I’m standing outside my local cafe in west London, looking bedraggled as I’ve been up since 6.45am making the dreaded school packed lunch. It’s nothing exotic – margherita pizza for Lola, who is a fussy eater, and plain pasta with cheddar cheese and corn on the cob for Liberty. There were all the snacks to pack, too – sadly, no chunks of carrot, just Pom-Bears and breadsticks. I am buying a croissant to add to one of the lunch boxes when I bump into the mum of one of my daughter’s friends. “Oh darling,” she tells me, “it’s all ‘white food’. Not good.” I shrug my shoulders knowingly, then stupidly ask her what’s in her kids’ packed lunches. “Sushi bento box,” comes her instant reply. “Crudites and organic hummus. Japanese panda crackers. Seaweed crackers. Dim sum. Oh, and sandwiches cut into little shapes – I do hearts and stars.” Right. That’s a good start to my morning; I now feel totally inadequate. When it comes to my children, I am a slave to the packed lunch. But gone are the days of stuffing a hard-boiled egg, a jam sandwich or processed cheese triangles into a box – as was the case when I was a child. Even apples have been voted a prehistoric lunchbox item by 17 per cent of parents. Instead, packed lunches are now a status symbol. The actor Hilary Duff, for instance, gives her son caviar for a snack – and it’s not that unusual. One in 10 parents (9 per cent) choose sushi and, according to a recent survey by Amazon Fresh, 26 per cent of parents take a photo of their children’s packed lunch for Instagram. A third (33 per cent) have also admitted they’ve taken a sneak peek inside another child’s lunchbox – and believe me, it’s often to silently snack-shame another parent. I can’t help but wonder if food and snacks are a kind of modern litmus test of parenting. But does it really make you a better parent if you give your child home-cooked wild keta salmon and wholemeal rice in a thermal container for lunch? The playground politics of packed lunches are complex. Parents are constantly criticised for sending inappropriate lunches to school. The TV chef Jamie Oliver once said unhealthy packed lunches are tantamount to child abuse. At the other extreme, parents are finding the time to stamp cucumbers with flowers and dice dried herbs into them for their kid’s bento boxes – then post them online. There seems to be no middle ground. Christina (not her real name) is a 40-year-old PA and tablescaping specialist whose child attends a prep school in west London’s Notting Hill. She makes all of her daughter’s packed lunches from scratch, and it’s always organic produce. “I always wanted to go that extra mile,” she tells me. “My motivation to do this was never to be ‘Queen Bee mum’ – it was to make my daughter happy and proud of me.” The “presentation” and “the taste” of the packed lunches, she says, is “super important” – to such an extent that it needs to be “Instagram-worthy” and “fun” in order to encourage her daughter to eat healthily. One of her lunch box specialities, she adds, is mini American hot dogs “decorated with a little flag and a drizzle of ketchup”. “I know it is always going to be flagged by other mothers because the school is very competitive,” she continues. “This dish goes around the mums like wildfire because mums always want to outdo other mums.” If I put out a post saying how much fibre children should be having, I get people replying saying that ‘it’s unrealistic’ and ‘we can’t do that as well as everything else’ when it comes to kids’ foods. It ends up with parents pitting themselves off against one another with food Charlotte Stirling-Reed, child and baby nutrionist While school playground rivalry among parents used to be about pigtails and bows in your children’s hair, Christina says, now it’s about lunch and snacks. “Kids have a much more sophisticated palate,” she explains. “They’re exposed to a lot more than a ham and cheese sandwich. The playing field has widened, and the bar has been set higher due to social media, and Deliveroo and Uber Eats – everything has become more instantaneous.” For other parents, it’s about making a packed lunch as wholesome as possible – something my children would scoff at. Ella Mills, the founder of the plant-based food brand Deliciously Ella, tells me she has found “batch cooking” easiest for her daughter’s packed lunches at nursery. “It’s a real rush getting everyone dressed, ready and out of the door each morning,” she says. “Plus, thinking of something to cook at 7am that’s got no nuts, no sesame in it [due to possible nut allergies], that I’ll know they’ll eat, and that doesn’t take a little while to make. So I make huge batches of veggie bolognese, bean chilli or sweet potato and chickpea stews plus big batches of grains, then simply heat a portion up and pop it in a thermos. Something that’s pre-made makes a world of difference.” Other parents call in the professionals. Chef Meryem Korkut Avci of Mary’s Mobile Chef Services does “meal preps” for elite customers in west and north London. She sends over an ingredients list and will then come to your home once a week and cook for the whole family – a two-hour session is £120 for six dishes (on the seventh day, her clients usually get a takeaway). For packed lunches, she says gluten-free muffins are popular. “Also egg or chicken fried rice, chilli con carne with tortilla, little mini puff pastry rolls with cheese – or sausage rolls.” She’ll even wash up – and says clients use her because “they don’t have time” or are “bored of their own food”. Dr Megan Rossi, a gut health scientist, bestselling author and founder of the website The Gut Health Doctor and The Gut Health Clinic in London, says an ideal packed lunch would contain something from each of the super-six plant groups: “Legumes (such as chickpeas), vegetables, whole grains (such as oats and barley), fruit, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices. Hitting all these is a tricky one but for optimal health, the goal is for them to have at least one from each of these most days. It’s a great target to have in mind!” She advises “hiding legumes and whole grains in sweet treats like black bean brownies with porridge oats,” and says that “while not a long-term strategy to keep plants a secret, it can help build some confidence and comfort with those plants (as well as training childrens’ taste buds) for you to reveal when the time is right.” For chocolate lovers – like my daughter, Lola – Dr Rossi also suggests “making your own chocolate bars with dried fruits, popcorn, seeds and nuts included for extra dietary fibres and a more satiating treat”. I personally can’t see how I would fit that into my schedule. But for many parents healthy eating is a full-time job. Children may need to be offered a specific food “around 10 times” before they accept it, according to research, while Dr Rossi adds that it means nothing to a child if you merely tell them food is healthy or unhealthy. “Try explaining to them from a young age about the importance of their gut microbes,” she says. “Tell them they need to feed the little pet bugs in their tummy with broccoli, for instance, to help keep them strong.” I often feel ashamed that Lola is a fussy eater – though I find solace in the fact that her younger sister isn’t. Dr Rossi claims that what mums-to-be eat during pregnancy may also affect the kind of food your child will have a taste for. “That could play a part with fussing eating,” she says, but adds that she’s not keen on “mum guilt”: “Pregnancy is hard enough without the added pressure of nutrition.” Charlotte Sterling-Reed, “The Baby and Child Nutritionist”, runs a fussy eater course, and assures me that “parents are not bad parents if they are struggling with a fussy eater at home”. She says she is currently witnessing a backlash from “defensive parents” who are fed up with being told to live up to the “ideal” of being a perfect parent. “If I put out a post saying how much fibre children should be having, I get people replying saying that ‘it’s unrealistic’ and ‘we can’t do that as well as everything else’ when it comes to kids’ foods,” she says. “It ends up with parents pitting themselves off against one another with food.” An extravagant lunchbox is also not realistic for the majority of parents, she adds, “whether working or not, and nor should it be – there is a way to find a balance”. She says that a middle ground is possible. “As parents, [we can] pick something that is balanced but that also works for the family situation. This constant comparison between two extremes on social media makes us feel like we are failing in multiple aspects of parenting.” I don’t think I’m ever going to be posting my kids packed lunches on Instagram. I also know that sliced pepper fingers won’t get eaten even if I arrange them in the shape of a smiley face. More than anything though, I won’t feel guilty about my kids’ food habits any more, or the lengths I sometimes go to to get them to eat healthy – I once told my daughters that if they didn’t drink their freshly squeezed orange juice, their legs would fall off. And, you know what, it worked! Read More Keir Starmer is keeping his children out of the public eye – but that won’t stop them being privileged I’m a jellyfish parent – my run-in with a tiger mum was terrifying Kate Moss credits her stress-free life to ‘moonbathing’ – can eccentric wellness regimes help me too? Vasectomy and British men in their twenties: ‘Young, none and done’ Why taking a mental health day could be bad… for your mental health What the world’s happiest children tell us about where Britain is going wrong

Britain's King Charles III on Saturday attended his first annual Highland Games in Braemar as monarch, a traditional highlight of his late mother Queen Elizabeth...

Contentious plans by London's mayor to extend a scheme taxing the use of the most polluting vehicles were being blamed Friday for costing his opposition Labour...

Tesla says its first electric pickup has rolled off the assembly line

SAVE $100.99: As of May 16, the Dyson Cyclone V10 Animal cordless vacuum is on

TL;DR: As of July 16, you can get a one-time shipment of the Splash Wines

Last week we lost style icon Jane Birkin. The British It girl who achieved huge success in French cinema and music from the 1960s onwards had a lasting influence on fashion. For many, she remains the epitome of the laid-back, lazy-girl look — think jeans and a T-shirt, simple yet chic minidresses, and a whole lot of wide-leg trousers.

It was long after the chequered flag was waved at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday when Lando Norris, buoyed by a positive weekend in his upgraded McLaren, posted a selfie of his bare hand. A high-five for P5. Little did he know that, in the end, a finger needed to be withdrawn. Another Instagram picture comically corrected the initial post. Because Norris had actually recorded his best result of the season in claiming fourth, after a shaking-up of the final classification of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix due to a raft of time penalties. Twelve drivers – including Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz – were punished retrospectively, after 83 lap times in Sunday’s race were deleted due to the exceeding of track limits. The scenario, which only concluded five hours after the race finished, has once again placed the spotlight on the FIA, the governing body of Formula 1. An appeal from Aston Martin triggered the farcical scenes to sign off a weekend in Spielberg typified by the absurdity of the track-limits issue at the final two corners of the track. The only salvation was that the podium and Max Verstappen’s win remained unchanged. Qualifying on Friday was dominated by cars continuously extending the limits of the car beyond the white line. Sergio Perez, incredulously, fell foul three times in Q2, even after a host of warnings from his engineer and subsequently missed out on the top-10 shootout. Sprint day on Saturday seemed less impacted by the issue, but only because of the wet conditions resulting in the drivers being more conservative in their driving style on the approach to turns 9 and 10. Come the grand prix a day later, the number of warnings, black-and-white flags and then time penalties rather overshadowed what was actually an enthralling 71-lap race. Hamilton, exuding disbelief at the situation over team radio, was aghast at the notion that only he was being punished. Ultimately with the late result change, nobody escaped. Esteban Ocon, for instance, had an astonishing 30 seconds added to his final time, seemingly driving a completely different configuration altogether. There are a few problems at play here. Firstly, the issue of cars consistently crossing the white line at the end of the lap. The Red Bull Ring, which has been a fixture on the F1 schedule since 2014 and on Sunday extended its contract until 2030, is the shortest track on the calendar. A fact which should encourage captivating battles, both on track and on the timesheets. Instead, it is the circuit most prone to ignominy with the deletion of lap times. Practically, it can be avoided too. Last year, a gravel trap on the outside of the final turn – as opposed to sections of run-off area – was recommended by the race director. Such an addition would encourage drivers to be more cautious on the approach and thus more likely to stay within the white lines. Such an improvement must be made next year. Yet more so than the track-limits discussion itself, what is particularly concerning for the sport in the long-term is the changing of the result hours after the race has ended. We have been here before, too. In March, the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia saw Fernando Alonso’s third place reinstated past midnight local time, rendering George Russell’s experience on the podium redundant. A fortnight later in Australia, a chaotic race saw post-race appeals drag the race result into uncertainty for a matter of weeks, with Ferrari appealing a late penalty for Sainz. The FIA and F1, two distinctly different enterprises but reliant in many ways on one another, are not the best of friends at the moment. Ideally, they would work perfectly in harmony but on the contrary, the divide is stark, as illustrated by Formula 1 calling out FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the off-season for opining on F1’s market value in the wake of takeover rumours from Saudi Arabia. All of it points towards a situation where the whole operation and system of work must improve. There is an argument that it could be completely scratched and revamped – and perhaps both parties could work towards this after the 2023 season. But something has to change. The net result of more ridiculous scenes such as Sunday night’s result change will be spectators turning away from the sport. The influx of fans in the past few years, due to Netflix, the 2021 season and more races than ever before, will be completely undone if those watching cannot fully trust the finality of the chequered flag. The sport’s marketeers have done so well to be ahead of the curve as it enjoys a period of unprecedented popularity. Now the executives themselves must improve their processes in correlation. Read More Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos Max Verstappen refuses to ponder title hat-trick despite another emphatic win San Luis Obispo: Why you should visit California’s last sleepy stretch of coast, hidden in plain sight Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos F1 Austrian Grand Prix LIVE: Race latest updates and results from Red Bull Ring Lewis Hamilton: 18 months, 13 podiums and an elusive race victory

Jala Group, a Chinese cosmetics and skincare brand, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong that

Lando Norris believes it is “unlikely” he will secure his first win in Formula 1 this year. The McLaren driver led large periods of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix in Austin but the pace of his car dropped off in the latter stages as he was caught by eventual race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. It is Norris’ 12th podium in F1 – and sixth this year – but a first victory still agonisingly eludes him. Asked whether he could win one of the remaining four races, Norris replied: “Unlikely. Qatar [two weeks ago] was our best opportunity. “That’s why I was tough on myself, because I knew it was our only opportunity. “Vegas is still a big question mark but there’s no high-speed circuits [left] which is where we’re very strong. We’re on par with Red Bull almost in the high-speed corners. “Just the slow-speed [corners] are letting us down at the minute. We understand it, we know it’s our area to improve on. “When it comes together, which probably won’t be this year but next year, then we can do some good things.” F1 moves on to Mexico next, before Brazil, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi close out the season. Read More Lewis Hamilton rues Mercedes error which cost him victory at US Grand Prix Max Verstappen booed by American fans on podium after victory Max Verstappen defies Lewis Hamilton to edge United States Grand Prix victory

Blue Apron shares soared more than 130% Friday after the once-hot meal kit delivery service announced it was being acquired.

A new poll has found that 12% of people still believe that drinking coffee is carcinogenic. The new poll – conducted by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), which surveyed 2,092 adults via YouGov – looked into the different ways people live, and whether it impacts their risk of cancer. The research found that 86% of people believed smoking increased the risk of cancer, while 60% said that being overweight could do the same. 47% thought being physically inactive can be detrimental, and 59% believed a poor diet can up the odds. Almost 59% said alcohol can increase a person’s risk and 55% said processed meat could be a risk factor. WCRF launched its poll to highlight its free eight-week interactive programme Activ8, to provide people with tips on making healthier food and drink choices, and finding different ways to be more active. Cancer Research UK wrote on their website that “not all cancers can be prevented, but there are things you can do to reduce your risk”. A person’s risk of cancer depends on many different things, for example, someone’s genes or age. But according to the charity, four in 10 UK cancer cases could be prevented. “The world around us doesn’t always make it easy to be healthy – but small changes to your daily routine can add up.“ The WCRF agreed and has said that around 40% of cancer cases could be prevented through factors including eating a healthy diet, keeping physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and being safe in the sun. Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at the WCRF, said: “These poll results show that many people aren’t aware of some of the steps they can take to help protect themselves from cancer. “For example, it’s interesting to see that 12% of Brits believe drinking coffee increases cancer risk, when in fact we have strong evidence that it reduces the risk of liver and womb cancers, and some evidence that drinking coffee could decrease the risk of other cancers, including mouth and skin. “For cancer prevention, there’s no reason for most people not to drink coffee, but for those who do, we recommend not adding sugar or other sweeteners, and drinking it in moderation.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live A-Level results: How to be the emotional support your teen really needs These are the cheapest school uniforms on the high street – according to Which? Half of anxiety and depression cases in new and expectant mums are missed: 7 signs a new mum needs help