What's for Lunch -Fri., 3/30

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 salad as pictured above with an organic dressing by Chelten.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 3/29

PITA PIZZA!
Plain or with Meatballs
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Orange & Grape Salad

The pita pizza is now 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.


Go with plain. The meatballs are a potential pink slime issue. 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.

Plus fresh orange slices with grapes and choose your own veggies from the salad bar.

Sample Day and Quinoa Salad a Big Success

The Quinoa Salad Sample Table

On Tuesday, kids were given a chance to try quinoa. It was served in a quinoa salad, garnished with cucumber in small sample cups. Kid scould also see different kids of quinoa and what it looked like befor eit was cooked.  ost kids tried it and by a slim majority most liked it!

The quinoa was a nice addition to this lunch

Lots of kids came back for seconds and a few asked that we give their parents the recipe which is posted below. Many, many thanks to our food service department for making sample day possible!

Quinoa Salad with Cucumber Rounds

 

3 cups        Water

1.5 cups    Quinoa, rinsed

1/4 cup    red onion cut into small dice

1/2 cup    diced celery (equal size to onion)

1/4 cup    dried cranberries

1 1/2 t     salt

1/4 t        white pepper

1/2 cup    Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

2 cucumber slices each, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS
Prepare Quinoa according to recipe.

Let Cool.

Dice red onion, celery. Plump cranberries in hot, tap water.
Drain cranberries and cool. Combine all vegetables with cooled quinoa.
Salt and Pepper
Pour Vinaigrette over quinoa/vegetable mixture.
Toss well. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 3/28

BBQ Chicken Breast
over a Mountain of Zesty Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Dinner Roll
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices Dusted with Cinnamon

Lots of whole grains. Chicken is from Tyson. They describe this product as frozen "Boneless, skinless chicken breast filets with rib meat." 

What's for Lunch - Tues., 3/27

Choose a Fruit Plate or Salad Bar over the Burger

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Fresh Fruit Salad

Have the salad bar today or that lovely fruit plate they have this month - last week!

AND -- be sure to try the free sample of a Quinoa Salad (see previous post for details.) whether you bring or buy today.

You may have heard of the "pink slime" controversy or even signed the petition yourself. If not, there are significant concerns about what's in the "beef", if you will, that is being served in schools.  Our beef is a USDA commodity food and thus part of the controversy.  Our district is working very hard to come up with a solution - for next year - to insure that our students will  no longer be fed this product.  Meanwhile, have the salad bar and some fruit.

You might also skip the fries. The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  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.

Tuesday will be Sample Day!

This Tuesday, your kids will be given a chance to try a Quinoa* salad sample at lunch - whether they are buying or bringing lunch that day - and given a chance to vote thumbs up or thumbs down. Please ask them to try this healthy grain-like protein from the Andes region of South America. The ingredients will be: Quinoa, red onion, celery, dried cranberries, salt, pepper, balsamic vinaigrette, and a slice of cucumber.

 

* Quinoa  (pronounced KEEN-wah) is actually a seed. It is a complete protein but often used in dishes the same way you might use rice or couscous.

What's for Lunch - Mon., 3/26

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

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.

The corn arrives frozen. Raisins are domestic. Additional choice of sides from the salad bar.

Weekend Reading

Beef as it arrives at our school this year.

Reading

We can choose! Next year, the USDA will let schools decide if they want to serve ammoniated ground beef, aka "pink slime."  Yes, our school serves USDA commodity ground beef. However, our district has indicated that they are working hard right now to find a replacement for our government beef.

Great post by Bruce Bradley on "leanwashing" -  Big Food tries to convince you food is healthier than it is  - and a new website that calls them out on it - The Leanwashing Index (spoiler alert - Frosted Mini Wheats did not fair well...). Like the expression "homemade challah french toast...sounds good....no?)

The WSJ ran a great article on the amount of money we waste on food we throw out - and it's huge contribution to landfills. Find out why we do it. (And then buy a composter).

Local Fun

The High School is performing the Sound of Music this weekend.

On Saturday, Garvies Point will have activities as part of World Water Day.

If you haven't been to the Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor, they are having a family craft event on Sunday afternoon.

Also on Sunday, the Children's Museum's Get and Up and Go Series will have a workshop where kids make their own healthy fruit and yogurt parfait.

Whatr's for Lunch - Fri., 3/23

Homemade Panko-Breaded Chicken Cutlet
Brown Rice Pilaf
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Apple Slices

Our staff will bread the chicken with flour, egg and breadcrumbs and make rice pilaf. Plus fresh apple slices.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 3/22

Just a reminder to talk to your kids about eating vegetables with their grilled cheese.

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese W/Ham or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Warm Apple Crisp

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.

Please take some sides from the salad bar. We make the apple crisp in-house.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 3/20

Whole Grain Pizza Bagel (with Meatballs or Plain)
Zucchini Sticks with Ranch Dip
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 bagel is whole wheat! For our various pizzas, we 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".
 
Fresh zucchini and bananas.

What's for Lunch - Tues., 3/20

TBLT
Breaded White Meat Chicken Patty
Turkey Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato
Salad Bar Sides

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 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.


You could just get the salad bar or the fruit plate.

What's for Lunch - Mon. 3/19

Whole Wheat Rotini Bolognese or Marinara
Fresh Garlic Bread
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Pears in Fruit Juice

This is a whole grain pasta. Thesauce 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).

Plus, salad (shown above) and canned pears.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 3/16

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH
Homemade Challah French
Toast w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Turkey Bacon
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
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.

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 veggies on the salad bar plus applesauce with cinnamon.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 3/15

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA
With Broccoli or Plain
Salad Bar Veggie Sides
Fresh Fruit Salad

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 so it is not whole grain.
 
You can get fresh broccoli with the pizza - which you should unless you think pizza is a vegetable.

Sign the Petition - Stop the Overuse of Antibiotics in Food Animals

From the Center for Science in the Pubic Interest:

The modern miracle of antibiotics, and by extension the health of all Americans, is under attack. 

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal production is leading to the growth of resistant bacteria that can spread throughout the environment.  Nearly 80 percent of antibiotics used in the U.S. go to animal agriculture--and most of these drugs are fed to healthy animals to make them grow faster and prevent infection, not to treat disease.  Decades of research has shown that regular dosing of healthy food animals with sub-therapeutic antibiotics, many of them also used in human medicine, is a major reason for the rise in drug-resistant bacteria.  This practice contributes to the growth of antibiotic-resistant "super bugs," making it harder and more expensive to treat common bacterial infections.

The Food and Drug Administration’s reliance on pharmaceutical companies and industrial agriculture to voluntarily stop the use of antibiotics is inadequate to protect the public.  To squander these life-saving drugs on healthy animals is irresponsible.  We don’t wastefully sprinkle antibiotics on our children's cereal every morning to increase their growth--why should we allow food-animal factories to do the same with animal feed?

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has joined with other consumer protection organizations to create a ‘We the People’ petition on the official WhiteHouse.gov web site urging the Obama Administration to end antibiotic overuse in food-animal production. 
Please make your voice heard by signing this petition by March 16, 2012.

Sincerely,

Cindy Roberts
Food Safety Research Associate

What's for Lunch - Wed., 3/14

BBQ Fajita Chicken Strips
With Whole Wheat Bun
Baked Shoestring “Fries”
Mini Corn Cobs
Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

I don't have the details on this chicken. It should be whole muscle white meat. Our other chicken products come from Tyson so they are likely the source.  The bun is whole grain.

The fries come from McCain's labeled "Frozen French Fried Potatoes" and the ingredients are: potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate added to preserve natural color.

Mini corn cobs arrive frozen.

The smoothie  will be made 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.

Action Alert - Tell the FDA to Get BPA Out of Our Food

From the Environmental Working Group:

Are you one of those shoppers who always looks for the BPA-free label? If you are, we need your help.

This month, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make sure our food is free of bisphenol A.

By March 31 - just 19 days away - the federal Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether or not to continue allowing food packaging that leaches BPA. There is no time to lose - the FDA has to hear from you before it makes its call. The government needs to know that Americans will not stand for food contaminated with toxic chemicals.

Click here to send an email to the FDA today - get BPA out of food packaging.

BPA is a synthetic estrogen used in everyday products from canned food linings to store receipts. It disrupts the hormone system and has been linked to serious health problems such as early puberty, brain and heart disorders, infertility and prostate and breast cancer. The Environmental Working Group has been at the forefront of BPA research since 2007, when we released a first-of-its-kind study that found that BPA had leached from can linings into more than half of the canned foods, beverages and liquid infant formula we tested.

Markets are already changing. Food industry giants - including Campbell's Soup, ConAgra, Eden Foods, Edward & Son, Hain Celestial Group, Heinz, Muir Glen, Oregon's Choice Gourmet and Eco Fish, Trader Joe's, Vital Choice and Wild Planet Foods - are considering reformulating their cans.

With one decision, the FDA can begin to rid food packaging of BPA for good. We need to make sure this important agency knows that consumers are tired of toxic chemicals leaching into food. There is no time to lose - the decision comes this month - so email the FDA today.

Click here to tell the FDA that you want BPA out of food packaging. There is no time to wait.

Thank you for standing up for safe, healthy food.

Sincerely,
Ken Cook
President, Environmental Working Group

What's for Lunch - on., 3/12

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

This is a whole grain spaghetti with or without meatballs .  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 meatballs are 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.

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

Fresh fruit and salad bar veggies.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 3/9

Macaroni & Cheese
Barilla Plus Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar
Caesar Salad at the Salad Bar
Raisin Box

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 as pictured above with an organic dressing by Chelten. Raisins are domestic.

What's for Lunch - Thurs., 3/8

TACO BAR
Seasoned 100 % Ground Beef w/Lettuce, Salsa & Cheese
Tortilla Shells -Hard & Soft
Vegetarian Taco available
Brown Rice & Zesty Beans
Veggie & Fruit at the Salad Bar
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.

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

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).

Fresh half banana.

What's for Lunch - Wed., 3/7

All White Meat Breaded Chicken “Bites”
Brown Rice Pilaf
Cucumber Slices with Ranch Dip
Fresh Grapes

These are fried, frozen Tyson "quality" chicken nuggets. The brown rice is a whole grain dish that we  make. Fresh cucumbers w/ a full-far organic ranch dressing. Fresh grapes

What's for Lunch - Tues., 3/6

TWO CHEESE QUESADILLA
Flour Tortilla with Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese
Salsa Toppings
Sweet Corn
Orange Wedges

Cheese quesadilla w/ a flour tortilla - no whole grains. The tortillas 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).

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.

Canned corn and fresh oranges.

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

BURGER BAR
100% Beef Burger or Cheeseburger
Lettuce/Onion/Tomato
Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”
Warm Apple Crisp

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 apple crisp.

The sweet potato fries are processed frozen  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.

What's for Lunch - Fri., 3/2

BBQ Chicken Breast
over a Mountain of Zesty Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Dinner Roll
Sauteed Zucchini
Fresh Apple Slices Dusted with Cinnamon

All white breast meat with lots of whole grains. Fresh vegetable and fruit!