To think this is a good enough dinner..

[cutthegraa]

Okay, so dinner for the family was (6 year old and toddler);

• unlimited homemade lentil soup
• unlimited warm crusty bread and butter
• unlimited cooked ham

So the 6 year old had 2 big bowls, lots of shredded ham added and few bits of bread and butter

I think that's a perfectly good dinner for a school night (especially given I work)

MIL thinks it's not enough at all....AIBU?

I don't think soup is a meal and I don't like lentils

A - imagine your 'meal'. Pop it in a blender. Switch on. You get Soup. It's a meal, in liquid form.
B - lentils are just a type of legume. Just because you do not like them does not make them a non-nutritious item of food. They are full of fibre and protein.

Is MIL the sort that thinks they need meat and three veg every single night?

Ignis meat and three veg. Ham, onions, carrots and lentils. Plus carbs in the bread. It is perfect.

It is meat and three veg...

Soup is a meal!

It's fine, sounds very nice. I sometimes make a veg soup for tea with lots of bread and butter and it's perfectly fine as a main meal.

Ooh I fancy lentil soup now.

Sounds like a perfectly balanced meal, and the children could have as much as they needed to fill them up.

Sounds lovely. Very healthy & filling.

@cutthegraa thank you

Yum!
Can we have the recipe please, or a link to the book?

Sounds great. I want it!

Sounds nice, I might make some this weekend.

Do you get on with the MIL?

It sounds good to me. I'd finish with fruit and yogurt but that's because I really push the 5 fruit and veg thing.

It's fine for a light meal. I'd assume they'd had a main meal at lunchtime.

Maybe your MIL is one of those people who think if it's not meat, potato and veg then it's not a proper dinner. My folks are like that and I can see them raising an eyebrow at many of our meals.

In autumn/winter we usually have one night a week where dinner is home made soup and toasted sandwiches. Real comfort food on a cold evening, we love it!

Of course it's fine for a main meal. And it sounds delicious

MiL should shut up. That sounds like a great meal. I'd eat it now.

Of course it's fine - protein, carbs, veg and liquid.

Was your MIL there for dinner? I'm wondering why she thinks it's her place to comment.

It's fine!

I had lentil and bacon soup for lunch (albeit out of a can!)

What was MIL's complaint?

My mum would be about it but then she is very set in her ways about food.

Soup is a lunch dish, no matter how much there is or what is in it, lunch only.

Dinner should conain meat, veggies, carbs and a sauce....7 times out of 10 that means meat, veg, spuds and gravy but other things are ok as long as they have all of the above (she serves spag bol with brocolli and carrots on the side).

I think its fine and is far better than the iceland southern fried drumsticks and curly fries we are having tonight

Sounds a) amazing and b) a lot for a 6 yo!

MIL probably has that weird mindset of soup being for invalids or not hearty

Is MIL perhaps on the large side (just wondering if she over eats, if she considers that not enough for a 6 year old)?

Sounds like plenty for an adult let alone a child. Ignore her.

Healthy and delicious.