To think this dinner is acceptable?

[chiquititaa]

My toddler who is 2.5 had a cod fish finger sandwich for tea and 2 more fish finger on the side, he finished the whole thing and I gave him some Jaffa cakes and a banana sucky yogurt thing, that he's eating just now, DH is just home from work and asked what ds had for tea, I told him what he had and he seems to think it's not enough for a growing 2.5 year old.

He can be very fussy and I'm thinking it's a win that he ate that much at all but I'm being made feel horrible by DH. Please let me know if you think this is enough for a toddlers tea?

It lies dormant waiting to kill

Ah right thanks.

I'm guessing lamb and pork offal is fine.

It's offally good.

I wouldn’t believe the hype, it’s been years and the cases have gone down, plus they corrected their human error in feeding the contaminated feeed years ago. It’s not the Cows that are going to kill us, it’s the fibre (which is not a nutrient) and the unsaturated fats that they also lie about that will finish us off.

Quantity is absolutely fine but in my house I'd have chucked veg or salad on the plate somewhere. Few peas or some cucumber just to break up the beige.

But if its like a one off friday night tea meh

that would fill ME up. got to love a fish finger sandwich, but that sounds like PLENTY. as long as he wasn't left still hungry. we all have different appetites, and he's only tiny.

Oh GOD it's fine. Can't believe the "why not an actual banana" comment. It's just one meal out of hundreds

Because OP is specifically asking if this particular meal is enough for a growing 2 year old, and from a nutritional point of view, it's clearly lacking.

Unless the only acceptable response is "Your bubs, your rules hun". In which case, I've misunderstood the intention here and apologise unreservedly on behalf of the Vegetation Police.

Is this now a debate about fish? @stargazerlil

I said oily fish. I didn't say fish fingers.

You said fish wasn't a great source of nutrition.

Oily fish - that's mackerel, pilchards, sardines, salmon, and others.

Fish in fish fingers is usually cod, haddock or pollock.
They don't have much Omega 3.

So you know what the child eats on other days?

He usually has cheerios or special k with the red berries (his new favourite thing) and toast and eggs for breakfast and some apple slices or blueberries

Lunch is usually soup or some sort with bread or broccoli and cheese pasta (homemade)
Fruit/yogurt
(He loves kfc or McDonald's but only gets it on a Friday)

Dinner (this is where he gets the most fussy) tonight we had chicken curry and rice, naan bread and DH had chips on the side, ds wouldn't eat the dinner I had made so I made him the fish finger sandwich = one slice of warburtons toasty bread, Lurpal butter, 2 cod fish fingers with tomato sauce and two on the side, plus 2 Jaffa cakes and that banana yogurt pouch.

He is Type one diabetic and on pen injections and a have to count his carbs before giving him insulin and if I give too much insulin and he doesn't eat what given then he will end up taking a low blood sugar, if I give him not enough then he will take high blood sugar.

It's very tricky trying to figure out if he is going to eat or not. I'm constantly cooking 2-3 different meals for him if he doesn't eat what I have made for the rest of the family.

He usually has fruit with every meal, like most toddlers he's going through a "I don't like vegetables" moment. I make homemade soup every couple of days to make sure I get veg in him. Plus he gets a multivitamin every day, just in case.

My original post was asking if the meal was sufficient in quantity, I'm not worried about his veg/fruit intake because I know I'm doing it best and he eats more of them than most his age.

As one poster asked, I am not new to Mumsnet. I cannot believe how much criticism I have received. My child is diabetic. I gave him insulin and provided foods I know he's going to eat.

This Friday he didn't get his usually kfc or McDonald's because he simply didn't want it.

Definitely not! I make everything from scratch
Most of the time.

OP, when it comes to these threads on Mumsnet, the foodie brigade is equivalent to a massive bull on steroids - and your meal plan is like a giant red flag covered in glitter. You could be feeding him homemade ratatouille with a side of wheatgrass and they'd still ask what oil you used and if you used an organic courgette. Just carry on with your fish and banana.

To everyone criticising DC tea one night out of many, please do not be afraid to send over some of your 100% organic non processed child friendly meals that your dc with palates of adults eat. I couldn't definitely learn something here. Tia

😂😂 ive never been so shocked. Genuinely only wanted to know if I had been under nourishing my child this afternoon! Your think I has said I gave him 3 grains of rice and a cat turd.

Sounds like 700-800 calories. Perhaps even too much?

I think perhaps you misunderstand what is meant by ultra-processed food. If you look at the ingredients on the food he’s eating and it contains ingredients not found in a normal kitchen, then it’s processed. This means additives like sweeteners, emulsifiers and preservatives, as well as excessive salt and sugars. You will find these things in sliced bread, cheerios, special K, tomato ketchup, fast food. The list is endless.

Sadly over half of our diets come from ultra processed foods in the UK. Even things that appear healthy aren’t when you look at the ingredients.

It can be easy to make some switches though. Swap cereal for porridge, for example.

Sounds like enough to me but you'll probably know best based on his appetite.

On your later posts, one of my DC ate amazingly as a toddler! Would eat quinoa with kale and butternut squash, fish with fennel and dill, even caviar. A bit fussier now though.

UPFs are a worry though. You have to actively avoid them in order to make a difference as they are everywhere.

www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/04/uk-toddlers-get-nearly-half-their-calories-from-ultra-processed-food-study-finds

Was it an ultra-processed cat turd? Or hand-sourced from the litter tray of a kitty fed on an organic raw food diet?

Seems enough food. Where’s the veg?

As PPs said, it's enough calorie-wise. As a one off it is fine but fast food every week is not good, for any child of any age. I'm a mum to a 4 year old and a 1 year old for context. So I understand that children can be tricky sometimes but your child will end up with unhealthy eating habits if you aren't conscious of UPFs creeping into his diet more and more...

One of mine lived on fresh air at that age. She only started to eat normal amounts at about 8 years old, but now is training for a national sports team and eats everything.

I guess yours has.the type of insulin pump where you put in carbs 15 mins before he eats? So ypu kind of have to get a similar amount of carbs into him as you'd planned. Very difficult at that age I imagine.

Obviously you want.them to eat unprocessed home cooked veg-and-fish-wirh-brown-rice. He probably will eventually!