AIBU to think a tomato is not a sufficient breakfast?

[TomatoBrain]

DD 10 is not one for eating much when she's just woken up. Being back at school is a slight issue as she needs to leave at 710. To have a chance of eating something she needs to be up at 630. This morning she took a tomato for breakfast. I've just noticed she put toast in the toaster but didn't take it out.

That means for breakfast today she has had one tomato and 100ml of energy milk. She's taken a cereal bar (20g) and water (which she probably won't drink) for break time. Do you think this enough food to power a 10 year old through 5 lessons this morning at school?

I think is isn't enough (YANBU) but at am a loss to know how to get her to eat more. As you can see, I let her have free choice in the mornings just so that she eats something. YABU what she ate is fine.

But as pp says, anything "browned",like toast, is also a carcinogen. You can't avoid them all.

I have a 12 yr old DD and I'm also constantly trying to get her to eat earlier in the day but generally it's a lost cause. She just doesn't want to eat much for a couple of hours after she's gotten up.

I think your DD's diet sounds fine. A fairly light breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch at home, snack after school and then dinner. As long as she's not losing weight and what she's eating is healthy/balanced, I think that sounds OK.

I do sneak in extra calories for my DD wherever I can - an extra slice of chicken in a sandwich etc, isotonic sports drinks, full fat yoghurts. I think the energy milk sounds like a good idea in lieu of actually eating something heavier.

In fairness, I'm a terrible eater first thing in the morning too. Fruit and yoghurt is all I can manage for the first few hours. I've always been the same and I remember the dreadful tussles I used to have with my DM who used to try and force-feed me before school!

Take your cues from how she looks and the reasons for her eating. If she's doing it to lose weight then it absolutely needs to change but that doesn't seem to be the case. Most children are knackered in the evenings - school is hard work!

@rainbowandglitter Why is the milk called 'energy milk'?. Whey protein doesn't give energy and actually isn't recommended for children.
i did not know that. I though at least she'd have something a bit more solid than a glass of water . She'll drink the flavoured energy milk but not plain milk.

I can't eat straight after I wake up and her school hours are unusual so can understand how getting a decent breakfast in would be hard.

Could you get her a food thermos and make up porridge for her morning snack or a couple of slices of toast wrapped in foil.

So she has a more substantial breakfast meal at break time rather than before school.

Of course it would be almost impossible to avoid all carcinogens. And individuals also choose to eat what they choose to eat, rightly so.

Doesn't change the fact that some foods are carcinogens - and one of these is bacon.

As PP say, go with her clock, try not to worry but slip in extras at other meals and snacks. A milk drink, a veg/fruit, a cereal bar isn't that bad for breakfast. I was never a breakfast eater, nor were two of my DC and all survived and thrived. Grumpiness at this age could be need for a bit more food or hormones - its hard to tell sometimes.

Does she go to sleep when she goes to bed? (ie is she getting enough sleep) Can you have a conversation with her about when she feels like eating more as she doesn't enjoy food in the morning? At this age she may be more receptive to that conversation and nominating times.

Was the issue of the boys giving "diet tips" to the girls addressed by the school? Its a nasty bit of sexist behaviour which needs nipping in the bud.

If you feel there is cause to worry about what she is eating in terms of her health/eating issues then honestly consult someone qualified to consider your daughter in detail.

The orthorexics of MN will tell you simultaneously that perfectly good foods cause cancer, that all carbs kill you, that inhaling a lettuce leaf once a year is quite enough calories and that fruit should be banned, also that if your child isn't emptying the fridge every day something is wrong with them.

What? It absolutely IS a known carcinogen. Suggest you look it up.

Ok but we're talking about bacon.

Could you add something like honey to the milk? Or just flavour the milk without the whey protein?

As long as she’s eating a snack at break time, it isn’t a massive issue. Some people don’t like breakfast and can’t eat when they wake up, I used to be like this when I was younger.

But everything is "bad" for you if you want it to be.

Bananas? Full of sugar.
Yoghurt? Eww cow puss.
Peanut butter? So much fat...

Everything in moderation is fine. And a bacon sandwich on occasion isn't going to give your child cancer and is a more filling and energy giving breakfast than a tomato and a 20g cereal bar.

But everything is "bad" for you if you want it to be.

Not least the diesel tractors most of the parents I know who are obsessed with food carcinogens drive, and leave running as the collect their organically fed children from a fume laden school.

Some people can't eat early on. I'm one of them. Used to drive my mum to distraction but all these people leaning to more! Bigger! Healthier breakfasts would have made me want to vomit. Cannot face food that early.

Snacks she can take with her might be the way to go. TMI but my appetite seems to only wake abwhile after I've had my first toilet trip.

Ooh dear, chip on your shoulder? I myself don't own any car, but that is irrelevant as we are talking about whether bacon is a carcinogen. Factually, yes it is.

As for But everything is "bad" for you if you want it to be - that is patently bollocks.

I really don't understand why people get so triggered by discussing that some food is carcinogenic. I recklessly and knowingly eat crisps. They are also carcinogenic. I don't get upset when people discuss it.

You can get nitrate free bacon, for those pearl clutching over it.

MN is such a hotbed of disordered eating. I remember once back in 2017 I got sucked into low caring and that particular board is full of genuine insanity. Never again.

Tbh I do think part of the problem with the school day (and work day) is that it is set up so you HAVE to eat at a particular time even if you're not hungry. Means we are taught from an early age not to respond to our hunger cues, which are different for everyone. Personally I'm not hungry until 12, so I don't bother with breakfast. My DD wants to eat the second she gets up, as does DH.

Low CARBING, obviously.

Oh I think one can lead to the other 😀

I myself don't own any car, but that is irrelevant

😂😂😂

I just can't understand why people are bringing CARS into a conversation about BACON

I do love people though, they have to get their personal obsessions into everything (I do it too, I know...).

Ok well I disagree. I think a bacon sandwich is an absolutely shit breakfast but you feed your kids whatever you like.

How about organic eggs made from vegan hens and carefully steamed hand picked spinach with butter you have churned yourself from a grass fed cow?

I have never been able to eat breakfast. Makes me heave

I don't eat anything until lunchtime it's fine. Don't worry

@C8H10N4O2 She's asleep almost as soon as she hits the pillow. We usually eat at 7 and she usually goes to bed at 830, although a couple of times a week she isn't back until then, so goes later. Then of course we have the problem with dinner times, sometimes she's out at 530, sometimes 5, then it's too late for her to eat when she comes back. There are a couple of combinations e.g. white bread and milk which she absolutely will not eat in the mornings as she says it makes her feel sick.

Was the issue of the boys giving "diet tips" to the girls addressed by the school? Its a nasty bit of sexist behaviour which needs nipping in the bud.
Yes, it was. But new year, new teacher and I wondered if they'd started again.

If you feel there is cause to worry about what she is eating in terms of her health/eating issues then honestly consult someone qualified to consider your daughter in detail.
I will keep an eye on her and speak to her paediatrician when she has a next check up, or earlier, if I think it's necessary.

The orthorexics of MN will tell you simultaneously that perfectly good foods cause cancer, that all carbs kill you, that inhaling a lettuce leaf once a year is quite enough calories and that fruit should be banned, also that if your child isn't emptying the fridge every day something is wrong with them. 😂I like to think we eat a decent diet. Not crazy fads, but staple home cooked food. She actually is quite a reluctant "carb" eater. She will eat one slice of toast, or one slice of bread with a sandwich - she'll eat the insides and leave the bread! My other DC on the other hand would empty the fridge in one sitting (slight exaggeration) if I allowed it...

Which country is it ? I live in Spain. Breakfast really isn't a thing. People have a croissant at break time. But not before school/work.
Also we eat much later at night so perhaps her body just isn't hungry

At 10 your daughter is probably at the start of puberty. I found with my kids (particularly the girls) that there was irratic eating patterns around this time. one week eating next to nothing the next clearing the house. and also not eating once favourite foods and liking new and different foods. I myself found when I had periods that I couldnt eat for the first couple of days of each cycle as all food just tasted off and I felt so bloated anyway.