Am I being a food snob?

[Haventaclue2]

Hi,

DD is starting school in September and I have been sent the menus to chose her first months worth of lunches.

There are two jacket potato options, a meat dish and a veggie dish. There seems to be the same 6-7 meals: burger & potato cubes, pizza & potato cubes, lasagna, fish and chips, tomato pasta & garlic bread etc. Desserts are a cookie, ice-cream, yoghurt, chocolate mouse...

The veggie options sometimes include some veg but I was expecting more fruit and veg in general, some days there is no fruit or veg at all and mainly carbs? I expected some peas on the side or an apple for example?

I always planned for her to have a hot meal at lunch as mum friends have always said how expensive and a faff packed lunches are and most of it can left anyway where as at least she'll probably eat all of the hot meal?

Am I being a terrible snob? 😳

Obviously its only one meal a day so its not going to do her any harm but the food at her nursery is so different it just came as a surprise?

How on earth would that work? Are you saying you'd expect your child to eat cold curry/soup/stew? Eugh.

FWIW DD's school seems to have about 14 meals on rotation and they look quite nice to me, more varied than this and more veg. Not super fancy and they always have 'fishy friday' which is fish and chips, but I don't see any harm there.

Our school doesn't say on the menu but there is always a selection of fresh fruit and veg that the kids can pick from as well as the main menu. They usually have a little salad bar set up and they just help themselves

No, you're not a food snob. You just expect a school to provide a healthy, nutritious meal. My child was the only one in a nursey with about 30 children who did not have their lunches. I sent her in with a healthy packed lunch daily. They thought I was odd, I thought they were odd providing essentially unhealthy meals when they were advertised as nutritious. I think some people lack clarity on proper nutrition and this is why so many children and adults in the UK are obese.

It does sound a bit crap. Are packed lunches an option? I disagree that one meal a day at this age doesn't matter. They're forming habits and preferences which will set the course for their life, it is very important and like you I would be disappointed with what's on offer.

Schools have no money for fancy food

No, you don't have to eat it cold - unless you wanted to.

You pack hot food in something like these. They're great! My mum packed soups etc in similar for me when I was a child.

https://thermos.com/

I remember when my eldest started and the school sent a healthy eating leaflet home. Cracked me up, the school were feeding my child utter shite.

Is there not a roast on Wednesday’s? All our local schools seem to have this. They also have things like curry too. Ds likes them but dd has a jacket potato on those days. I suppose they’re trying to give the kids things that the majority will eat.

I remember when my children started school and were suddenly introduced to a daily pudding - they’d only had fruit and yoghurt up to then with an occasional treat .

At our primary the food was also foul ( they asked the parents in to try it ) .

School meals aren't great. But a lot of kids dkn't eat veg.

School meals generally aren’t great but the main annoying thing I found was dinner ladies and teachers going round checking who’s packed lunch box contained anything resembling anything fun (like a kitkat). And yet, the schools own meals contained sugary mousse, chocolate pudding, chips, apple pie and custard etc. Not that there was anything wrong with that - but schools were very hypocritical and preachy about what a lunch box should contain!

Wtfs a potato cube?

This is very similar to my family and i find that i don't talk to other parents about it because they seem to think we're food snobs if it comes up or they see what my kids eat.

I don't really believe in kids food, my kids always eat the same, varied food we eat as a family and they love it.

From experience there is usually a daily salad bar - not always listed on the menu. Might be worth an ask.

No you’re not being a food snob.
I feel sorry for the children who go home to a sandwich with their parents thinking their school meal was good enough.
even if they upped the vegetables and fruit ratio it’s still a tiny portion and whenever my girls had it they’d always come home ravenously hungry.
just make sure your child get a proper breakfast and a cooked meal when they get home and it should be okay.

and for those saying their school meals are better they’re cooked in school etc. so was my daughters and just because they make it sound fancy on the menu, the reality is far from it and half the time they run out and swap options etc.

They do and they should. It’s the main staple source of food for humans. It’s what you wean them on. Every single meal should contain vegetables.

I didn't like that there was puddings every day and weren't too keen on some of the mains. I find it very hypocritical to as they preach about healthy packed lunches. They did have a salad and fruit bar at my child's school that they could help themselves to so they did get more fruit and veg than it seems they would on the menu.

A cube shaped chip.

I don’t think providing ACTUAL food is fancy. No excuse for limp cucumber and peas are not fancy 🙄

They'll be offered fruit or veg for a snack as well as a portion for lunch.

I always find nowadays schools also make it difficult for kids to go home for dinner . I did when I was a child ( 70s) . I liked to give my youngest son his lunch at home ( I lived in same street ) . I had to walk the long way round to collect him . What he eat at home was far better than the offer at school . Yet it was made difficult as possible and yes the inspection of lunch boxes like school meals are superior 😆.

Gosh, I'm surprised to read this. My DD will be starting reception and I've seen this past terms school lunch menu and it's great! Looks lovely. They do have pizza and burgers and chips and things sometimes but loads of other stuff like pasta dishes, curries, stir frys, fajitas, English breakfasts, soups, all kinds. Veg portion and salad bar every day. Dessert every day is fruit or yoghurt except for once a week they get a homemade cake or biscuit or something. Plus salads, sandwiches, jacket potatoes as alternatives to the main meal if the child really won't eat it.

OP I wouldn't assume there will be fruit and veg on the side, there wasn't at my DC primary school, or else it was just a tiny bit of unappealing veg that no one would eat.

It doesn't have to be that hard to do packed lunches. As PP suggested we have a thermos for DS, so if we have something like pasta or curry or rice for dinner, we make a bit extra and just microwave it in the morning for his lunch, put it in the thermos. Or he has a sandwich and fruit/veg, etc etc. Once you get in the habit it is really not that faffy and can be done cheaply enough.

For me it's not about snobbishness, it's that I know DS isn't going to learn much if every afternoon he's really hungry. I understand people saying 'it's just one meal' but it's really one meal a day for the next 7 years, it's a lot.

This crap is why my 2DD had a packed lunch every day, all the way through primary and for half of secondary! It was a chore to do it every morning but the children really appreciated it.

Are you sure there is ni veg in the side? My class had the option of sausages, jacket or pasta today from the menu but they all have the option to have veg with those when they collect their plate?