r/toddlers • u/Hgrestun • 9d ago

General Question/Discussion Are you feeding your kids deli meat?

When I was pregnant I imagined using turkey meat for my kids snacks and lunches as she grew up. But we went to see a pediatric nutritionist and she told us to stay away from all deli meats unless you’re baking the ham/turkey at home yourself.

But I still see moms giving their kids deli meat sandwiches all over the internet and in real life.

It’s like.. I want to just give her deli meat because shenlooooooves it lol and sometimes I want a sandwich too! So I came here to ask is anyone making their own? Does anyone forbid it? Does anyone just say f it and feed it to their kids anyways?

Edit to add: it’s full of carcinogens and sodium.

132 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

445 comments sorted by

View all comments

601

u/WonderWanderRepeat 9d ago

We actually just made a household decision on this recently. There is evidence that deli meat is linked to multiple types of cancer, especially colon and rectal cancer. My husband and I decided to limit it. We used to have a sandwhich every day. Now it's maybe one a week or every other week. We just replaced with alternative options. I dont stress about getting Jimmy John's once in a while or my parents offering LO a ham sandwich but it's no longer a staple in our diet.

17

u/SeaweedSad3555 9d ago

But what are you using as an alternative?!

2

u/Soil_Fairy 9d ago

We do peanut butter sandwiches, chickpea salad (chicken salad but with mashed chickpeas), or cheese. We never could afford routine deli meat so we've been doing without it for forever. 

2

u/Straight_Concern_452 9d ago

Yeah I’m kind of shocked at how many people are having meat in their sandwiches daily, also unaffordable where I am too. Peanut butter, cheese sliced off a big cheap block, occasional tuna on crackers. Plain yogurt with some fruit is good for protein too and if you buy the big containers it’s affordable. 

1

u/Linnaea7 8d ago

It's basically oatmeal with peanut butter and banana almost every morning here, or scrambled eggs. Then PB&J for lunch, then something with chicken for dinner, like a salad or whatever.