Healthy Snacks Tasting for In Classroom Snacks sponsored by the Sea Cliff Nutrition Committee.

The Nutrition Committee provided a healthy snacks tasting after school on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.  Kids flocked our tasting tables excited to chow down on some healthy snacks!

Farmigo provided all kinds of apples for our tasting and sliced them fresh in front of the kids. The kids flocked over to try four varieties of apples, sprinkled with cinnamon:

The apples were: Mutsu, Empire, Cortano, Jonagold

The Nutrition Committee made cucumbers sticks seasoned with Himalayan Sea Salt, and also offered some packaged healthy snacks.

Kids exclaimed over and over how much they enjoyed the apples and cucumbers!  Who said you can’t get kids to eat their fruits and vegetables.

The children also enjoyed several packaged healthy snacks in addition to the fresh fruit and vegetables.  The packaged snacks included:

• Skinny Pop
• Veggie Straws by Sensible Portions
• Multigrain Tortilla Chips by Food Should Taste Good
  (also offered in the cafeteria as a snack item)
• Organic 100 calorie Wholly Guacamole
• Hummus by Rising Tide Grocery Store in Glen Cove

These are some great ways to get our kids to making healthier eating choices.  Especially giving them fresh fruits and vegetables, jazzing them up with some seasoning will help them be healthier eaters as they grow older.

**** Many Snacks today were donated by
Rising Tide Organic Store in Glen Cove THANK YOU!
http://risingtidemarket.com/

10 Foods to Avoid

Just-in-Case You Weren't Sure....

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10worstfoods.html

Demystifying the Sea Cliff School Cafeteria

Demystifying the Sea Cliff School Cafeteria

Tuesday, October 28th 8:45 a.m. In The Sea Cliff Cafeteria

Join Lisa Papalia, Food Service - Cook Manager, North Shore Schools
for an informative Q&A

Find out what a balanced lunch tray is!

Ask questions!
What and/or how much your child is eating?
Why can't our school be nut free?
What do Alternative Entrees mean?
What are the Monthly Specials - How are they chosen?

Come see a sample lunch and check out our salad bar!

Teal pumpkins try to change Halloween for kids with food allergies

Halloween is a true challenge for parents with allergy kids. Please read this, The Teal Pumpkin Project and think about giving out allergy free "treats".

 http://www.foodallergy.org/teal-pumpkin-project

Farmigo Promotion Code!

Check out Farmigo's FB page, Like it, and order from them! Use this week's #FarmigoFriday promotion PERFECTPROTEINS and receive $10 off any order that includes meat, seafood or beans!

Working Organic Farm, Right in our Backyard!

Queens County Farm Museum. Home to the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. Sounds like a great place to visit!

 

http://queensfarm.org/index.html

Divvies Allergy Free Cupcakes Available for a Limited Time

 

Check the ingredients based on your specific allergies below:

https://www.divvies.com/ingredients.php#cupcakes

https://www.divvies.com/store/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=CUPK

9 Make-Ahead Snacks for School Lunches

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/9/28/9-make-ahead-snacks-for-school-lunches?xid=DISH100514MakeAheadSnacks

When There’s a Vegetarian Child in the Family.

When Chicken Fingers Come Off the Menu.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/when-theres-a-vegetarian-child-in-the-family.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=1

Pumkin Season! Enjoy these healthy recipes.

http://www.fitsugar.com/Healthy-Pumpkin-Recipes-11305218?utm_source=cookinglight.com&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=cookinglight_facebook

Diet Soda and your Health

http://www.realsimple.com/health/diet-soda-diabetes

FRESH PRODUCE - DIRECT FROM THE FARM TO SEA CLIFF SCHOOL

http://www.northwordnews.com/farmigo-comes-to-sea-cliff.html

FRESH PRODUCE - DIRECT FROM THE FARM TO SEA CLIFF SCHOOL

Farmigo, a Brooklyn based Benefit Company that delivers fresh, seasonal and sustainable produce sourced from local farms, is coming to Sea Cliff.  The service allows community members to purchase vegetables, meats, and other food items on-line, and to pick up their orders a few days later at Sea Cliff School.

Anyone, not just Sea Cliff Elementary parents, are welcome to join the Sea Cliff produce purchasing community.

Purchases support sustainable small farms and the local economy, and 10% of all proceeds go back to Sea Cliff School.
Farmigo partners with family-run farms to provide a direct link between small producers and mindful consumers. Like a community supported agriculture organization (CSA), Farmigo works within communities,to reinforce the sense of joining together around food.  The service was brought to the School through the efforts of Sea Cliff mom Nedra Bleifer, and with support from Principal Chis Zublionis and the Sea Cliff PCA. 

According to to Farmigo's website, all produce is organic-certified, grown by farmers who use sustainable growing practices, and the meat is pasture-raised, the fish wild-caught, and the eggs and dairy free of GMOs, hormones and antibiotics.  All produce is harvested within 48 hours of delivery. 

The system is quite simple, and allows customers to "pay-as-you-go," and requires no long-term commitment.  One only need go to https://www.farmigo.com/seacliffelementary to set up an account 

Every week, members place their individual orders by Sunday night at midnight;
on Monday, Farmigo sends all orders to the farmers, who harvest on Tuesday;
on Wednesdays, farmers deliver their produce to Farmigo, where items are sorted and placed in individual shopping bags, with each member's name labeled;
From 2:45 to 4:00pm on Wednesday, Sea Cliff Community members retrieve their orders; on Thursday, orders are processed, to allow for members to send feedback on their delivery and alert Farmigo of any issue by emailing help@farmigo.com.

The system allows for a standing weekly order that is automatically in place for each week, if that is what the customer desires.  If not, the order can easily be modified or put on hold at any time. There are no order minimums and no commitment fees.

The first delivery is on Wednesday, January 29, for which orders must be received by midnight this Sunday.  

To sign up and order from the Sea Cliff Community, visit this link - www.farmigo.com/seacliffelementary or contact Nedra Bleifer at bleifernedra@gmail.com.

For further information on Farmigo, please contact Ludovica Ferme: ludovica@farmigo.com.

You Won’t Believe Where Silly Putty Is Hiding In Your Food

http://foodbabe.com/2013/10/22/sillyputty/

Dimethylpolysiloxane 101 (a.k.a. Silly Putty)

Dimethylsiloxane is commonly used in vinegary-smelling silicone caulks, adhesives, and aquarium sealants, a component in silicone grease and other silicone based lubricants, as well as in defoaming agents, mold release agents, damping fluids, heat transfer fluids, polishes, cosmetics, hair conditioners AND IN OUR FOOD!
There have been no major studies conducted on the safety of dimethylsiloxane in food by the FDA or the Food Industry since it was approved in 1998, but the food industry is allowed to use it in anything they want (except milk). Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwiches, McDonalds French Fries, KFC Mash Potatoes and Biscuits, Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists, Five Guys French Fries, Dominos Bread Sticks, and on and on – the list of guilty restaurants is mind-blowing.

What's for Lunch, Tuesday 11/26/2013

Southwest Taco Bowl

Corn Tortilla Bowl

Brown Rice, Tomato, Cheese, Salsa, & Romaine

Chipotle Vinaigrette

Zesty Black Beans

Sweet Corn

*Add Chicken on Request*

 

Pineapple Chunks in Juice

The brown rice is a great whole grain. The black beans are canned. I'm assuming the same for the corn .

The southwest-style chicken is from Tyson and described as diced, cooked "chicken meat." Read more about farm animals raised by industrial giants like Tyson,  antibiotics and hormones.  The bowl comes from Smokewood Foods. The ingredients are described just as "enriched masa flour" and they look like a big rectangular corn chip. They have 5g of fat and no sodium.  

GF 

NO SALAD BAR TODAY

 

What's for Lunch, Monday 11/25/2013

Flatbread Cheese Pizza - Add Chicken on Request* 

Caesar Salad

Strawberry Smoothie

Unlike many schools, we do make these pizzas. This is a white-flour pizza (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).

Go with cheese.  The chicken is a pre-cooked breaded Tyson chicken product. The ingredients are: Boneless, skinless chicken breast filets with rib meat, water, modified food starch, sodium phosphates, salt. PREDUSTED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), wheat gluten, salt. BATTERED WITH: Water, enriched bleached wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), modified corn starch, salt, dextrose, spices, garlic powder, xanthan gum, oleoresin paprika and annatto. BREADED WITH: Enriched wheat flour (enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, spices, garlic powder, extractives of paprika, natural flavors (spice extractives). Breading set in vegetable oil.  Their serving size has 10g of fat (2 of which are saturated) and 620 mg of sodium.

What's for Lunch, Thursday 11/21/201

French Bread Pizza Plain OR with Meatballs

Caesar Salad with Chickpeas & Tomatoes

 

Fresh Melon

 

We make these ourselves - we do not serve highly processed frozen pizzas. 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 -  we use 2 ounces. 
The meatballs we've used previously are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson from commodity beef and although we've improved the beef in our hamburgers, the same is true for the meatballs. 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 Caesar salad is pretty clear - romaine is a traditional choice for caesar but also more nutritious than iceberg. The Caesar salad dressing is organic by Chelten. Here are the ingredients: filtered water, organic soybean oil, organic white vinegar, organic Parmesan cheese (pasteurized organic cow's milk, salt, cheese cultures, microbial enzymes, organic potato starch), pasteurized organic frozen whole egg yolks, salt, organic sugar, organic ground mustard seed, organic garlic powder organic onion powder, organic black pepper, xanthan gum.  (in 2 tbsp - 8 g fat, 160 mg sodium). 

What's for Lunch, Tuesday 11/19/2013

What's for Lunch, Tuesday 11/19/2013

Homemade Baked Ziti

From the Farm...

Sautéed Broccoli with Garlic & Oil

Fresh Fruit Salad

 The ziti is a white flour pasta with some protein by 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 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)

Food allergy epinephrine bill reaches Obama's desk

Updated 4:25 p.m. E.T.
WASHINGTONPresident Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a bill that gives a financial incentive to states to stockpile emergency medications in schools that could save lives in the cases of allergic reactions.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57612201/food-allergy-epinephrine-bill-reaches-obamas-desk/

What's for Lunch, Monday 11/18/2013 

BRUNCH FOR LUNCH

Homemade Challah French Toast
w/Orange Rounds
Applegate Farms® Turkey Bacon

‐

OR 

Scrambled Egg & Cheese Wrap

Sweet Potato "Puffs"

Orange Slices
Salad Bar Veggie Sides

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.)


Then there are the commodity potatoes processed by McCain's into tater tots -- although they are labeled "frozen pre-formed potato rounds."  They have 7g of fat (one of which is saturated) and 190mg of sodium. Ingredients are: potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following oils: canola, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, corn). Contains 2% or less of dextrose, salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate added to maintain natural color.

Raisins are domestic.

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

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

What's for Lunch, Friday 11/15/13

Pita Pizza

Whole Wheat Pita, Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella & Basil
Add Meatballs on Request

Veggie Sticks with Dip

Raisins

We make these ourselves - we do not serve highly processed frozen pizzas. 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 -  we use 2 ounces. 

The meatballs we've used previously are processed, cooked and frozen by Tyson from commodity beef and although we've improved the beef in our hamburgers, the same is true for the meatballs. 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.