To think a leftover happy meal isn’t the worst packed lunch you could have?

[Tulipdreams]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teachers-share-students-worst-packed-36878989.amp

Hear me out first. Of course the article is pretty terrible, children being sent into school with only packets of biscuits for lunch, stories of children having no milk for their cereal and bringing in energy drinks.

But one example was a child took a leftover happy meal to school. Aibu to think that this isn’t the worst thing you could have?

No I have never sent my child into school with a cold takeaway for their lunch, and it would be concerning if it was happening all the time. But I would eat leftover McDonald’s if I hadn’t eaten it the night before. It’s probably no worse than taking a ham sandwich and a packet of crisps (which would be deemed as acceptable).

When I was a child most kids took meat paste sandwiches and a wagon wheel and that was a completely normal lunch.

It's junk food which was probably not fresh when bought and overnight and whilst in lunch box has been growing lots of bacteria. I get people can't always afford stuff so they should be applying for 3 meals. A happy meal is about £3.50. you could make a pasta dish that lasted a couple of days.

You accused me of poor prejudice. That was a gross misinterpretation of my comments. I've clearly been able to point out how you were wrong. You've now tried to side step that point and change the subject. Just own it. You made a mistake.

I don't think you really read my post. My pack lunch was one digestive biscuit and a drink because that was all I would eat.

I included a description of my sister's lunch to show that it was my choice not that dm was being mean/thoughtless... And you don't know from the description that they were fresh sandwiches either. It could have been yesterday's cold minging left over sandwiches ( it wasn't, but I hadn't stated that)

🤣 saying this over and over doesn’t make it true. You’re lying.

Lying about what?! That you were wrong? When I've clearly been able to highlight how you are, by explaining every point I made in that post you quoted?

This is getting ridiculous. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

For me, its that McDonald's is a shite option 😄

Left over domino's, I'd understand

I literally provided you a definition and you started rambling something about a teacher I don’t know… 🤷🏼‍♀️

Argue with yourself in the mirror, I’m out!

it is far better to save food than waste it

It's not cold and manky. Sausages are ok cold however

You didn't, I do apologise, I picked your comment out of many similar 'buy a loaf of bread/buns/bagels and some ham' to reply to.

Yes, you could buy a pack of bagels, they are around £1.80 to £2.15 a pack, so significantly more than the average loaf of bread price I picked.

Not really sure what your point is except you think a pack of 5 bagels is better value than a whole loaf of bread. It really isn't.

I am not defending sending a kid to school with a cold happy meal, but some peoples finances are horribly badly managed and yes they will not budget, make from scratch, figure out that a loaf of bread, spread, pack of ham/cheese is better value.

I am very aware (thanks to my nosey sister who delivers a LOT of takeaway food locally) that there ARE people who buy takeaways around here with the intention of having left overs to send the kids to school with.

My point is that if you are coming to the end of the money, have no budgeting skills and need to find something your kid will actually eat, that might seem the achievable option.

You know there are people out there who do not have a store cupboard full of basics, who do not always have cheese and butter/spread in the fridge, who will give in to the kids desire for McDonalds one night even though it means running out of money faster tomorrow. What seems logical and easily achievable to you is not to them!

It’s not the actual McDonalds, it’s the Gran’s reasoning. I also thought the teacher was being weirdly picky about the cereal until I read the reason.

Because it needs to be hot! If it's not possible to re-heat it, I wouldn't eat leftover Mcdonalds.
A ham or paste sandwich is completely different.

Well the emulsifiers are not great - the ingredients list for the happy meal is posted in this thread. Read what van Tulleken says about those, it’s not very pleasant.

OP are you quite sure it’s not you who has sent in a cold leftover happy meal for your child’s lunch and have had some stick from either your partner or the school and now you are trying to find people who will think this is okay so that you don’t feel so bad?

I honestly don’t think I’d have the balls to send my child in with leftovers. I’m not sure what I think would happen however.

But it just feels like something you shouldn’t do like the old name something that feels illegal but isn’t type stuff 😅

The teacher watching your child open their lunch to cold left over dominoes, nuggets or something.

I mean, no it's not a couple of Benson and Hedges, but it's setting a truly horrible bar for what we consider acceptable for our children.

It wasn't my post, but bagels usually have a LOT more protein than bread. I buy a generic brand and it's 9g per bagel. Bread has carb and not much else going for it.

Im sure they do - a McDonalds cheeseburger has 15g of protein... that also doesn't make it the sensible purchase when short on funds though.

Do you think the kind of person who genuinely thinks a cold happy meal = appropriate school lunch is thinking about long term budgeting OR protein content though?

The worst packed lunch I ever saw was a pork pie, two pepperami sticks, and two chocolate mousse desserts.

Or a full (warm) KFC delivered by his dad.

I think the cold McDonalds ranks somewhere between the two.

But I get what you’re saying, OP. A pp said bread a margarine would be better- I doubt it tbh, unless they are both exceptional quality.

Which emulsifiers?

what does not great mean, as PP said they weren’t tested for human consumption

McDonald's isn't a meal
Its fine to have on occasion but that occasion isn't at school where kids need to be awake and alert so on this occasion they need a balanced meal.

Nuggets! Even worse. In both cases you're risking an upset stomach, at best.

Depends on the bread doesn't it. Pumpernickel or soft white 39p a loaf? There's a huge range. With an equally wide range if fx on sustenance value digestion

Any leftovers? I would happily send in leftover soup, lasagne, cottage pie etc in one of those food flasks.

Yes but left over home made food is vastly different to yesterday's happy meal