Has anyone amended the way they feed their children since the Jamie Oliver programme?

[Twiglett]

I must admit that DS has chips and chicken nuggets or fish fingers more than once or twice a week and I've never really been that bothered because he eats shed loads of fruit and veg (and he doesn't eat the chips normally )

but have found myself cooking a lot of fresh food instead and getting him to help me a lot more on the main dinners rather than just the cakes since JO (didn't even watch the programme)

anyone else feel themselves changing a little?

[Bozza]

Interesting that its had this impact on people isn't it? And its not just mumsnetters, I was talking to some friends and they were doing the same. I think I've cut down even more on ready meals/oven chips and even baked beans. The other thing I've started trying to do is increase the variety of veggies we eat. I'd already done this with the fruit due to DD's weaning. So tonight we had roast chicken with roast potatoes (in olive oil/herbs), then we had cauliflower, brocolli, sauteed leeks, and roast shallots, swede and parsnips. Obviously this is a Sunday dinner but I have been trying on other days. And whereas when I am working I would usually do one veg I have started doing two although one of them will often be frozen peas.

[Bozza]

Other thing is that I have always been insistent that we all eat the same meal. So this means that if DS had nuggets twice a week thats what DH and I would be having - unlikely.... So tonight DD (almost 10 months) had the same as the rest of us with potato and parsnip as finger food and the rest from a spoon.

[WideWebWitch]

My children do eat healthily and we don't really do junk - we have chocolate sometimes and other stuff sometimes but we really don't eat any processed food - BUT ds has very bland conservative tastes and it has made me think I need him to be more adventurous and I'd like him to take more of an interest in food and also, he really ought to learn to cook (he's 7). So yes, the programme's changed me and I think he needs more variety and to learn a lot more about food/cooking. He'd have recognised mango, lychees, lentils, and various other fruit and veg but not rhubarb or a lot of others. I think I'm going to let him watch it too. I know there's a lot of swearing but he knows those words and that he mustn't use them!

[WideWebWitch]

And my ds has had a healthy packed lunch ever since he started school.

[Dior]

Message withdrawn

[Tinker]

Think our diet is mostly ok so haven't been particularly influenced by the programme. It's not perfect but...Daughter did have school meals for one term (pressure) and my face was a constant each time I asked her what she had to eat. Asked her last week if she'd heard of Turkey Twizzlers to which she responded "They're gorgeous! Used to have them in school"

Do I get smug points for shopping today with shopping list written in her handwriting?

[yoyo]

We're going to let our DDs watch the "what goes in to chicken nuggets" that was trailed last week. They don't eat them at home but have been known to when out with friends. Wish they had produced an edited version and shown it at children's TV time.

[Xena]

Our children have a good diet mostly but I have tried to cut out all 'ready made food' since watching JO and the chicken nugget recipe on here was good.
MTMML my DD loves these 'crisps' I was inspired to make them after she had a bag of pret's veg ones

[Jimjams]

ds1's diet is dreadful. He went to school this morning with
fresh orange juice (which he will have)
gluten free roll with jam which he may/may not have
plain crisps -which he won't have
gluten free rusk 50/50 that he will have
ginger biscuit- will eat
chocolate cake - 50/50 that he will eat (depends whether he thinks there's fish oils in it or not)

Other than that I sent in a loaf of gluten free raisin bread for him to make toast sometime this week (although I have a sneaky suspicion that that will end up oin the gluten toaster spread with crumby marg and crumby jam and he'll be bouncing off the walls- ahh well he has to eart it first)

Other than that he eats buckwheat pancakes (with jam), cheese on toast and gluten free pizza (with cheese and tomatao- picks anything else off).

He used to eat apples - used to eat about 3 a day- until about 9 months ago and now he flinches if one goes near him. Also used to eat raisins and other dried fruit like prunes and apricots. Again flinches if any of those go near him. Used to eat yoghurts until about 6 weeks ago when he stopped overnight. No idea why.

There's nothing I can do about it, so I don't worry about it tbh.

[Jimjams]

when he was 12 months old he ate everything- with relish. Used to spend hours banging up home-made stuff for him.

[Caligula]

Yes. Getting both kids to help me more in the kitchen (give them ownership of the dinner!) and making my own oven chips instead of buying the frozen ones. Also I've instituted a new rule, that every item on the plate has to be tried, and if DS doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat it, but he has to try it.

We don't really eat a lot of processed stuff anyway, except when playdates come round.

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I'd done the rethink already really, when I examined my own eating habits after putting on a lot of weight.

Doing freshly prepared meals every day is tough going, so I make and freeze food mountains every couple of weeks, which takes the pressure off cooking from scratch every day.

I'm so pleased Jamie took on this challenge. I hope it leads to further exposure of the processed food industry as a whole. I don't see anything wrong with the odd bag of crisps or ready meal, but the prevalence and popularity of processed food has a lot to do with an industry that has been allowed to manipulate and brainwash people. It's not right that all this stuff is on permanent bogoff in Tesco.

[Furball]

tigi - Was the spinach to be used in a cooked recipe? As you can buy it frozen. It comes in handy cubes, which you just pop into stews and things. I find it really makes a bolognese. I find the fresh stuff (Sainsburys) has to be washed extra thoroughly as it can be gritty -bleugh!

[tigi]

Hi, I got some yesterday in Sainsburys- it was a for JO tagliatele with spinach and mascarpone. I hadn't realised you can buy it frozen. I will look for it to keep in. I also make a spinach lasagne- I tell the children its 'cabbage surprise!'

[GeorginaA]

Twig - since the discussions on here, I've been trying to be better at having more fresh food and being more organised with cooking double portions then freezing the remainder. I didn't see the programme either.

Have to say that since I've had children I don't enjoy processed food as much (presumably as I've been eating better fresh food with real flavour) so I'm not finding it as hard as I thought to reduce it.

Still confess to liking the occasional chicken nugget though... bad mummy...

[suedonim]

The main change I've made is to spend 10quid on one of JO's books! I think we eat pretty well, on the whole. But, never having seen JO before, I found I liked the sound of his meals and I always need inspiration. Mind you, haven't had time to even open the book yet, lol!

[Joley]

JO made me feel a bit guilty so I've dusted off the Annabel Karmel book I used when making baby food, there's lots of other dishes in there for older children to. Now I just need to get them to eat it!

[GeorginaA]

Joley - Annabel Karmel has done a Family Meal Planner book too - I'm using at least a couple of her recipes a week at the moment, as they're almost all very nice but not as fussy as some cookbooks (plus the vast majority can be frozen)

[bonym]

Yes - I've always tried to feed dd healthy stuff and she's always been pretty good with fruit & veg but I'm even more aware now of what I'm feeding her. Now she is taking a packed lunch to school every day (used to have school dinners 2-3 times a week). I am making my own chicken nuggets and potato wedges (instead of chips) and am trying to cook fresh stuff every night instead of giving her "freezer food" (pizza/fish fingers etc.) 2/3 times a week. I have also been discussing the programme with her so that she is aware of how unhealthy some foods are - bless her, she is very sensible and is also making a real effort to try more, different foods. I was never a great fan of JO in the past but I think he is an absolute hero for what he is doing

[scotlou]

Yes - I'm trying harder. Although I felt really guilty watching last week as due to roadworks we all didn't get home till around 7 p.m. so I asked dh to pick up McDonalds on the way home! I have been trying to cook meals from scratch and getting more veg into the kids (and dh!) I've also started to eat more fruit.

[helsi]

I make my own chicken nuggets which I find healthier than the bags of frozen ones from supermarket. have only started though since watching the programme.

[bundle]

suedonim, i'm absolutely intrigued by JO's chicken recipe with sweetcorn/butter beans in a roasting tray, with chicken on top stuffed with bananas(!) and finished off with proscuitto (!!!!)

[iota]

I gave the ds's roast chicken breast, mash and carrots and broccoli yesterday.

ds1 ate the veg and the mash and was nagged into eating 3 small slivers of chicken. ds2 ate the chicken with lashings of gravy and some broccoli

Had roast chicken on Sat, homemade pizza (lunch) and roast lamb on Sun - ds1 wouldn't entertain the idea of eating lamb, so a veggie day for him.

Tonight I'm going to crack and give them Birdseye chicken dippers (made with chicken breast and no preservatives etc) and possibly smiley faces as well - and 2 veg of course.

[helsi]

that is intriguing. I do not have time to make most of his suggested recipes though.

Is it right though that JO sends his kids to friends parties with a packed lunch so that they don't eat the party food? If it is then find that a bit insulting.

[suedonim]

I think I've seen that recipe on the web, Bundle. It is a bit...er...different!! I really must take a peek at the JO book, it's looking a bit sad, sitting there unread. Dd1 is cooking tonight so I'm having a break.