Is my children's diet actually not that good?

[HomeMeasurements]

Just had some great advice over on the weaning boards because baby DS is constipated. But it's made me worried that actually my children's diet isn't right. They eat what I think of as really well but they do poo a lot (huge occasionally a bit soft) and occasionally complain of sore tummies. I've noticed over holidays this has happened more. Which I find surprising as I know they don't eat that well at school (sometimes come home saying they ate some plain rice, cucumber and pudding) DH has various digestives issues so I've always put it down to that but maybe not. Am I actually wreaking havoc on their little tummies with too much fibre? Any experts out there who can advise?

Breakfast fruit e.g. blueberries to start (sometimes with yoghurt) then toast with eggs or porridge with ground almonds and coconut.

Lunch spinach and potato omelette with veg tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, carrot sticks etc

Snack an apple, crackers with peanut butter (often don't have a snack)

Supper quinoa, lentil, carrot and mushroom bolognese with pasta, roast sweet potato, green beans.

Small amount of fruit e.g. A satsuma

We aren't vegetarians but don't eat loads of meat. Meals obviously vary and are sometimes less 'healthy' e.g. Fish pie, curry etc but always with two portions or more of vegetables.

Don’t ask on mumsnet you’ll get hilariously wired answers as to what’s healthy and what’s not 😂

Sounds lovely to me, very nutritious. Make sure they are also getting lots of good fats.

Not too much fibre in my opinion.

There’s something wrong if you think homemade fish pie and curry are unhealthy. Your meals sound very faddy but well varied so that sounds perfectly fine.

That's why I said 'healthy' in inverted commas zombie i.e. Perfectly good meals but not AS virtuous as a quinoa bolognese. I don't see what's faddy about them apart from the use of quinoa I guess. Aren't porridge, omelettes and pasta pretty standard foods?

Yeah, you’re right. Lots of solid foods in your list. I think it was the coconut and ground almonds and quinoa that stood out to me but that’s a minority if I reread. Great that they eat such wide tastes and textures. I think you are clearly doing better than the majority of households so am surprised at your post but it’s the sore tummies worrying you? My two oldest (5 and 3) are always saying that and I never know if it’s an attention thing, an excuse not to eat something thing or a genuine thing. It’s probably a mixture! But seems to be a common thing for small kids to say. If they’re constipated maybe they’re getting some pain from that?

Sounds delicious and very wholesome, but to me it does sound like a lot of fibrous fruit and veg for little tummies to digest. For example, "quinoa, lentil, carrot and mushroom bolognese" is already full of lovely veg - it wouldn't occur to me to serve it with "roast sweet potato and green beans". I would probably add some grated cheese :)

Quinoa really bloats my stomach and hurts a lot. Have you noticed them saying it after a particular meal ?

I think it all sounds fab-I agree on more fats. To that end perhaps an omega-3 oil daily too? Holland and Barrett do a lemony kids one which my 2 yr old takes daily with no fuss.

I wouldn’t worry about frequent poos-it’s actually physiologically more healthy to have a bowel movement after each meal.

I think you can prob put this to the bottom of the list of things to beat yourself up about mum-wise

Sounds fabulous, but as pp's say up the fat and lower the fibre.

I think it sounds very healthy but agree with quinoa causing tummy upsets.

Children do need fats in their diet and there isn’t any on your menu to speak of.....

Lentils and onions can also cause massive tummy upsets. But it looks like a wonderful diet apart from that!

I no this is oing to sound really piggin stupid but to me.i just though " oh poor kids.its too heathy.they are missing out on the good stuff kids love and can get away with having haha.but wait before people flam me.i do no every family is different.i no that.so maybe I'm just jealous at how wholesome you are.
but for me I would get away with giving them all this good stuff.and I actually wound tmind that.

wouldn't*

Very varied but agree it’s quite high in fibre which may cause tummy aches.

That's a good point re fat. They would have wholemilk in they're porridge and some cheese on the bolognese plus peanut butter with snack, avocado at lunch but agree there's not much there. I don't know how that's happened because I'm majorly from the school of thought that fats are much better than empty sugars, excessive carbohydrates etc. I'd never consciously give them 'low fat' anything. How can I get more fat in without huge amounts of dairy or meat? DH isn't lactose intolerant but doesn't deal with dairy that well so I generally don't do that much with it (both because I don't want to make separate meals but also because im conscious they might be sensitive to it too). Nut butters, avocado, coconut milk, anything else?

Overall that day is me taking a sample of one day when they are having most fibre. We do have lots of delicious food and I don't think they're deprived. We bake, we made homemade croissants for breakfast on Sunday morning (now those have PLENTY of fat, more butter than is probably human!). I make pizza, macaroni cheese, cakes etc sometimes it's just not all the time. They go to birthday parties a lot and obviously eat any old thing there.

Re the tummy complaints zombie you may be right. It's pretty random and never lasts probably just something they're saying. The older 3 aren't constipated just the baby.

Oh also re amounts of veg. In something like a pasta sauce aren't they likely to not actually consume that much veg? They probably have about 4tbsp of sauce or maybe less? So that's actually not that much of quinoa +lentil+mushroom+carrot IYSWIM

Sounds very nutritious. I can't eat quinoa - it gives me a stomach ache and digestive issues! Might be worth dropping the quinoa and seeing what happens - it is a known stomach irritant for some people.

Not a lot of good quality protein in there- dairy, fish or meat basically.

But whole milk in breakfast and eggs at lunch. Plus peanuts and ground almonds. Also quinoa is a complete protein. To clarify, I don't feed them solely on quinoa! :) would genuinely be interested in others general days. I feel like that's enough protein but that's based on very little knowledge on nutrition so would love advice.

My children are 6 and 8, vegetarian and rather fussy... I believe in everything in moderation on the whole, but try to avoid artificial sweeteners and am a bit mean with sweets and treats.

A couple of typical days might be:

WEEKDAY
Breakfast:
Slice of toast and peanut butter
Plain yogurt with fruit or granola and a drizzle of honey

Lunch:
Cheese sandwich
Cucumber sticks
Apple
Flapjack or crisps

Tea:
Pasta with homemade pesto (loads of green vegs in it) or homemade tomato sauce (tomatoes, peppers, onions etc), grated parmesan on top
Piece of Easter egg chocolate and half a big orange

WEEKEND
Breakfast:
Plain yogurt with fruit or granola and a drizzle of honey
Pancakes with lemon and maple syrup

Lunch:
Hummus and pittas with salady bits - peppers, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, carrots etc.
Dried apricots

Tea:
Scrambled eggs with potato waffles, peas and sweetcorn
Small piece of homemade cake and half an apple

I know it's not perfect - a bit too much sugary stuff and not enough vegs or variety in general, but they seem to be thriving and aren't deprived of anything delicious!

Ah I missed that about the whole milk!

In my eyes, fish pie is healthier than veg bolognese.

We're very omnivorous here.

My 18 month old will eat:

Peanut butter on toast. Whole milk. Half an apple.

Lunch, fish fingers, oven chips, peas

Lamb tagine, with veg cooked in, cous cous

Whole milk before bed

It seems fine to me but a lot of children struggle with legumes. Maybe try cutting them out for a fortnight and see if it helps. Or they may just be overeating.

Fish pie is also a favourite, as is roast chicken dinner, cheese toasties, veg and hummus, stir fries, rice pudding, bacon and mushroom risotto, home made pies (chicken or steak often).

Very different to yours I'm afraid! There is veg at every meal but I do try to serve good quality protein - need the amino acids for brain development.