School Lunches: Are they Healthier?

Look at this Elementary School Breakfast and Lunch Menu:

Compare it to the High School lunch menu:

 

These are the lunch menus for the school district that I live in. They are available online.

What I am here to write about today is the difference between the meals the schools have served in the past and the meals they serve now. Before I get into the differences between the past and the present, I would like to point out that the high school menu has more variety than the elementary school menu. I personally don't know why this is the case but here are a few points that you should consider when thinking why the menus are different between elementary school and high school:

• First and foremost, teenagers and children develop differently. 
• Teenagers and children have more nutritional needs. Technically speaking, teenagers need to consume more calories for their rate of activity and growth. 
• Variety is good.  

Image from foodhappy.ca

As you know, Michelle Obama promotes the fight against obesity. She created the Let's Move campaign. She wants children to get moving but she also wants school's to provide nutritious food to children as they are in school. And, it seems that her campaign is working. 

What I notice from the lunches from when I was in Elementary school to current lunches, the changes are there, being made in the process. 

• There are now salad options in the Elementary menu.
• They have switched to using whole grain breads. 
• They are now using brown rice in place of white rice. 
• The meals are more balanced.
• There's a switch from full fat milk to 1% to nonfat milk. 
• There are now fresh fruit options instead of canned fruits.
• It caters to vegetarians now.
• There are now two choices for lunches instead of one. 

Yes, I know that they are still using frozen foods. We don't know what "whole grain" really means unless we see what type of breads they actually purchase. However, it is a step in the right direction. 

Now, let's compare the high school menu from when I was in high school to now (only a one year difference).

• There is now an outdoor grill instead of heating up frozen patties in the oven. 
• They cut the portion of the spicy chicken wrap in half. 
• A couple years ago, there used to be a buttermilk bar , which was all covered in sugar frosting. Now, they took that off. 
• Lower fat milks are now offered. 
• The lunch cost has increased. 
• There is now the use of brown rice instead of white rice. 
• There is now a REAL fresh salad bar. 

Other than that, the high schools are pretty much serving the same food I've eaten since I was in high school. However, once again, it's the step in the right direction. 

Really, I advocate for schools to serve nutritious meals to its students. It's good for the mind and the body. Nutrition is important because children are growing and developing. They also need the energy to get through school and learn what they need to learn. 

Schools now how have to meed new federal guidelines for school meals, which can be found on the USDA website. 

Schools are doing a good job on implementing these guidelines. Hopefully, we will see more healthy options at schools. 

Week Recap

This week has been a really busy week. Do you know why? It's because school started back up. With so many classes, I have to get back into the school mood. Good thing I get to buy the 50 cent coffee from the school bookstore again. 

This semester, so far, feels so different from last semester. The people seem to be nicer and I'm talking to my classmates more. Well, maybe it's because the classes I chose last semester were more online based but I'm having more fun so far. Another thing is that, I plan on double minoring (in psychology and biology) along with a degree in Dietetics. It's going to be a lot of classes but I know I can do it. It just may take longer (and taking summer classes) but I'm determined. 

Anyway, this week has been pretty much like every other first day of school. The professor's just introduced the course and went over the syllabus. Of course, by the 2nd class, they started teaching. I've already had to go through my textbooks a few times (or more..). Also, I successfully got into 2 courses that I was waitlisted in. I'm so happy. 

I treated myself to a nonfat blueberry cheesecake froyo from RiteAid. It was after class and I was craving froyo for some reason. It was so good! Creamy, blueberry flavored, sweet. I loved it. It tasted like regular ice cream but "healthier". 

Also this week, I've been going to the gym to work on gaining muscle! I'm starting to lift weights now and I hope to see some sort of change in my body. A good change. We'll see how that goes. I realized that I'm pretty weak, even though it looks and feels like I have a lot of upper back muscle (the traps and the shoulders). 

Here's something delicious I drank yesterday. I stopped by a local coffee shop before going to work and I ordered a mocha (with soy milk!)

It was so good! I'm going to stop by there more often now. =)  By the way, the 2 means 2 shots of expresso. 

That's pretty much my week except that I have some food reviews. 

The Kor's Sweet 'N Salty Mix was alright. I tasted like any other trail mix. The nuts surprisingly tasted fresh. The raisins were a bit dry though. 

RiseBar Crunchy Cashew Almond was a bit too sweet. The texture was fine though. I loved that there were whole almonds that were still crunchy and tasted good. They were very generous with the nuts. It was good except for the overly sweet part .

The Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk is yummy! It's creamy and it's not too sweet or anything. Of course it's not oversweet because it's unsweetened It goes perfectly with cereal and smoothies. 

 Nature Valley Almond Crunch was alright. It's basically just nuts pasted together with a liquid sweetener. It was pretty good though. It was crunchy too. If you like nuts, you'll like this.

 ProMax Nutty Butter Crisp Bar was yummy! I liked its size and that it's chewy and delicious. It really tasted like a chewy butter finger (without the cookie part).

 Planter's Nut and Chocolate Trail Mix was pretty good. The peanuts seemed pretty fresh and crunchy. The raisins were big and still had some sort of moisture with it (as in, it wasn't dry). It was pretty good.

Special K Blueberry Pastry Crisps. My cousin gave me these to try. Personally, it's something that I wouldn't buy. It tastes alright. I don't like the cookie part and the inside tastes like a poptart filling.

 I love the Blue Diamond Jalapeño Smokehouse Almonds. They don't taste that spicy at first but then, the flavor gets to you. I love these (for a savory flavored snack).

 I have two powerbar reviews. The Chocolate Peanut Butter PowerBar and the Vanilla Crisp PowerBar.

Surprisingly enough, I liked the Vanilla Crisp PowerBar better. The bars were chewy and bendable. They were pretty sweet. I definitely tasted the vanilla flavor in the Vanilla Crisp, though it tasted artificial. I didn't really taste the chocolate in the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor. 

The last review is: Crunchy Perfect Pumpkin Rise Bar. 

I like how they had a lot of pumpkin seeds spread throughout the bar. I liked the bits of craisins they added to it too. Other than that, this bar is nothing special. 

Well, I guess that's the end of this post. I'll keep you guys updated! 

What's your workout routine?

Do you like school?