What's for lunch 5/18/12

Barilla Plus Rotini

Bolognese or Pesto (Garlic basil sauce with cheese)

Freshly toasted garlic bread

Casear Salad

Orange wedges

The rotini 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). The meat in the sauce is ground chuck. 

The orange wedges are fresh 

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 5/17

TBLT
Breaded White Meat Chicken Patty
Turkey Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato
Cucumber Sticks
Sweet Potato Fries

Watermelon

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 thisNYT article says otherwise - and cites the company saying their bacon has the same level (naturally) of cancer-causing nitrates as conventional brands

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. 

The cucumber sticks and watermelon are fresh. 

How to cook artichokes

How to Cook Artichokes the Easy Way! I have a hard time figuring out what to do with this seasonal vegetable. I am going to try this tonight. Teach your kids how to cook artichokes for a fun and tasty family treat. Standing at attention, peaks pointing to the sun, a beautiful bounty of artichokes lined the tables of our local farmers’ market. Their prickly appearance was a little off-putting to my budding new food adventurers. “How do you eat those spike-y leaves?” pondered my five year old. Whispering, I replied, “Hidden inside is a delicious, secret treasure. Would you like to find it?” With that, we were off on our food adventure of the week: learning how to cook artichokes! Feature Recipe: Steamed Artichokes with Lemon Butter Sauce The beauty of artichokes is that they are so simple to make, they look glamorous when they’re done, and eating them is a tasty, fun adventure in itself! At our local market we found everything from teeny tiny purple bundles to glorious green giants, so we decided to try a variety to compare tastes and textures. How to Cook Artichokes the Easy Way! Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Ingredients: 4 large artichokes 3 Tbsp butter 1 lemon Directions: 1)    Let the kids trim the sharp ends of the leaves with a pair of kitchen scissors. 2)    Using a large knife, cut off the top two rows of the artichoke, then the stem. This part of the recipe is better suited to a parent. 3)    Add about two inches of water to a double broiler. Bring to a boil. 4)    Place the artichoke in the basket of the double broiler and cover. 5)    Steam for about 30 minutes, or until the leaves can be easily removed. Check the pot occasionally to make sure the water hasn’t boiled away. 6)    Once cooked, remove the artichokes and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. 7)    While the artichokes are cooling, slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Mix in the juice from one lemon. 8)    Serve the sauce in individual dipping bowls alongside your freshly steamed artichokes for a fun family treat. Crunch a Color Kids Vote: We heart the heart! What we liked: Learning how to cook artichokes is easy and fun! The kids loved helping to prepare the recipe by snipping the pointy ends off the leaves. They enjoyed peeling back the layers and noting how the texture changed as we got closer to the hidden treasure. Naturally, the heart was the best part!   Do you have a favorite way to prepare artichokes? Share your tips!

What's new with the Nutrition Committee

Once a month the district wide nutrition committee meets to discuss menu items, events, projects etc.  There is a representative from each school in the district.  The most exciting news today is that the North Shore School district has cancelled all USDA commodity beef diversions. Our School food consultant along with the Assistant superintendent took a 5 hour trip to check out the farm where our beef will be coming from.  The cows are antibiotic and hormone free !!!   Yes, you read correctly.  This is very exciting news ! The beef was served today in the form of hamburgers and got rave reviews.  Even one of our committee member's 4 year old son asked for seconds.  Next on the agenda was the discussion of the Farm to Table grant that the district is applying for in conjunction with another school district.  This grant would allow us to buy equipment etc. School food reform is in full swing at North Shore. We have come a long way way from where we were 3 years ago and we are still forging ahead.  It has been a group effort of parents, food service workers and administration.  Every child deserves a healthy meal ! 

What's for lunch 5/16/12

Meatball Parmaigiana - hero or plate
Whole wheat spaghetti with oil, garlic, and basil
Caesar Salad
Fresh Fruit
Deli Bar


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].   


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 spaghetti is whole grain. 


The caesar salad is 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).


The deli bar has Boars Heads cold cuts.  They are far better then the USDA commodity cold cuts but still contain added nitrates. 


Fresh fruit is available for dessert. 

What's for lunch 5/15

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese with Ham or Plain
Baked Potato Puffs
Fresh Cole Slaw
Pineapple Chunks in juice

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.


The potato puffs are from McCains. The potatoes are USDA commodity. In my opinion there is a considerable amount of salt in these puffs. The ingredients are as follows;
Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Corn Oil), Salt, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Flavor, Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate Added to Preserve Natural Color.


The cole slaw is made from fresh cabbage. I am getting details on the mayo mixture. The pineapple chunks are canned. 
Still working on the chicken souvlaki that they served today.


Here is a pic of where the potato puffs are made. Lovely.

What's for lunch 5/11/12

Barilla Plus Rotini
Pomodoro or Pesto {garlic, basil, cheese, and olive oil}
Freshly toasted garlic bread
Caesar Salad
Orange wedges 

For the rotini, 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 AcidThe 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).

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 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).


The garlic bread is fresh but I don't believe it is whole grain. The orange wedges are fresh but not organic.  I am pleased that they don't come out of a can ! 


The salad bar is ALWAYS an option !  Have your kids fill their plate with veggies as lunch or a side. The dressings are vinaigrette, ranch or caesar. 


Do your children eat the school lunch ? What is their favorite ?? Please share your comments.