Packed School Lunches Banned~What They Offer

I am sure you have all heard of or read about the school in Chicago which has banned students from bringing home made lunches to school. No more brown bagging, they have to buy what is offered daily in the school cafeteria. Here is the article from the Chicago Tribune

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-11/news/ct-met-school-lunch-restrictions-041120110410_1_lunch-food-provider-public-school

At first I was furious to read this. As a parent who packs lunch for my child every day and takes pride in what I pack I was angry at the idea that someone could make these kinds of decisions about what children are eating for lunch. After much debate on my message boards I do see the logic behind it; helping children have something healthier. However, when I went looking for more information on the story I found this picture:



also part of the article in the Chicago Tribune. Is this really what they are serving for lunch? I then googled to try and find the school website, I found it. http://www.lva.cps.k12.il.us/lva/LINKS.html

I searched the website over hoping to find their weekly lunch menu which they were claiming was much healthier than packed lunches the students in their school were bringing. No such luck. I could not find a link to a menu at all. I find this odd because I know that my son's public school publishes their weekly menu on their website. The small private school I work at also has the weekly lunch menu published online as well. Just from gazing at the picture I am having second thoughts about this whole 'our lunch is healthier' claim. Maybe its just me but what these kids are being served doesn't look any different than what is being served in my local public school and that's not saying a whole lot in a positive direction.

Thoughts?

So...What's for Lunch?

I have an announcement to make, and I'm kinda proud of it. My son has been in school since August 9th and I have packed his lunch every single day of the school year. I have always been a big lunch packer but I admit I did slack off a bit at the end of the last school year. I am planning to pack all year. He loves what I pack, I know it is healthy and I know it is enough food for him. The portion sizes at our school are a bit meager to say the least.



I'm going to update this post all week to share with you all what I pack him this week.

Tuesday- Boarshead beef pastrami and colby cheese roll ups, cheddar sunchips, Honest Kids Appley Everafter Water Beverage and Watermelon balls.

Wednesday- Little potatoes in his thermos which I had grilled the night before in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme and garlic salt. Watermelon balls, and some snap n crunch peas. Water to drink.

Thursday- Boarshead beef pastrami, cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, vanilla yogurt, cheddar sunchips, organic chocolate milk to drink.

Friday- Turkey pepperoni, black olives, mozz. cheese chunks, Ritz crackers, watermelon balls and organic chocolate milk.


*Here are some of my favorite lunch box blogs:



http://whatsforschoollunch.blogspot.com/

What Are My Kids Eating?
http://graysonandharper.blogspot.com/

http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/

http://bravenewlunch.blogspot.com/

I hope you can stop by some of these great blogs and check them out. Meanwhile keep checking me out all week to see what Kiddo is eating for lunch.

Leggo My Eggo for Breakfast...So Many Possibilities!

I love making things from scratch, I do. I prefer having something homemade instead of something store bought. But I'm a realist and I know I don't always have the time, or let's face it the movitivation, to pop out something homemade all the time. If I can't get something homemade for breakfast I love turning to the NutriGrain Whole Wheat Eggo Waffles.



Here are some of my favorite ways to serve them for breakfast. My son loves them all!

Eggo waffle toasted, spread Nutella on the top and slice bananas, top with another waffle and make a sandwich.

Eggo waffle toasted and topped with peanut butter and bananas or apple slices, top with another one to make a sandwich.

Eggo waffle topped with syrup and bananas.

Eggo waffle topped with cream cheese and strawberries.

Eggo waffle topped with cream cheese and jelly.

Eggo waffle topped with peanut butter and jelly.

Eggo waffle topped with bacon, apple and a slice of cheddar cheese, put another waffle on top for a sandwich.
*You could even use sliced ham with this, but we use turkey bacon.

So yep, leggo my son's Eggo because he loves them almost anyway!
I hope this gave some other mom's some great ideas on how to mix breakfast up with a simple Eggo waffle.

Back To School

I've been absent from my bloggy posting for the past few days, and this is why. Monday was our first day back to school...AH! *running around screaming while pulling hair out* Where in the world did summer go? It seemed to have zipped right past us without even letting us know. Well, except for the 100+ degree temps we have been having but that is a whole other subject.

I'm curious, when do your kids go back to school and when did they get out? We are live in the south and got out on May 28th, headed back on August 9th.



Back to school means back to packing lunches. My son is a tuna fish FANATIC! So here is what I packed him on his first day back:

Tuna fish salad (mayo and pickles, hold the bread because kiddo thinks that just gets in the way)

Crackers

Sliced cucumbers

Yogurt

Honest Kids Water/Juice drink, Appley Ever After. ;)

What is your kids favorite lunch to take to school?

You Have No Lunch Money? Here Are Some Crackers.

As I have stated before, I rarely allow my son to buy lunch at his Elem. school. My main reason being how small the portion sizes are. When he told me that he would have to pay extra money to get extra food it just stamped it in my mind even more that him buying wasn't a great idea.

This week however, he begged me to allow him to buy on Monday. It was spaghetti day and he went on and on about how much he wanted to buy. I caved and let him. He came home from school so hungry, in a bad mood, and tearing into the kitchen to find something to eat. I pointed out to him that this is why I don't let him buy. I can pack him something bigger and healthier that I know he will eat instead of him buying, not liking it all and not having enough. The rest of the week he asked me to pack. He enjoyed fresh fruit salad, yogurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, sunchips, roast beef lunch meat, tuna salad, black bean soup and a bacon tomato sandwich.

In passing on Wednesday he mentioned something that really struck a chord with me. "If you owe money on your lunch account they will give you lunch 3 times, after that they only give you a pack of crackers." WHAT? I was shocked at this statement and asked him if it had happened to anyone he knew and he said yes. I asked my sister, who is a teacher, how her school handles this kind of situation. She said if they owe on their lunch account they just don't get the hot lunch. The child will still receive a sack lunch with a PB sandwich, chips, milk and an apple. Sounds like a much better solution to me.

Our School's Lunch Menu For This Week 4/19

I am totally in love with Mrs. Q's lunch blog and have really enjoyed reading several other blogs she follows. As I stated in my last post I pack my son's lunch more often than not. When I realized on Friday 'Pizza Days' he was only pulling the large plastic looking sheet of cheese off of the pizza and eating it, leaving the bread on his plate, I thought, "why am I paying for this?" I honestly thought he enjoyed Friday's so that was the one day of the week I would allow him to buy. With my new realization of how much he didn't actually enjoy it I started packing for him on Friday's as well.

But enough of my ramblings, here is this weeks lunch menu at our school in Alabama:

Monday

Sloppy Joe on Bun,
Corn-on-the-Cob, Sun Chips,
Pickle Spears,
Chilled Pear Cup


Tuesday

Deli Turkey and Cheese on Bun, Potato Wedges, Shredded Lettuce,
Sliced Tomatoes,
Pickle Slices,
Ice Cream Cup

Wednesday

Ham Slice,
Sweet Potatoes,
Green Beans, Yeast Roll, Iced Cake Square
with Sprinkles

Thursday

Hamburger/Cheeseburger
on Bun, Vegetable Soup,
Baby Carrots,
Crackers

Friday

Pizza,
Tossed Salad (I need to add that the tossed salad is a bagged salad mix of iceburg lettuce with the little shreds of purple cabbage in it)
with Dressing,
Peach Cup, Cookie

Undercover In The School Cafeteria

While surfing my message boards on iVillage.com tonight I came across an article which particularly peaked my interest. It was about a teacher in IL who decided to start eating out of the schools cafeteria everday of 2010. She actually started a blog about her experiences with the school lunches she had been eating.

http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/

This is a very interesting, and in my opinion pretty shocking, blog that I highly suggest taking a look at.

For awhile now I have been packing my son's lunch everyday. Whenever I let him buy he would come home practically tearing the house apart looking for a snack, he was hungry. Then one day while volunteering in the lunchroom at his school as the "ketchup package opening lady" I actually took notice of how much the children were being served to eat. I was appalled! The serving sizes seemed so meager to me, not to mention the food did not look 'delicious' to say the least. It all actually looked very bland to me.

Please don't mistake me as saying that every school cafeteria provides these 'cardboard lunches', I know they don't. My sister is a Kindergarten teacher and her school has wonderful lunches. The children are also given much better portions than in the school system we are zoned for.

So, if you get the chance I encourage you to take a second look at what your child's cafeteria is providing. You just might be a little shocked.

Soda Goes Down in Schools

"
Sales of soda and other sugary drinks are fizzling out across secondary schools in the U.S., according to a report released today.

The exact figures are pretty significant: Schools received 95 percent less full-calorie soft drinks between 2004 and 2009, which translates to 88 percent fewer beverage calories available for consumption during the school day.

"


All I can say is, 'thank goodness!' No, seriously I don't think there is anything in the world wrong with a tasty little treat of Coke or Pepsi. However I can remember the Coke machines lining the hall outside the gym in my highschool very well. I can also remember the kids 'hitting' those machines in droves once the 3:10pm bell rang to dismiss us. It is good to see that kids are reaching for something else to quench their thirst more often instead of a soda that never really does quench your thirst.

If are interested in reading more you can go to this website:

http://www.ivillage.com/study-finds-soda-sales-go-flat-us-schools/3-a-122419