Let's be reasonable
​When I was a full-time working mum, I didn’t have time to make things from scratch. I was pooped coming home from work and the last thing I wanted to do was cook and make lunches when there were so many other things that had to be done (I cursed teachers for giving kids homework).
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Looking back, I regret I didn’t pay more attention to the kids’ food. What I did have going for me though was that the amount of ultra processed food in the supermarket was so much less than it is now.
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I made the kids vegemite on Vita Brits and some cucumber for little lunch and a good old cheddar cheese and lettuce wholemeal sandwich with an apple was lunch. Maybe some chocolate and/or a juice.
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Now the choices are way too much and I get how we want to give the kids variety. We may not always be able to avoid UPF's but what we do have choice over, is what's reasonable and what's not.
​​What I mostly stick to is that breakfast, lunch and dinner must be real food, the good stuff. No UPF's at meal times. Yep, there are times when we're out and the kids wear me down, but home meals and school lunches are not negotiable. ​
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For snacks and dessert, I try to keep to the good stuff as much as possible and when I can't, I choose as best I can.
For example, one type of cracker biscuit the kids like has mostly real ingredients except for an added thickener and raising agent. But I’d rather give these to the kids than a packet of Pizza Shapes or a packet of Cheezels.
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It's also reasonable that real food in the supermarket may contain an additive or two to make the product last long enough to get to you, protect the food and prevent the growth of bacteria. As long as the original food and nutrition remain intact, then it's reasonable.
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