Pasta for dinner

[Anonymous]

Oink

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It's funny how some posters make generalizations on how Italians eat based on a sample size of the dozen they personally know. Different Italians eat different things and have different ideas of what a "proper" meal is.

OP, your guest was rude for saying out loud what everyone else would be thinking. Your being Italian has nothing to do with this, just buttered pasta is kind of a weird kids meal for most people. Next time this situation occurs cut up some apples and carrot sticks to make it look like a "proper" kids meal. Now, try to move on.

WTF are you even talking about? Have you ever set foot outside your house?

“Just buttered pasta” is on the kids’ menu at almost EVERY restaurant in the United States.

I have seen this on menus and there is almost always a choice of a side to go with it. But I tell my kids to order something else because that is garbage and I'm not paying $9.95 for a $.35 meal.

Oh right, OP should have offered the boiled from frozen broccoli side that no kid (or adult) in their right mind would eat. The side of broccoli hanging out on the plate after the meal would have made it healthy.

Now you're getting the idea! Maybe you can think of one other thing to add to round it out.

A slice of velveeta on the side! Protein, duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a weird post. I learned a new term today though. "Almond Mom". I don't restrict what my kids eat but I am a firm believer against eating cereal as a meal. I couldn't even fathom being handed a bowl of pasta and expecting that to be a meal. You don't need to be an almond mom or dad to know that any processed carbs are not healthy and that lean protein is important. I also find it funny that people think that ethnicity makes their opinions better for some things...my great aunt came from Italy so I'm an expert of pasta dishes. Who cares? Noone cares where your relatives came from. Some relative of mine came from Germany...does that make me an expert on making sausage? It's so ridiculous. The best was the poster who claimed to be part of the junior Olympics growing up...like that makes her/his opinion any better than others.

Exactly! Even the moms in Gaza would turn away buttered pasta since it’s so horrifically unhealthy and lacking in nutrition!

OP committed war crimes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's funny how some posters make generalizations on how Italians eat based on a sample size of the dozen they personally know. Different Italians eat different things and have different ideas of what a "proper" meal is.

OP, your guest was rude for saying out loud what everyone else would be thinking. Your being Italian has nothing to do with this, just buttered pasta is kind of a weird kids meal for most people. Next time this situation occurs cut up some apples and carrot sticks to make it look like a "proper" kids meal. Now, try to move on.

WTF are you even talking about? Have you ever set foot outside your house?

“Just buttered pasta” is on the kids’ menu at almost EVERY restaurant in the United States.

I have seen this on menus and there is almost always a choice of a side to go with it. But I tell my kids to order something else because that is garbage and I'm not paying $9.95 for a $.35 meal.

Oh right, OP should have offered the boiled from frozen broccoli side that no kid (or adult) in their right mind would eat. The side of broccoli hanging out on the plate after the meal would have made it healthy.

Now you're getting the idea! Maybe you can think of one other thing to add to round it out.

You’re right. Maybe we can add the out of season mushy/hard fruit salad for the kids to add to the compost along with broccoli after they devour their buttered noodles!

That’s how the buttered pasta people roll.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Every time I go to a restaurant and see buttered noodles on the kids menu , I’m going to think of this thread now. I’m not sure if my kids were ever served vegetables with it.

Generally at restaurants kids are served what you order for them. I am willing to bet that the restaurant had vegetables on the menu, but you did not choose them.

Right, because a side dish of vegetables is not necessary with a bowl of pasta. Pasta with butter is a dish that children tend to eat. You can go to a restaurant and order pasta with butter or vodka sauce and be served that for lunch, because that is a meal. They'll throw in some free bread probably, but won't serve you vegetables and protein automatically.

You really don't have to bend over backwards defending this meal. It's low effort empty calories, it's nothing special even if OP is Italian. Will they starve, no, was it good? No.

If you're invited back to someone's house improptu following a meetup in the park, expect low effort. I really don't know what some of you are looking for. Treat it as a snack and go home and get your protein and veggie fill.

I hope nobody actually believes that these ridiculous posters actually eat protein, vegetables and fruit for every meal.

+1 half of them drink one of those bottled "health" shakes or juices, or a single almond.

Aw, I love how proud the bad cooks with a poor diet are. We know how most Americans eat, the proof is in our overall health and decreasing life expectancy. But it's very on point to beat your chest about it.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN ARE DENIED CARBS
For children and teens, there are concerns that these dietary restrictions could lead to growth deceleration, nutritional deficiencies, poor bone health and disordered eating behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Peak almond posting is not understanding that normal healthy people eat a variety of foods in a variety of situations. Almond moms think that any internet stranger who is relaxed about food must weigh 400 lbs. They believe that all healthy people are obsessing about food the way they are. It's a mental illness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Peak almond posting is not understanding that normal healthy people eat a variety of foods in a variety of situations. Almond moms think that any internet stranger who is relaxed about food must weigh 400 lbs. They believe that all healthy people are obsessing about food the way they are. It's a mental illness.

The lady doth protest too much.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The friend is probably a spoonful of plain yogurt and 3 almonds kind of lunch-eater. Pasta with vodka sauce sounds good to me. There will be fruits and vegetables at the other meals of the day.

No. This friend is a pasta with vodka sauce, side of roasted chicken, veggie and mozzarella salad - kind of gal. Simple, uncomplicated meal that normal people eat.

Who eats pasta? The peasants? Then call it what it is. Poor people's subsistence meal.

If someone casually whipped that up for me after a trip to the park, I would think they were a try-hard weirdo.

The most important part of having mom friends when your kids are little is finding people you can just be casual and relaxed around. People who don’t care if you let some things go, because it’s hard enough as it is.

I would think they were a foodie. Some people really care about eating good food. And some people really care about being good hosts. This saying hasn't aged well given the current events, but jewish people used to joke "we cook for the entire Israeli Army, regardless of how many are coming over." We would never dream of giving barely enough. We would give lots of choices and lots of each choice.

I care about eating good food and trying to be a good host, but this only works if your fridge and pantry are fully stocked 100% of the time. That’s completely unrealistic and sometimes being flexible and spontaneous is the best way to go.

Every real chef I’ve ever known would absolutely support impromptu buttered noodles in a pinch. The company and the human gesture of sharing are more important than what’s on the plate.

Disagree. I don’t think there has ever been an occasion where I have absolutely no other food in the house and have to resort to buttered noodles. It’s literally dumping a box of noodles in boiling water. Making a PB&J requires more effort than this. Besides, this wasn’t the case of OP not having food available due to the impromptu nature. She said that is their usual lunch. No, I would not serve this to someone. If I were there, I would have politely declined and just drank some coffee or tea instead. Just like I wouldn’t serve someone a bowl of plain rice or a buttered potato and call it lunch.

Really? You would "politely" decline to eat after you saw what was being served when you had already agreed to lunch? Even my children know to say thank you and take a small serving.

There are always going to be poor cooks, people who have limited funds or just don't care about eating healthily, but who are kind and friendly and might offer you an impromptu invitation. If you care more about the food than the social contact, you may want to first clarify what is going to be served before accepting the invitation. This will also give the inviter the opportunity to remember that they actually had a previous appointment and needed to reschedule to another time in the future.

If someone declined and said they weren't hungry you need to leave it at that. It's not your business.

Then they would have said no thanks to the invitation.

[Anonymous]

Almond mom is not allowed to shit in my powder room so no fiber for you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's funny how some posters make generalizations on how Italians eat based on a sample size of the dozen they personally know. Different Italians eat different things and have different ideas of what a "proper" meal is.

OP, your guest was rude for saying out loud what everyone else would be thinking. Your being Italian has nothing to do with this, just buttered pasta is kind of a weird kids meal for most people. Next time this situation occurs cut up some apples and carrot sticks to make it look like a "proper" kids meal. Now, try to move on.

WTF are you even talking about? Have you ever set foot outside your house?

“Just buttered pasta” is on the kids’ menu at almost EVERY restaurant in the United States.

I have seen this on menus and there is almost always a choice of a side to go with it. But I tell my kids to order something else because that is garbage and I'm not paying $9.95 for a $.35 meal.

Oh right, OP should have offered the boiled from frozen broccoli side that no kid (or adult) in their right mind would eat. The side of broccoli hanging out on the plate after the meal would have made it healthy.

Now you're getting the idea! Maybe you can think of one other thing to add to round it out.

You’re right. Maybe we can add the out of season mushy/hard fruit salad for the kids to add to the compost along with broccoli after they devour their buttered noodles!

That’s how the buttered pasta people roll.

How the almomd moms roll: A person says they occasionally eat pasta for lunch and almond mom interprets that as earing pasta for every meal and weighing 400 lbs.

Why don't you go back to the kitchen and weigh your almonds. This thread is going to kill you.

[Anonymous]

The longest lived people in my family were not almond folk. 90s and 100s. They didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. They ate like normal people.

An almond cousin and almond aunt both died youngish of cancer.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't know... I love eating other people's food. A simple bowl of pasta warmly served to me, in good company, is just as good as any. It doesn't have to be a dietician's dream bowl of food.

I'm not going to eat other people's food just to prove a point. I might pick at it but that's as good as it will get. If the people cared that much about it they would probably solicit opinions first to find out what their guests like. OP didn't really care and just made what she and her kids wanted.

It was an impromptu lunch, not a planned in advance dinner party. It was literally one meal on one day. Is everyone truly so disordered with their eating that they couldn’t suck it up?

None of that is the point. Even OPs friend ate it, we're just saying on its face it's not a good lunch. It's not. If you want to count how many penne noodles I eat then you're a sucky friend too.

It actually is though. A nice hot tasty meal.

For you, others disagree. It's a subpar lunch devoid of basic nutrients. But that's normal for a lot of people.

Are you claiming that you eat a lunch everyday that has 100% of your basic nutrients?

Funny that you're insisting it has to be 100% when the pasta lovers can't even tell us where the line between a good and bad meal is.

No it doesn’t. A lot of people don’t bother with lunch. Claiming it’s devoid of basic nutrients, which is wrong by the way, makes me think you really uptight about meals and that’s not a good thing.

Just for your information-

Pasta provides many nutrients for our body including complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber (less with white pasta), B vitamins including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate, and minerals including iron, magnesium, and selenium. Complex carbohydrates also provide essential energy for children as they grow at a rapid rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time I go to a restaurant and see buttered noodles on the kids menu , I’m going to think of this thread now. I’m not sure if my kids were ever served vegetables with it.

Generally at restaurants kids are served what you order for them. I am willing to bet that the restaurant had vegetables on the menu, but you did not choose them.

Right, because a side dish of vegetables is not necessary with a bowl of pasta. Pasta with butter is a dish that children tend to eat. You can go to a restaurant and order pasta with butter or vodka sauce and be served that for lunch, because that is a meal. They'll throw in some free bread probably, but won't serve you vegetables and protein automatically.

You really don't have to bend over backwards defending this meal. It's low effort empty calories, it's nothing special even if OP is Italian. Will they starve, no, was it good? No.

If you're invited back to someone's house improptu following a meetup in the park, expect low effort. I really don't know what some of you are looking for. Treat it as a snack and go home and get your protein and veggie fill.

I hope nobody actually believes that these ridiculous posters actually eat protein, vegetables and fruit for every meal.

+1 half of them drink one of those bottled "health" shakes or juices, or a single almond.

Aw, I love how proud the bad cooks with a poor diet are. We know how most Americans eat, the proof is in our overall health and decreasing life expectancy. But it's very on point to beat your chest about it.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN ARE DENIED CARBS
For children and teens, there are concerns that these dietary restrictions could lead to growth deceleration, nutritional deficiencies, poor bone health and disordered eating behaviors.

Hmm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The longest lived people in my family were not almond folk. 90s and 100s. They didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. They ate like normal people.

An almond cousin and almond aunt both died youngish of cancer.

Weird that all the processed foods are being blamed for the recent uptick in colon cancers in people under 40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really want this thread to make it 30 pages like someone predicted

If I were to truly spur-of-the-moment invite someone with kids over for a homemade lunch, I could reliably offer:
- tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches
- PB&J or AB&J
- egg sandwiches on a bagel or bagel & cream cheese
- various vegetables & hummus/tzatziki
- apples/bananas/clementines/berries
- fruit smoothies with or without yogurt

I guess buttered noodles would also be on that list (or noodles + red sauce), but it wouldn't occur to me to offer that ahead of those other options. One of my two kids would devour a bowl of pasta, the other would only eat a few bites.

Congratulations on your grocery run I guess?

It's not that the OP has no other food in the house but for this impromptu/casual "let's keep this playdate going" many moms that are also keeping an eye on their kid and talking to their friend and maybe clearing off the table and counter etc. are not going to spend a ton of time washing, chopping, cooking etc. I'm the frozen pizza PP above. So glad my mom friends are more relaxed than this chain. It's like serving pizza at a kid bday - is it the best and most balanced nutritious meal ever? No but it's easy and adults often grab a slice too.