked up on I have to also wonder if the OP's Ds is eating solids yet?
I would love to know how old he is and when he first developed a love of salad of pumpkin and leafy green vegetables?

It's a matter of time before the lad is going through loaves of white bread, jam, and cereal, so enjoy the control while it lasts :)

Why is the veggie option quorn every day? That's lazy and unimaginative. There is beef 3 days running in week 2, 5 days out of 10 no veg or salad is served with the meal, and why have pasta and garlic bread, rice and wraps? And pudding every day. I don't think much of it.

We have to cater to the majority and we can't really add too much spice or be too adventurous or the kids won't even try it.

Even with pasta bolognaise we will always get a few who will only eat plain pasta with grated cheese.

We had a kid recently who would not eat any fruit or veg. No allergies or intolerance, just reckoned he would be sick. He was fine with the veg on the pizza I made though 😁

It's actually very rewarding when you do manage to persuade the fussy eaters to try something new and they come back for seconds.

Christ, when I were a lass we were given green mint custard on unidentified sponge.

Still, nowt like a food judging thread to get MN going!

I put peppers, tomatoes, celery, carrots and onions into my bolognaise. It gets slow cooked so you can't see the veg. It's an easy way to get it into the kids.

Oh OP. Ignoring for a moment your massive boasting (not even masquerading as stealth-boasting either! ), YABVVVU by thinking this menu is 'appalling' and, well, just plain uninformed about infant nutrition in the real world.

As PPs have all said: kids need a full range of foods, with a big emphasis on healthy complex carbs (pittas/pasta/rice/couscous/spuds/sweet potatoes/occasional chips) and full-fat sources of protein and calcium such as meat/yoghurt/quorn/oily fish/cheese/custard/eggs/fromage frais etc.

So, your nursery menu looks both fine and actually better than most.

Or, if you feel your way is better, you could send your DC with a plant-based packed lunch poor sod .

Can anyone explain to me why I can never view text or diagrams that a poster has uploaded? I can see it's there but when I expand to read it is totally out of focus. I need to know what is on this menu!! 😬

We have to cater to the majority and we can't really add too much spice or be too adventurous or the kids won't even try it

Possible without resorting to a rick.load of quorn? and fish with rice? That's what they feed sick cats in the vets when they can't manage proper food

I think my dinners look quite appetising

I agree re the quorn but you have to provide a balanced diet including protein. Only about 5% of our guests are veggie though.

Crispbutty - the nurseries I know of have a proper cook, cook from scratch etc but with frozen mince, value chicken, battery eggs, value spaghetti hoops for tea. Most private nurseries try to pay the minimum possible for staff and food (though I don't doubt there is the odd exception).

Looks nice to me. Could have a little more veg but not the end of the world.

I think your obsession over a child's diet like this is just a little over the top if I'm honest. Are you going to be the parent who under dietary requirements for school trips writes and extensive non medical list?

I think by the time your DC gets to typical nursery age around 2yo you will be jumping around with delight if he's willing to eat such a variety! I know I would have been - and pre 18 months they ate everything - oh what a smug twat I felt when they were tucking in to sardines and cucumber at 13 months - a year later they only liked white toast, baked beans and peas.

Don't sweat it OP - it won't be long until he samples the contents of his nappy - that was a day which brought perspective to me!!!

We have a tight budget which again determines the variety on the menu but we also use local suppliers for fresh meat, veg and eggs. I wouldn't be happy using poor quality produce. Obviously I can only speak for my place of work but it also means it can and should be done by all.

I eat a mostly plant based diet too, with some fish, so I am clearly all for that! But a very low carb, low fat diet isn't suitable for small children. Children aged 1-3 need 40% of their calories from fat, veggies soups and ratatouille whilst yum, won't cut it! Get the avocados, nut butters etc in. There is also nothing wrong with potatoes and rice - starch is the best source of energy for human bodies. Lumping them in with cookie as 'carbs' completely ignores the nutritional variance in carb sources.
This menu is a bit carb heavy, but is generally fine.

Am I the only one wondering where on earth you find schools with sushi bars.... (assuming you're in the UK, obvs)

I think there is too much pudding, but I wouldn't mind otherwise. But why so much sugary crap on a nursery menu!? Surely most children don't eat like that at home! My DD goes to a pre school with no kitchen, so it's packed lunches only, and I am glad.

"Get the avocados, nut butters etc in"

We are a nut free site. And I am sure most other kitchens that cater for groups of children will be. Nothing we cook has nuts of any sort in it. It's another of the reasons we cook completely from scratch, even snacks and cakes, to stop the risk of cross contamination.

So the only carbs you want them to eat are plant based?
I really think you need to have a read up on the nutritional requirements of young children op.

Sushi bar??
Obviously private school then.
The best we got back in the day was cheese and crackers and they were the highlight of the day. And turkey twizzlers. I miss those

Looks totally normal. Recommend home based childcare and home schooling if you want to exclusively keep to such a restrictive diet forever!

The closest I got to sushi was a raw fish finger and cold rice pudding.. schools dinners of the 1970's were very basic!

When I was in kindergarten we used to have pizza parties. I used to love those... I wonder whether they still do that.