Weekend Reading

Reading

Here in America, we get Mac n Cheese full of artificial flavors and colors - not so in the UK. Get the details and sign the petition asking Kraft not to feed our kids the extra bad stuff.

Speaking of what kids get to eat in other countries, check out these school lunches from around the world.

Sure, eating chemicals can be bad for you - but apparently it can also be quite bad to rub them into your skins. EWG has updated their susncreen guide just in time for summer - find out what to avoid just in time for the opening of Sea Cliff Beach.

Washington, DC schools just had their annual Farm to School Day where kids ate fresh, local strawberries and salad greens.

Donating

It's not too late to donate books to the Friends of the Sea Cliff Library for the annual Garage Sale Day Book Sales Fundraiser. Drop off books at the village library this week.

Petitions to Sign and Letters of Outrage to write

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has drafted a letter to the Coca-Cola company that you can sign asking that they not promote their obesity-inducing sodas with actual Olympic athletes. Seems somewhat misleading to kids.

From the Environmental Working Group:

The response to last week's petition to the United States Department of Agriculture has been overwhelming!

As a result, we have sent Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and several other USDA employees the signatures of nearly 55,000 EWG supporters demanding that tax dollars not get spent on disinformation campaigns about pesticides on food.

This is one of the strongest responses EWG has ever seen from our online activists. Thank you so much.

If you didn't get a chance last week, it's not too late for you to add your name and ask your friends and family to add theirs as well. The USDA has not yet released this year's data on pesticide residues on produce. Pesticide companies and big agribusiness interests have cranked up their pressure on the USDA to spin the upcoming release of government pesticide tests and downplay risks.

Click here to sign our petition today. It's unacceptable for your tax dollars to fund disinformation about pesticides on food.

Local Fun

Fireworks Sat. night over Hempstead Harbor!

Sea Cliff's Memorial Day parade kicks off on Monday at 9am at Memorial Park and heads down to Clifton Park. Kids are invited to gather for breakfast at 8am  at the Children's Library before joining the parade.

Sea Cliff Beach opens this weekend.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 5/26

All Beef Burger, Cheeseburger
Lettuce & Tomato Fixin’s
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Applesauce
NO SALAD BAR LUNCH
(fruit & Veggies Sides Only)

The burgers are made from 100% ground chuck - USDA government commodity beef.  They are served on whole wheat HFCS-free buns. The "Fries" are actually baked and accompanied by USDA commodity applesauce. Please encourage your kids to include the vegetables with their burgers.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 5/25

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

This is a very popular meal. That's why we serve it. But it's not good for you.

Join me in saying "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist.  Plus, the liberal allocation of syrup is basically HFCS.  (News Flash! Next year we will replace the high fructose corn syrup with actual maple syrup! But it won't make up for the lack of any whole grains in this meal.)

Nonetheless, here are the details: You do get fresh orange slices.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate. It is nitrate-free. 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.)

Raisins are domestic.

Sides from the salad bar - or better yet, have a salad as your meal today.

 Or, as an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey.

People do eat sandwiches and salads for lunch. French toast, not so much.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 5/24

White Meat Chicken Patty on Whole Wheat Bun
Sandwich Fixin’s
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

I don't think we should be serving flash-fried Tyson chicken products. See previous post.  

We make the smoothie  with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

You can get the salad bar as a meal.

As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the wrap tuna.  Plus, we have the salad bar. 

What's for Lunch - Mon., 5/23

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Meatballs or Marinara
Fresh Garlic Bread
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit

This is a whole grain spaghetti with or with meat which is a USDA commodity beef but 100% ground chuck.  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).

Garlic bread is fresh but I don't think it is whole grain.

Fresh fruit and salad bar veggies.

Or -
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey.

Weekend Reading

Reading

In CSPI's Nutrition Action newsletter I read an interview with Brian Wansink of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab - the people behind the research about how external clues affect what and how much we eat. Think the wine is from North Dakota?  You'll hate it and your whole meal versus the same wine in a label from California. They've also shown people will eats lots of even stale popcorn if you give them a giant container of it.  We also prefer "Belgian Black Forest Cake" over "chocolate cake" - and there's no Black Forest in Belgium. Check out his website at www.mindlesseating.org or read his book Mindless Eating - Why We Eat More Than We Think.  Or, look at his cool diagram of a re-designed lunch room that increases the percent of kids making healthy lunch choices. And it's all evidence-based, as they say.

Are potatoes a 'gateway vegetable"? The WSJ covers the controversy over the USDA's move to limit starchy vegetables in the school lunch program.

In other news on the food manufacturer's lobby, I love the reporting over at Better DC School Food on  the ongoing battle to get rid of chocolate milk in schools and the powerful forces at work to keep the sugar and salt laden item in schools - and thus in kids. Our school won't get rid of it because they are concerned that your kid won't take plain milk, and then we won't get reimbursed $0.25 from the USDA for serving a "complete" meal and then we can't afford fresh food over processed food. (Yes, the national school lunch program is complicated and has lots of rules.) Please talk to your kids about milk. Or let Jamie Oliver do it.

Parents in San Antonio will get to see daily before and after pictures of THEIR OWN KIDS' LUNCH TRAYS. I kid you not.

Watching

See Jamie Oliver/chocolate milk reference above.

Listening

Bhavani Jaroff's radio show this week should interest many of you:. From her email:

I'd like to remind you to listen to my radio show tomorrow at 5pm, EST.  My guest will be Jared Koch, Founder of Clean Plates, a restaurant guide that features every dietary preference from delectable vegan dishes to juicy grass-fed burgers.

Just go to the PRN website, my direct link is: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/eating-green/,  scroll down and choose which show you want to listen to. Then press “download”. The show will come on, or you can download it to your iPod and listen in the car or wherever! 

Local Fun

St. Boniface's annual carnival arrives this weekend -- at bigger digs down at Tappen Beach.  Pick up a $10 off on a coupon book flyer at the Sea Cliff Post Office or at their website.

Petitions to Sign

Help increase funding for school kitchen equipment by sending a letter to our representatives on Capitol Hill through the Healthy Schools Campaign. Takes two minutes- it's drafted for you.

From Slow Food USA:

Last week 22,000 people told legislators that taking photos of farms should not be a crime. Since then, one of these "ag-gag" bills failed in Florida. But Iowa votes today, and Minnesota isn't far behind.

Now is a critical time to voice our opposition to the legislators in those states.

Sign our petition and stand up for transparency and the right to take pictures of farms. »

You can read more about it below.

---

Imagine if taking photos of farms were illegal — and the photographer was subject to fines and possibly jail time. If Big Ag got its way, that’s exactly what would happen. Right now they’re pushing legislators in Minnesota, Florida, and Iowa to criminalize taking photos or videos of their facilities.[1]

I guess industrial agriculture has something to hide. Maybe it’s the way factory farms mistreat workers, animals, and the environment.

The clock is ticking — Iowa's legislation could pass an important hurdle as soon as next week. If we can raise a big enough stink, we can stop this state-based legislation from spreading nationwide.

Sign our petition and stand up for transparency and the right to take pictures of farms. »

But that’s not all. We don't just want to stop Big Ag's attempt to restrict consumers' right to know — we also want to use this as an opportunity to lift up the good, clean and fair farmers who like consumers to come and see exactly how their food is produced.

So join the farmarazzi! In the next few days we'll be calling on you for help. Plan a visit to a nearby farm (or just step outside, farmers) because we'll be holding a contest for the best farm photos, and sending a flipbook of the winning photos to the legislators in question. Can't wait to get started? Share your favorite farm photos by uploading and posting them on our Facebook wall here: http://www.facebook.com/SlowFoodUSA.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 5/20

Pita Pizza
(Plain or w/Meatballs)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pineapple Chunks

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 100% ground chuck from the USDA.
 
Sides from the salad bar - kids can pick the fruits and vegetables they like.  Pineapple chunks are canned.

Or, as an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides.  Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  Friday's wrap is freshly breaded chicken cutlet that we make in house -- marinated in yogurt, spices, panko and corn meal. 

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 5/19

Beef Tacos
Seasoned 100 % Ground Beef w/
Lettuce, Salsa & Cheese
Tortilla Shells -Hard & Soft
Watermelon

The tacos are 100% ground chuck with lettuce and a low-far govt cheddar cheese. The salsa is actually organic by Green Mountain and the ingredients are: tomatoes, fire-roasted chiles, onions, tomatillos, jalapeno peppers, pasilla peppers, apple cider vinegar, cilantro, parsley, garlic, sea salt, spices.  Tacos shells are hard, yellow corn shells but I have not gotten the ingredients yet.

Plus, fresh watermelon.

We used to also offer a vegetarian version on taco day which was great.

As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the wrap tuna.  Plus, we have the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 5/18

Freshly Breaded Chicken Cutlet
Baked Idaho Potato
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Pear

Our wonderful food service staff is making the chicken cutlets from scratch in house with fresh chicken!  They are marinated in yogurt, spices, panko and corn meal.

Plus, a baked potato and fresh pear.

As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 5/17

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese
(made w/mild Wisconsin Cheddar)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Orange Quarters

The sandwich is made with a mild Wisconsin cheddar on whole wheat bread.  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.

Fresh oranges and sides from the salad bar.

As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the wrap tuna.  Plus, we have the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 5/16

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

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.

Kids can have fresh corn or other sides from the salad bar. We also have USDA commodity applesauce.

Try out our new and really terrific salad bars.  On page two of this pdf - you can see a description and suggestions for making the salad bar a complete meal.

Or -
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey. 

What's for Lunch - Wed., 5/11

French Bread Pizza (Plain or w/Meatballs)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

For the pizza, 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.   It is made on white-flour bread.

Sides from the salad bar.  We make the smoothie  with either plain yogurt to which we add  honey or vanilla yogurt (no honey) if we can't get plain plus 1% milk and frozen strawberries.

Or -
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 5/10

Monterey Jack Quesadilla
Salsa & Chips
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Sliced Pears


I think the quesadilla sounds good. They use Monterey Jack cheese (which is mild) and a white flour tortilla.  The salsa is organic. Pears are from a can. Sides from the salad bar.

As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the wrap tuna.  Plus, we have the salad bar. 

What's for Lunch - Mon., 5/9

All Beef Burger, Cheeseburger
Lettuce & Tomato Fixin’s
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices

The burgers are made from 100% ground chuck - USDA government commodity beef.  They are served on whole wheat HFCS-free buns. The "Fries" are actually baked and accompanied by fresh apple slices.

Try out our new and really terrific salad bars.  On page two of this pdf - you can see a description and suggestions for making the salad bar a complete meal.

Or -
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey. 

What's for Lunch - Fri., 5/5

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

Join me in saying "No" to meal declared to be "cake" for lunch by our committee's nutritionist.  Plus, the liberal allocation of syrup is basically HFCS. 

Nonetheless, here are the details: You do get fresh orange slices. The applesauce is a USDA commodity product to which we add cinnamon.

The turkey bacon is by Applegate. It is nitrate-free. 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.)

Today, please try an alternate entree:

We have the salad bar.  Or, as an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides.  Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  Friday's wrap is freshly breaded chicken cutlet that we make in house -- marinated in yogurt, spices, panko and corn meal.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 5/4

White Meat Chicken Chunks
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Apple Cherry Crisp

These are fried Tyson chicken products. The fries arrive frozen and we bake them. Kids get to pick their own sides from the salad bar.


As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey

What's for Lunch - Tues., 5/3

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Sauteed Broccoli w/Garlic
Sliced pears
 
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.

Fresh broccoli!!  But I am pretty sure the pears are not.
 
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays , the wrap tuna.  Plus, we have the salad bar.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 5/2

Pita Pizza (Plain or w/Meatballs)
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Chilled Pineapple Chunks
 
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 100% ground chuck from the USDA.
 
Sides from the salad bar - kids can pick the fruits and vegetables they like.  Pineapple chunks are canned.
 
As an alternate entree, you can get a wrap and salad bar sides. Wraps have romaine lettuce and a white flour tortilla.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the wrap is Boarshead Turkey.  The fruit salad, however, has been retired.