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*sigh*

The boy is addicted. Sky+ is filling rapidly as there’s an episode nearly ever day… but he won’t miss it. He’s traumatised if a favourite contestant leaves, he’s gripped by the challenges, and most importantly of all he’s INSPIRED.

Oh yes.

“Mum, can we have Vietnamese Duck Curry tonight?”

“Carrot custard would go really well with that…”

“I think I’d like to help with dinner. Do you have Scallops in the fridge?”

*sigh*

Don’t get me wrong, I love the boys enthusiasm, and I’m encouraging where I can. But really, feeding a  family of six on a  budget doesn’t cover

Quail Dolmades with Yoghurt and Tahini Vinaigrette

But – where his culinary creativity can usually run wild is dessert. And today he decided that it was all down to him (we don’t have dessert often – when Jolly saw it being prepared he immediately asked who was coming for dinner. Poor, deprived child.). So he checked cupboard contents, and devised his own recipe to suit.

And all by himself he made shortbread. And lemon mousse. And Peach puree (“reduction, Mum, reduction…”). And stole the ice cream.

And then he insisted on ‘plating up’…

He was disappointed with the presentation – apparently the mousse was too loose, the shortbread too thick, and the ice cream too melty.

But there were six scraped clean plates, and a beaming boy heaped with praise and thanks.

… you just need a plate of home made chips for tea.

Just saying.

So the school, in its Infinite Wisdom and tireless campaign to teach us stoopid parents how to feed our children has decided to ban all unhealthy snacks.

No more will children be allowed to scoff crisps and biscuits and chocolate at break time – no no no. Such bad small people, unwitting recipients of their wicked parents thoughtlessness in the snack department, will not only have their health imperiled by the dastardly munchings they were drooling over during Maths – they will also get to suffer the indignity of having their deemed-unsuitable morsel removed, forthwith.

Hmph.

Well.

See, I get it. I do. I know a lot of parents don’t get healthy snacks, and will drip feed their children rubbish if they can.

But.

Really – is it the schools job to act as High Inquisitor? And by doing this, what are they actually teaching those parents?

After all – have we, the Dim Unknowing,  received sheets of snack suggestions from these zealous food educators? Guidance as to what is good/bad and WHY? You know, stuff that is, like, educational?

No.

Surely, this is more important than the militant zero-tolerance approach?

AND, there’s this; my children rarely get crisps/chocolate/biscuits. We don’t keep them in the house, and just buy them sporadically for treats (with 6 of us, they don’t last long). And if I want to give my child a treat for his snack time, then who is the school to say I may not?

So a chocolate bar is out. But I can provide home-baked cakes/sweets with no issues at all. I can, in fact, provide brandy filled brownies without them batting an eyelid. But a Jaffa cake? *gasp in shock*

I have just one word for it.

Piffle.

There is a new multi-pack of wagon wheels in the cupboard; they were on offer and it would have been prosecutable by law to leave them on the shelf at that price. But they seem to have extraordinarily loud voices for such well-wrapped biscuits. They seem to know just how long it is since I ate one (about ten years), and are doing a little rustle-shimmy every time I go near the cupboard, trying to lure me in.
Gits.