Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project

[Lil Red]

[url="http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/2010_01_03_archive.html"]this blog[/url] is written by an anonymous teacher, who decided (at the beginning of this year) to eat school lunch. she has said that many students going to school there are from impoverished families, and this might be the only meal they get. it's a little sad. (note: the link is from the first week she started blogging)

and i got this link from her blog: [url="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/144822/why_is_crappy_fast_food_safer_than_school_lunches/"]Why is Crappy Fast Food Safer Than School Lunches[/url]?

[homeschoolmom]

Interesting. "School lunch" has always confounded me. I'm really torn on the whole idea of it, honestly. It's waaaay over-regulated to the point that some of what they do just doesn't make sense. We watched "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" last spring and learned a little about some of the ridiculous regulations. Things like offering an "optional" salad (which NONE of the students took) qualified as a vegetable. French fries, of course being the second vegetable. Offering high calorie junk vs. lower calorie, quality food because if it doesn't hit the right calorie mark, the meal does not qualify as a reimbursable meal by the federal government. (Most kids in the US are not suffering from low caloric intake... )

I don't understand the whole idea of offering hot meals every day. If the idea is to keep low-income kids from going hungry, why not offer a sandwich on whole wheat (which can vary from tuna, turkey, ham, che[i][/i]ese, etc for variety), piece of fruit (rather than a cup of fruit in HFCS) small salad (or carrot sticks) on the side, and white milk.... every day. That's it! No spaghetti... no chicken nuggets... no french fries... If kids are hungry, they will eat it. They will learn to like it. If they don't, they can bring something from home.

[Gregorius]

Almost every school day for 13 years I ate cold lunch. I survived.

On the other hand, My school specifically went on a lunch boycott so we could get a better food provider. It's Italian Food, so they were sure to have unheathily delicious large quantities of food. We're also a strong athletics school so we don't have as big of an obesity problem.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Lil Red' date='14 June 2010 - 05:10 PM' timestamp='1276549808' post='2128793']
[url="http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/2010_01_03_archive.html"]this blog[/url] is written by an anonymous teacher, who decided (at the beginning of this year) to eat school lunch. she has said that many students going to school there are from impoverished families, and this might be the only meal they get. it's a little sad. (note: the link is from the first week she started blogging)

and i got this link from her blog: [url="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/144822/why_is_crappy_fast_food_safer_than_school_lunches/"]Why is Crappy Fast Food Safer Than School Lunches[/url]?
[/quote]
oh wow. I saw that yesterday.

[Lil Red]

i guess from anything, reading her blog made me really think (for the first time) about how much processed food we eat as a nation, and how i would like my kids to eat better, but so often I fail because I am not a good cook and I don't easily follow recipes (i almost always mess it up)

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Lil Red' date='15 June 2010 - 02:52 PM' timestamp='1276627966' post='2129352']
i guess from anything, reading her blog made me really think (for the first time) about how much processed food we eat as a nation, and how i would like my kids to eat better, but so often I fail because I am not a good cook and I don't easily follow recipes (i almost always mess it up)
[/quote]
Red-- I am also not a great cook. I hate cooking-- I only do it because we keep getting hungry. And yes, we as a nation and we as a HSfamily eat too much processed food. It's upsetting and I find myself despairing sometimes. However, I have decided NOT to throw in the towel. I try to acknowledge my weaknesses and try to just make "one better choice" at a time. (Picking up the whole-wheat pasta instead of the regular.... choosing the BBQ sauce without HFCS in it rather than the other one... etc)... It is a hard battle sometimes. I keep intending to make up menus of two weeks of dinner meals and just rotate them... I worry that I will get tired of them, so I haven't really tried doing that yet. Maybe that will be my summer project. If you encourage me, I will try to encourage you.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='15 June 2010 - 02:19 PM' timestamp='1276636767' post='2129466']
Red-- I am also not a great cook. I hate cooking-- I only do it because we keep getting hungry. And yes, we as a nation and we as a HSfamily eat too much processed food. It's upsetting and I find myself despairing sometimes. However, I have decided NOT to throw in the towel. I try to acknowledge my weaknesses and try to just make "one better choice" at a time. (Picking up the whole-wheat pasta instead of the regular.... choosing the BBQ sauce without HFCS in it rather than the other one... etc)... It is a hard battle sometimes. I keep intending to make up menus of two weeks of dinner meals and just rotate them... I worry that I will get tired of them, so I haven't really tried doing that yet. Maybe that will be my summer project. If you encourage me, I will try to encourage you.
[/quote]thank you!

i know summer is a better time for me in terms of eating slightly healthier; saturday morning farmer's markets are very popular and have a lot of great stuff (a lot of the Hutterite families come down). and actually this pregnancy will be forcing me to eat better, because i hate greasy food, not much of a meat eater, and i love fresh fruits and veggies. the hard part is knowing what to do with the stuff i buy - how to prepare and what to fix that is 'kid-friendly'. i know my husband and i are awful at menu planning, but i'm hoping that we can get better at it.

let's do it together, hsmom!

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Lil Red' date='15 June 2010 - 05:22 PM' timestamp='1276636976' post='2129468']
let's do it together, hsmom!
[/quote]
Yes, it will be easier this way...

I really need to get to our farmer's market-- now that it's finally open.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='15 June 2010 - 02:36 PM' timestamp='1276637808' post='2129484']
Yes, it will be easier this way...

I really need to get to our farmer's market-- now that it's finally open.
[/quote]
ours doesn't open until mid-July

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='15 June 2010 - 07:49 AM' timestamp='1276602577' post='2129196']
Interesting. "School lunch" has always confounded me. I'm really torn on the whole idea of it, honestly. It's waaaay over-regulated to the point that some of what they do just doesn't make sense. We watched "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" last spring and learned a little about some of the ridiculous regulations. Things like offering an "optional" salad (which NONE of the students took) qualified as a vegetable. French fries, of course being the second vegetable. Offering high calorie junk vs. lower calorie, quality food because if it doesn't hit the right calorie mark, the meal does not qualify as a reimbursable meal by the federal government. (Most kids in the US are not suffering from low caloric intake... )

I don't understand the whole idea of offering hot meals every day. If the idea is to keep low-income kids from going hungry, why not offer a sandwich on whole wheat (which can vary from tuna, turkey, ham, che[i][/i]ese, etc for variety), piece of fruit (rather than a cup of fruit in HFCS) small salad (or carrot sticks) on the side, and white milk.... every day. That's it! No spaghetti... no chicken nuggets... no french fries... If kids are hungry, they will eat it. [b]They will learn to like it. If they don't, they can bring something from home.[/b]
[/quote]
Werd to the bolded. Yeah, I saw the same series, too. I also saw the British series and the regulations were just as whack. The 'merican kids were more surprising because they didn't care where their food came from. It was quite sad. At least he got something rolling, though.

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='15 June 2010 - 05:19 PM' timestamp='1276636767' post='2129466']
Red-- I am also not a great cook. I hate cooking-- I only do it because we keep getting hungry. And yes, we as a nation and we as a HSfamily eat too much processed food. It's upsetting and I find myself despairing sometimes. However, I have decided NOT to throw in the towel. I try to acknowledge my weaknesses and try to just make "one better choice" at a time. (Picking up the whole-wheat pasta instead of the regular.... choosing the BBQ sauce without HFCS in it rather than the other one... etc)... It is a hard battle sometimes. I keep intending to make up menus of two weeks of dinner meals and just rotate them... I worry that I will get tired of them, so I haven't really tried doing that yet. Maybe that will be my summer project. If you encourage me, I will try to encourage you.
[/quote]
I have a couple Jamie Oliver books, one being "Food Revolution". Excellent recipes in there, easy to make. In his forward, he is very encouraging about just trying to cook and challenges the reader to learn one dish from each section. Worth your while. I enjoy cooking. There's a perceived art to it: symmetry, complementarity, variety... even the simplest of these elements make good dishes.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Sacred Music Man' date='15 June 2010 - 10:14 PM' timestamp='1276654471' post='2129599']
Werd to the bolded. Yeah, I saw the same series, too. I also saw the British series and the regulations were just as whack. The 'merican kids were more surprising because they didn't care where their food came from. It was quite sad. At least he got something rolling, though.
[/quote]
Yeah, I thought he was going to freak out from the response the American kids gave him with the chicken nuggets...
[quote]
I have a couple Jamie Oliver books, one being "Food Revolution". Excellent recipes in there, easy to make. In his forward, he is very encouraging about just trying to cook and challenges the reader to learn one dish from each section. Worth your while. I enjoy cooking. There's a perceived art to it: symmetry, complementarity, variety... even the simplest of these elements make good dishes.
[/quote]
I checked FR out of the library. I couldn't quite grab on to it, though... none of the recipes jumped out to me... maybe I'll have to try again. The idea is great, though.

[cmotherofpirl]

Start with the whole wheat noodles. You can add tuna and soup and make a casserole, or broccoli- cauli-carrots and italian dressing to make pasta salad.

Throw out all the processed cereal and go back to oatmeal with fruit. Make the whole wheat pancakes and add fresh fruit or honey or REAL syrup.

Chop up fresh carrots and cook in butter and a spoonful of honey. Add coagulated milk to broccoli and cauliflower.

[homeschoolmom]

Mmmmm... coagulated milk.

Switching to whole-wheat pasta was one of the easiest adjustments. The texture was a little different but otherwise...

I would love to use real maple syrup, but it costs a fortune. I still have not decided what to do about that. We've done fruit, applesauce, yogurt, etc on whole-wheat pancakes, but we all miss syrup. I'm looking for a brand that does not have HFCS or splenda (I don't like splenda)...

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='16 June 2010 - 12:44 AM' timestamp='1276659866' post='2129658']
Mmmmm... coagulated milk.

Switching to whole-wheat pasta was one of the easiest adjustments. The texture was a little different but otherwise...

I would love to use real maple syrup, but it costs a fortune. I still have not decided what to do about that. We've done fruit, applesauce, yogurt, etc on whole-wheat pancakes, but we all miss syrup. I'm looking for a brand that does not have HFCS or splenda (I don't like splenda)...
[/quote]
Splurge on the syrup, you only need a very small amount compared to the fake stuff. We get ours at Aldis. Or use your favorite jam

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='15 June 2010 - 11:52 PM' timestamp='1276660333' post='2129665']
Splurge on the syrup, you only need a very small amount compared to the fake stuff. We get ours at Aldis. Or use your favorite jam
[/quote]
I did not know Aldi sold real syrup... I've only seen the fake stuff... Hmmm... That's interesting...