the good the bad and the ugly - which foods are no nos?

[ellehcim]

Ok I'll admit it I am no domestic goddess and go for the easy life wherever possible. Can any of you food gurus out there tell me what is just crap and what is ok?

For instance, DS1 has just quite happily munched his way through 5 birdseye chicken dippers for lunch. I've always avoided this sort of thing in the past since I thought they were full of rubbish but when I looked at the packet they seemed ok to me. Do I just not know what I'm looking to avoid?

(I get that turkey twizzlers and fruit shoots are the food of the devil but other than that I'm a bit clueless - please don't just tell me fresh meat and veg because other than at the weekends when DH is around to entertain the kids whilst I cook it just isn't going to happen)

No nos in our house...

Processed ham in packets,chicken dippers/burgers,cheap shit sausages filled with mainly rusk and food colourings,frozen pizzas(it really doesnt take that long too make them-and my kids love doing their own toppings).I literally HATE ready made meals but then we don't have a microwave so I have no need to buy them.

Google food additives/colourings and be horrified-I didn't realise how much crap was in stuff so now don't buy anything really processed ,only organic meats.

I'm a bit of a food snob.......

Everything is fine in moderation imho. Chicken dippers are fine, as long as he doesn't have them for breakfst, lunch and dinner everyday! If he is also eating yoghurts and fruit and some veg, don't worry. If you're worried about the fresh only at weekends aspect, could you maybe do some batch cooking for the freezer at the weekends. Spag Bol sauce, shepherds pie etc, that way you can bung that in the oven, just as quick as chicken dippers.

He's atually great at eating healty snacks. He has two different fruits every day and munches raw carrot sticks til they come out of his ears. Its just the cooked meals that have a tendancy to be a bit rubbish.

You could just slice a chicken breast into strips, coat it in breadcrumbs mixed with cheese or herbs or something and bung it in the oven. You can do the same with fish.
Try cutting a potato into chip shapes, par-boiling it and putting that in too, coated in a bit of oil.
And look at putting your veg in the oven if it's on anyway. Roast carrots are yummy, or you can wrap corn on the cob in tin foil and bake it.

"Google food additives/colourings and be horrified" Blimey! Don't do that, you'll never eat again TBH I simply try to avoid most processed foods and where I do buy them try to make them as innocent as possible ie salt and vinegar crisps or ready salted rather than more inventive flavours. Base a diet on fresh food and have the processed as an addition only.

it is definitely worth cooking in bulk, soups , bolognese, and lasagne, stew, macaroni cheese

just as quick to make pasta and pesto as chicken dippers, home made wedges, good sausages from teh butchers, convenience food has its place, but not all day every day

make wholemeal muffins into pizzas, spread with tomato puree, or passata, sprinkle with cheese, couple of olives if they;ll eat them..

chicken wraps

or a picnic dinner

sandwich , some crips, cut up cucumber and cheese, tangerine, carrot sticks..

Humous is a staple in our house along with carrot/breadsticks for snacking..

Agree with Scooter about making your own chicken dippers..tis really quick and they do taste far better.Beefburgers are well easy along with little kebab skewers.

My son loves making fairy cakes,sponges and biscuits-it all helps to keep them busy and plus there's no additives in your own baking(the cleaning up may be a pain in the ar*e though.

We make our own pizzas every Friday with what is left in the fridge (we only shop once a week).

Mini baked potatoes with chopped peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, grated carrot. You can chop or grate at the table and they can add however much they would like.

We only have fishfingers twice a month. When we do have them it is served with mashed potatoes/brokkoli and boiled mini sweetcorn or cauliflower.

Snacks are mainly fresh fruit, or a piece of cheddar that I cut into small squares for them, fruit smoothie or freshly squeezed carrots/apples/oranges, yoghurts.

Are fishfingers crap then? They're just fish aren't they? I do take most of the breadcrumbs off (since otherwise the fish gets left).

So what about

annabelle karmel ready meals?
kiddilicious ready meals?
bolognese made with dolmio sauce?
aunt bessie toad in the holes

These are my sure thing stick in the oven meals. PLease don't tell me they're no good!!!

Thought fish fingers were ok - mind we only eat the 100% cod fillet ones - never the cheaper "minced fish" ones.

if your worried just read the food labels but carefull with things that say 100% on them like fish fingers and chicken dippers just beacuse they are 100% chicken doesnt mean that it is all good meat most of them are made from all the yucky left over bits blended up and then reformed! look for one that say 100% chicken breast meat or cod fillet for fish fingers! i dont think birds eye are that bad but i dont feed mine them very often!

my butchers make home made shepards pies that you can just stick in the oven if you are short on time isnt there anywhere like that near you?

Those things you mention are probably not so bad but if you look at how hard it actually is to make them, you'd be amazed.

eg: kiddie bolognaise equals mince, onion, tomatoes, garlic and a pinch of sugar (like Lulu says, make loads and freeze it so it's even quicker)

Toad in the holes: ready-cooked cocktail sausages and batter of flour, milk and egg. You can make the batter in a jug when you have a minute and then keep it in the fridge.

Don't know about Annabel Karmel though