Nursery seems nice, but the food......................

[highlander]

DS will maybe go to nursery next year, when he's 2.

I've found 2 nurseries that have 'Good' Ofsted reports. One is a parent co-operative and seems very nice from the prospectus. However, despite their promise of home-cooked food with no processed food I'm concerned that the menus are totally uninspiring and are made more for the cook's convenience rather than the kids health. Don't get me wrong, I've heard of much, much worse but I feel they could do so much better.

The ubiquitous cauliflower/cheese sauce dished up with peas and sweetcorn - please

Bread sticks, Dairylea sqaures on toast - hello! Very high in salt!

Fish and chips/tinned tomatoes and peas - the snack later that day is bacon butties - I imagine that is a toddler's entire weekly allowance of salt

The vegetables all seem to be served separately - for picky eaters they are surely better incorporated into a nice ratatouille or a lentil stew. there was no evidence of 'sweet' veggies which are far more palatable for wee ones.

Are all nurseries like this? Should I supply some alternative suggestions?

Or, [gulp] am I resigned to the fact that all nurseries provide crap food and I won't work until DS goes to school?

[dyzzidi]

I don;t know much about nurseries but can't you pack your child a packed lunch and provide your own snacks?

[moondog]

Highlander,I think these places serve up what most of Britain eats,which is dull uninspiring and not terribly nutritious food.

The same happened at my dd's nursery. Wasn't bad but wasn't great. They actually overfed them in my opinion. She lost weight when she finished there. We don't do puddings,sweet yoghurts biscuits or crisps except on very rare occasions. I have had to take control and be firm to ensure that she eats what we,as a family eat.

She starts school f/t in a couple of weeks. No way is she eating school food!

[Twiglett]

overly fussy?

how do you know there's salt in the fish and chips?? could it be unbattered fish?

maybe your child would like ratatouille and maybe the next won't

I don't think that is crap food.. crap food is chips and nuggets

Buy them a copy of 'The Dinner Lady' and go and talk to the managers if it truly bothers you

[Enid]

hmm

I think its OK

fwiw picky eaters much prefer to pick over their veg rather than have them mulched together

I have to say I would be quite cross at bacon butties though

[Blu]

Highlander - imo the most important thing about a nursery is the atmosphere, and how far you trust the staff to be sensitive, caring, stimulating tetc with your child.
As long as the food is braodly nutritious I wouldn't get too het up about it.

It may not be 'imaginative' but what on earth is wrong with cauliflower cheese? Tinned toms etc, don't have salt, and a small amount of bacon in a sandwich isn't a problem for a 2 year-old.

If it is a parent run co-op they are presumably very responsive to new ideas, suggestions and feedback - but you will presumably have to be tolerant of what other parents are happy with for thier kids.

[Twiglett]

and if you're middle class crap food is pasta and pesto (that was in an article I read a while ago and still makes me smirk in recognition of me )

[highlander]

Ooh, the dinner Lady book seems like a good idea.

I would provide a packed lunch but I know he'll (naturally) want to be the same as everyone else.

I do want to approach this in a positive way - even get involved with the nursery. Definitely don't want to be all snotty and aggressive about it.

[highlander]

PMSL laughing twiglett - DH always says after a pasta and pesto lunch - 'that's a healthy lunch isn't it?'!!

[Blu]

Well you might start by suggesting real cheese as an alternative to Dairylea, but you might have to be diplomatic about the relative merits of lentil stew over cauliflower cheese!

Pasta and pesto is CRAP, Twiglett? o no....

Chicken nuggets have always been my benchmark.

[tarantula]

uummm whats wrong with cauli cheese??????

[Windermere]

What is wrong with pesto and pasta? I can't stand pesto myself.

[Enid]

I would love my kids to eat cauli cheese. v healthy.

pasta and pesto - its what dd1 calls 'comfort food'. Really its just stodge and oil.

yummy though.

[Blu]

And basil leaves and cheese and pine nuts!
I count it as one-of-five a veg portion (on bad days).

[Windermere]

Pesto just tastes like stodge & oil, I always thought that I must be missing something. I feel better now that I know it is "officially" crap

[Enid]

blu I find that deconstructed pesto makes me feel better - pasta tossed in garlic oil with shredded real basil, toasted pine nuts and fresh grated parmesan

how wanky is that

[Fio2]

my ds gets MUCH worse at his nursery but who am i to complain, the care is excellent and I only pay about 70p extra for him to have dinner and a pudding

[dyzzidi]

Enid I hope that was a genuine spelling mistake it has had me ROFL

[Blu]

ooh what sp mistake, dyzz?

The slugs ate all my basil

[dyzzidi]

how wanky

[dyzzidi]

Unless I am completely thick i thought she meant to put how swanky.

If I'm wrong then sorry enid

[Blu]

Nope, think she meant it - she's a foul-mouthed hussy, our enid.

Highlander - how many meals a week will your DS be eating at nursery? Lunch and a snack? 5 days a week? that leaves a lot of v healthy adventurous breakfasts, suppers and w/e meals to supplement his nursery food.

[Blu]

It's swanky if I make my own pesto, but wanky if anyone else does

[dyzzidi]

PMSL

Although have to admit most of my cooking is wanky

[mumtosomeone]

I'm afraid the nursery i worked at was very rubbish on food apart from one day we had roast chicken!!

Not always tollerant to special diets either!!!

[highlander]

that's a good point Blu - it is only lunches after all......

God, I wish I could be objective about all this mothering malarky

I think I'm going to have to go and cheer myself up with choc chip muffin