A stay-at-home mum has faced backlash on social media after showing off the elaborate school lunches she prepares for her nine-year-old daughter.
Alexia Gallegos, an American, is a mother of three children, but it is the contents of her eldest son’s school lunches that have generated controversy on Instagram.
The mom, who insists that “school lunches don’t have to be cold and boring,” recently posted a video to her Instagram account, @lexymariee_, showing a detailed look at her lunch-making routine.
Publishing the shortenGallegos was seen preparing a freshly baked potato, topped with seasoned filets, shrimp, broccoli, grated cheese and herbs, and wrote: “Baked potatoes for the win.”
A stay-at-home mum has faced backlash on social media after showing off the elaborate school lunches she prepares for her nine-year-old daughter, including a loaded baked potato.
After carefully packing the main course into a pink circular Bentgo lunch box, Gallegos added an assortment of snacks to her daughter’s to-go bag.
These included: a small container of pistachios, a small container of Haribo Goldbear sweets, a packet of dried chocolate covered strawberries, a packet of roasted seaweed with sea salt and a packet of vegetarian straws.
The mother then added additional snacks, such as two Ferrero Rocher chocolates, a Kinder Joy chocolate, a tub of jellied fruit, beef jerky, a box of pizza gummies, and strawberry and cream Tic Tacs.
To complete the meal, Gallegos included a Stanley flask filled with butterfly-shaped ice cubes and water, and a handwritten note that read, ‘Hey beautiful, you’re ALWAYS worth it!’ Keep being you! I love my mommy.’
Despite Gallegos’ display of motherly affection, more than 54,000 Instagram users have expressed surprise and concern about the appropriateness of the lunch, with many criticizing the portion sizes and nutritional value of the snacks.
One person said: ‘Sorry, I feel bad saying it because you look very happy and everything is done with love… but this is so much food… also so much sugar for one day…’
Another wrote: ‘All the plastic waste… and wouldn’t one type of candy be enough?’ Neither apple nor banana…’
Meanwhile, one person joked: ‘Is he going to school or is he going to build it?!’, while another joked: ‘That girl is still sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch.’
After carefully packing the main course into a pink Bentgo circular lunch box, Gallegos adds an assortment of snacks to her daughter’s to-go bag.
Despite Gallegos’ display of maternal affection, more than 54,000 Instagram users have expressed their surprise and concern about the appropriateness of the lunch.
A third joked: “Not sure if we’re trying to kill her with diabetes or room temperature shrimp.”
A third said: “I don’t know anything other than that ice that bothered me, it’s not even going to see the shape of the butterfly that’s going to melt.”
One teacher confirmed that the video is likely a truthful depiction of the boy’s daily lunch, writing, “I’ve seen lunches like this before.” Children take one or two bites of the main course and then eat the packaged food. Pack less. They don’t need it.’
Meanwhile, an Instagram user claiming to be a school administrator said: “As a school administrator, we don’t allow teachers to heat children’s lunches, so she will eat them cold the next day.”
It comes after an Australian mother was forced to defend her decision to send her four-year-old daughter to school with a boiled egg in June 2021.
