Where Do I Begin?

The folks at ConAgra appear to be quite proud of their Kid Cuisine products.

Aimed at elementary school students, these ready-to-eat lunches are -- believe it or not -- advertised as healthy items.

Let's analyze one variety. How about the Dip & Dunk Toasted Ravioli?

The initial descriptive sentence says it all: "This meal features breaded real-cheese ravioli..."

Beside the slightly disturbing fact that we have to be assured this product contains "real" cheese (as opposed to... cheez?), I find the breading of ravioli rather odd -- and unnecessary.

The nutrition label displays 9 grams of fiber (good!) and one tenth of the daily potassium requirement (not bad!), but also a third of a day's worth of sodium (yikes!) and 18 grams -- 4 and a half teaspoons' worth -- of sugar.

Oddly enough, Conagra advertises this product as containing 20 percent of MyPyramid's suggested daily servings of grains. How this is a selling point beats me; no one in this country has any problem getting their recommended servings of that food group!

The ingredient list, not surprisingly, is very long (the cheese ravioli, for instance, contain a garlic puree made with high fructose corn syrup) and includes one of my pet peeves: unnecessary sweetening.

It turns out the side of corn isn't simply corn kernels. Nope, it's corn with water and sugar.

Sugar? Added to corn?

Then there's the "fruit shaped and fruit flavored" snacks. In other words, it looks like a fruit and tastes like a fruit, but it's just sugar.

This product could easily be tweaked to provide similar flavors with a superior nutrition profile. My suggestions:

* Replace the breaded ravioli with baked, 100% whole grain cheese-and-broccoli bites.

* Offer corn kernels in their naturally sweet state.

* Replace the fruit snacks with unpeeled apple slices.

Those three changes could slash the sugar content approximately by half and lower the sodium by roughly 150 milligrams.

Oh, Dear...

It is findings such as these that can lead to substantial discouragement when thinking of school nutrition.

Take a look at this week's lunch menus for a handful of Pennsylvania schools.

Although some are better than others (offering carrot sticks and slices of real fruit), the vast majority of these meals are nutritionally pitiful.

Shouldn't parents send their children off to school with the guarantee that they are being fed relatively well?

Part of the issue here is how the National School Lunch Program defines a "balanced" meal.

The basic criteria is to offer a balanced meal by including all food groups.

However, a meal consisting of chicken nuggets, french fries, peaches in canned syrup, and chocolate milk is considered "balanced" -- the breading in the chicken nuggets counts as a serving of grains, the french fries meet the vegetable requirement, and the sugary peaches are accepted as fruit.

UPDATE: Thank you to Small Bites reader Jasmine for forwarding this February 20 New York Times op-ed piece by Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters that touches on this very topic!

In The News: Milk Madness

The Chicago Tribune is profiling the battle over milk that has ignited in several of the Windy City's school districts.

On the one hand, you have administrators and parents supporting the inclusion of milk in school cafeterias, "amid concerns that dairy consumption is waning among older children who have more beverage choices, from flavored water to energy drinks. Nine of every 10 preteen girls fall short of the federally recommended three calcium servings a day... for boys, the estimate is 7 of 10."

Then there are those concerned with flavored non-skim milks contributing to childhood obesity. Huh??

"A half-pint of low-fat chocolate milk has 3 teaspoons of added sugar... [and] those extra 75 calories raise a concern, given that surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that 17 percent of school-age children are obese."

Whoever is concerned about those additional 75 calories seriously needs to reevaluate their priorities.

Childhood obesity is not caused by opting for low-fat chocolate milk over non-flavored skim milk at lunchtime.

All you need to do is look at the numbers. As childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed, milk consumption has decreased.

What has increased? Soda consumption -- overwhelmingly so!

It is those beverages, plus chips, breakfast toaster pastries, and supersize fast food portions -- staples of so many American teenagers' diets -- that should truly be "of concern."

It's also rather laughable to think that some schools are concerned with milk but apparently don't take issue with their almost daily offerings of meatloaf, chicken nuggets, and fruit canned in heavy syrup.

A glass of low-fat chocolate milk with a healthy lunch is harmless. This apparent phobia of 1% (reduced-fat) milk is beyond my comprehension.

We are talking about 2.5 grams of total fat, of which 1.5 gram are saturated, per cup. Perfectly reasonable numbers, as far as I'm concerned.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Many moms and dads all over the United States know what the start of the school year means -- packing a lunch for their children!

So how do you pack an interesting and tasty lunch (which, for this posting's sake, I will assume can not be heated in school)? Here are a few ideas.

INSTEAD OF: Cutting a sandwich into two triangular pieces
TRY: Shaped sandwiches

Next time you make a sandwich, get your cookie cutter out. Forget the traditional diagonal slice and instead turn that square slice of bread into a star, a cat, or even a gingerbread man.

PS: If your kids don't dig whole wheat "brown" sandwiches, try a "halfie."

A sandwich made with one slice of 100% whole wheat bread and another of white bread still packs in 3 to 4 grams of fiber.

INSTEAD OF: Packaged chips
TRY: Making your own pita chips

Here's a kid-friendly way to boost a bagged lunch's fiber content.

Buy 100% whole wheat pitas and cut each one into eight small triangles. Brush a thin coating of extra virgin olive oil on them, sprinkle a little salt (and, for an extra kick, either some paprika, rosemary, or oregano), and toss them in the oven (350 Fahrenheit) for approximately 20 minutes.

For a sweet twist, sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of sugar (a mere 16 calories) over them.

Make a big batch on Sunday afternoon for the rest of the week.

INSTEAD OF: Sugary puddings
TRY: A Super Smoothie

In a blender, mix two of your child's favorite fruits with 2% milk. Add a tablespoon of flaxseed, another of oat bran, mix, and pour into a thermos!

These two ingredients add nutrition and texture to the smoothie but don't affect the taste one bit.

INSTEAD OF: Chocolate brownies or cookies
TRY: A homemade choco-mix

Mix a low-sugar, whole grain cereal (like Cheerios), a handful of mixed nuts, and a few chocolate chips or M&M candies into a small zip bag. This way, little bursts of chocolate are surrounded by fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals (as opposed to white flour, sugar, and unhealthy fats.)

You Ask, I Answer: Cow Or Soy Milk?

When it comes to milk, is soy milk better for kids than regular cow's milk?

-- Anonymous
Via the blog

I don't consider either "better" than other. This ultimately depends on personal preference and a few other factors.

I don’t have a problem with children drinking skim or low-fat milk, provided that they aren’t lactose intolerant, of course.

What disappoints me is that so many schools offer chocolate milk to children (and label it a "healthy" alternative simply because it contains calcium).

A single cup contains a tablespoon of added sugar. It's fine as a treat, but I don't find it to be the optimal beverage to accompany a meal on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, the majority of milk in the United States -- chocolate or not -- in the United States is produced by cows that chow on corn all day long and are injected with antibiotics and growth hormones.

Milk in and of itself is a nutritious beverage, though, providing high-quality protein, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, phosphorus, and potassium.

I would highly recommend opting for organic, grass-fed varieties.

Soy milk is a perfectly fine alternative.

Most varieties are fortified with vitamin D and provide a good amount of calcium, protein, and potassium.

I would be more concerned with what they're eating along with that cold glass of (dairy or soy) milk.

*UPDATE* Thank you to reader "gd" for pointing out that vanilla and chocolate flavored soy milks also contain quite a bit of added sugar.

I erroneously assumed everyone reads minds and would telepathically infer I was only referring to regular soy milk in this post.

So, if you are opting for soy milk, I suggest going for plain or unsweetened varieties.

Making the Nutrition Grade

A group known as The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have published a 2007 school lunch report card, grading 22 elementary schools from the 100 largest educational districts in the United States.

Final scores were tallied by evaluating offerings via the following categories -- obesity & chronic disease prevention, health prmotion, and nutrition initiatives.

You can see the results here.

You may remember that back in mid August I reviewed several schools' lunch menus on this blog -- and was absolutely horrified.

Food for Thought: Extreme Makeover (School Lunch Edition)

Yesterday's New York Times contained an interesting article on a new trend towards healthier choices in some school cafeterias across the country (others, like the ones I featured in a recent blog post on school "junketerias", have their work cut out for them!).

My take? I think removing fryers from schools and reducing portion sizes are excellent initiatives. There is absolutely no need to offer French fries to children every day.

Should they be a very occassional treat? Absolutely. However, the notion than an eight year old can potentially be eating pizza, french fries, and a brownie for lunch every day is disturbing.

As for the appearance of chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour and other similar "healthy" desserts, my enthusiasm is more cautious.

Whole grains are very healthy, and many people in the United States are still shutting them out and opting for diets consisting mainly of refined carbohydrates.

That being said -- let's not fool ourselves. A cookie is not, will never be, and shouldn't be health food. Yes, you can make healthier variations, but I certainly hope these students' only source of whole grains does not come from a cookie.

A whole wheat chocolate chip cookie does not come close to the nutrition of a bowl of oatmeal or a banana.

It's crucial to maintain a sense of perspective. Eating two small cookies with white flour is not going to cause obesity or make anyone develop diabetes.

A four ounce cookie, however, is an overload of calories, regardless of the kind of flour it is made with. It should not get the green light because it contains an extra three grams of fiber.

According to the article, some schools are going as far as banning cupcakes from birthday celebrations. I must say I side with the flabbergasted PTA members on this one.

If a class has a monthly birthday celebration, I have absolutely no problems with each child eating a small cupcake.
This idea of demonizing foods and banning them is not dealing with the real problem.

It would be much wiser to teach children that certain foods should be eaten daily (fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes) while others should be reserved only for special occassions (brownies, cupcakes, French fries, etc.).

The most eye-catching part of the article for me?

"...under the federal guidelines, jelly beans and Popsicles are banned because they have “minimal nutritional value.” But Snickers and Dove bars are not because they contain some nutrients."

Doh! This is precisely why simply focusing on a handful of nutrients results in faulty judgment.

A popsicle might not provide any vitamins or minerals, but it is not an unhealthy snack. The average frozen fruit stick provides 50 calories and two teaspoons of sugar.

Meanwhile, a Dove bar provides 30% of the daily saturated fat recommended limit and almost 5 teaspoons of sugar! Allowing it in schools solely on the basis that it contains four percent of the daily value of calcium is ludicrous.

The best thing that can result from this trend towards healthier eating at school is that children will hopefully be exposed to new foods, textures, tastes, and ingredients they are not getting at home, thereby expanding their palates and nutrition habits.

Food For Thought: School Junketerias

There is nothing like a cloudy and rainy Sunday evening for random web surfing.

With school about to begin across the United States, I thought it would be interesting to see what some schools are offering students for lunch.

A Google search brought up quite a few menus (some current, some from the last month of the 2006-2007 school year). I randomly chose four and cringed.

The results:

This is what students in Virginia's Bedford County schools are in the month of May and June.
Don't see much in the way of dark, leafy green vegetables, legumes, or whole grains. Instead, pizza and french fries are provided every day, while fried fish, chicken nuggets, and hot dogs make almost daily appearances.

Students in District 118 in Illinois were offered the following meals in May and June.
Students are offered white or chocolate milk (I am assuming whole) or flavored juice. Although whole grains appear once in a while, why are children being fed pizza, oven fries, AND a cookie in the same meal?

Over in Decantur, Indiana, the May 2007 school lunch menu at Belmont High School looked like this.
French fries are available every single day, as are baked goods like brownies. Sadly, fruits and vegetables are dressed up with excess sodium (broccoli with cheese sauce) or sugar (apple slices with caramel). Why not pair up apple slices with peanut butter and broccoli with garlic and olive oil?

Finally, Township High School in Arlington Heights, IL is offering these foods to its students this month and next.
Whole grains are completely absent, and one day students have one of three choices for their entree: cheese sticks, chicken nuggets, or pizza (and I'm willing to bet that's "cheez", not "cheese" pizza).

Although students are given the choice of 2 fruit/veggie sides, there are enough not-so-nutritious options (whipped potatoes, jello) to prevent them from getting adequate amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Parents -- I hope you have plenty of brown bags at home.