Why children are served bad food?  Protecting the next generation.

I find it odd with every health movie/article/story out there that children friendly arenas and restaurants are still serving children worse food than they would serve to an adult.  On a typical child’s menu there is pizza, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese.  Can anyone tell me a venue that provides children with healthy organic alternatives?  I would visit that place more often.

I think it is fine if a parent chooses to serve their children pizza, chicken nuggets and hula hoops from a tin.  Every parent should be allowed to make that choice.  I just think some children venues should also provide a healthier alternative too.  There are plenty of healthy foods that children can eat that isn’t just about salads and carrot sticks if a little thought is placed into it – there are more and more qualified nutritionists around who can create affordable meals that children might like that don’t cost the earth either.  There are also many catering companies that are serving up healthy meals to your doorstep so maybe the children venues and healthy catering companies should combine forces?

For example:

Shepherd’s pie can be served with organic minced meat, organic vegetables are disguised in it and potatoes mixed with mashed cauliflower.

Spaghetti bolognaise can be cooked all organic mince and minced vegetables and some spelt pasta.

Hamburgers can be organic ones that haven’t been hauled out of the freezer.

Fish cakes with peas or mashed cauliflower

Freshly made fish pie and peas

Tempura prawns with soba and udon noodles

Perhaps your children wouldn’t eat any of the above but I would choose it for my children if it were on the menu and I bet there are a million mothers who would do the same – when I visit the locally produced organic shops I see the demand for better food. There are plenty of mothers shopping the best for their children – that is why more and more organic products and supermarkets are coming to the market.  The DEMAND is out there.  I know some nutritionists would still pick holes with my menu above but isn’t it better than hormone-filled chicken and beef?  I believe in one-step at a time.

At the majority of children’s events I attend, I have noticed other mums removing the hormone-filled chicken nuggets from their children’s paper plates discretely and choosing the ‘better’ alternative of ‘deep fried fish fingers’.  I see parents fighting with their children not to drink the chemically created juice that has about 7 lumps of sugar, colouring and additives added to it and trying to persuade them water is best.  On the way home in the car, parents are yelling at their kids not to open all the sweets in the goody bag.  Yes, I am one of those mums.  There are days when I lack the energy to fight and I will give my children what is available.  I just wish there was more choice for children on menus everywhere in the world.

As parents, if we demand better menus for our kids, then surely we are protecting our children.  Restaurants and other children venues would be forced to provide better options.  I really salute Jamie Oliver who really had tried to help the next generation learn more about health in the UK.  We mustn’t stop.

I close my eyes sometimes.  I know I cannot control it all.  I just wish that people would serve quality food to the next generation.  Is it really such a big ask?  I want to tell these businesses, especially those places that classify themselves as five star, that parents would pay for that premium to ensure that their children eat well.  Perhaps if they know they can make money out of healthy children they will make more effort.