Parents are divided over mum’s VERY generous school lunches – so do you think it’s too much food?
- A mum sparked debate over the elaborate lunches she makes for her four kids
- Youngest aged six and nine get chopped fruit, sandwiches and chocolate cakes
- While the eldest aged 11 and 15 get fruit, veggies, chips, cakes and cured meat
- Some said they wished they could hire her to make lunches for their children
- But others said the spreads must send grocery bills ‘through the roof’
The generous and elaborate school lunches a mother makes for her four children have divided opinion online.
Debate has been raging since the woman posted photos of spreads in an Australian Facebook community group which reveal what she packs for her kids aged six, nine, 11 and 15.
The youngest two get small containers filled with chopped fruit and vegetables, as well as a sandwich, a mini-lamington cake and two chocolate biscuits.
The eldest get larger boxes of fruit and veggies, corn chips, chocolate cake bars, pretzels, sandwiches and some cured meat.
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The elaborate school lunches the mother makes for her four children, aged six, nine, 11 and 15, which have sparked debate on social media
The mum said the kids ‘usually eat it all’ and finish any leftovers when they get home.
She said the average cost is just $4 per child per day, which amounts to $80 a week.
‘No they are not overweight, whatever they don’t eat at school they finish at home,’ she wrote.
‘We have no food restrictions at school, they encourage nuts/eggs etc. as healthy eating. If there were children who were allergic I would immediately stop sending those types of food.
Parents were quick to comment on the spread, with some praising them and others criticising the apparent cost and the ‘enormous’ amount of food used.
‘That looks great but your food bill must be through the roof! I couldn’t imagine my kids eating that much or it fitting into our budget of $150 for three teens, one 11-year-old, two adults, two cats and two birds,’ one woman wrote.
‘My son takes one packet food, one piece of fruit, two different drinks and a bottle of water. That is so much food,’ another added.
Nutritionist Katie Fowler: What should the ‘perfect’ school lunch look like?
1. Load up on the five food groups
The first thing Katie said you must do for the perfect lunch box is load up on the five food groups needed for a balanced meal: fruit, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, protein and dairy.
Nutrition Australia recommends you spread your food groups over four different components of the lunch box: in the main item, the fruit or vegetable-based snack, the second snack and drink.
2. Prep in advance
A good meal plan will mean you have everything on hand in order to make the perfect midday meal.
‘Involving your kids in the cooking process of school lunches can be the difference between an empty lunch box come home time and a full one,’ Katie said.
3. Think about storage
‘To keep food fresh and appetising in the heat, try adding a frozen drink wrapped in a plastic zip lock bag as a substitute for an ice block cooler,’ she suggested.
4. Try healthy sweet treats
Katie recommends you instead make your own healthy sweet treats, like raspberry swirl muffins, Turkish delight bites and choc chip fudge.
‘Bloody hell! My school lunch in the 80s and 90s was a Vegemite sandwich an apple and a Just Juice popper,’ a mum replied. ‘Spoilt kids.’
Others thought the lunches were brilliant and commended the mother on the time and effort spent on making nutritious, colourful meals for her children.
‘Wish you were available to make my lunches every day,’ a parent wrote.
‘When I was in school I got an apple or banana and a ham and cheese roll that I would feed to a goat that lived on the street when I walked home. These look incredible,’ said another.
‘What a great job mumma, very cheap really and done in a very smart way. Your kids will never feel deprived, will never feel like they need to binge and won’t have weight issues,’ a third addded.
‘Wish you were my mum!’