To give my DDs this for dinner? Pic attached

[EverythingsEasy]

I know it’s nothing bad on their plate but it’s not a hot meal and i don’t know much about nutrition. I know there is obviously veg, whole meal bread which i know is better. Then tuna which I’m sure is healthy and olives etc.

My DDs love this sort of meal with lots of different things on their plate and ask me to give them this often but I feel lazy giving them something that hardly requires any prep.

Is this nutritious enough for an evening meal?

YABU - I shouldn’t be giving them that for dinner

YANBU - it’s perfectly fine

Thanks so much for all the reassurance. I won’t feel so guilty next time 😆 I’ll also look into the salt content etc and bare that in mind.

It is fine. I wish mine would eat that. My DD would only eat the cucumber and bread. My DS would scream and not eat any of it because there is cucumber, tomato etc on the plate.

After reading the ploughman's lunch thread on here my three (13, 10 and 7) got given a Ploughman's lunch for dinner yesterday. They thoroughly enjoyed them.

DD2 would have existed solely upon one hot meal a week (roast chicken or gammon, on salad in summer) and the rest of the time would have happily had Sushi and Bitzers (Bits of this and bits of that).

I said YABU because:

1: hot food. Do you have central heating or other means to keep your house and its contents warm? If so, hot food isn’t necessary. Give them some hot milk before bed if you to provide warm and fuzzies

2: that’s a lot of food for a 6yo or a 3yo. But then I don’t know what else they’ve eaten today, so may be totally fine

3: hummus AND tuna AND ham is too much protein imo, pasta AND bread is too many carbs imo, for children that age.

That said, it’s not a Happy Meal, and the variety of veg and flavours and textures is great. Also my children eat like pigeons despite me best efforts so my portion sizing may be off.

I would cry with happiness of my children would eat half the things on that plate

That is totally something l would give my DD aged 8

I’m surprised that some have said this is too big a portion for those ages. Half a slice of bread and a handful of cooked pasta. A heaped tablespoon of tuna mayo & sweetcorn. One slice of wafer thin ham and veg and hummus. Is this really too much? I’m happy to accept it is and would appreciate advice on what to cut down. Both my DD’s did finish their meals but I suppose that doesn’t mean to say I didn’t over feed them.

Ham is classed as a group 1 carcinogen, according to the World Health Organisation.

I'm not being horrible, I do think people have this old fashioned but well meaning perception of cold cuts/cured meat as being "good for you" because a bunch of us grew up with the idea of a ham salad as the 'healthy option'.

But the latest evidence would point to it not being a good thing to risk giving to your children.

So strange to think the portion sizes are small, 'too many carbs', is that how people think and approach childrens' diets??

My boys loved dinners like that that, we called them 'bits and pieces tea'

As a one off, not a problem.

It looks great :
Nothing wrong with it .
My daughter ( 10) loves tuna and pasta and salad :
She had spicy chicken nuggets with cucumber for her dinner then a apple and a a bit later she had 2 slices of pizza and a choc ice then a bowl of cereal before bed and she always drinks water .

There are children starving in the world and don’t even have clean water to drink .
So anybody who has anything negative to say should think about this.

@avamiah that’s a rather ridiculous comparison to make isn’t it? Would it be justifiable to give a kid a happy meal for every meal because it’s better than a kid in another country not having access to clean water?

How's it a stealth boast

A picture of a tuna salad with hummus and wholemeal bread and the faux 'i don't know much about nutrition' comments.

everyone knows the basics about nutrition and what is and isn't healthy. Whether or not this translates into what people actually eats depends on their willpower in rejecting what is often more palatable and easier to prepare food.

No-one eats fast food or other junk because they don't know that it's healthier to eat lots of veg, lean protein and wholegrains and limit sugar and processed food, more that they want to eat pizza, chips, burgers etc instead of healthier options.

My step daughter has what's known as a picky plate every night. She never ever eats with the family though. And doesn't use cutlery. She is 12!

I wish she would be a bit more adventurous but food wise it's doing no harm. From a social aspect (for her) its not great. Nothing to do with me though so I no longer get involved!

@KatherineJaneway why as a one off? . It's not a bowl of ice cream, covered in melted mars bars

My DC both loved "mini platters" like these when they were little. In fact, I might do this for lunch today. They're teenagers now but I bet they'd still like it...

It looks appetising and healthy.

I make myself meals like this all the time, sometimes I add some coleslaw, a small slice of quiche or a left over sausage.

That’s what my kids used to call a ‘picky tea’ - they loved having stuff like that and have grown into perfectly healthy teens. Looks great to me :-)

Mine are in their 20s now and are still happy with a plate that looks like that, although obviously bigger now.

I'm interested in why you thought that today? Given that you have had 6yrs of feeding your child/ren ?

Leftovers, delicious.

Way too many carbs and way too little quality proteins. I'm sorry, but tinned tuna and processed meat is not healthy in any way, shape or form. I disagree with everyone that this meal is good for children. Only the vegetables are good. I would give kids much less pasta and bread, and give them more proteins in form of real meat. Like fresh chicken, fish, beef and so on.