Healthy lunch reduces snacking

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uli, Apr 14, 12:34am
Today I stumbled across this article on "stuff":

Healthy lunch reduces snacking

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/3576961/Healthy-
lunch-reduces-snacking

Excerpt:
"... Our senior students have been making Retro Pizza. This is the way pizza was made back in the '70s and '80s, when most families made a scone dough base and topped it with a layer of spaghetti from a can and cheese on top. We've added onion, tomato, mushroom, capsicum, bacon and herbs to make a substantial lunchtime feast... . "

What do you all think - is this "a healthy" lunch?

I personally think not - but then - I am very keen to hear what all the good cooks here have to say.

rog.e, Apr 14, 1:15am
To answer the question "What do you all think - is this "a healthy" lunch? " I say yes it is for active people.

As I remember the 70's in NZ there were no tinned tomatos, tomato concentrates or other products available on a ready basis and fresh tomatoes were seasonal. Some imported products might have been available in major cities.
Watties and Oak made spaghetti, baked beans and sauces whicj werethe onlyreadily available tomato profucrs. Hence the spaghettion the scone dough bases. What could be more Italian eh? :-)

When 'Pizza" became a fashion there were no Pizza Huts etc. and NZ made the above mentioned quick version.
I keep in mind the objection to calling this poor imitation a PIZZA but defend oir originality in the face of deprivation.

Nowadays we have all the lovely extras we can add to them. So much more healthy.

Made my last one of these probably in the late 89's. lol.
V

grannypam, Apr 14, 1:17am
its what our kids knew as pizza. . more or less anyway. .

and they have grown up fit and healthy . . mind you we didnt live on them . .

vintagekitty, Apr 14, 2:48am
What do you all think - is this "a healthy" lunch?

I personally think not - but then - I am very keen to hear what all the good cooks here have to say. [/quote]

I think... . boring. Opinions is that way ------------>

purplegoanna, Apr 14, 2:56am
do i consider it healthy? ! hmm probably not but is it healthy in regards to what eva other crap theyd be eating instead then id say yes definately... . . its a step in the right direction and since teens ears are usually switched OFF then at least its a start...

red2, Apr 14, 3:06am
kids in a kitchen learning food prep ( including veges and their use ) has to be a good step

st_allie, Apr 14, 5:50am
I agree lol. . I have 4 teens of my own, plus all their hanger-on friends. . especially during the holidays. . they arrive and don't leave til school starts again!

pizza. . and bacon and egg pies and deep fried chips and toasted sandwiches are teen lunch fare. . I do get them to eat proper veges at dinner and there is always a big bowl of fruit on the table. . however I think that it is just what teens eat these days. At least they are not close to any takeaway outlets. . instant drive-through burgers and such are not my idea of a diet.

I regard myself as a good cook. . however teenagers in a feeding frenzy are akin to aliens... or sharks...

elliehen, Apr 14, 7:04am
Have you ever fed teenage children of your own, uli? I suspect not. Teenagers don't take kindly to force-feeding.

If this is one lunch choice of many, they aren't eating it at every meal and they're making it themselves, what in the world is wrong with it?

uli, Apr 14, 8:48am
Wrong :)

I have fed thousands of teenagers over the years LOL :)

And not with scone dough covered in tinned spaghetti by the way LOL :)

grannypam, Apr 14, 8:50am
quote "I have fed thousands of teenagers over the years LOL :) "

really uli ? ?

I didn't think you were THAT old. .

uli, Apr 14, 8:52am
See - that is where people have NO idea who posts what and who they are really LOL :)

They were not my biological kids of course ... but then - do you know me from a bar of soap GP?

elliehen, Apr 14, 9:01am
Thousands? Wow... did you do school dinners? Maybe you didn't see what went in the bin after you'd left.

Teenagers thinking about what they eat and cooking for themselves is all good news.

rog.e, Apr 14, 9:04am
This is really all about food puritanism and in particular Pizza snobbery.

New Zealanders like their home devised kai.

Why putr it down?

V

natalie9, Apr 14, 9:08am
Umm... . because she wants a scrap as per usual

uli, Apr 14, 9:12am
So the conclusion is - this is a healthy lunch - yes?

? ? ?

uli, Apr 14, 9:16am
I didn't think that the article I quoted put anything down Val? So why would you write this? What I wanted to know is what the message board community thought about it - is it a healthy lunch - or not?

I am not going to try and convince anybody what they should or should not eat - usually I only answer questions ... and that will be a past passion shortly LOL :)

natalie9, Apr 14, 9:24am
Of course. Misunderstood again.

toadfish, Apr 14, 6:39pm
I am going to step out on a limb here and say Yes it is a healthy lunch and then clarify it with... . if it stops them filling up on the Burger Kings, McDonalds etc that so many kids eat these days. And it also wouldn't be an everyday food for us either... . just a quick fill in a hurry.

I think feeding other peoples teenagers "short term" and having your own raveneous children 24/7 at home for 20 plus years is a whole different kettle of fish.

My kids are city children, and I am proud to say eat a wide an varied healthy diet. I am not saying they don't eat the rubbish. . but just in moderation.

With all due respect Waltraud, living rural Whangarei on a lifestyle block where by all accounts you do not work in a "regular job" but spend all your time being self sufficient, living off the land (and on the internet researching food nutrition & articles) is very very different to the life I lead. And might I add - good for you... . thats YOUR choice.

Although, while admirable is a whole world away from me living in the city with 2 teenagers (24/7), working full time in a "regular" job and running a busy household. Yes I would find the time, if I wanted to to raise a few chickens (for eggs only) and have a vegetable garden but to be perfectly honest... I choose to spend my leisure time doing other things... . And that is MY choice.

Anyway you asked for my opinion (even though this is recipes) so I have given it to you hopefully in an inoffensive way. People may disagree and thats OK, as after all its my Opinion no one elses.

toadfish, Apr 14, 6:53pm
I can relate to that St_Allie. . well put, made me laugh

alewis, Apr 15, 1:05am
well I think its a good "wholesome" filling meal, more for active people as stated above, I think versus food like chips, biscuits, fizzy drinkswhich alot of people hoe into instead of food like the above mentioned. I also like the social aspect that people will work together to get a meal on the table its all around good factors as far as I am concerned - as toadfish says if they are socializing in a positive manner in a safe environment and learning skills thats just fab.

st_allie, Apr 15, 1:09am
absolutely!

buzzy110, Apr 15, 11:16pm
Definitely agree that fizzy drinks and biscuits are not a wise food choice, especially if the biscuits are bought and made with hydrogenated palm oil or margarine.

However, as the tinned spaghetti has quite a lot of sugar in it and all carbs are broken down into sugar, instantly, in the body, you will find that anyone eating this 'nutritious' food is actually getting exactly the same amount of dietary sugar, if not more, than if they'd just had the soft drink and biscuits. But that is irrelevant really.

I have no problem with the vegetables that are piled on. They have fibre and vitamins that are good.

So, is it a healthy lunch? On the whole, probably not, especially if it was being eaten on a regular basis. If you had it, maybe once a year, then there will be no great harm.

I have been known to plead with my husband and family to let me have an Italian pizza for my birthday treat. I never get it and I always feel hard done by and am often left feeling that "nobody understands me". Similarly I feel children shouldn't be deprived of once yearly birthday treats.

uli, Apr 15, 11:54pm
Glad you have finally spoken out toady :) so we can sort out some of your mis-interpretations ...

Yes I do live on a "lifestyle block" - and up until my accident (which nearly killed me) I have been working in 3 jobs at once - so no way have I had time to "spend all my time being self sufficient, living off the land (and on the internet researching food nutrition & articles)" - however since I have problems getting around everywhere I want to go to on crutches now - I obviously have some more internet hours now than I had then.

However I am talking about before my accident - as since then I am actually more involved in helping the other people involved in the same accident - and who are worse off than myself - to survive.

So in the meantime I have given up on educating others teenagers ... LOL :)

But back then when I could walk freely and work wherever I wanted - I had up to 10 teenagers here at a time. And we used to do anything that involved learning "life skills" from killing, plucking and gutting chickens to sewing on lost buttons to planning the winter vege garden to learning how to interact with each other without hurting each other ...

So yes - thousands went through my house LOL - even though I am not that old yet ...

cookessentials, Apr 16, 12:50am
however one feeds their teens is their own business Waltraud, dont you think? I see nothing wrong with a teen having the item as described above on occasion. i think so long as they have a wide variety of foods with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, get plenty of fresh air and exercise, then to have some of these foods is perfectly fin and as toadfish said, much better this than some of the terrible "fast food" that is available today. I think to shoot down in flames anyone who feeds their teens ( or other children for that matter) is to be just as ignorant as those who ONLY feed their children crap food. Feeding ones own children as opposed to "thousands' of others is slightly different.

cookessentials, Apr 16, 12:52am
I was certainly impressed with your comments about "learning to interact with each other without hurting each other"