How to help children eat healthily?

[OldieMum]

I've been feeding dd (7 months) on home-made baby food, organic jars and juices, but am only too aware of how soon she'll be bombarded with advertising for junk food and additive-laden snacks. How do parents with older children deal with the effects on their children of advertising, or of seeing other children eating junky snacks? Also, what kinds of policy changes do people think could made to help children eat healthily (eg in Sweden advertising aimed at the under 12s is banned)? What would you like to see the government do about children's diets?

a fast moving thread!

www, yes agree with you with healthy can also be quick, i like to have a "stock" of chopped veg or washed fruit available (takes no time at all), hummus, beans, cheese, egg dishes, sandwiches, cheese on toast, dried fruit etc etc.

jodee, thanks we try and avoid ready meals and takeaways for ourselves (not entirely successfully!). during the week i use the slots before and after work to keep up with the laundry, ironing, tidying up, shopping etc. which means i have six hours at the weekend for everything else, if i want to spend time with ds and family time with us all together.

oh the liberation when i decided not to spend one third of that time making and freezing food for ds that he wouldn't eat...

Where do people find the time to cook meals from scratch every day? My ds is 19 months and hangs off my leg when I am in the kitchen. How do others manage it (genuine question!)!? Also what are these amazing homecook meals suitable for the whole family (fussy husband and fussy son makes it difficult!).

futurity, fwiw, i have not managed it at all, ever. a lot depends on the personalities involved, not just your child, but also you and your dh/p - e.g. AK has lots of meals "for the whole family" (which she says are also suitable for dinner parties too) in her book - but i can't imagine all of us enjoying them.

another example, ds used to love cauliflower cheese (won't touch it now) but dh and i can't bear it...

also, i have only had time to cook unmolested since we discovered videos...

having seen other children ds's age suddenly all those things that you can't understand, like how is it possible to cook/clean/go out/enjoy a cafe/go to a museum/have a holiday that isn't bucket and spade/ become clear...

my point is - the range of children's behaviour is so vast...

a friend of mine has an extremely docile child and has commented on how "lively" mine is (hard not to view this as a barbed comment, but maybe i'm being harsh)... but no-one has ever said to me "you need to have him checked by a specialist because he is so quiet", as has happened to her...

sorry, bitchy AND off the main point of this thread!

Re: the ads - I have a terrible habit of answering back at the ads (particularly the refinance ads - really can't stand them - and that awful ribena one already mentioned).

I'm sort of hoping that my cynicism will rub off on ds at an early age, or at least that he'll realise mum isn't going to be conned by them.

Then again, he'll probably just grow up realising mummy is nuts...

Oh god - ads - the one I really hate is the man who suddenly starts walking towards the camera waggling all his extremities. Not sure if he's an accident or a loan.

Sorry - nothing to do with food!

Hmm... still not convinced those food ads, irritating though they are, are to blame for everything, looking at my boys at least. Sausages and thinly sliced ham, for instance, are advertised less than monster munch, yet when we go to a supermarket they pester me for the former more than the latter, and some things they like (like pain au chocolate) have never been advertised much on TV.

I answer back to ads, too. My favourite is sexy/pretty woman, flogging anything. To which I reply "Well, I don't look anything like her so that product can't possibly be something I'd like!"

Futurity: I used to put DS in a backpack while cooking, but now I have 2 children they tend to keep each other occupied.

Also, I often prep vegetables in the morning, first thing, while the kids are happily playing. Store in cold water all day to keep fresh. Come evening often all I have to do is dump veg. into steamer, potatoes or pasta or rice into water under the steamer. Turn the hob on & keep it from boiling over. Put meat under grill if desired. 2 minutes max.

If you soak it for an hour, brown rice cooks in same time as white rice.

Just wanted to point out, esp. to those who have read the "coke" thread that although I drink too much of it, my children are not allowed it. Agree with marthamoo that the children's menu in most restaurants is appalling. However, thumbs up to my local Brewsters which, in addition to the usual junk, now offers pastas, chilli and a couple of other more healthy options.

What a great tip about preparing the veg and storing it under water..never knew that..thanks Zebra!

How annoying is that ad for Sunny D? 'not all kids are like Max Wild' as if he is a freak for liking spinach! AND the website is called realkids.com!!!! Makes me mad every time I see it.

I keep frozen mixed veg to hand (the one with peas, sweetcorn, red pepper, carrots and brocolli from Sainsbury's) and add it to ds's food - either throw it into leftover casserole or make a cheese sauce (mix cornflour and milk , heat until thick and then stir in cheese). I also offer hummus/cheese/marmite sandwiches, breadsticks and rice cakes, scrambled egg with cheese and ham, organic ham and babybels, lots of cut up fruit (peaches, bananas and pears current favourites), raisins, live yoghurt with honey, and wholemeal toast with low sugar jam. I hate coke and now won't allow dsd to have it in front of ds so he won't be tempted. She has lemonade and we pretend it is water. Plus he does eat cake and sweets and ice cream when we are out (don't keep them at home). I strongly agree that advertisers should not be allowed to target food advertising at children. I don't let ds watch kids tv with advertising on it, just teletubbies videos! He's nearly two. He does ask for mini-milks at the park, but I don't mind that, and he certainly doesn't always get one. I think it is an absolute disgrace that food multinationals are allowed into the classroom at all. I also very much disapprove of vending machines with rubbish in them. I think school policies on healthy food are important. Mind you, I ate rubbish as a kid as did my peers but we were all thin. I can't believe the size of kids round here. I think part of the difference is that we played out much more - so I think it is sad that people (not mumsnet people) think it is inappropriate for a nine-year-old to be in a playground.

Ds also likes tinned sardines! Yummy on toast. And salmon and new potatoes, as we found out at the weekend.

Until a couple of years ago I worked in marketing for a well known food company. Part of my job was the packaging for own brand foods, so please believe me when I say that conveneience food is crap!!. What makes my blood boil is the recent introduction by the major supermarkets ( tesco, sainsburys, asda) of "childrens meals" - pre-packed. "footballs and laces" is one that sticks in my mind ie meat balls and spaghetti. I was involved last week in an analysis of these meals and I wouldn't give them to my children!.
The problem with packaging regulations in the EC is that unless you know the "jargon" you are unable to decipher exactly how much sugar and salt is in them. or to understand what emulsifers are or stabilizers.
Incidently "blue parrot cafe" from Sainsburys performed better and their range does contain pre-packed fresh fruit, rasins etc.
To echo many others, healthy food does not have to mean slaving for hours over a hot stove.
Sorry - I'm a bit of a healthy food freak...

Veges start to lose vitamins as soon as they're peeled/chopped, even kept under water...

janh - agree, but probably still a lot better than 'readymade' stuff?

Futurity - must admit it is easy for me to find the time to cook as I'm a SAHM (does mean less time on mumsnet though ); DS spends his time watching videos (not TV - so no adverts) or playing - enclosed by a stairgate in his playroom.

Regarding recipes - I just cook the sort of things I've always cooked & DS has the same; if you never give 'children's food' - hopefully they won't get too much of a taste for it until school & peer pressure starts?

Does anyone actually enjoy eating 'convenience' type ready meals - I admit occasionally being tempted if something sounds interesting but I always find them so disappointing, with a real 'taste' of preservatives etc (and never enough of course!!).

Lindy...I am also a SAHM but still find it difficult to find time..apart from if DS is watching CBeebies! However, I also fret about DS watching too much tv..so I can't win really...make him homemade stuff whilst he watches CBeebies or turn the tv off but then have him hanging off me!

What sort of receipes do you make then out of interest?

We hardly ever have prepackaged kids food (as in the meat and spaghetti example) and I say we probably have 50% convenience food during the week if I'm honest. Very very rarely we might if we were going out and not eating together.

Fishfingers are popular (although we tend to have them with mash and peas as ds isn't actually that big a fan of chips, even home made ones), as are casserole mixes (whether packet or jars - although I prefer the dry packet ones as I get to add my own veg). Pasta with a tin of condensed mushrooms as a cheap sauce is popular.

The other half of the week I'll cook from "scratch" although still make use of stock cubes etc, so not perfect. Vegetable lasagne is a house speciality that we'll all wolf down.

We all tend to eat together (or I do then reheat dh's if it's reheatable or he makes the same fresh when he gets in) so we couldn't have too much "children's food" anyway as we'd have fresh food cravings by the end of the week!

The summer is better because I tend to buy tons of salad stuff (including packaged quiche, so it probably isn't that good) and we live off that for the week.

The only coke in the house is strictly for adults, and ds never ever gets sugary penny sweets (although we're reasonably generous with chocolate buttons and smarties). Bizarrely, ds really dislikes icecream, but is a fromage frais/yoghurt junkie (we get the nice yeo valley organic ones although I will admit to buying tweenies ones if they're out of stock).

The mealtime I have the most trouble with is lunchtime, to be honest. That's usually the most rushed meal to cook (usually have 15 mins tops to prepare) and I'm always looking out for good meal ideas that we'll all eat. Toasted cheese & tomato sandwiches is popular, as is cheese, crackers, crisps (unsalted before I get yelled at, lol) and sliced pear. Unfortunately, reliance on the more processed beans & pork sausages, ravioli, beans on toast, macaroni cheese etc is also prevalent at this meal for the convenience.

I do try and at least alternate each day so that it's not always a meal out of a tin. If there's anything I'd really like to focus on to improve our diet, it would be that mealtime.

Oliveoil, in defence of Max Wild he is a bit of a freak! Spinach with spinach and spinach doesn't sound like a balanced lunch to me. And eating bags of brussels sprouts on the bus is positively anti-social. Personally, I'm very glad my two are not like Max! But I do hate Sunny D!

Oh, forgot to say, we usually get 4/5 portions of fruit a day (mostly 5 but some days we "slip", but I am a big fan of vitamins for ds so if one day all he wants to eat is toast then I don't get too stressed!

Um, fruit and veg that is.

GeorginaA - glad to hear the only coke in the house is for adults

Nerdgirl - I know what you mean but the slant of the ad is wrong and now they are on the radio as well aarrrggghhhhhhhh.

Bah, you know I meant the fizzy stuff!!

sulk

Lindy, not sure what you mean by readymade stuff?

OTOH I know exactly what you mean about being disappointed with ready meals, although some Sainsbury's pasta ones can be very good. (The big "al forno" ones are lovely - just add salad!)

I am finding now my kids are older that organising meals is practically impossible - they are all in and out like a dog at a fair, this one has football from 5 to 7, that one is in from work at 5 and going to boyfriend's at 7, DH is going to be late home etc - so when we eat and what we eat is impossible to preplan - I used to be able to roughly plan a week's meals and buy accordingly but now find that what I bought for 6 is only going to be eaten by 3, or, even worse, vice versa!

So we eat a lot of oven chips these days Feels like being a short order cook sometimes...

The Irish government is considering bringing in a 'fat tax', to encourage healthier eating. Link to report in today's Guardian fat tax