How to stop the lunchbox police!

milliebear00001

Most schools don't really care what you feed your kids at all - they care about what Ofsted thinks. Ofsted puts pressure on schools to ensure they promote 'healthy eating'. My daughter's Pre-School lost its 'Outstanding' rating on the single issue that the packed lunches the kids brought were not healthy enough.

Ofsted doesn't care what you feed your kids either. They are pressured by the Government to ensure schools 'encourage' healthy eating packed lunches! Lobby your MP if you don't like it.

Or do what I do - tell them it's none of their business what you feed your kids, be confident you are providing them with healthy meals, and if need be, point out that yours are, at least, if not more, healthy than the school dinners they are serving up!

meritaten

I am going to throw another point into the mix here! sorry.
My DD loved school dinners - so much so that she was known as B****** Two Dinners all through school! she always asked for seconds!
Her brother was a fussy faddy eater - hated school dinners and I had to give him a lunchbox - and by todays standards it would never have passed the food police! No sandwich, he would consent to having a Dairylea Triangle, crisps or Skips and a piece of cake. Thats it! should I have sent a nice healthy lunchbox he wouldnt have eaten? at least he ATE those!
DS2 was dairy allergic - so he couldnt have school dinners (he would have ate them as he had the appetite of a starving bear). his lunchbox was usually a flask of spag bol or stew, a sandwich - usually BLT or ham,, a banana and apple or grapes and a carob bar or muffin.

I seriously doubt that any of these lunchboxes would pass muster these days - but the kids HAD lunchboxes as the school dinners werent RIGHT for them!

seems to me with lunchboxes - people sometimes dont understand WHY certain items are in them. they also dont understand that kids are sometimes faddy eaters - and with the best will in the world - parents send them to school with stuff they WILL eat rather than see them go without all day!

moomoomama27

A packet of crisps at 80 calories and 2g of fat per day is not going to do any harm as part of a balanced diet! I think that could be considered moderation?

moomoomama27

Nicki wrote: »

But it's a matter of opinion. Take the first menu which is probably one of the most unhealthy

Pork sausage and hot dog roll
Oven baked potato wedges
Sweetcorn
Flapjack

I think that is even so healthier and more balanced than yours of

Soup or sandwich
Packet of crisps
Slice of cake or cereal bar
Yoghurt

At least the school one has protein, vegetables, reduced salt, and only one sugar item. Yours is really high in sugar and salt, with no obvious fruit or vegetables, and three treat items to only one nutritional one.

School menus whilst they may seem uninspiring are still checked by the local authority to ensure they are nutritionally balanced by qualified people. A parents idea of what is healthy and balanced, even if it is not as bad as just crisps and chocolate, is not necessarily correct.

Well those were a selection of items oncluded in the packed lunches, not all on the same day!

Soup or wholemeal sandwhich, a piece of fruit and a packet of crisps/ cereal bar andnatural yoghurt for lunch is hardly the equivelent to fishfingers chips and a custard pudding!

mikey72

msb5262 wrote: »

Not all fats are the same.

The fats I worry about are transfats which are in many processed foods (along with high levels of sugar and salt).

At my school - which is a Food For Life Partnership school and has a School Nutrition Action Group - we have a lot of our foods cooked from scratch, from good quality ingredients, and they are great.

The Food For Life Partnership has made a massive impact at my school and I am hoping against hope that it will continue to exist.

Apart from anything else, it will save the NHS huge amounts of money in the future just by helping children to make better choices.

We can cut spending now but you can bet your life we'll be paying later...

The menu quoted has high carbs every day, a lot of potatoes or pasta.
Sugar in the puddings, and white flour.
It's easy to blame fats, and put carbs in instead.
They're still very cheap meals.

kathie1101

Sorry, I've not read all the posts in this thread, but did read the malt loaf one.
There is one thing that shocked me though and that is that on the menu posted (the Tameside school one) is the amount of choices that children in a primary school are able to make. Every day they have a choice of 3 main meals, 2 puddings, and then fruit and yoghurt! Why on earth is there 3 meals to choose from surely 1 meal and another for vegetarians if needs be, and the same for puddings - 1 pudding or fruit/yoghurt.

I've just had a look at our school menu, as I must say I've never given it more than a passing glance before and if I am honest I am fairly impressed by it. I know the school has recently achieved some sort of status to do with healthy eating, but unsure whether it only covers the school dinners or whether they spied on the lunch boxes too for it.

Ours get a choice of a pudding or fruit, but the pudding isn't always a "pudding" it might be jelly, flapjack, giant cookie with apple wedges or shortbread with fresh fruit slices so not too bad.

Actually, reading through the menu I quite fancy some of it myself:D

jojo_2012_2

Maybe it's my pregnancy hormones, but hearing about grown ups taking away little one's food makes me really sad. Especially something above about taking sweets off the top of the kids birthday cake can you imagine the scene!

We don't have anything like this in my school. My son goes in with a sandwich, usually tuna and cucumber, or cucumber and cream cheese. Then he has a peice of fruit, and either frubes or a mini roll. With an innocent fruit smoothy that costs a bomb.

HOWEVER there have been times I haven't bothered with such luxurious sarnies, or I haven't been able to tolerate the smell of tuna, and he's had cheese and ketchup (an old favourite of mine).. or I run out of juices and a tin of coke goes in, very very rare but I'd hate the thought of someone else dictating what my son eats.

msb5262

moomoomama27 wrote: »

Really, are you a trained nutritionalist? If not then I don't think it's fair to comment. We lead a very active lifestyle, a packet of crisps at 80 calories and 2g of fat per day is not going to do any harm as part of a balanced diet!

I'm not a nutritionist.

You mentioned that your children had crisps every day.

I pointed out that this isn't particularly recommended for their health.

However, as you feel it's unfair to comment, I will say nothing more.

patchwork_cat

If you read my link in previous thread you will find that in fact fats are recommended for children including sat fats at a higher level than adults.

moomoomama27

msb5262 wrote: »

However, as you feel it's unfair to comment, I will say nothing more.

That was wrong of me and I apologise.

I wonder though if that is based on certain crisps (cooking oil stats), because I try to only allow them to chose from baked crisps or crisps lower in fats and calories.

In an ideal world there is probably a better way of using up 80 -100 calories, but I think a daily 'treat food', whether that be crisps or a piece of chocolate or cake is moderation when the rest of the diet is healthy and balanced.