What's in Friday's Lunch - 6/4

It's Friday so it must be . . .

WG Chicken Nuggets
Bagel w/ butter or cream cheese
Veggie Cheese plate/wrap
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Sides:
Whole Wheat Bread
Carrot Coins
Chilled Strawberry Cups

(Reprised from 5/28) It's time to talk about the chicken nuggets. The USDA gives us some commodity chicken which we send to a food processor. We then pay the food processor to turn it into frozen chicken nuggets. These are made by Tyson. The breading does contain whole grains. However, for most of the year, the menu indicated these were baked. In fact, while we do heat them in the oven before serving, Tyson does fry them. The nuggets contain 42 different ingredients. Please read them yourself at http://www.northshore.k12.ny.us/Foodserviceinfo/nutritionlabels.htm if you are considering buying them. They also have 490 mg of sodium.

The nutrition committee asked for an alternative and you can now also get the Veggie Cheese Wrap. It's a tortilla (not whole wheat but maybe next year) with part-skim mozzarella, lettuce, carrots, peppers and cucumbers.

The good news: next year the district is planning on making this dish in house. They will buy chicken and central prepare it in the high school kitchen, bread it and bake it to make a significantly healthier version than what we have now.

On to the sides -- the carrots are a commodity. They are boiled in the can at a processor and contain salt and calcium chloride - 370 mg of salt. With the nuggets, the salt is really adding up. You can have a slice of whole wheat bread but on the the USDA thinks you would need the starch. Then, there's the "chilled strawberry cups" which sounds great on a hot day. They are chilled in the sense that they are frozen and are melting and somewhat mushy. The real concern though is that they have 30g of sugar. This is a whole, whole lot. The USDA allows the strawberries to be "packed" in sugar and so they are.

This may be more added salt and sugar than you are comfortable with.

Sara