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Original poster

OK, a pain au chocolait every day after school is way too often ...

22 replies

earlgrey · 05/03/2007 07:04

... it can't be good for them and it's not good for me, particularly if I don't have any other shopping to do as it takes at least 1 1/2 hours out of my day to go and get them.

DDs (7&8) have come to expect them now, though, and I don't know how to wean them off them. They come home starving and won't be fobbed off with fruit or vegetables. They want carbohydrate and fat. I've tried giving them their supper then, but 4.00pm seems way too early when they go to bed at 9.00pm, and they've even said as much.

Any ideas???

OP posts:
trillium · 05/03/2007 07:17

Wholemeal toast with chocolate spread ?

Nockney · 05/03/2007 07:19

Homemade cake? After school, I give my kids one of:

  • a slice of cake
  • a croissant or pain au chocolat (which I buy on the way to school)
  • fruit
  • nuts
  • savoury biscuits
Fillyjonk · 05/03/2007 07:26

I do tend to give ds fat/carbs after kindergarten, I think they need it BUT he is 3 and like a rake, that might make a difference.

We do eg

wholemeal pasta/cheese
wholemeal seeded bread/cheese
(wholemeal) carrot cake/cream cheese

not so much stuff with sugar tbh

paulaplumpbottom · 05/03/2007 07:27

Homemade oatmeal raisin cookies are a good energy booster

Kelly1978 · 05/03/2007 08:07

Mine tend to have an early tea, so don't really have snacks, but they are younger. If they do snack, they tend to have fruit, flapjacks, cookies, milkshake or yoghurt. I usually think that even if it is crap, at least homemade crap is better than shop stuff with additives.

Twiglett · 05/03/2007 08:10

give them a sandwich or toast or a bagel or pita bread and humous or anything that is carb based

HeyBert · 05/03/2007 08:12

(but twig is clearly biased, being a carb-based after-school snack herslef)

Hulababy · 05/03/2007 08:32

Can you save the pain au chocolate for just one day a week, and introduce something different for each day. Lots of ideas on here already.

tissy · 05/03/2007 08:38

you spend an hour and a half each day going to get them?

Even if you don't change their eating habits, they can be frozen and defrosted as and when you need them.

How about brioche with a bit of chocolate spread, or fruit conserve?

Cinnamon toast (wholemeal toast and butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon)

Dd loves cheese and apple together

ScummyMummy · 05/03/2007 08:49

eggy bread?

I know I am in a minority here but I don't think a croissant with a bit of chocolate in per day is a major problem in the context of a good diet. Spending hours going to get them sounds like a pain though. I would buy a load and put them in the freezer as someone else has said.

Marina · 05/03/2007 08:52

Flapjack? Vogels bread toast and peanut butter?
Wholemeal cheese sandwich (mine are cheese nuts)

DominiConnor · 05/03/2007 09:05

Yeah, kids need a diet that would be quite unhealthy for an adult.
We use Humzingers and Jordans fruit bars. They seem to be made entirely of fruit with no sugar. The sceptic in me suspects that they aren't as good as fresh fruit, but are much better than chocolate.
They also are wrapped like sweets, which is good.

Original poster
earlgrey · 05/03/2007 09:52

Wow, thanks for all of these! There are certainly a few on there that would fit the bill, I must be brain dead. Or suffering from the effects of waking at 3am and getting up ...

tissy/sm, I know it's ludicrous but that's how long it takes to walk down to M&S and back. Even taking the bus doesn't working out much quicker (sometimes even slower - really poor service).

I tried freezing them once, and got a chorus of "Eeeeer, Mummy, you bought these yesterday". So that's a no-no. I do think, though, that M&S doesn't have an in-store baker, only an in-store oven. They must get them in frozen, uncooked, and just bake them on the premises. Do you think I stand a cat in hell's chance of them letting me buy them like that, or do you think they with think up some Health and Safety issue to prevent me from doing so?

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 05/03/2007 10:12

If you defrost them and then stick them in the oven for 5min it covers a multitude of sins.

Must admit I'd save them as a special treat for eg Fridays though if you really have to walk that far to get them.

foxinsocks · 05/03/2007 10:17

'I tried freezing them once, and got a chorus of "Eeeeer, Mummy, you bought these yesterday".'

just tell them tough bloody luck then !

you can get packets of pain au chocolats in M&S or if not, in the bigger supermarkets (tescos, sainsburys the like)

Marina · 05/03/2007 10:33

That made me LOL too FIS. Mine are just so ravenous they'd have the hand off me at 4pm earlgrey, so checking the dates on the packing is not a problem for me

wurlywurly · 05/03/2007 10:35

aldis do a pack of 6 individually wrapped pain au chocolate for about 89p (if thats any help)

tissy · 05/03/2007 10:41

I'm afraid they've got you where they want you, earlgrey.

You're the boss.

"Week old pain au chocolat or toast and jam. What's it to be?"

OK then, nothing till dinner time."

marmiteontoast · 05/03/2007 10:44

Why are biscuits so different to pain au chocolats? We're a biscuit household, and imo, that's no worse than brioche with choc spread?

morningpaper · 05/03/2007 10:46

I would think that if the ingredients are good i.e. no hydro fats then I would just give them to them, unless they are slightly porky children

If they are healthy children who have lots of energy, I don't think there's any harm in it

marmiteontoast · 05/03/2007 10:49

Mine are both skinnies, and calories are our friend!

Original poster
earlgrey · 05/03/2007 14:57

Well, predictably it was a no-no from M&S. Yes, they have me over a barrel in almost all circumstances

OP posts:
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