Main meals - do your kids eat what you do?

bestpud

Mostly the same here.

The exception is spicy food as dd(7) hates anything hot. DD(16) always has too but she is better than she used to be - she will eat korma now but nothing hotter.

So, if me and DH have chill con carne then the girls have something else and if we have curry, I always make it a korma so dd1 has some but dd2 has something else instead.

I am aware of the veggies people like and give anyone ones they hate. DD2 doesn't like parsnips for example so I just give her more potato. I don't like swetcorn but everyone else loves it so they tend to have it when I am at work or we have peas and sweetcorn and I just have the peas. Same with pasta carbonara or turkey drummers - they all love them, I hate them.

It used to be harder when ds was at home as he hates any type of pasta and the rest of us (especially dds) would happily eat it most nights.

I can't be bothered with cooking separate meals every night though tbh so, while I take major likes and dislikes into account, it is mostly eat it or go without!

bestpud

tarajayne wrote: »

My kids always eat what we eat, and are always willing to try anything new. If they try and and don't like it no problem. I work in a school though and you would be horrified at some of the diets. The packed lunches some kids have are awful. Choc spread sandwiches, crisps and 3 choc bars. Real brain food!!!

It's interesting, I think, how chocolate spread and jam etc are an instant 'no, no' when it comes to kids lunches.

I realise you are talking about chocolate bars as well, but in general, any talk of these type of sandwiches has people tutting!

DD quite often takes a chocolate spread sandwich (less often jam but she has those too) but she has wholemeal bread and no margarine with it. She doesn't have anything else sweet, except fruit and yogurt, so I tend to think it isn't that big an issue. She does have crisps though.

I had a parent once tell me dd would lose her teeth and grow up overweight because she had a jam sandwich. It was a strange conversation I thought given her child had a ham sandwich but on white bread and a packet of chocolate biscuits plus crisps, and no fruit!

Is it just me, or does anyone else think 'sweet' sandwiches are better if they are on wholemeal bread and not accompanied by biscuits/cake etc?

Sorry for going OT but I guess I'm asking whether people make special lunch boxes for their children too?

tarajayne

Not really about the sandwich, it's the packed lunch as a whole. Nothing wrong with giving them the spread sandwich, or the choc bar, but the mixture doesn't give much substance does it. I'm not the best at the really well put together packed lunches but try my best to put a bit of thought into the types of food I'm putting in. Better your child had the choc spread on wholemeal and eats it than go hungry, but in these cases the kids never touch fruit, yogurt or anything. One child has only ever had sausage and chips for tea, another pizza. I mean every day for years.

thriftmonster

We probably take the eating together thing a bit far! The kids eat with us and always have done - even though dh doesn't get in till after 7. The kids are now 13 and 9 and on Weds we eat at 9.15pm (Cubs and Squirrels) and on Fridays we eat at 9.40pm (Scouts). We all eat the same except everyone is allowed 1 veg that they hate - mine is swede, ds1 hates mangetout etc. However we are quite lazy about eating it on our knees - even if it isall from scratch (and we have a kitchen and a dining table!)

blottedcopybook

I actually encourage my kids to eat jam sandwiches (homemade jam at that!) because my Gran always told me that jam wards off colds. I think there's an element of truth to that so if they're peckish outside of mealtimes I have no problem with it. Chocolate spread is a different thing really but everything in moderation

Becles

bestpud wrote: »

Is it just me, or does anyone else think 'sweet' sandwiches are better if they are on wholemeal bread and not accompanied by biscuits/cake etc?

I think you should look at the lunchbox as a whole, and not just the sandwich.

I had so many run in's with the "lunchbox police" when the dinner ladies at school decided to comment on my childrens packed lunches, mainly because of the mixed messages that were being sent out:

eg:
Me: it's ok to have crisps once or twice a week
Dinner ladies: crisps are bad and should never be eaten

Me: fruit loaf is a healthier choice than a Cadburys mini roll
Dinner ladies: all cake is bad and should never be eaten

Me: cheese sandwiches are good as cheese has lots of calcium for strong bones
Dinner ladies: cheese is high in fat and bad and should never be eaten
(it was cheddar cheese and not processed cheese!)

The boys are both skinny, so it's not like they need to watch their diets anyway, but I don't think it's healthy telling children that foods are bad and should never be eaten. There's no harm in eating so called bad foods, as long as you eat them in moderation as part of a balanced diet, which is what I've taught my boys.

After my complaint to the head along with other parents, the lunchbox checking did stop

tarajayne

Everything in moderation has gotta be best surely. If you spend all the time telling them no choccies or treats, when they have their own money where do you suppose there gonna spend it. Anyway life would be boring without treats. My sons just has quiche for dinner, but wanted a choc bar for pudding. Now having a plum before bed. Variation. No way I would go without chocolate!

Kimitatsu

Evil parenting rules in our house I am afraid

Everyone eats the same or slight variations (DS2 has a lactose and fruit intolerance - and yes the fruit has been diagnosed by a specialist!!) so there may be a dairy free version and a dairy full version but thats about it!

We all eat at the table every night together, and usually breakfast most days too. Breakfast is different as boys can choose what they want as long as they make it themselves (see told you I was evil!) so they can have eggs if they cook them themselves, (there is an adult to oversee them!), toast, cereal, porridge etc.

As growing boys they dont do fish fingers and chcken nuggets (not unless its about 48 at a time!) so they all eat a wide variety of food.

aliasojo

My eldest are adults and eat everything, but my youngest is 9 and whilst she used to eat everything, she now cant handle anything overly spicey.

Since she was never really a fussy eater, I can only assume she is genuinely developing her own personal likes and dislikes.

My OH is a keen 'chuck everything in and see what comes out' type of cook and this is causing quite a few 'yeuchs' in our house right now. lol.

MrsE_2

My daughter always ate the same stuff as me, from when she was little.

I had friends that served their kids a xyz & chips dinner after school & then had their dinner (proper stuff) with their partner later usually when the kids were in bed.

I always thought that really odd.

I invited a mum & her kids round that did that & cooked them tagatelli carbonara, they kids started crying when they saw it wasn't chips!:rolleyes: :rotfl: