How many options include vegetables? Sadly, less than half.<\/p>\n
![\"Biscoff](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/475cb3bfa2a52a2c97294c7dd401e5fd.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The father of twins led the investigation in a nation-first as part of his new Nova\u2019s podcast, The Parenting Police.<\/p>\n
The findings might shock you \u2013 but if you\u2019re a parent of a nuggets-obsessed toddler, it might also fail to surprise you. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve decided as a culture that our children can\u2019t do better or shouldn\u2019t do better than fish and chips. I think that\u2019s a huge issue,\u201d Mr Szeps told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
After combing through all of the menus, he put his findings into a spreadsheet, with the data showing 82 per cent shared a default option: chips. <\/p>\n
53 per cent of menus didn\u2019t offer up any vegetables at all. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou go to a Thai restaurant, you go to a Russian restaurant, the adults are eating the food of those countries, and then the kids are having nuggets and chips,\u201d he pointed out. <\/p>\n
The data also shifted depending on the suburb he was dining at. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you live in the Northern Beaches, 43 per cent of those menus have real vegetables listed on the kids\u2019 menus. If you go to Western Sydney, that number drops to just 9 per cent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Szeps theorised that perhaps budget was the hidden motive behind the deep-fried debacle. <\/p>\n
He thought \u201cit must be way more expensive for these restaurant teams to actually be putting the vegetables onto people\u2019s plates, but it\u2019s not actually the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOftentimes, the vegetable restaurants, the price was a lot cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n
No-veg venues averaged at a cost of $13.60 per kids\u2019 meal. Veg-present menus averaged at $13.31. <\/p>\n
One establishment in Darling Harbour charges parents $25 for their kids\u2019 menu items, which features no vegetables.<\/p>\n
An executive chef at a bistro in Petersham commented on the podcast\u2019s Instagram post, offering food waste as a potential contributor to the veggie-less menus. <\/p>\n
\u201cI did an experiment for the previous 18 months. Every kids\u2019 party I included chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, capsicum and a dip \u2013 avocado or hummus) with a fruit platter, nuggies, chips and pizza. 90 per cent of the time the veggies were wasted,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I put out fresh-cut fruit, though, [it] evaporates instantly. So I just bulk out the fruit and took off the veggies (I hate food waste); the platters came back clean.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mr Szeps did find establishments willing to risk an untouched plate, with just six of the menus having zero chips on offer. <\/p>\n
Some places went a step further than offering steamed broccoli and carrot, with seasoning and taste incorporated. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was stumbling across not just vegetables but green beans with garlic. And that was definitely exciting to me,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
The Field at Easts Rugby in Rose Bay was an honourable mention, offering \u201cA Lil Healthier\u201d section featuring grilled chicken or grilled fish for kids at $14 a meal, alongside the usual nuggets and chips. <\/p>\n
All come with the choice of salad or mash and veg. <\/p>\n
Another in Newtown, Thai Pothong, offers kids\u2019 portions of culturally rich meals for a reasonable price of $15. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll three of their kids\u2019 meals, surprisingly, are Thai food. There were no chips on the menu. That kind of jumped out to me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
To Mr Szeps, the solution isn\u2019t drastic, and his research isn\u2019t to pry nuggets from your toddler\u2019s iron grip. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if every time they went out, they always got broccoli or what if every time they went out, they had a side salad? Over the course of a generation, you would hope that the story would change,\u201d he proposed. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany parents want nothing more than for their kids to be great eaters.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to Sydney child nutritionist Gina Urlich, eating habits when families dine out can impact fussiness. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf every time a child goes to a restaurant they\u2019re presented with nuggets and chips, we\u2019re reinforcing familiarity with those foods while missing opportunities to introduce something new,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
Too much exposure can impact the nutritional requirements youngsters need to meet in order to be healthy. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir brains are developing, their bones are growing, their immune systems are maturing, and they need a broad spectrum of nutrients to support that development. Yet when we take them out for a meal, we\u2019re often presented with some of the least nutritionally diverse options on the entire menu,\u201d Ms Urlich said.<\/p>\n
She acknowledges that for some children fussy eating can be due to a sensory challenge, but there\u2019s plenty of support available to combat it. <\/p>\n
Otherwise, we need to offer them the correct plate or risk doing them a \u201cdisservice\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we assume they won\u2019t eat vegetables, seafood, different cuisines or more complex flavours, we stop offering them those experiences\u2026 for many children, expanding their palate starts with simply giving them the opportunity,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She encourages parents to \u201cbroaden children\u2019s food experiences\u201d and \u201clook beyond the children\u2019s menu\u201d by considering a communal approach by ordering dishes for the table to share. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need to assume children only enjoy bland food. Model the behaviour you want to see,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An in-depth audit of Sydney kids\u2019 menus has validated a familiar frustration that many Aussie parents battle. 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