A confession of a bad mother for feeding kids

chloe99_2

Even though there is a bit of junk in your childrens meals, it's basically a gppd sound and balanced diet if you look at what you're giving them. So don't worry if it takes a little while to change things around, okay?

About the cheese etc - children this age love making their own sandwichs (along with a bit of a mess too!!) - not very money saving to begin with but in most supermarkets you can get trial sizes of all sorts of wonderful cheeses - take the children with you when you get it and let them pick a couple each (they'll go for the packagings!) then at lunch time set it out on the floor on a nice rug or picnic cloth and let them do their own margerineing, cutting of cheese etc. I would cut the bread slices into quarters before hand for them so there's less waste.

Let is know how you get on with your changes.

Sarahsaver

Sounds excellent, well done;)

BusyGirl

I had a similar problem with my kids..'don't like that, yeuch' etc

This was before watching the Jamie Oliver School Meals series. I realised that if he could get kids eating proper food then so could I. I even taped the episode of him making the chicken nuggets and showed it to my kids and they haven't touched them since! :j

I was also amazed that when my eldest child who is now nine went round to her friend's house she would try anything eg roast pork (which she refused to eat at home), home made soup etc (she was seven at this time). :rolleyes:

So I had a chat with my kids and told them that we would all be eating the same meal from now on. At first it was a struggle, but almost two years on they eat almost everything eg roasts, stews, pasta sauces, curry, shepherd's pie etc We have compromised on some things...

Curries are not spicey
Chilli with baked beans and only a few kidney beans
they do not like sweet and sour sauces

My life is so much easier and I don't need to spend as much as I did.
We still occasionally eat...fishfingers, pizzas, fish and chips. They eat a healthy balanced diet but they still get their treats

If you become too strict they will probably only rebel :eek:

Good luck as it has taken me two years to achieve this.

tee_pee_2

firstly you are not a bad mum. The basis of their meals sounds OK. But maybe their cereals shoudl be the whole grain stuff- ceerio's are wholegrian but still quite sweet.

Just a suggestion I hate cordial with art sweetner so I give dd pure orange juice with sparkling water, it 's really nice ( you can have wine in yours!).

Finally if they like pasta and sauce, get as much veggies as pos and blend them and stir in with the pasta sauce they'll never know the difference.

Good luck
X

car25

For ideas I was inspired by "The Dinner Lady" by Jeanette Orrey, get it out of the library and have a look.

My husband comes in around 7 from work, so we have dinner shortly after when LO in bed, then save some leftovers in the fridge/freezer for my LO the next day.

earthmother

If you want squash or pop as a treat, without the aspartame and additives, then try Rocks Organic Squash (they do about 12 flavours if you go to a health food shop rather than a supermarket), or Tesco's own Organic orangeade and lemonade (cheaper than Whole Earth etc and just as nice). It is also possible to make your own squash (should have a recipe somewhere - not made it for a while though).

If you're looking to clear the nasties out of your diet, then the next one to go for after Aspartame and other chemical sweeteners, and the dreaded E numbers, is Glucose Frustose Syrup.


We've got rid of virtually all the additives in our diets - I have one of the pickiest 5 year olds around, and we cracked it surprisingly quickly once we explained the difference betwen 'good' food and 'bad'. Tell him something is organic, and he'll wolf it - in fact he tells us off if we slip.

thriftlady_2

I sometimes buy Rock's cordials (not cheap) but I love their labels

http://www.rocksorganic.com/christmascordiallabel.htm

http://www.rocksorganic.com/gingercordiallabel.htm

FZwanab

Have just cracked it with the yoghurt for my 6 year old, he will eat organic probiotic strawberrry yohgurt!!!, yippeee. The tuna pasta went down a treat, I just made my usual tomato sauce with tomatoes, tomato puree, onions and herbs and added a tin of tuna and some bechamel sauce (aldi) then mixed together with the pasta shapes and added a good handful of grated cheese and mixed again and put in a casserole dish topped off with more cheese in the oven for 20 mins. It was delicious, my hubbie, lodger and 3 kids loved it. However, on the fruit melon, pear and plums have been rejected by the 6yr old but he loves apple slices and easy peel mandarins. My budget is going to increase slightly for food but I'd prefer them to have good food inside them giving them nourishment than what they were eating before.

thriftmonster

Re the cheese - if you took them to the deli counter at the supermarket they often will give tiny tasters if you ask and explain and then maybe the kids could choose one without too much waste

Apart from that, it sounds to me like you're doing brilliantly. You have to do what works for you - we decided when ds1 was weaned that we would always try and eat together - but as dh doesn't get in till after 7pm we have always had to have the kids eating late - our choice but probably not for everyone.

We certainly find that the kids eat better at the table than when we have it on our knees.

Penny-Pincher!!

You are doing so well hun-you should be very proud of yourself!

PP
xx