EllieOrange said: "I was brought up in africa. we ate all organic veg, but (virtually) our only protein was tinned luncheon meat, tinned corned beef, tinned tuna - which we ate every single day for 10 years! My husband gew up in sri lanka, nothing processed, no sweets (no dentist either, so terrible teeth!) but, in his opinion, he was still undernourished (all his relations who were brought up here are much taller). So really, as long as the diet is balanced - enough vitamins, protein, fibre etc. - that's all that matters to me."
That's interesting Ellie. DD2 (just 4) is on the 4th percentile for height and the 0.5th percentile for weight. She's full of energy but very thin. Some of this (the height) is explained by being Cambodian, some by pre-natal malnutrition, but also by the fact that, although she eats a wide variety of foods, she eats tiny portions. As a probably over-anxious mother I asked our Health Visitor to see her. Our Health Visitor is lovely, sensible and thoughtful. Her view was that DD2's stomach is probably tiny - about the size of her (DD2's) fist. This means that every mouthful she eats needs to be packed with calories. The HV advised that, whilst we should keep up with the fruit and vegetables, we should restrict her intake of cereal, pulses, wholewheat bread etc. as they will fill her up for a comparatively small number of calories. She needs protein rich and, this is really difficult culturally, fat-rich food. The HV's view was that all highly active, young children should, unless they are overweight, be eating the nutritional equivalent of a '1950s' diet - cooked breakfast, "meat and two veg" and pudding and custard to follow for lunch, traditional high tea. Clearly it can be adapted and updated for today's tastes. This isn't about feeding children highly processed food, but avoiding 'muesli belt starvation'.
So at 7am you can find me in the kitchen, Cath Kidston apron on, smiling beatifically and making scrambled eggs and toast and fruit smoothies for the DDs and DH (also very skinny).
Actually the bit about the apron and the beatific smile is a lie.