To not know what exactly passes as a healthy lunch for a 5 year old?

[DragginBallsEEEE]

Just reading another thread and opinions are mixed on whether OPs lunch is ok or too much which has made me question my own DDs lunch. I will say that I grew up quite poor and getting groceries was the highlight of my week and as such I am now an adult who is overweight so definitely don't have the best relationship with food and my children are larger than their peers. I don't deny them food and they do snack on things like fruit and yogurt or sliced meats but do limit their junk food and presently don't buy anything other than wotsits/quavers and fibre one bars as junk.

DD is 5 and on the heavy side. On a typical day for school lunch I will give her:

Either a ham thin OR cold pasta with ham chopped through it.
A banana or handful of grapes.
A cheesestring
A small yogurt/frube or custard pot.
A bottle of water or on the odd occasion apple juice.

I thought this was perfectly fine but after seeing replies on the other thread I am wondering if I should change what I give her. She eats the whole lot most days. She doesn't eat salad or veg which is frustrating but will eat fruit.

So AIBU to be worried about what I am giving her or does it sound ok? What do your lower primary aged children have?

I'd just give either the yogurt OR the cheese string, doesn't need both. Otherwise it looks fine.

I’d take out a dairy option and maybe add some veg sticks like carrot or cucumber. Change the pasta to whole meal if not already and I’d not give a custard pot at all ever.

Have a look at the yoghurt and custard pots, some are so full of sugar that they’re a sweet rather than a nutritious part of a meal. As an alternative, choose a low sugar one, or you can just stir some jam or fruit into plain yoghurt and put it in a little Tupperware-type pot. Even if I add sugar myself, it’d still be healthier than many bought ones.

A typical lunch for mine would be a mini wrap, chicken breast, pepper/carrot/cucumber:cherry tomatoes(at least two of these), a portion of fruit and 1/2 bag of crisps or a cheese.

It's totally fine and what loads of other 5 year olds have.

When you say that she is on the heavy side, do you mean she is obese ? Do you know what weight she is ? Does she wear clothes for her age group or do you have to get bigger sizes ?
What does she have for her other meals ? Are her portion sizes age appropriate?
And how much energetic exercise does she get every day ?

My 5 year old DD’s picnic box last weekend had:

Chopped cucumber, carrot & pepper
1 cream cheese sandwich (1 x slice of brown bread, plain cream cheese)
1 small pot of plain yoghurt
Chopped grapes & apple slices
1 fig roll

She also likes:
Hummus
Bread sticks
2 or 3 crackers with a couple of slices of cheese
Peanut butter sandwich
Chopped up sausage
Cold, home made potato wedges
Cold pasta
Dried apricots
Home made energy ball/ bar (like nakd bars)
Berries
Oatcakes
Mini cheddars
Smoothie

She won’t eat bloody peas though, the most inoffensive vegetable known to man.....😀

Ham isn't healthy
Cheese fine
Yogurt no, a small bit of natural yogurt , unsweetened, with some berries or honey would be better
Crisps not healthy and unnecessary, kids don't need treats, food shouldn't be used as a treat anyway
Fibre one full of sugar
Apple juice unnecessary

Glad you are sorting this out now OP. I think lots of us were brought up to think this is a healthy diet (myself included) but it really isn't. Although I think a lot of children eat this way, but that doesn't make it healthy. There are some good books out there on basic nutrition, have a look at the Mediterranean diet, known to be one of the healthiest according to science research etc.

Good luck op

Sorry I misread "junk" as treats. Same thing though, kids don't need junk, no one does. Save it for when there's totally no other option, eg an occasional take away / food out, travelling / when you have the flu. Not definitely not for everyday access

I don't think it's particularly unhealthy but if you're worried exchange the cheese string for a piece of cheese (less processed) and make sure the yogurt is not sweetened.

Mine have a sandwich, a pot of veg crudités, a piece of fruit and two small biscuits or crisps. They all have a big snack after school. Mine seem to eat loads more than people say on here but are all very slim. We are a very active family but I was under the impression that diet was much more contributory to weight than exercise?

Maybe swap the yoghurt for chopped cherry tomatoes or cucumber. I know you said she doesn't eat veg but she might if you keep trying. I think overall it's fine though. My Dd doesn't take a healthy packed lunch because she won't eat it but she has a healthy breakfast and dinner. She is thin though which is probably why the school hasn't said anything. What does she eat typically in a day?

So interesting I constantly see kids being fed endless fruit and raisins which in my mind are packed when sugar and not good. Or smoothies which are jacked full Of sugar. Or squash / even no added sugar squash does have sugar and can't be good. Oh and any flavoured yoghurts aren't good.

Hi @DragginBallsEEEE - my DD would have eaten all that but she's insanely tall and active so never carries extra weight. What you describe is only unacceptable by Mumsnet standards, however a five year shouldn't be overweight- I'd look at her activity levels.

LovingLola..... not obese but definitely bigger than the majority of children in her year, bar 3 or 4 who I suspect are in the obese range. She's in 6-7 age clothes which isn't ideal. She's also a good bit taller than her classmates but DP and our older children are all taller too. I will honestly say that she has been fatter and we have been upping exercise and changing food habits but I do still think we have some problem areas (like cheese and fucking chicken nuggets!!) that still need addressed and wondered if the lunch was one of them.

There is nothing wrong with the lunch you're giving your child. This is MN, this thread will be awash very shortly, with people alleging they give their poppets hummus and pitta dips, hand stuffed olives rolled in vine leaves, quinoa pots. I have worked in state schools and private schools, primary and secondary. No one ever in the history of school life has ever sent Little Johnny in with that . He would be ridiculed.

My nearly 5 year old would eat similar - he is a very healthy weight. I don't think lunch is the issue.

Good grief. My DD nearly 6 has a wrap or a bagel or a thin with ham and laughing cow triangle (no butter), cucumber and pepper, tube yoghurt, small amount of cheese, fruit and a small treat.
She's tall and muscular but no fat on her at all. She usually eats it all. I can't imagine choosing either cheese or yoghurt, or withdrawing the little treat. Probably because there's no need.

Ham is unhealthy as a regular food. Cheese strings and yoghurt totally unnecessary, if it’s a petit filous it’s full of sugar, and if she must have cheese then I’d insist on a chunk of non-processed. I think a good way to start healthier food relationships is to stick to unprocessed foods as close to their original form as possible. If my kids refused veg they wouldn’t get quavers or yoghurts or other snacks and treats really. I agree it’s hard to know what’s for the best sometimes, and if they have packed lunch then they compare and complain. My kids say sometimes that so and so has coco pops for breakfast, and are allowed to play fortnite and why can’t they and why everything... they just can’t. Don’t bow to perceived school peer pressure, and also get the veg increased.

If she’s overweight then I’d ditch the yoghurt pot and cheese string and just give a small square of cheese.

Why not take her to nurse and find out if she's overweight? They will have advice too. What does she have for breakfast? That's easy to be unhealthy but easy to change. Eg. swap cereals or toast with sugar for porridge / Weetabix / bitesize shredded wheat and fruit?

My son ate Marmite sarnie, cheese string, Muller drink thing and crisps every single school day from the day he started reception until the day he left yr6.

He's a tall, lean strapping teenager now who fills his face with anything quite frankly. He eats a nice healthy cooked meal at home then fills up on crap when he's out 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think we are far too hung up on this stuff. As long as the weekly diet overall is balanced, and they have plenty of exercise, then none of this matters.

Thanks everyone for the advice, it really is good to see what other people think is healthy as, as I said, I thought what she was getting was quite good but there are definitely things I can change for her. She will try new things which is half the battle so I need to be more persistent with the veg side of things and as I have started cooking from scratch recently I can sneak in some veg to the things she likes.

What's wrong with ham or custard ffs?

Totally agree with @thewaronpeace

Treats just aren't necessary and are setting children up for a lifetime of treats everyday. No one needs so much sugar and salt everyday, treats have no nutritional value