Jamie's School dinners

Gingham_Ribbon

Onion
Garlic (Fried together in olive oil)
Mushrooms
Courgette
peppers (all added and fried)
Tomatoes (tinned or passata or fresh if you have a glut)
Simmer to reduce with herbs
Baby sweetcorn
Olives
Capers

Mix with the pasta, bung in the oven or under the grill with some mozzarella on top and bob's yer uncle.

rainbowrisin

patchwork_cat wrote:

Also the thing that gets me is that people see this and assume that all fat people are stupid and it is the parents fault.

We are overweight, but it is because we like food. We always give the children good food, admittedly with a packet of crisps for lunch, but no chocolate or other rubbish and people assume that we don't eat well. We get closer to our 5 a day than most and my son has put weight on since starting high school because I can't control him 24/7. He loves white bread - may have a wheat intolerance that might be why he craves it ( I must look into that)and will grap I couple of slices if I don't watch him.

We are watching our weight and trying to do something about it, but it is very hard when the rest of the kids at his school have 2 chocolate bars for lunch and like any normal child that is what he would rather have too.

Children have TWO choccie bars for lunch?? Honestly? That's mad, completely mad. When I was growing up we had sweets on a Sunday after church, as a reward if we sat quietly during the service. We also had "Sunday biscuits". During the week there were three meals, an apple at "break" and a piece of HM cake / cream cracker when we got in from school. What is happening to the world?
I am actually really scared about the littlies starting school, as it seems that's when the peer pressure kicks in to eat this awful stuff. I must admit I think sweets, crisps, choc and other horrific stuff should be banned from school. If the children want to eat it at home then fine, but at school they should only have fruit for snacks. I know some schools do free fruit at breaktime and the children don't bring a breaktime snack, which seems like a good idea to me.

Queenie

rainbowrisin wrote:

....
I don't think advertising, peer pressure, supermarkets or anything else is to blame for children eating c££p - it's parents that feed their children and they should take responsiblity for making sure they do it properly.

I can't completely agree with that statement. I do agree that parents are responsible for making sure their children eat properly and to lead by example, but to say that advertising etc., isn't to blame is a complete nonsense.

If advertising wasn't successful, why do companies plough so much money into it? Where did the phrase: "The power of advertising" come from? Supermarkets *do* have a tendancy to offer BOGOF's and deals on the cheap, processed, c.rap foods and very little in healthy range! Peer pressure is an interesting one because in my experience, although children are deemed the one's to be the victims of it, in actual fact, more often than not, it's the parents themselves who, perhaps through guilt (?) are more susceptable to peer pressure on their children's behalves.

Many children of the war years who went on to be parents didn't want their children to feel the deprivations they did through rationing and the like and wanted them to have more (more being misunderstood as somehow better). Around the same time, TV became more popular within the home and advertising was now being thrust in your face on a scale never known before. Add to the mix todays culture where both parents should be out working and are made to feel guilty if you don't (even if you are *not* relying on state benefits!) then it follows that time becomes yet another challenge.

I'm not saying it's not do-able, we have a whole community of OS'ers here who do it day in day out whether SAHM's, single, working, the whole mix. What I am saying is, to make a sweeping statement like without considering all angles does sound a little naive.

I have fond memories of my school dinners albeit stick to your ribs foods, even bought their recipe book from the school fete. My eldest children we subjected to the first changed in school dinners (they went to my former primary school so I know) and by the time my youngest 2 went for school dinners at Primary, well, I was so appalled, I sent them with packed lunches. Peer pressure? Yes, there was a point where some of the more spiteful children asked couldn't we afford crisps, caprisun's or choccy bars, is they why they had to have homemade things :rolleyes: but, because I talk to my children, they withstood it proudly and actually told the girls "My mum loves us and gives us healthy food cos she wants us to live forever" :rotfl:
:think: It did brook the comment when Jamie's first programme was aired: "Wow, your mum must love you a LOT!" :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Like I say, it's the parents who are prone to the peer pressure more often than not.

thriftlady_2

My thoughts after watching the Jamie Oliver programme last night.

Re the huge quantities of snacks being brought into school by kids. I surely can't be the only one who wasn't allowed to bring snacks healthy or otherwise into school (1970-1984). I, brought a packed lunch in secondary school and that was it, we didn't have snacks at all. If schools all had a policy where good meals were available to all and paid for directly to the school, all they'd need to do is supply fruit and water for a mid morning snack and that would be it - no vending machines, no food brought in.

Lillibet_2

pounds_and_pensive wrote:

It'll come back and bite these parents on the bum when they find that their kids are difficult to buy clothes for because they've put on a ton of weight

It'll bite even harder when the parents are attending their own kids funerals. This generation is not expected to out live their parents for the first time in hundreds of years, with heart diesease & cancers the biggest causes. Unfortuantely in many cases they aren't going to take this on board without experienceing it themselves, by which time it'll be too late. Lets just hope the next generation learns from ours' & our mistakes.

I agree though, you expect the parents to be adult about it & act for the best & not to give in to the kids inappropriate wishes. I'm willing to bet the parents who were delivering the junk food are also the ones with enough time on their hands to produce a decent evening meal but don't bother.

The thing which struck me last night was one parent who disagreed that her son wasn't going to have Jamies dinners as he didn't need to eat from all the food groups every day!! This woman looked older than me (I'm 31) & I certainly remember learing abotu nutrition in Home Ec classes at school (amongst other places) but by the time I was at school Home Ec was optional & only taken by the miniority. Now I believe it has been dropped all together? How on earth can we expect people to know about nutrition if we don't teach them? Clearly the next generation won't know if schools don't teach it & their parents don't have the knowledge as they didn't bother to learn it when they had th chance.

Barking, totally barking IMHO:o

seraphina

Yes, that woman complaining that there was pasta and rice every day got my goat too :mad: . I bet if there had been potatoes and bread every day she wouldn't have batted an eyelid - and I bet she's been giving her kids sandwiches every day.

Every time I see this program (and Ian Wright's Unfit Kids also springs to mind) I am appauled at the backwards and foot-dragging nature of the parents. I know it's not much fun to be told that you've been feeding your kids c£@p but that's no excuse for the defensive nature they show when they're told how to improve their kid's diet!

And for that mum who took one look at the list and said, "oh, he won't eat that!" Well, whose fault is that? And I bet the kid scoffed it down during the trial week as well:rotfl:

Sarahsaver

Yep you just had to see the most cynical looking parents were the ones who didn't look, well, too healthy themselves;)
Interesting about local suppliers, I have had a plan for the school, where I am a governor. There are 2 butchers within view of the school, and a grocers. WHY don't we use them? And a branch of a local college which could train people in the kitchens.
My kids say that their friends have unhealthy packed lunches, I tell my lot I don't want them to be fat and ugly and unhealthy. It's precisely because people are over sensitive these days that there is such a problem. When people were overweight they were TOLD but now it's 'ooh poor you u can't get clothes to fit you'. Now you can even get extra wide clothes for fat kids. :eek: You have eye tests and hearing tests at school, do they have weigh-ins and measuring sessions?
Phew!
Rant over.

kiwichick

rainbowrisin wrote:

I know some schools do free fruit at breaktime and the children don't bring a breaktime snack, which seems like a good idea to me.

My DD is in the foundation/reception year at her school. They dont have school dinners avalible there so everyone takes in a packed lunch. Every class (the school runs from nursery through to year 6) geta a piece of fruit provided by the school at breaktime. DD said yesterday they had the choice of apples, bananas, pears or plums. Children up to the age of 5 also get given free milk, you are able to pay a nominal fee for this to continue after the age of 5. No-one is allowed to take crisps/chocolate/sweets etc in the lunch box. DD has not onve mentioned someone else having sweet/crips etc so why cant she. I do let her have 1 "nice" treat in each lunch box.ie.HM flapjack, some cashew nuts, HM cookie etc but it is school policy that they all eat their sandwich/main course first and then are allowed anything else in the box. This is taught from reception age so its completely normal and accepted.

If only I could get her to eat well at home!!!!

domestic_goddess

Does anyone know if its repeated at all through the week. I missed it but would really like to watch it.

dumpy

I'm not a parent but I work with school so I'm interested in this. I wondered when watching the fish and chips going throught the school fence, whether the kids had not eaten the healthy food, as they may not recognise it/don't want to be told what to do/ not what they are used to.

They then go home hungry and moan to parent about being hungry, parent caves in (to child pressure) and says must feed child, as my child is starving. Solution pass through fish and chips.

If the parents had the will power to say "tough, eat it", do you think they would adjust to the healthy eating regime? I can't believe they would deliberately starve themselves for too long and most schools have a policy about pupils leaving during the school day so no sneaking out for rubbish.

It sounds as if the kids are running the home by manipulating the parents.