To ask for family diet advice/thoughts/pointers

[Anononony]

I commented on the what did you grow up eating thread, that I was raised on mostly freezer food (reformed meat and potato products) and boiled veg/beans. And realised this isnt all that different to my diet now (and subsequently my kids)

I was always a skinny child/teen/young adult so never saw anything wrong with this really, it's only in the last few years I've put on a bit of weight (not loads, I've gained a stone, almost exclusively around my belly). But my 10yo is not blessed with my enjoyment of sports and climbing trees so is overweight, again not massively, I don't know how much he weighs but he is a little chunky especially around the middle and his bum & legs.

So we are making some diet changes (obviously upping exercise too, he enjoys swimming so as much of that as possible), he's ND and can be fussy in some areas (same for me). He doesn't like potatoes in jacket, roast, or mash form, he will occasionally eat herby boiled baby potatoes but prefers chips/wedges/waffles. He isn't a huge fan of unprocessed meat, we have burgers, roast chicken and spaghetti & meatballs all once a week currently (all fresh meat not frozen, I think that's better?)

Fruit he will eat is very limited, grapes, apples under duress and a little bit of melon very occasionally. Veg he eats more of and likes sweetcorn, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, peas, green beans etc.

So anyway, changes we've made so far:

School lunches are now pasta with homemade tomato with loads of veg sauce 3x a week, beans and spaghetti once a week each (instead of a bread and butter sandwich, the only filling he will eat is peanut butter and that's banned), grapes and carrot sticks, a tube yogurt (he won't eat plain/Greek/yoghurt with bits, was previously coleslaw but he's stopped eating it), fridge raiders (previously a small pepperami stick) and a small chocolate treat (usually Aldi wacko/safari snacks)

Dinner wise so far we have started making the meatball sauce from scratch instead of using jars, and we've got wholewheat spaghetti.

We are thinking swapping frozen pizza for a homemade one, sauce is no problem, just need to decide what to use as a base (or is making a base from scratch healthiest? Needs to be a bready base he wouldn't eat a cauliflower one or anything like that)

A big thing I'm considering is an air fryer, so we can make things like chicken nuggets/chips/wedges instead of using frozen ones, it looks like it would be worth it for the chicken things and wedges, but our oven chips literally say potato and sunflower oil, so would swapping those make that much of a difference? Would air fryer home made versions of essentially the same things be much healthier than premade oven ones?

He loves crisps, usually asks for a bag a day, Google suggestion for swaps was tortilla chips, which he does like, so I'm going to buy those instead of crisps and he can have a small handful instead.

So a weekly dinner menu would look something like:

• Roast chicken (with homemade roast potatoes he will nibble at, homemade yorkshire puds and 3 veg)

• Spaghetti and meatballs with wholewheat spaghetti and homemade sauce with vegetables

• Homemade pizza

• Homemade southern fried air fryer chicken strips, chips and corn on the cob

• Chicken curry, he won't eat rice, but love pot noodles (a rare treat now) so thinking I can water his down slightly and add super noodles without the flavour packet? Thinking I can hide lentils in it (I've never cooked or eaten a lentil afaik)

• Fresh burgers with lettuce (won't eat tomatoes), air fryer chips/wedges and veg

• Quiche (currently store bought, could try making it!), Herby baby potatoes and veg

Breakfast is usually wheaties (shreddies, plain not frosted), not a huge fan of porridge and won't eat a hot breakfast, thinking of getting Weetabix instead

Snack options are limited to 2 a day and are: crisps (swapping to tortilla chips), small chocolate/biscuit bars, mini muffins (could replace these with homemade but are they actually any healthier?), breadsticks. Is always told to have an apple/grapes before those are available, won't eat dried fruit, cheese, nuts.

Does the above (with the planned changes wrt getting an air fryer) sound like a reasonably healthy diet? Sorry it's long I wanted to include as much information as I could and it just kept coming!

Any other changes you would make? Any meal suggestions for fussy kids would be amazing!

Sounds great and I'm sure it'll benefit all of you to have these changes. I make chicken strips, wedges etc in the oven so I don't think you necessarily need an airfryer. Could you make your own version of fridge raiders? I think one chocolate item per day is enough, either in with lunch or as a snack.
Would he like something he can construct himself, like fajitas or tacos? Also an opportunity to try small amounts of different vegetables like avocado, lettuce, peppers.
i also saw a good idea to make your own pick and mix but using a combination of dried fruit and nuts with some chocolate covered versions like chocolate covered raisins.

Also drinks, we limit drinks like coke, he has a small glass about once a week when OH has a bottle of it, he occasionally gets himself a Rio if he has any pocket money, maybe once every 2-3 weeks. We do get fizzy flavoured water from Aldi, I buy 2 bottles a week and that's the lot for 3 people (OH and the 2 boys), it only lasts about 3 days.

Usually it's squash, milk and water, water only at school

We do limit him to one chocolate thing a day, on school days he's only allowed a bag of crisps once he gets home as he's already had chocolate and maybe a biscuit (currently rich teas) later on, but he has an apple before those :)

We tried tacos for a few weeks but he was barely eating any of them, he wasn't a fan! Same for fajitas unfortunately, he likes helping to make the pizzas (we went through and homemade pizza phase in lockdown)

How do you make them nice and crispy in the oven? I tried to make strips before and they wouldn't crisp up well 😂

Frying pan pizza recipe | BBC Good Food

For the chickens strips, use panko breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes

You can make a great pizza base from (wholemeal) flour and yoghurt, it's quite thick and doughy but my kids love it.

Otherwise I'd try to cut crisps down to 3 times / week and cut fizzy drinks down to 1 or 2 glasses a week, artificial sweeteners are not good for us.

When serving up meals try to give more protein, and more veg as it will fill him up more and is more nutrient dense than carbs. If having a burger in a bun, try a wholemeal bun, with a small handful of chips, and more veg. He eats a great range of veg I think! You could also try a pre dinner snack of veg or fruit he eats. He still needs carbs though.

Maybe also look up portion sizes for kids his age. You can always add more if he wants seconds.

It's really hard with ND kids because they tend to like the food which always tastes the Same eg. Potato waffles are always the same and new potatoes are always slightly different each time. It sounds like you've made some really good changes that aren't too overwhelming, it sounds like he is getting a good range of vegetables and fruits (less so but still good). I think if you continue to make those swaps from more processed to less processed options (like homemade meatballs and burgers over store bought) then his satiety from meals will improve and snacking will go down. If he likes sweet yoghurts, then you can try making your own using natural or Greek yoghurt as a base and then add some fruit and blend it up, with some honey to taste if you want. It is surprising how much even small changes can make, though. I went down a dress size when I gave up my daily packet of crisps, I still eat them about once a week, but otherwise will have a little bit of hummus or cheese dip and vegetable sticks if I want a snack, or Greek yoghurt with berries. I think having snacks be a 'mini meal' really helps as well, so now if I want something sweet or salty I try and have some protein and a vegetable or fruit at the same time. That could be having a cheese string and a chunk of cucumber with my crisps, instead of just the crisps. It sounds counterintuitive to eat MORE at snacks, but I used to be a serial snacker and now I only have one snack a day. It works really well for my kids too, who usually have a mini mega after school and then dinner later on, which they can wait for something proper to be cooked because they have had some protein, some fibre/filling vegetable or fruit and something that they fancy/ a treat

I think you may be overthinking this a bit and while the effort is a valient one, realistically if it's weight you are trying to lose, homemade pizza is no more healthy than a store bought pizza (though it is probably more expensive and takes more time to make it).

Instead of making homemade pasta sauce and using whole grain pasta (again, not significantly different in terms of calories, though slightly less sugar and salt), what about trying to work to slowly expand his diet to new things? And getting more of the healthy things he likes into him?

So if he likes veg and will eat a decent variety of veg, then focus on more veg at mealtimes, plate of veg/fruit out on the table for snacking after school, and then a store bought pizza? And use the time you might have used making a pizza from scratch to go for a walk, swim, playground, whatever activities he enjoys.

And cut out the snacks. I think it's probably the snacks that are doing it here - a packet of crisps, chocolate, and biscuit are not great afterschool snacks. Make it fruit and veg and a crumpet or piece of toast. Those will fill him up and are massively cheaper by volume than crisps/chocolate/biscuits.

If he likes pot noodles, how about experimenting with making your own noodle dishes? Cook egg noodles in low salt chicken or veg stock until it has cooked down a lot, add a little bit of butter (I mean like a teaspoonful), and then you can add any kind of cooked meat or vegetables and other flavours that you want and that he might eat.

Cooked chicken/beef/prawns, ham, peas, sweetcorn, boiled little cubes of carrot or broccoli, fried red pepper, or just a microwave sachet of frozen veg. You can add garlic or a bit of soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce or sesame oil on top for flavour.

My DC are preschool age but we all eat this at least once a week.

And no, an air fryer won't make things healthier unless you are deep fat frying those foods already. It may save you on electricity costs. But chicken dippers on a baking tray are no higher in calories and fat than chicken dippers in an air fryer, as you don't add any oil or fat to cook either. It's the same food, just cooked in a different gadget.

Please, despite a suggestion above, don't give small children dried fruit. I note your son won't eat it anyway. They stick to children's teeth and are a huge source of decay. Yes, maybe some children have super tough enamel and can eat them without harm but my dentist once told me she let her children eat sweets but never dried fruit.

I have made pizza bases from scratch with the proper yeast mixture. It wasn't hard but I think it is fine to buy premade bases. I'd check the packets for calorie counts though and choose the least calorific.

Have you thought of stir fries with say chicken? Served with boiled rice - I always do mine in the microwave.

I tend to roast vegetables in oven - potatoes, carrots, parsnips, some pumpkin. Yes they do need a spray of oil - I use olive oil and keep it to a minimum - but fewer calories than premade coated wedges. I line the roasting dish with either baking paper or non-stick foil for easy clean up and less oil.

Also mince comes in different grades and basically the more expensive it is the less fat is in it. My family has a history of high cholesterol - it's genetic - and I've always served the leanest of meats which means premium mince.

When I make spaghetti bolognaise I always hide loads of vegetable in the mince. Things like grated carrot and celery chopped very very finely.

We grow parsley and I am fairly liberal in putting it in casseroles or in coating mixtures etc. I think that every little bit of greenery helps.

My son is ND and as he has got older his tastes have broadened. Surprisingly, at 20 or so I discovered that he loved soft boiled eggs with a slice of toast. I don't know if your son would try that. If serving eggs as part of a dinner, I'd poach them in the microwave (obviously without the shell) rather than frying them.

I'd try to gradually reduce portion size for your son - it's easy to dish up adult size portions to small children but I think it's better if they ask for seconds rather than just hoovering up the plate. Also, I don't enforce cleared plates - they can leave food on the plate - better to tip out food than force an overweight child to clear their plate.

Apart from swimming, is their some other sport he might enjoy. If he enjoys swimming, can he get lessons so he is not just mucking about but swimming lengths with good technique? Is there something like dance, skating or gymnastics or some less standard sport that might interest him?

In terms of the air fryer it was more to make it easier for us to make the things at home instead of buying the frozen premade ones, not just air frying frozen premade ones

He doesn't like egg noodles unfortunately, we like chow mein but he won't eat more than a couple of bits

He doesn't get chocolate in his lunch and after school, he gets it in his lunch or can have it as a snack on weekends (and won't get one with his lunch in that case) :)

He likes trampolining and places like inflata-nation and climbing walls, but we can't afford lessons for things currently (working on upping our income), we try to go somewhere like this once a month

We walk to/from school but it's only about half a mile, we can get him kicking a ball around with us but he's dyspraxic and has no interest in joining a team, he's very into his pc and not sport!

We walk as a family and try to get out on weekends as much as we can, we haven't done as much this summer as our car broke just before the holidays and we replaced it only a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't enjoy it at all, we've tried Pokémon go but he soon got bored of that. He can ride a bike but won't, same with a scooter, I was thinking of trying a roller disco with him but not sure how well that will go down!

@Anononony portion size and loads of veg are the two key factors I have learnt.
https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Documents/PDF/Schools%20cooking%20resources/SchoolFoodStandardsGuidance.PDF

Label reading is also good, as you say if oven chips are just potatoes and oil that is all you would use at home. Fat chips are better than skinny.

Please have a rethink on peanut butter - yes it’s high in fat but look for the ones that are made from peanuts only and think about portion size. A teaspoon with apple slices is often recommended as a good snack.

Popcorn is a good alternative to crisps and can be made at home so you can watch additives etc.

He's welcome to have peanut butter at home! Just not allowed at school, and he won't eat cheese, ham, jam etc so last few terms he's just had butter sandwiches

Portion size we do need to look at, OH is the cook and does do him big portions, but he eats it all (if it's stuff he likes, roasts he leaves most of the potatoes) and will then start eyeing up ours/his brothers plate to see if we're going to leave anything 🙈

Adding veg (maybe lentils?) To the meatball sauce should fill him up more hopefully? And will do bigger vegetable & protein portions, with the oven ready protein (chicken/turkey nugs/shapes) I've not been sure whether to give more to help fill him up or to not because they're not healthy protein options. Definitely going to try doing homemade versions of these in the oven until we get an air fryer (still want one 😂)

Does he drink lots of water?

Not loads, he often forgets at school then drinks half his water bottle on the way home, he's not a big drinker unless it's fizzy (fizzy peach flavour water he likes, doesn't have to be coke), he does drink squash and milk too

Not so much dietary advise but behavioural- I wouldn’t make him eat an apple before he’s allowed crisps or chocolate. That’s teaching him 2 things

1. That chocolate and crisps are better than apples (they’re the “reward”)
2. To ignore his own fullness signals (he might be full after the apple but if that’s his only oppprtinity to get his crisps he’ll likely eat them anyway)

I would suggest having some snacks where fruit is the only option available (and if he’s still hungry after his apple he can have some grapes or another apple) and some where crisps are an option straight away with no strings attached

Sorry misunderstood about peanut butter.

The butter sandwiches are the one thing I would try to address. Does he like chicken? You could use the cold roast chicken and blitz it with mayonnaise to make a sandwich filling.

I can water his down slightly and add super noodles without the flavour packet?

Just buy noodles?
https://groceries.asda.com/product/noodles/sharwoods-fine-egg-noodles-226-g/1000383190516?&cmpid=ppc--ghs----google---_-dskwid-_dc&s_kwcid=AL!11432!3!!!!x!!&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9fqnBhDSARIsAHlcQYRi8CGHpfxqwy8rJvhV9W-77WjjD16-NAEeky3kr3cEyLvaYDlt7V4aAggdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

He won't eat egg noodles 🙈 chow mein type noodles are a no go apparently!

We have sorted the butter sarnies, he now takes pasta with homemade tomato and vegetable sauce 3 days a week, spaghetti hoops one day and beans another, we got him a little food flask :) at home he can have peanut butter sandwiches/on toast

@Anononony thats really good.