To take the kids to IKEA for lunch/dinner

[Eastie77Returns]

Are the lunch options at IKEA viewed as unhealthy? We don't have a fully functioning kitchen at the moment (renovation work) so if I want to give the kids a hot meal we have to order takeaway or eat out. We live 10mins from IKEA and the kids love the food so I've taken them a few times now (maybe once or twice a week over the last 3 weeks).

In a group chat one of my friends suggested it was really unhealthy and her kids only go there as a treat once every few months as "it's basically McDonalds with a Swedish flag"?!. They occasionally have meatballs or the Salmon with chips, don't ever have the desserts as the cakes seem quite heavy and drink water or one of the Pip Smoothies.

I thought this was all okay but am now second guessing myself!

They won't die eating IKEA

Also people who have to eat out for a week end up hating it.

@HelloHeathcliffeItsMe Potatoes are a plant, so chips count 😆

I used to work for IKEA and ate three meals a day there for free.

There's a salad bar, veg and plenty of fruit.

You think £1.50 for a kids meal including drink is expensive?

Feed your kids what you can when you can.

I wouldn’t hesitate to feed them McDonald’s for a week do that was the only option.

Children need to be fed and you can only do that by obtaining food

@Floralnomad she had no suggestions aside from Daylesford meals (which I think require heating up so no good for us), seem to cost a fortune and are not really DC friendly.

Did she invite you over for a home cooked meal as part of her speech? No? She has no opinion worth listening to on this then.

nothing wrong with the ikea offerings and certainly won’t cause lifelong health problems having consumed it frequently for a couple of weeks.

That’s just useless then

get yourself down to ikea and let her sit with her judgey pant wedgie.

Just ignore her. Honestly, ignore anyone who makes comments like this about what you or your kids eat. They're getting fed. Some people can't put food on the table at the moment and competitive mummying needs to quite frankly fuck off.

I once spent over a month eating every meal in different Ikeas across Europe 😂I lived to tell the tale. There are plenty of healthy options. TBF, one of our 20+ group did get constipation but Ikea sell prune yoghurts, which cured that 😂

TBH, Maccys twice a week until your kitchen is useable wouldn't kill your kids either.

For anyone who doesn't know, Ikea are offering kids a hot meal, a soft drink, jelly and a piece of fruit for 95p - £1.50 during the school holidays. I don't work for them BTW!

Your 'friend' is being a food snob.

Ikea restaurants are healthier than Maccers, for sure.

Your friend is being a judgemental busybody. You are having work done; you are currently unable to cook at home. You are feeding your children a meal that you can afford, and they enjoy/will eat.

Your children are not starving (and the work won't last forever). I don't see what the problem is.

I absolutely can't see a problem treating them to a meal in IKEA a couple of times a week whilst you have renovation work done at home. No, not all the choices are healthy but you still have to feed your children. You could opt for ready-made sandwiches and salads from shops and supermarkets but they're not always healthy choices either and I could see that kids especially may get bored of them quickly.

Don't feel guilty for feeding your children. Do what you have to do.

The food is so cheap at IKEA and there are plenty of reasonably healthy options.

The food was all oven cooked, not fried BTW, when I did my European Ikea tour 😂Although some of it is part cooked so it is possible it was fried.

My kids have fish fingers, mash and peas when they go to ikea, as far as I can tell nothing in the meal is deep fried. Seems fine to me.

You can probably get 3 meals at Ikea for the price of one meal at Nando’s , which is vastly overpriced for what it is .

I love an IKEA meal! We had our kitchen done a few years ago and ate at wetherspoons, the chippy and dominos on repeat so I'd say you're making much better choices than I did. It was a long three weeks.

Now I want sodding IKEA meatballs and we're miles away. Thanks OP.

Just for that... IKEA food is so unhealthy it will follow your children home and make them more unhealthy later <sulks>

Overpriced?! 😆

We live ten mins from Ikea and go there once or twice a month when we can't be bothered cooking. It's so quick and cheap.

If we didn't live so far away from one we'd be having Ikea when our kitchen is done. I love Ikea food! As we don't DD will have a few weeks of crap (chip shop, McD etc) when she is at home (but she goes to nursery too so they will feed her real food). I really won't lose sleep over a few weeks of excessive chips.

We have invested in a combi microwave though so we will have small oven capacity for the kitchen revamp which will help. I recommend one of those just so you can have something nice yourself.

Even 3 months of a less than ideal diet won't do long term harm. Some people have no perspective.

Really? A whole chicken at Nandos feeds 4. It cost us £16 for fish and chips and drinks for 2.

chicken at Nandos : £13

Sorry about that😂 If it’s any consolation our local one is closing next month (everyone around here is up in arms about it) and the next closest one is also miles away from us

@chesirecat99 your Euro tour sounds epic! Any interesting regional variations or is it the same menu everywhere? I find the country specific McDonald menus fascinating.