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?

GeorginaA,
Some lunchtime ideas I use ( son't know the age of your children)

1. Pasta with selection of veg ( brocolli(sp!), carrots, peas, carrots etc..
2. Pasta with ham, tomato, cucumber, cheese
3. I make homemade veg soup and freeze in batches: soup and breadroll or toast. have even been known to add pasta!!( we don't only eat pasta honest .
4. quick pizza: half a cibatta loaf ( keep supply in freezer), sliced tomato, cheese, selection of veg, ham etc( whatever is to hand). Grill/oven 10 mins
5. DD2 is a lover of prawns - so add them to pasta and brocali(sp - must learn that one)and mix with a small amount of philadelphia cheese, add some chopped chives.

These might help

Georgina I'm like you - I've always found lunch the most awkward meal. This is largely due to DS refusing to eat sandwiches or cheese on toast. His absolute favourite is baked beans which he would live on (he is 2.6 btw) but I limit it to once a week and also grate cheese into it because he is not keen on milk so good to add the dairy. Some other ideas are tuna salad. I add chopped spring onions, peppers, cucumber, carrot and sweetcorn to a couple of tins of tuna and a bit of mayo/salad cream. This makes sandwiches for DH and me and DS eats his from a bowl with a spoon. Another thing I do is cook him a jacket potato (as long as you are in in time to bung it in the oven) then in your fifteen minute slot grate cheese, cook peas and scoop out the potato. I know this doesn't sound very exciting but he does enjoy it.

I'm just glad that I have only four lunches a week to provide though....

Sonnet I made some soup the other week but couldn't work out what to put it in to freeze. Because it was curried pea soup and a particularly strong green DH wouldn't eat it but DS and I loved it and had it for 3 days in a row to solve my freezing issue. Also couldn' work out how much would be a portion to freeze. Any tips?

Aaah marthamoo, one of my favourite whinges....children's menus. I HATE them. We eat out fairly regularly whenever we do I make a point of never looking at the children's menu. The sluglet gets either a starter, a bowl of pasta, the cheeseboard, or more commonly, will eat off our plates. The only real problem with this is when she decides that duck confit is really yummy and I don't get any at all! The baby diet I call it. She has, I admit, a very sophisticated palate and will pack away blue cheese and pickled garlic with gusto.

Aaah marthamoo, one of my favourite whinges....children's menus. I HATE them. We eat out fairly regularly whenever we do I make a point of never looking at the children's menu. The sluglet gets either a starter, a bowl of pasta, the cheeseboard, or more commonly, will eat off our plates. The only real problem with this is when she decides that duck confit is really yummy and I don't get any at all! The baby diet I call it. She has, I admit, a very sophisticated palate and will pack away blue cheese and pickled garlic with gusto.

the soup is a damn good idea - I used to make soup quite frequently, but have got out of the habit. Lack of a freezer (only have a small ice box type thing in the fridge) limits big batches of stuff which is a shame. Need to get back into baked potatoes too - I've got a microwave so there's no excuse really!

I think when everything in the house is calm and lovely, I find it so much easier to plan mealtimes. At the moment, it seems to be so rushed and in the quieter times I'm just collapsed in a heap in the corner and everything has gone rather pear shaped!

Bozzo - not sure how old children are - but I use to do ramakin size when small. Now at 2.5 I have smallish plastic bowels which is approx 3/4 of a cereal bowl. This amount is just right for both my dd's

sorry bozzo - didn't answer your question properly. I use plastic/tupperwarey boxes. I have a selection of sizes, most useful for soup are 8 smallish ones with lids. I have also used aluminimum small pudding basins, plastic freezer bags. If I use freezer bags I measure out about 3/4 of a ceral bowl full.

Thanks sonnet _ i think its the cereal bowl and freezer bag idea I'm after! I knew at the time I was being a bit thick but there you go.

Gerogina I tend to do potatoes in the microwave for DS because he doesn't have the skin anyway. I suppose they're a bit more of a wintery thing though.

Futurity - I guess I am quite a traditionalist so I do a lot of - pasta, chilli, curry, roasts, shepherds pie, fish - kedgeree, fish pie, baked fish etc - tonight we're having slow roasted lamb in white wine with and roast mediterranean vegetables (sounds poncy when I write it down!). I see what you mean about having your DS round your feet but as I said before I really LOVE cooking and would much rather be in the kitchen than playing with my DS - horrible mother that I am!

Fave cookbooks are by Nigel Slater - lots of good ideas and not too strict about the recipes.

Janh - re: the prepared veg in water I meant isn't that still better than a processed 'ready' meal?

Futurity I basically cook the same as Lindy.
As others have said a homemade version can be done in minutes.
ie pizza i get a couple of french sticks and slice them down the middle.Mix tomato puree with a few chopped herbs (even dried herbs work well)and put it on the bread. Then grate your cheese and throw whatever topping you like on. Put in the oven for 5mins and they are ready.
hamburgers- steak mince and add an egg, mix it round with hands (you can add chopped onion and chilli spices if you like)put in to round balls and wack into the frying pan until cooked (around 5mins)Place in buns/batches with whatever you like added.
Honestly the above 2 can be done in minutes.
Also my ds who is 2 and a half clings on to me. When I prepare veg I get him to put it in the pan for me.He loves doing this as it makes him feel like a big boy coz he is helping mummy.

Lindy, it won't be long before you can start teaching your ds to cook. You never know, he might be the next Jamie Oliver. And you might even enjoy it!

Lindy, can we come to your house for tea?

I too cook things like Lindy and doormat.
I'm quite a traditional cook like Lindy. I also cook ahead whenever I can.
As an example, I am working all day today - will get home by 5.30ish. I have defrosted a bolognese ( had other half last week as spag bol), I will whip up a cheese sauce, add lasagne sheets and pop in oven for 20 mins, ready by 6.30. Serve with salad. We'll all sit down together and eat.
I am a bit sad rearly as I plan my menus for the week before I do my weekly shop

You all are so organized and making me feel really inadequate right now . . . ! I don't know how you do it really.

I love cooking, but my dh often doesn't get home till 7.30 (nor do i sometimes) and we rarely eat before 9.30 so dd has been in bed for hours then.

I do save leftovers for dd but I'm conscious that the veggies lose their vitamins etc. I freeze a lot of stuff too, but I really would love to prepare fresh stuff for her all the time. I just don't get time

How do other working mums cope?

Lindy, Aloha is right. My DS is not much older than yours (2 and a half) and he loves helping me to cook. I generally stick to baking with him (cakes, muffins etc - but I don't buy seet stuff)and he has helped me with pastry and yorkshire puds. But I think we'll move onto other things soon. Its just the sharp knife and chopping thing that I am wary of but I also do like doormat and get him to put it in the pan, press the button on the scales etc. If he hears the mixer going and he's not involved I'm in big trouble. He would prefer to do cooking as an activity than painting, water play, play dough you name it.

Don't mean to make you feel inadequate - you're not!!I don't feel organised at all, I seem to lurch from one thing to the next....and fly by the seat of my pants!! - like lost of us mums

SamboM I only work 3 days so I cook double on the days I don't work (usually one day a week we will be eating out, visiting, have people over) and then freeze that and then we all eat together at about 6.30-6.45. DS has an earlier tea (4 pm)at nursery so its more like supper for him. On the other days we eat about the same time. Then we have a short playtime all of us together, then one of us will clear up and load the dishwasher while the other baths DS.

Probably not so easy for you as you're home later. DH and I are both home mostly by 6.15 pm. DH often works away the odd night when its even nicer to be able to just deforst something for DS and me.

Also SamboM you're proably doing better than us because at least you and DH are eating fresh - we're all eating frozen 3 days a week (although sometimes I might add a fresh salad or some brocolli or whatever).

I just like it because come 8pm the kitchen is cleared and DS is in bed.

SamboM,
I only work three days per week and get home normally around 5.50 to 6pm. I try to make sure that we have "easy" meals those days, ie food I have pre-cooked and only need re-heating or casseroles/stews etc...

The three days i work we usually eat together as DH gets home about the same time. I pick up DD1 from afterschool club and he picks up DD2 from nursery. DD1 also has homework to do and I follow a strict bedtime routine with DD2 ( or else she's a pain to go to sleep).

I shop once a week (via the internet and delivered on Monday, a day I don't work). I plan the menu in advance and plan around my working days. I cook ahead by cooking double quantities. EG last Monday I made Spag Bol and froze half which I'm using tonight. Last night I had a mild curry in the oven ( I do have an aga which helps with htis)ready for when i got home, half of which I've frozen for another week.

I have a "thing" about food because I a)work in the food industry and know what manufactureres put in/use in processed convenience food and b) have a guilt thing about conveneience food because i work ie are my children suffering because their not getting home cooked meals as i work....

SamboM,
I only work three days per week and get home normally around 5.50 to 6pm. I try to make sure that we have "easy" meals those days, ie food I have pre-cooked and only need re-heating or casseroles/stews etc...

The three days i work we usually eat together as DH gets home about the same time. I pick up DD1 from afterschool club and he picks up DD2 from nursery. DD1 also has homework to do and I follow a strict bedtime routine with DD2 ( or else she's a pain to go to sleep).

I shop once a week (via the internet and delivered on Monday, a day I don't work). I plan the menu in advance and plan around my working days. I cook ahead by cooking double quantities. EG last Monday I made Spag Bol and froze half which I'm using tonight. Last night I had a mild curry in the oven ( I do have an aga which helps with htis)ready for when i got home, half of which I've frozen for another week.

I have a "thing" about food because I a)work in the food industry and know what manufactureres put in/use in processed convenience food and b) have a guilt thing about conveneience food because i work ie are my children suffering because their not getting home cooked meals as i work....

Dd's nanny does cook for her, she does get spag bol, fishfingers, sausages, stew, lots of fresh veggies and fruit plus all sorts of weird and wonderful things that I concoct too. She is nearly 1, am trying not to feed her jars any more but sometimes I just cave in for an easy life!

Marthamoo - I wish you would come round tonight, I am cooking for friends of DH that I do not like!!!

I have to admit that often DS has our meal 'the next night' as we too tend to eat much later when DH comes home.

Yes, I do a bit of cooking with DS - gingerbread men are his current favourite! Where we live there are some fab sounding cookery for children classes which take them from about 4 I believe, I shall have to enrol him.

Lindy, I'm coming for tea too, OK?

Yes, the veg would be better than a ready meal, of course! Sorry, I just had this mad thought that you were talking about pre-prepared veg (which I know exist) and couldn't quite believe you meant those...