My husband has lost the plot !!

[MyWonderfulbutcrazyHusband]

Ok, so hear me out here!!!

In my opinion, DCs (6 and 4) are pretty healthy kids! They exercise a LOT and their diet is, I think, pretty ok!

Example

Breakfast - weetabix with fromage frais, honey and grapes

Snack - milk and a some fruit (or occasionally Pom bears or a 'YoYo' bar for a treat!!)

Lunch - sanwiches with cucumber slices and carrot sticks

Snack - banana or raisins

Dinner - tomato pasta or spaghetti bolognaise or something like that! With veg sticks

So ... my (usually amazing, very sane, very sensible and completely gorgeous lovely he's reading this!!) DH said tonight he thinks the children have too much sugar and we need to cut out the fromage frais and honey in the mornings?

I think ... 'well at least they don't scoff chocolate, don't eat takeaways, and they deserve at least something they like (life is too short to cut out everything, right?)'

So - what do you think!?

Husband is reading this! So please tell him to leave their breakfast alone! They are good, healthy, sporty kids and a fromage frais in the morning won't kill them!?

(Sadly, I am prepared to be told IABU, but you do realise DH will not let me forget it!!)

The food companies have brainwashed us by telling us how delicious processed food is for several decades to it will be difficult to wean ourselves off it.

Very true.

We're on a mission to reduce processed food - I have two skinny teenage boys who need fuckloads of calories, so it's tempered by pragmatism. I buy them a bit of junk and toilet roll etc on Ocado, but everything else I have delivered weekly from a farmer cooperative. It's been really good fun.

@InertPotato

How do you make yoghurt? We make our own goats cheese but I've never though about doing yoghurt!!

I had a healthy dinner once. My crispy pancake was served with peas
Hark at me being a seed munching veggie now

Fucksake. That diet is a lot better than lots of children’s. MN is absolutely mental when talking about food and sugar in particular.
When I read the op I wondered how long it’d Ben before someone recommended the Lidl Greek yogurt. And I wasn’t disappointed. You lot are bloody obsessed with Lidl buckets of Greek yogurt. It’s no different to any other!

Other than honey, seems fine. I’d get in one more portion of veg though

Upthread someone posted...

**Love these threads grin

I have no concerns about my DC's diet. Today the 12 yo ate

*2 slices of wholemeal toast with butter and marmite**
A ham wrap, a bag of crisps, a sausage roll (homemade grin) and a cereal bar
4 free range scrambled eggs from our own rescue hens, 2 slices of bacon, baked beans, wholemeal toast and butter
Toast and butter and hot chocolate.

Pick it apart folks. Its worthy, yet shite

Now that really is shite. Not one single bit of fruit of veg.

We're on a mission to reduce processed food

Once you start reducing processed food, I found that you don't want to go back.

My husband used to love processed food and ate it for decades (much more than I did). He said the other day that he doesn't know how he used to eat it as it just wouldn't appeal to him now.

If we didn't like non-processed food then we would go back to eating processed food, but we actually prefer it.

We do go out for a meal two or three times a month when we will eat what we want, but even then, we tend to go for as little processed food as possible because we prefer it.

We wil still have sweet things like chocolate and cakes a few times a month, but not every day like we used to. We look forward to the days we are going to have them and so don't feel deprived.

The other reason I want to cut down on processed food is because I will be going through the menopause soon and so want to eat as healthily as possible.

@ILoveAllRainbows
Where I come from, poor people's food would have been pasta with ground nuts or poppy seeds with honey or sugar or jam.
OMG, so many carbs!!!! But that was normal, because it was calories, could be made in bulks and it filled their stomachs and provided energy.
People go totally overboard with carbs, sugar or fat or whatever else.
Cut processed shit and you will eat much healthier.

OP - your DH has gone completely bananas (I hope that's not too much sugar for him). That diet is completely OK, tasty and it will provide kids what they need.
I also envy him because I would like to have the time to scrutinise my family meals more. As such, I am happy when DD eats her porridge with milk and maple syrup.

I'd say they don't need sweetened fromagr frais and honey with the weetabix. I stopped buying petit filous when I realised it had 1 teaspoon of sugar in a tiny pot. They now have plain yoghurt with jam or honey,. I know that's sugar but I can mix 1 tsp into 150g and it halves the sugar intake and is plenty sweet enough. If only I could be so worried about my own diet!

ILoveAllRainbows - "Her children should be told that porridge or shredded wheat is better than Weetabix" ok you tell OP that then and I hope it makes you feel better. Like I said earlier, absolutely joyless.

fiffyyou use yoghurt as a starter, mix it I to either boiled and cooled milk or long life milk. I have a yoghurt maker that warms up but I think you can do it in a flask. I stopped doing it because I could buy a big tub of yoghurt cheaper than the long life milk and save the hassle

@ Clandestino

Where I come from, poor people's food would have been pasta with ground nuts

In the 1980s and 1990s we were told that carbs were good for us and all fat (even fat we now know is good fat) was bad for us.

It is hardly surprising that we don't know what to eat for the best.

The important thing is to reduce processed food as much as possible.

It's not really a crazy suggestion. Weetabix with honey, nuts and some kind of fruit is a frequent breakfast for 9 year old DD. She wouldn't need a sugary yogurt on top of that.

Grapes are ok but they do have a lot of sugar compared with other fruit. She might have them with her lunch sometimes with a sandwich. It's really just the sugary yogurt with honey, a sugary fruit all at once which is a lot of sugar at once. Other than that I think they have a great diet and you are doing really well.

@QueenieMum

"Her children should be told that porridge or shredded wheat is better than Weetabix" ok you tell OP that then and I hope it makes you feel better. Like I said earlier, absolutely joyless.

I don't really understand the point you are making. What is wrong with telling the children that? They are probably too young to eat shredded wheat, but when they get older, they should try it and see if they like it.

What is joyless about shredded wheat? I used to love it when I ate it.

I meant bitesize shredded wheat (I can't eat the large shredded wheat).

The problem with obesity in this country is not because kids are eating too much fruit for God's sake.

Do your children get enough exercise?
Do they clean their teeth twice a day?
Is their diet balanced?
Do they avoid fizzy drinks and not too much fruit juice?
If so then you're doing well and that diet you describe is going to do little harm.

I've not read the thread but I agree with your DH that breakfast is too sugary. It's the fromage frais that kills it - loaded with refined sugar.

Why not just switch to natural yoghurt on top of the weetabix and add fruit and reduce the amount of honey (which is still sugar).

If you like eating cardboard I guess shredded wheat would taste ok. Both it and weetabix are processed cereal though, I don't get why one is better than the other - the amount of sugar in a bowl of two Weetabix is about 1.6g!!! It's my third post on sodding Weetabix but I'm still totally boggled by the ridiculous idea that it's high sugar.

What is the actual sugar intake of that? Only once you’ve answered that question can you determine if they are consuming too much sugar.

OP this type of thread on MN always attracts of lot of posters who probably have some type of eating disorder.

Like the OP's husband.

For all the 'carb high' people, OP said dinner changes, so I'm assuming protein intake changes from day to day. As it does with all of us, you have good days and bad days and then you freak out and go super healthy. (OP I'd be in the good camp for your example, looks fine!) I'd also tell people to go look at the Simpsons where Marge hosts the mummy toddler group to take its commentary on food control gone mad!!!

Why are people saying you even need yogurt on top of a Weetabix? Milk and yogurt together? Makes my stomach curdle slightly.

The processing that Weetabix has been through is to make the wheat into a convenient size and shape for a breakfast food. It's rather less processed that your average slice of bread.

Actualpuffins

I ADORE natural yoghurt on weetsbix with milk. Add blueberries and pomegranate and I'm in heaven. Yummy.

"Eat food your grandparents would recognise"

Cool! I'm sorted then! My grandad lived on bloody steak and deep fried chips!

Sounds fine but why do they have fromage frai with their wheetabix instead of milk?

I'd give them more cheese.

You lot are bloody obsessed with Lidl buckets of Greek yogurt. It’s no different to any other!

Ha! Labrat . Mebbe it’s the bucket, but my 2 DC disagree. Mind you, DC2 went off it in favour of skyr recently. Weirdo.