What's for Lunch - Thurs., 12/22

PITA PIZZA
With Meatballs or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie & Fruit Sides
Fresh Grapes

The pita pizza is made with  a HFCS-free, minimal ingredient pita from Mediterranean Gyros.. It is not whole grain until they can find one that is tasty. The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

Meatballs are another story. They are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  Tyson recently had another ground beef recall due to e. coli contamination although this one did not affect the school lunch market.


Go with plain and make a nice salad.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 12/21

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French Toast w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Turkey Bacon
Carrot Crunchers
Cinnamon Applesauce

Say "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist - basically white flour bread.  The syrup is basically HFCS.  They are looking for an affordable maple syrup but do not have one yet - but they will be limiting the serving size this year in the meantime.  Actual lunch from our schools above. This meal has a lot of sugar, simple carbohydrates -- no whole grains.

There are alternatives - check out this one, for example.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates otherwise - and cites the company saying their products have the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands. Read more about nitrates here.

On the upside, there are fresh orange slices and carrots plus applesauce with cinnamon.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 12/20

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Fresh Apple

The noodles we're using for the Mac n cheese are Barilla Plus. The ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. The sauce is made from Wisconsin Cheddar.

Caesar includes romaine lettuce, tomatoes and croutons. Plus a fresh apple.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 12/19

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Orange Rounds

This is USDA commodity beef - but without fillers. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

Fresh toppings and orange slices.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  french fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

Weekend Reading

Reading

Read this piece in the Times on how the processed food industry has destroyed school lunch and created a nation of obese children.

Then read this piece over on Better DC School Food on the millions the food industry is spending on their 'right' to market junk food to kids.

There's a great guest post at Fed Up with School Lunch on how our early eating habits - including those in the school cafeteria - affect us later in life and what we can do to influence kids to make healthier choices.

Speaking of big food advertising, McDonald's is about to try to convince you that their food, too, is "farm fresh". Check out the Small Bites blog.

Petitions to Sign

Help the CSPI tell the FDA that we need to cut the level of salt in the nations' food supply.

Local Fun

Old Westbury House and Gardens will have craft making for kids on Saturday from 10-4 and wreath-making on Sunday at 2pm. Call for info. Our village library lends passes to this museum.

Bailey Arboretum will host a family nature adventure on Art in Nature on Sunday at 2pm.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration has this annual Candlelight Evenings this weekend.

And on the 20th next week - The Hanukkah Hoopla will take place at the Firehouse at 6:30.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 12/16

Homemade Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana
Whole Wheat Penne Marinara
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Cinnamon Applesauce

We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is probably the USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. The noodles are whole wheat.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 12/15

Whole Wheat Penne w/Tomato, Broccoli & Mozzarella
Toasted Garlic Bread
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit

Nice day for lunch. This is a whole grain pasta with vegetables and part skim mozzarella. We make the garlic bread. Plus fresh fruit and choice of salad bar sides.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 12/14

TACO BAR
Seasoned Beef
or Vegetarian Rice & Beans
Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream Toppings
Hard or Soft Shell
Fresh Grapes

The beef used in these is USDA commodity ground chunk -- it is all beef which means it does not contain fillers but it not necessarily of any particular quality. We do season it in-house with salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne and black pepper.

The rice and beans version is a good choice - brown rice, canned black beans.

Check out our posts on reasons to eat less meat here and here.

The hard taco shells from Mission foodservice contain: whole grain corn, water, vegetable oil (one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil), contains 2% or less of niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin lime. No sodium - 6g of fat (2 of which are saturated)

The soft shells are from Tyson and contain:  Bleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: Cottonseed Oil, Soybean Oil), Mono- and Diglycerides, Contains 2% or less of the following: Salt, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate), Fumaric Acid, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dough Conditioner (Wheat Flour, Calcium Sulfate, Sorbic Acid), Preservative (Sodium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate).  Sodium is 380mg. 5g of fat (1 of which is saturated).

What's for Lunch - Tues., 12/13

All White Meat Breaded Chicken Tenders
Roasted Sweet Potato Wedge
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pineapple in Juice

I'm not sure I can identify which Tyson product these "tenders" are. I can give you the ingredients on a similar chikcen patty we use manufactured by Tyson and including rib meat: Boneless chicken breast with rib meat, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.  ('Set' is often a euphemism for 'flash-fried.')

You can read more about Tyson here. It's not pretty.

Sweet potato wedges sound good - trying to find out if they are just sweet potatoes. Pineapple is canned.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 12/12

Applegate Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Bun
Baked Shoestring “Fries”
Cole Slaw
Fresh Fruit

The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms - so they are far better than many hot dogs but are hot dogs nonetheless. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates the nitrate issue is tricky - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.  You may also not want your kids growing up thinking hot dogs are a good lunch given the potential link between processed meats and cancer. The bun is whole wheat.

I have not seen the ingredients on the french fries.  The other sides are all fresh.

Weekend Reading

Reading


The Environmental Working Group has released a new analysis of children's cereals, "Sugar Bombs," which they have cleverly subtitled "Twinkies for Breakfast." Read the report here or jump to the list of best and worst cereals here.

Then, you can read this blog post on how cereal is marketed to your kid s- by a former food industry marketer. Scary.

The Times ran some nice ideas for food gifts you can make - including some breakfast mixes that will nicely displace the above referenced cereals.

Local Fun

Sea Cliff School's Holiday Craft Fair is Saturday from 10-1. It's a terrific opportunity for kids to make their own gifts. We never miss it. More info at www.seacliffpca.org.

Old Westbury House and Gardens will also have holiday crafts for kids from 10-1 on Saturday and card-making at 1pm on Sunday.  Our village library does have a pass to this museum you can check out. 

Coe Hall at the Planting Fields has various holiday festivities this weekend including Gingerbread House making. See their website.

Have dinner like a Robber Baron at the Vanderbilt Museum on Saturday. Check website for details - it sells out.

Watching

Let's Eat! Films on Food at the Cinema Arts Centre of Huntington

Co-presented by Slow Food Huntington 

-----------------------------

Let's Eat!  Films on Food 

 DIVE! THE MOVIE: Living Off America's Waste

Speaker: JOHN STEPANIAN, Food Not Bombs

Wednesday, December 14 at 7:30pm

$9 Members / $13 Public / Includes Reception   

 

Click HERE for tickets and further information

Inspired by a curiosity about our country's careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food - resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action.   USA, 2011, 62 min.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 12/9

Freshly-Breaded Chicken Cutlet Strips
Brown Rice Pilaf
(Rice with Peppers & Onion)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices Dusted with Cinnamon

We prepare this chicken in-house with a new recipe this year. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs. The brown rice pilaf is a whole grain with vegetables. Plus fresh apple slices and salad bar sides.

What's for Lunch - Thurs. 12/8

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Sweet Corn
Chilled Pear in Natural Juices


This is USDA commodity beef - but without fillers. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  french fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

The corn and pears are coming out of cans.

No Lunch Wednesday -

School is closed for parent-teacher conferences.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 12/6

BURRITO
Chicken Breast and Cheese w/ Brown Rice & Zesty Black Beans
Vegetarian Burrito available
Salsa & Tortilla Chips
Salad Bar Veggie & Fruit Sides

Actual photo above - all our lunch photos are taken in our own cafeterias. This is a popular item and we make it ourselves with real chicken.

I've had the vegetarian version at our school before and thought it was really quite good.  So, you can get the vegetarian version or the chicken which uses raw, frozen unprocessed chicken.  I don't think anyone needs to eat rice, a flour tortilla AND chips in a meal - but you could skip the chips (if you weren't 6 years old, anyway.)  The beans are canned.. The cheese is Monterey Jack and the tortilla is white flour - not whole grain. Your choice of sides from the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 12/5

PITA PIZZA
Plain Cheese or with Broccoli
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Warm Apple Crisp

The pita pizza is made with  a HFCS-free, minimal ingredient pita from Kronos or Athena. It is not whole grain. The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

And now, you can get broccoli! Plus salad bar sides and a homemade apple crisp treat.

Whole Wheat pita bread is coming soon! Our district is working to bring more whole grains to our kids!

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 12/1

Whole Wheat Rotini - Bolognese or Marinara
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Warm Apple Crisp

This is a good meal - but go with the marinara version.  This is a whole grain pasta with or without meat.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).

The salad includes romaine lettuce, tomatoes and croutons. We make the apple crisp ourselves. 

What's for Lunch - Wed. 11/30

CHICKEN TBLT
White Meat Chicken Patty
Turkey Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato
Caesar Salad
Cinnamon Applesauce

This meal contains a lot of highly processed, manufactured foods.  Here are the ingredients on the chicken patty - manufactured by Tyson and including rib meat: Boneless chicken breast with rib meat, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.  ('Set' is often a euphemism for 'flash-fried.')

You can read more about Tyson here. It's not pretty.  These patties have 14g of fat and 620mg of sodium.

The turkey bacon does not say "Applegate" on the menu so I can't 't be sure it is but that's what we usually use. Nonetheless, it is still bacon.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article says otherwise - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.

Caesar has lettuce, tomato and croutons.  Applesauce is a USDA commodity to which we add cinnamon.

Good day for the salad bar instead.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 11/29

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese Sandwich Plain or With Ham
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit

The sandwich is made with Cabot cheddar on whole wheat bread.  The optional ham is Boar's Head brand.  We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for these. The ingredients are: STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, BROWN SUGAR, YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OIL OR CANOLA OIL), DOUGH, CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM, STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM IODATE, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, DATEM), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, VINEGAR, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM, PHOSPHATE, YEAST FOOD (AMMONIUM SULFATE), SOY LECITHIN.


Salad bar returns today plus fresh fruit.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 11/28

Whole Wheat Penne Pomodoro w/Meatball or Plain
(Fresh Tomato-Basic Sauce)
Carrot Crunchers w/Dip
NO SALAD BAR
Fresh Fruit

This is a good meal - but go with the plan pomodoro version.  This is a whole grain spaghetti with or without meat.  The sauce is a fresh tomoato and basil.

Meatballs are another story. They are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium. 

There is fresh fruit and fresh carrots- the dip is typically an organic ranch. No salad bar after the long holiday weekend.

Weekend Reading

Reading

Mark Bittman has a great piece in the Times of the food crusaders that he's thankful for (Ann Cooper) and other things that have gone right (The re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act) in food politics amongst so much that has gone wrong.

Chicago's Public Schools have announced plans to serve antibiotic free chicken in their school lunches. This is not the policy here.

Better DC School Food has more to say about the Great Pizza Is A Vegetable debate pitting lobbyists against your kids.

Watching

Can't bring yourself to actually read the coverage of Pizza Is A Vegetable-gate? Watch SNL's Weekend Update with Seth and Kermit here - so you can laugh before you cry.

Local Fun

Old Bethpage Restoration Village has their 1863 Thanksgiving Celebration again this weekend with historic demonstrations, cooking, music and stories. Sat & Sun 10:30-3:30.

On Saturday from 2:30-4:30, the Long Island Children's Museum will put on "Veggie Volume" again this weekend as part of their Get Up and Go Series. A fun healthy educational workshop "inspired by the famous Vienna Vegetable Orchestra."

On Sunday the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum will host educator from RARE (Rare Animals Really Endangered) at a workshop for kids at 2pm on how to keep our planet clean and, um, make origami.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 11/22

Whole Wheat Penne w/Tomato, Broccoli & Mozzarella
Toasted Garlic Bread
Caesar Salad
NO SALAD BAR
Fresh Fruit

This is a whole grain pasta with vegetables and part skim mozzarella.  No salad bar but there will be romaine lettuce, tomatoes and croutons for a Caesar salad plus fresh fruit.

Plus, kids can get a free sample of freshly-made pesto and penne! Try it!

No school for the rest of the week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Tell Congress to Listen to Parents - Not Lobbyists - On School Lunch Policy

Congress asked the prestigious Institute of Medicine to develop nutritional guidelines for school lunch. They did. Now that the USDA is trying to implement them under the re-authorized school lunch law, lobbyists from Big Food have convinced Congress that kids should be able to eat french fries every day and that a slice of pepperoni pizza should count as  a vegetable. It's ketchup all over again. Read more background in our post here.

Then - read this email from the Center for Science in the Public Interest and WRITE TO CONGRESS:

Congress just sent a clear message that protecting industry is more important to them than protecting children's health.  Congress passed an Agriculture spending bill that weakens the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ability to implement strong, common-sense standards for school meals.  As a result of industry lobbying, the bill protects the dominant position of pizza and French fries in school lunches.

We need your help to let Congress know that you are disappointed that they didn’t stand up for children’s health.

The USDA has proposed common-sense standards for schools to double the servings of fruits and vegetables, increase whole grains and low-fat dairy, and set limits on calories, salt, and unhealthy fats.  Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives appropriations committee tried to bar USDA from moving forward with its new school meal standards.  Your emails were critical in thwarting that effort.  Then, the U.S. Senate dealt a blow to the process when it voted to block any restrictions on how often French fries can be served in school meals—limits that had been proposed to encourage kids to eat a wider variety of nutritious vegetables.  In addition, USDA’s proposal would have changed a policy that allows as little as two tablespoons of tomato paste to count as a serving of vegetables, allowing a slice of pepperoni pizza to count as a vegetable.  Unfortunately, the final bill includes a provision that will prevent the Obama Administration from closing this loophole.

At a time when child nutrition and childhood obesity are national health concerns, Congress should be supporting USDA and school efforts to serve healthier school meals, not undermining them.

Please email your Senators and Representative today and let them know that you’re disappointed in Congress’s actions to undercut these important improvements to school meals.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 11/21

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Orange Rounds

This is ground beef without fillers like soy but school ground beef nonetheless. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  french fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn
starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

Weekend Reading

Things to Read

Congress is poised to gut most of the new nutritional requirements in the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act which regulates school lunch. Read more at the New American Foundation.

The Huffington Post also weighed in on the issue with their article - Congress Fights to Keep Pizza and Fries.

And there's more great reporting over at Better DC School Food on the lobbyists out to profit from school lunch by destroying the new nutritional standards. Remember when ketchup was a vegetable?  

The Institute of Medicine has released a new report which looks at the effectiveness of nutritional labels on food packaging and suggest a new point system that would indicate a food's overall healthfulness.

The Environmental Working Group has posted tips on keeping our kitchen safe and healthy over the holidays.

Petitions to Sign

From Food, Inc.:

Stop the Super Committee from Deciding Our Food Future in Secret!

Hello, The Farm Bill is a critical piece of legislation that determines our nation's agricultural, food access and food safety policies for the next ten years. Usually, it is debated and voted upon in an open process by all of Congress. But, the "Super Committee," tasked with cutting $1.2 trillion from our government spending, is currently rewriting the bill in secret. Within two weeks, this Committee will make recommendations for funding cuts of up to $48 billion. This drastic measure could cut important programs, from agricultural conservation initiatives to farmers market programs to food stamp benefits. Take action today and tell Congress that the Farm Bill should not be written in secret. Demand that your voice be heard. Thanks for your continued support, The Food, Inc. Team

Local Fun

Do Not Miss This: The  Garvies Point Museum in Glen Cove has their annual Native American Thanksgiving Feast. Sat & Sun 10-4. Authentic foods - some made over an open fire, pottery making, learn tool making and spear throwing and on and on.

Old Bethpage Restoration Village has their 1863 Thanksgiving Celebration with historic demonstrations, cooking, music and stories. Sat & Sun 10:30-3:30.

On Sunday, Bailey Arboretum hosts a family workshop from 2-3pm called "Hibernate, Migrate and Survive" as part of their Nature Adventure series.

Also on Sunday, Old Westbury House and Gardens has their "Feast for the Eyes" program for families where you can make a holiday centerpiece.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 11/18

Freshly-Breaded Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana
Whole Wheat Penne Marinara
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Orange Rounds

This is a really nice lunch made with whole (not processed) foods by our cafeteria staff.

We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is probably the USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. The noodles are whole wheat.

Plus, fresh fruits and vegetables.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 11/17

TACO BAR
Seasoned Beef or Vegetarian Rice & Beans
Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream Toppings
Hard or Soft Shell
Fresh Grapes

The beef used in these is ground chunk -- it is all beef which means it does not contain fillers but it not necessarily of any particular quality. We do season it in-house with salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne and black pepper.


The rice and beans version is a great choice - brown rice, canned black beans.


Check out our posts on reasons to eat less meat here and here.

The taco shells contain: whole grain corn, water, vegetable oil (one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil), contains 2% or less of niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin lime.

Plus fresh grapes.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 11/16

A PRACTICE FEAST!
Oven Roasted Turkey Breast w/Pan Gravy
Smashed Long Island Potato
Fresh String Beans
Apple Crisp

I got to see the "practice feast last year and it's a great example of what school lunch can be. The potatoes and string beans are fresh.  There is turkey with gravy - all actual whole foods. Plus, they actually make the apple crisp themselves. Try it!

What's for Lunch - Tues., 11/15

All White Meat Breaded Chicken Tender
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit

These are fried, frozen Tyson "quality" chicken chunks.  Here are the ingredients for the chicken nuggets (they may vary a little from the chicken tenders) so you can decide for yourself:  Chicken, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.

Plus, freshly made sweet potatoes, salad bar and fresh fruit.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 11/14

Pizza Bagel with Meatballs or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pear in Fruit Juice

We do assemble these ourselves so they are not highly -processed -- but you should go with the plain version (see below)  which has enough protein in the cheese. The pizza bagel does not indicate it is whole grain so it is likely not. For our various pizzas, we typically use  the Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

The meatballs are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  This is not generally the kind of ground beef you want to eat - check the posts labeled "Meatless Mondays".

Pears are canned.  

Weekend Reading

 Reading

 I love this blog - by a former big food marketer about the evils tricks of food marketers.

Better DC School Food has posted a great piece exposing the power of rebates from giant food manufacturers to school food providers like Chartwells.

I'm running a little late on this one, but What's for School Lunch posted an infographic in honor of National School Lunch week back in Oct. on, of all things, childhood obesity.

My kid just had her first Diet Coke at a pizza party. There are lots of reasons to avoid soda (sugar chemicals...) - including diet ones. The School Lunch Tray blog  just looked at schools banning sodas.  While Small Bites looks at why artificial sweetners are bad even if they won't kill you.

Things to Do

In Sunday, the Cradle of Aviation is hosting a Pumpkin Drop from 12-3. Bring your own or get one there.

On Saturday from 2:30-4:30, the Long Island Children's Museum will put on "Veggie Volume" as part of their Get Up and Go Series. A fun healthy educational workshop "ispired by the famous Vienna Vegetable Orchestra."

The Queens County Farm Museum has their Wildlife Weekend Sat. and Sun. from 12-4.  Tonight (Friday) they will also host an authentic 18th Century Tavern night.

Old Westbury House and Gardens  has a children's program on Origami Bird Sat. at noon.

Petitions to Sign


From the Center for Science in Public Interest:

Is supporting your local farmer, visiting your farmers market, CSA, food coop, or other local food source important to you?  What about having fresh, local food for your child’s school meals?  We have a unique opportunity for you to support local farmers and ranchers and to ensure your local food system continues to grow.

In the coming days, we will be joining members of Congress and other farm and food advocates in introducing the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act! Ideally, it will be included in the farm legislation that Congress will consider in the very near future as part of the deficit-reduction package.

The goal of the bill is to advance the development of local and regional farm and food systems from farm to table.  Local food systems not only hold potential for connecting consumers with where their food comes from, but also for boosting farm income, stimulating job creation and economic development, stabilizing rural America, and meeting public health and nutrition goals.
The bill will address the needs of consumers in accessing food from their local communities and the needs of farmers and ranchers producing for local and regional markets, including infrastructure and processing capabilities.  While there are growing “relocalization” efforts and local food economies are expanding across the nation, policy reforms are needed to overcome barriers and more fully capitalize on the new farming opportunities, jobs, and economic growth this sector can deliver.

Ask your two Senators and your Representative to co-sponsor the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act!

We need support from as many legislators as possible – and quickly.

Can we count on you to take action?

Sincerely,
Michael F. Jacobson

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 11/10

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Long Island Potato Wedges
Sweet Corn
Fresh Melon

This is beef  without fillers BUT you may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here. Potatoes are local, frozen potatoes. Corn is canned and low-sodium. Melon is fresh.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 11/9

Brown Rice, Zesty Black Bean Chicken Breast and Cheese Burrito
Vegetarian Burrito available
Salsa & Tortilla Chips
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pineapple in Juice

I've had a bean and cheese burrito at our school before and thought it was really quite good.  So, you can get the vegetarian version or the chicken which uses raw, frozen unprocessed chicken.  I don't think anyone needs to eat rice, a flour tortilla AND chips in a meal - but you could skip the chips (if you weren't 6 years old, anyway.)  The beans are canned as is the pineapple. The cheese is Monterey Jack and the tortilla is white flour - not whole grain.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 11/7

All White Meat Breaded Chicken Chunks
Oil & Garlic Tossed Penne
Caesar Salad from the Salad Bar
Cinammon Applesauce

These are fried, frozen Tyson "quality" chicken chunks.  Here are the ingredients for the chicken nuggets so you can decide for yourself:  Chicken, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.

For the penne, we use Barilla Plus. The ingredients are:  Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.

Romaine, tomatoes and croutons are available for the salad. Canned USDA commodity applesauce to which we add cinnamon.

Weekend Reading

Reading

Time to talk about local food, food insecurity, the Farm Bill, Big Agriculture and the "Super Committee" -

La Vida Locavore talks about it here.

Mark Bittman does here.

Slow Food does here and here.

Grist talks about it every day here.

Other than that, I'd like to talk about how I do not like McDonalds. Read about their new TV Channel here and about the truly unfortunate pigs that end up in the McRib.

Local Fun and Action

Bring your canned goods to donate to our local food bank this Saturday to Clifton park between noon and 2pm.

Cold Spring Harbor's Whaling Museum has Ocean Science Sundays this Sunday at 2pm.

If you go out that way, you could stop by the Fish Hatchery for an egg-stripping demonstration.

We have two days off from school next week, so if you'r elooking for activities:

The Huntington Historical Society has a morning program for kids on Election Day, Nov. 8th.

The Science Museum of Long Island will also run workshops on these school holidays:

Aerospace -Tuesday, November 8 -Election Day

From the atmosphere to outerspace we will set out on a cloud hopping and star trekking adventure. Visit a planetarium to see stars up close and take to the skies with model rockets that launch into the clouds. What do you think is outside our solar system?

 

Physics of Flight -Friday, November 11 -Veterans Day

Up, up and away we go on a journey to discover the mysteries of flight. By using flying objects you create, you will discover the physics behind flight. Kites, planes, balloons, rockets and helicopters will all be studied.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 11/4

Freshly-Breaded Baked Chicken Cutlet
Herb-Roasted Long Island Potato
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Apple Slices

This is a great, real meal. We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The kids will get fresh, local potatoes plus there choice of salad bar sides and fresh apple slices.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 11/3

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Warm Apple Crisp

The noodles we're using for the Mac n cheese are Barilla Plus. The ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. The sauce is made from Wisconsin Cheddar.

Caesar salad plus an apple crisp we make in-house.

Action Alert: Tell Congress Not to Interfere with Healthier School Lunches

From the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

The U.S. Senate recently dealt a blow to the efforts of parents across the country who are trying to make sure their children are provided healthy food choices at school. The Senate voted to block a key element of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposal to update the nutrition standards for school meals.  The House of Representatives earlier included a provision in its agriculture spending bill that would require the USDA to toss out its proposed standards and start over.

We need your help to make sure Congress doesn’t further interfere with efforts to improve the nutritional value of breakfast and lunch at schools across the country. 

The USDA has proposed common-sense standards to include more nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits, and whole grains as part of school cafeteria menus. The standards also would limit salt, unhealthy fats, and calories. Thousands of schools across the country are already proving these healthy changes can be made, and at reasonable costs. For those schools that haven’t, the agency is providing new resources and support to help them strengthen their financial operations and make these healthy menu changes. 

Please help by urging your U.S. Representative and Senators to support the USDA’s standards — not block them — so that all children have access to healthy school meals.

Sincerely,
Margo G. Wootan, D.Sc.
Director, Nutrition Policy
Center for Science in the Public Interest

What's for Lunch - Wed., 11/2

TACO BAR
Seasoned Beef or Vegetarian Rice & Beans
Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream Toppings
Hard or Soft Shell
Orange Rounds

I'm all for the vegetarian version but I have some concerns about the beef.

The beef used in these is  ground chuck -- it is all beef which means it does not contain fillers but it not necessarily of any particular quality. We do season it in-house with salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne and black pepper.

Check out our posts on reasons to eat less meat particularly in school here and here.

The vegetarian version uses canned beans and brown rice.

The hard taco shells contain: whole grain corn, water, vegetable oil (one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil), contains 2% or less of niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin lime.

Healthy Treats Appear at Class Halloween Parties

Here are two fun ideas from yesterday's Halloween festivities:

Clementines with jack-o-lantern faces and black and orange fruit kabobs. both were consumed in their entirety by a class of 3rd graders.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 11/1

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French Toast
w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Farms® Turkey Bacon
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Pear

Join me in saying "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist - basically white flour bread.  The syrup is basically HFCS.  They are looking for an affordable maple syrup but do not have one yet - but they will be limiting hte serving size this year in the meantime.  Actual lunch from our schools above. This meal has a lot of sugar, simple carbohydrates -- no whole grains.

There are alternatives - check out this one, for example.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article indicates otherwise - and cites the company saying their products have the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands. Read more about nitrates here.

The fresh fruit sounds terrific.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 10/31

Happy Halloween!

Applegate Hotdog w/ Whole Wheat Bun
Mini Corn Cobs
Salad Bar Veggie
Fresh Fruit

The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article says otherwise - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.  The bun is whole wheat.

The corn cobs arrive frozen. For kids with braces at Sea Cliff at least, they will try to substitute canned corn.  Plus kids can choose their own sides from the salad bar. there is fresh fruit - whatever was available at a reasonable price.

Weekend Reading

Reading

The Spoonfed blog has some great thoughts on how one mom deals with Halloween candy.

Nutrition for the Future has 5 tips on a healthier and greener Halloween.

Flash Mobs for  a Healthy Halloween? Check out this guest blog over at Mrs. Q's Fed Up blog.

Petitions to Sign

The people at Food, Inc. recently sent this email:

Tell the FDA to Just Label It

Hello,

A recent study shows that over 93% of Americans think it's necessary to label genetically engineered (GE) foods. We all have the right to know what we eat. The Just Label It campaign, a coalition of hundreds of socially-conscious organizations and companies, is bringing together millions of activists to demand that the FDA require the labeling of GE foods.

Concerned about the lack of labeling of GE foods? Start by learning the eight things you can do about it, including writing the FDA.

Thank you for all of your support,

Local Fun

The Civic Association's Cider Social is Sunday 3-4 in our own Central Park. Lots of fun for costume-wearing kids.

The Long Island Children's Museum has their halloween gala on Sat. from 6-9.  They are also sponsoring a "healthy halloween" as part of the Get Up and Go series on Sunday at 2:30pm.

Clark Garden's Spooky Walk is Sat. from 6-9pm and on Sunday afternoon they will host a not-so-spooky walk from 12-4pm.

The Teddy Roosevelt Nature Sanctuary has also planned Halloween fun on Saturday. Kids age 2-10 are invited from 1 - 2:30pm.  (Update: Moved to Sunday due to the weather!)

And of course the Pumpkin Patch at the Methodist Church is open until 6, And AFTER Halloween, all those leftover pumpkins will be sold for next to nothing for those of you thinking of pumpkin recipes....here are some recipes that appeared in the NYT to get you thinking....

What's for Lunch - Fri., 10/28

Whole Wheat Spaghetti
with Meatballs or Marinara
Toasted Garlic Bread
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit in Season

This is a good meal - but go with the marinara version.  This is a whole grain spaghetti with or without meat.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).

Meatballs are another story. They are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.

The garlic bread is homemade but not whole grain.

"Fresh fruit in season" means they will get whatever is fresh and well-priced this week.  Kids can pick their own veggies from the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 10/27

TBLT
White Meat Chicken Patty
Turkey Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato
Caesar Salad
Cinnamon Applesauce

This meal contains a lot of highly processed, manufactured foods.  Here are the ingredients on the chicken patty - manufactured by Tyson and including rib meat: Boneless chicken breast with rib meat, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.  ('Set' is often a euphemism for 'flash-fried.')

You can read more about Tyson here. It's not pretty.  These patties have 14g of fat and 620mg of sodium.

The turkey bacon does not say "Applegate" on the menu so I can't 't be sure it is but that's what we usually use. Nonetheless, it is still bacon.  Here are the ingredients: Turkey (Turkey Used Never Administered Antibiotics, Growth Promotants or Animal By-products), Water, Sea Salt, Maple Sugar, Celery Juice, Onion Powder, Spices, Lactic Acid Starter Culture (not From Milk.)  They promote it as nitrate-free but this NYT article says otherwise - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands.

Caesar has lettuce, tomato and croutons.  Applesauce is a USDA commodity to which we add cinnamon.

Good day for the salad bar instead.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 10/26

Pizza Bagel
(with Slice Meatballs or Plain)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Petite Banana

We do assemble these ourselves so they are not highly -processed -- but you should go with the plain version (see below)  which has enough protein in the cheese. The pizza bagel does not indicate it is whole grain so it is likely not. For our various pizzas, we typically use  the Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces.

The meatballs are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.  This is not generally the kind of ground beef you want to eat - check the posts labeled "Meatless Mondays".

Plus a fresh half banana and sides from the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 10/25

Brown Rice, Zesty Black Bean and Cheese Burrito
Flour Tortilla
Salsa & Tortilla Chips
Fresh Fruit Basket

Pictured above is an actual fruit basket from our cafeteria.  I've had a bean and cheese burrito at our school before and thought it was really quite good.  I don't think anyone needs to eat rice, a flour tortilla AND chips in a meal - but you could skip the chips (if you weren't 6 years old, anyway.)  On the other hand, they do use an organic salsa. The beans are by Pride of New York - flash frozen - and are all natural with nothing added. The cheese is Monterey Jack and the tortilla is white flour - not whole grain.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 10/24

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Pineapple Chunks in Juice

This is USDA commodity beef - but without fillers. You may wish to read more about ground beef in our Meatless Monday posts here and here.

The pineapple is canned. 

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  french fries we buy from McCains's, a big food service vendor. They contain: Sweet potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil,
soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), potato starch modified, rice
flower, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate),
salt malt powder (malted barley, wheat flower, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated
sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice and coloring, xanthan gum, corn
starch-modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to
preserve natural color. The label indicates they have 6g of fat and 170mg of sodium.

Weekend Reading

Reading

The battle over the potato is back. The NYT ran a piece describing how the Dept of Agriculture was attempting to implement the recently re-authorized school lunch legislation by limiting starchy vegetables like potatoes (read: french fries and tater tots)  in favor of leafy greens, etc. The US Senate took time out from such weighty matters as the economy to pass actual legislation insisting that children never be denied unlimited access to french fries, I mean potatoes. You'll have to search for that one yourself ....

The WSJ chronicled how (delicious) vegan cupcakes go undercover by necessity.  Plus they have video of how Babycakes NYC makes theirs.

The Journal also ran a great article on the 'halo effect' of the produce aisle and how processed foods are attempting an invasion.  So, read your labels -- but also the tricks grocers use to sell fresh fruits and vegetables probably work in school lunch lines as well.

The USDA has just published an evaluation of its fresh fruits and vegetables program aimed at increasing consumption  of these foods in our country's poorest communities.

Petitions to Sign

Join the Environmental Working group's petition to the FDA to label genetically-modified foods.

Local Fun

This Sat. and Sun. is the annual $5 Halloween costume sale on Sheridan Ln - 11am - 5pm. Proceeds benefit a literacy foundation.

Sat. at 4pm the good of the Village Association will run a family-friendly tour of the Carpenter Family cemetery behind the school.

On Sunday, the North Shore Boys and Girls Club hosts their annual family carnival from 11am - 5pm.

The world-record setting giant pumpkin will come to the NY Botanical Garden this weekend along with lots of other fun Halloween activities in the children's garden.


Need more? It's also (Hard) Cider Week.



And coming up next week ....

Next Thurs at 4:30 is the North Shore HS Halloween Party.


On Monday, the Cinema Arts Theater in Huntington continues their Food on Film series with

In Celebration of Food Day
Co-presented by Slow Food, Huntington

FOOD STAMPED

Film + Cooking Demonstration by Chef BHAVANI JAROFF

Food Provided by Whole Foods Market and Chipotle

 

Monday, October 24 at 7:30pm 

Members $9 / Public $13 / Includes Cooking Demonstration
Following the film, Chef Bhavani Jaroff of iEat Green and co-leader of Slow Food Huntington, will show you how to prepare meals on a budget, that is delicious, nutritious, and sustainable for the planet. Taste for yourself what a real value meal can be!
Food Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Food Stamped investigates why America is overfed, yet malnourished. Food Stamped follows nutritionist Shira Potash and her documentary filmmaker husband Yoav as they attempt to eat a healthy, well balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Through their adventures, they consult with Members of Congress, food justice advocates, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to take a deep look at the obesity epidemic and the American economy; it's a thought-provoking examination of the barriers low-income Americans face in their attempts to eat healthy. USA, 2011, 62 min.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 10/21

Chicken & Broccoli (Diced Chicken Breast)
Stir Fry
or
Vegetarian Egg Roll
Brown Rice
Orange Rounds

Exciting new menu choices!   Get a chicken and broccoli stir fry we make ourselves or a vegetarian option in the form of an egg roll. The chicken is poached, diced frozen chicken breast but without fillers, etc. The egg roll uses Pride of New York flash frozen black beams I believe. Both worth trying. Plus, brown rice and fresh orange slices.

What's for Lunch - Thurs.,, 10/20

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Warm Apple Crisp

The noodles we're using for the Mac n cheese are Barilla Plus. The ingredients are: Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid. The sauce is made from Wisconsin Cheddar.

Caesar salad plus an apple crisp we make in-house.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 10/19

TACO BAR
Seasoned Beef Taco
Lettuce, Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream Toppings
Hard or Soft Shell
Black Bean & Corn/Salsa
Petite Banana

The beef used in these is USDA commodity ground chunk -- it is all beef which means it does not contain fillers but it not necessarily of any particular quality. We do season it in-house with salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne and black pepper.

Check out our posts on reasons to eat less meat here and here.

The taco shells contain: whole grain corn, water, vegetable oil (one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil or palm oil), contains 2% or less of niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin lime.

Fresh 1/2 banana.

What's for Lunch - Tues. 10/18

Pita Pizza with Meatballs or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Pear

Go with Plain.

The pita pizza is made with  a HFCS-free, minimal ingredient pita from Kronos or Athena. It is not whole grain until they can find one that is tasty. The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is a USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. 


Meatballs are another story. They are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson.  Ingredients are: Ground beef (not more than 20% fat), water, bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour, salt, yeast, dextrose, and soybean oil), seasoning (salt, dehydrated onion, dehydrated celery, garlic powder, spices, soybean oil), tomato puree (tomatoes and citric acid), grated parmesan cheese [(cultured part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate], grated romano cheese made from cow's milk [(cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt and enzymes), cellulose powder, potassium sorbate].   They have 9g of fat (3 are saturated) and 450 mg of sodium.



 
Sides from the salad bar - kids can pick the fruits and vegetables they like.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 10/17

All White Meat Breaded Chicken Chunks
Oil & Garlic Tossed Penne
Caesar Salad from the Salad Bar
October Apple

These are fried, frozen Tyson "quality" chicken chunks.  Here are the ingredients for the chicken nuggets so you can decide for yourself:  Chicken, water, salt, and natural flavor. BREADED WITH: Wheat flour, water, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, salt, yellow corn flour, corn starch, dried onion, dried garlic, dried yeast, brown sugar, extractives of paprika, and spices. Breading set in vegetable oil.



The chicken patties we recently served turned out not to be all white meat - so I'm concerned about these as well.

For the penne, we use Barilla Plus. The ingredients are:  Semolina, Grain and Legume Flour, Blend (Lentils, Chickpeas, Egg Whites, Spelt, Barley, Flaxseed, Oat Fiber, Oats), Durum Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.

Romaine, tomatoes and croutons are available for the salad. The apple is fresh,

Weekend Reading

Reading

Interesting article in the Crain's about the city's Department of Education efforts to get fresh - versus just cheap - foods into school cafeterias. (Thanks to Lara P. for this.)

Our food service consutant Julia van Loon sent this link to an UK-based magazine which took an extensive look at genetically modified foods.

The WSJ chronicled General Mills' effort to reduce the sugar in its cereals ...slowly.

Watching

Mrs. Q of Fed Up - where she blogged about eating school lunch every day - has finally revealed herself. Watch the Today Show segment here.

Food Day is coming up on Oct. 24 - catch Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame talking about it here.

Things to Do

Oyster Fest! Sat. and Sun. Take the train.

Sunday is the annual open house at the fire dept. in Glen Head near the boys and Girls Club/ soccer fields. It is Fantastic. Fire truck rides. Fire hats. Popcorn. Last year you even got to use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 10/14

Freshly-Breaded Chicken Cutlet Parmigiana
Whole Wheat Penne Marinara
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit Salad

We prepare this chicken in -house with a new recipe this year which is worth a try. We use frozen raw chicken (unprocessed). Our staff breads it with flour, egg and breadcrumbs.  The sauce is a Red Pack vitamin enhanced tomato sauce. The sodium at 140mg is much lower than we previously used.  Here are the ingredients: Tomato Concentrate (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Onion Powder, Salt, Citric Acid, Spice, Garlic Powder, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Black Pepper, Vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Natural Flavor, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate).  The cheese is probably the USDA commodity part skim mozzarella.  Ingredients are cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes. The sodium is 240mg/oz - I think we use 2 ounces. The noodles are whole wheat.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 10/13

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French Toast
w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Farms® Chicken-Apple Sausage
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Melon


Join me in saying "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist - basically white flour bread.  The syrup is basically HFCS.  They are looking for an affordable maple syrup but do not have one yet - but they will be limiting hte serving size this year in the meantime.  Actual lunch from our schools above. This meal has a lot of sugar, simple carbohydrates -- no whole grains.

The Sausage contains: Chicken, Dried Apples, Water, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Honey, Salt, Spices, Parsley.

You do get fresh orange slices and fresh melon.

Do Hot Dogs Cause Cancer?

Recently, a national stir was created when these billboards went up:

Processed meats like hot dogs have been connected with increased rick of cancer according to various studies and noted here by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The hot dogs at our school are better than most - no nitrates, for example.  But what is our school teaching our kids when they  serve hot dogs at lunch? That hot dogs are a perfectly acceptable lunch and something they should eat regularly. I think they message that these are "Applegate" hot dogs is probably lost on them.

Let's ask our school to feed our kids real meals - not "kids menu" foods.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 10/12

Applegate Hotdog
Whole Wheat Bun
Mini Corn Cobs
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Raisin Box

The hot dogs are from Applegate Farms. The ingredients are just: beef, water, sea salt, less than 2% of the following: celery juice, sodium lactate (from beets), lactic acid starter culture (not from milk), onion powder, spices, garlic powder, paprika. They have 6g of fat(2.5g saturated) and 380 mg of sodium. They are dairy-, casein- and gluten-free. The bun is whole wheat.

The corn cobs arrive frozen. For kids with braces at Sea Cliff at least, they will try to substitute canned corn.  Plus kids can choose their own sides from the salad bar and there are raisin boxes. The raisins are domestic.

Support the National Food Day Campaign's Petition to Congress.

Oct. 24 had been declared a national "Food Day" by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to organize people around the idea that food should be healthier, more affordable and safer.  To join their petition to Congress, click here to read, edit and send a letter to our representatives.

The letter covers a lot of ground but specifically talks about getting more fresh fruits and vegetables into school lunches. Won't take you more than 5 minutes and it's interesting.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 10/11

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese
With Ham or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
October Apple

The sandwich is made with Cabot cheddar on whole wheat bread.  The optional ham is Boar's Head brand.  We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for these. The ingredients are: STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, BROWN SUGAR, YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OIL OR CANOLA OIL), DOUGH, CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM, STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM IODATE, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, DATEM), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, VINEGAR, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM, PHOSPHATE, YEAST FOOD (AMMONIUM SULFATE), SOY LECITHIN.

Meatless Mondays

There are more reasons to eat less meat - possibly particularly at school --  It is likely injected with ammonia which is considered a "process" and not an "ingredient" and thus not labeled. Read the Times reporting on it here and note the "pink slime" reference.  You can also watch Jamie Oliver's video on beef, ammonia and slime.

(((If you missed the previous Meatless Monday posts read them here and here -- plus , I've copied relevant excerpts from our Weekend Reading posts here:

I've recently been reading the USDA's Weekly Reside Repeat Violator list.  It shows the packing plant and originating farm of meat found to have illegally high levels of antibiotics (not just antibiotics - that's ok, apparently - these are just the folks who took it way too far.) It's disgusting to see what we're eating: penicillin, neomycin, sulfadiazine, tetracycline, and on and on and on.  Cargill shows up numerous times -- and so does a company with "all natural" in it's name, so read your labels carefully. Dairy cows frequently appear on the list - the aging cows used for ground beef.

If you have been following our posts calling for Meatless Mondays, you may be interested in the evidence posted on the Small Bites blog in an article about 'cultured' meat on the terrible impact of meat production on animals, humans and the environment.

The WSJ ran an article on the USDA's stepped up inspections of pork due to the rampant use of antibiotics and concerns that antibiotic residue in meat is illegally high.  Previous testing has shown that the highest levels of antibiotic residue are found in ground beef. Unfortunately, the major meat processors in question do supply the national school lunch program.)))