Malnutrition in England

growstuff

But I bet they ate other things as well.

Horse meat amongst other things.

No Casdon I'm talking about the general population. Wholemeal bread isn't that much healthier than white bread - it just provides a some extra fibre. I think it's totally wrong that school meals aren't nutritionally balanced and filling them up with bread isn't balanced.

The trouble is that if children eat cereal for breakfast and chips (or even a baked potato or pasta) in the evening and then have a carby baguette for lunch, they are overloading on carbs and not getting enough protein and fat. It will fill them up and it's cheap, but won't be doing their long-term health much good.

growstuff

Norah Humans can actually survive without any carbs at all and can use fat and protein for energy. Admittedly, carbs are an efficient form of energy (particularly for the brain), but most people eat too many carbs, as they are the cheapest form of energy. Bread is not intrinsically healthy, particularly the salt and sugar. It's about balance. I haven't eaten bread for years.

Wholemeal bread is healthy compared with many other foods though growstuff, and although I know you have to follow a strict diet I’m sure you aren’t advocating that children should do the same?
There’s going to be no point making school meals perfectly nutritionally balanced if the children won’t eat what’s on offer - I think it’s actually going to be a real challenge, and younger children tend to be quite fussy, they just won’t eat at all if they don’t like the look of something.

But I bet they ate other things as well.

growstuff

icanhandthemback

Amazingly the French seem to manage to be healthy with baguettes and I never butter mine! T|he filling does not have to include carbs.

But the French eat other things besides baguettes.

The French children I looked after used to dunk their baguettes into their hot chocolat.

icanhandthemback

Amazingly the French seem to manage to be healthy with baguettes and I never butter mine! T|he filling does not have to include carbs.

But the French eat other things besides baguettes.

Callistemon21

^One of my children's favourite meals was ploughman's style meal with lots of bits of salad, vegetable sticks and fruit. It was a perfectly adequate meal and filling^.

Yes, it sounds nutritious, but that is not what is offered for £3.50.

Exactly!

Casdon

Surely most importantly, they have to be something that’s nutritious that children will actually want to eat. It’s not going to be the sort of meals we had at school - although the chocolate sponge pudding with strawberry custard was delicious.

Chocolate tart! 😁

Norah Humans can actually survive without any carbs at all and can use fat and protein for energy. Admittedly, carbs are an efficient form of energy (particularly for the brain), but most people eat too many carbs, as they are the cheapest form of energy. Bread is not intrinsically healthy, particularly the salt and sugar. It's about balance. I haven't eaten bread for years.

One of my children's favourite meals was ploughman's style meal with lots of bits of salad, vegetable sticks and fruit. It was a perfectly adequate meal and filling.

Yes, it sounds nutritious, but that is not what is offered for £3.50.

Germanshepherdsmum

I would question the nutritional value of any filled baguette. Very heavy on carbs before buttering and adding filling,

Hmm.

Children are in constant motion. I think they need healthy carbs, as most of us do, easy energy. And I think most children can eat more carbs than adults before perhaps gaining weight.

Baguettes are healthy - flour, yeast, salt, water, 1t sugar. Add a healthy filling and you're looking at what we feed GC for lunch.

Peanut butter, meat slices, cheese, hummous, chicken/ cubed avocado tomato filling, Tempeh, Tofu, courgette/cucumber - an endless list.

I'm happy to hear why I'm wrong!

Surely most importantly, they have to be something that’s nutritious that children will actually want to eat. It’s not going to be the sort of meals we had at school - although the chocolate sponge pudding with strawberry custard was delicious.

Baguettes are lunch or tea, not dinner.

Who made that rule up? If it is balanced with the right filling and the accompanying ingredients, exactly what makes it less suitable? Dinners do not have to be hot or traditional. They have to be balanced and filling. One of my children's favourite meals was ploughman's style meal with lots of bits of salad, vegetable sticks and fruit. It was a perfectly adequate meal and filling. It had all the components of a balanced, healthy meal. Isn't that what we should be aiming for?

Germanshepherdsmum

I would question the nutritional value of any filled baguette. Very heavy on carbs before buttering and adding filling,

Yes, GSM

You can have a nutritious baguette and drink though
icanhandthemback
I think a better meal could be provided for the price and a packed lunch from home would contain a much more balanced meal for the price.

The idea of providing universal school dinners would be to ensure that all children have at least one well-balanced, nutritious meal a day.
Baguettes are lunch or tea, not dinner.

Amazingly the French seem to manage to be healthy with baguettes
School meals in France used to be proper dinners, I'm not sure if they still are.

Amazingly the French seem to manage to be healthy with baguettes and I never butter mine! T|he filling does not have to include carbs.

Doodledog

Germanshepherdsmum

I would question the nutritional value of any filled baguette. Very heavy on carbs before buttering and adding filling,

But better than an empty stomach all afternoon.

Or chips and a coke.

Germanshepherdsmum

I would question the nutritional value of any filled baguette. Very heavy on carbs before buttering and adding filling,

But better than an empty stomach all afternoon.

I would question the nutritional value of any filled baguette. Very heavy on carbs before buttering and adding filling,

You can have a nutritious baguette and drink though. You don't have to have a hot meal for things to be nutritious. It just has to be balanced with carbs, protein and vegetables. A wholegrain baguette with meat and mediterranean roasted veg would be delicious and balanced especially with a milky drink or smoothie.
Personally, I don't think it is the education department's responsibility to feed all children but I do think we could have a better academic day if all the children had proper lunchtimes like we did where packed lunches weren't the norm and food was prepared on site instead of turning up on a heated trolley looking horrible. Our teachers ate with us in most schools I went to and I still salivate over the shepherd's pies and all the lovely food we ate.
We had 5 children and very little income for quite a few years after disability hit me and my husband was my main carer. Our children took healthy packed lunches to school; we bought the ingredients from KwikSave and they had wonderful homemade dinners at home which were mainly cooked from scratch using frozen meat from Iceland which was cheap. It is a parent's responsibility and duty to provide for their children and although it is tough during austerity years, there are ways to make things go further without a child suffering from malnutrition. If the State is going to provide, it should be done properly.

Just an aside. I was watching BBC Welsh news the other day where mothers were complaining o f the loss of school meals over the holidays. Every child in the film had a mobile phone. Need I say more

It won’t be universal when we have different parties in power in the four nations, because education is devolved. In Wales we have a commitment for all primary school pupils to receive Universal Free Primary School meals by 2024.

And no mothers at the school gates with burgers and chips as has happened in the past!

Doodledog

I think it could be worked out quite easily if the admin for deciding who should pay and who should get it free were scrapped, and every child automatically enrolled in the system. No tickets or cards would be needed - just a limited choice of food each day (with something suitable for all religions or preferences) and opting out by exception only, with no alternative offered.

Brilliant! I vote for your plan. You implement.

That sounds eminently sensible, Doodledog. Probably far too sensible for the powers-that-be to adopt, however. Here in Scotland, all pupils in P1-P5 get free school meals and there are plans to extend that to P6 and P7 too. I have to say that at my GS's school, the meals do seem reasonably decent and healthy. There's always a choice of hot meal or they can have sandwiches instead (special requirements are also catered for) and because they finish at lunchtime on a Friday, they get a packed lunch to bring home, which includes sandwiches, yogurt, milk, fruit and/or veg (such as a wee salad pack) and usually a little cake type thing too.