What's For School Lunch?: May 2010

USA School Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Country: USA

Contents: Ham and cheese sandwich, corn, peas and carrots, chocolate milk and orange Jello.

Source: ?

Notes: That sandwich looks like it is probably pretty awful. My school served these sandwiches daily in the a la carte line, but they were hot sandwiches, on fresh baked buns and I believe there was more meat on them.

Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone that entered, and congratulations to Jessica J.! An e-mail with the code has been e-mailed to you. Let us know what you end up getting!

Thanks again everyone.

USA School Breakfast - Quesadilla

Country: USA (Washington DC)

Contents: Quesadilla

Source: Thanks Bruske - http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-for-breakfast-quesadilla-inc.html

Notes: Here's the ingredient list from the box they came in. Each 3.24-ounce portion contains:"Tortilla, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean and or cottonseed oils), contains 2% or less of the following: baking powder *sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch and monocalcium phosphate), salt, calcium propionate (organic acid and calcium salt), distilled mono and diglycerides, sorbic acid and baking soda. Filling: whole eggs, cooked turkey sausage (mechanically separated turkey, water, textured vegetable protein concentrate, caramel color), salt, spices, paprika, flavoring), pasteurized process low fat mozzarella cheese (culture milk, water, skim milk, sodium phosphates, salt, sorbic acid (preservative), enzymes, Vitamin A Palmitate), pasteurized process reduced fat cheddar cheese (cultured milk, water, skim milk, sodium phosphates, salt, annatto color, sorbic acid (preservative), enzymes, Vitamin A palmitate). Contains 2% or less of the following: modified corn starch, salt, citric acid, xanthan gum.

Last Day to Enter Giveaway

CSN Stores is going to give one lucky What's for School Lunch reader an $80 dollar gift code. To enter, simply shoot me an e-mail. Tomorrow I will pick a winner at random. The code can be used at one of CSN's 200 online stores, including cookware.com, which has all sorts of awesome kitchenware. Good luck! And tell your friends!

Slovakia School Lunch - Smoked Mackerel

Country: Slovakia

Contents: Smoked mackerel, bread, red pepper and tomato salad, kiwi, apple, and a milk cake.

Source: Thanks Tony!

Notes: This lunch is from a college in Slovakia. I don't recall college students eating this healthy when I was in school. Speaking of, I'll be going to graduate school this fall. Maybe I can snab some pictures of the undergrads lunches.

USA School Lunch - Spaghetti

Country: USA (Homemade)

Contents: whole wheat spaghetti with veggie sauce, canned peaches and Oreos on the side and milk.

Source: Thanks Lea!

Notes: That's a cool container the spaghetti is in. Also, can you beat Oreos and milk? No.

USA School Breakfast - Muffin

Country: USA (Washington DC)

Contents: Apple cinnamon muffin, orange juice, graham cracker Goldfish cookie.

Source: Thanks Bruske - http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-for-breakfast-sugar-wrapped-in.html

Notes: A muffin and a cookie? Pick one or the other, and pair it with something nutritious, if you serve it at all.

USA School Breakfast - Egg Burrito

Country: USA (Washington DC)

Contents: Egg burrito, chocolate milk, orange juice

Source: Thanks Bruske - http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-for-breakfast-egg-burrito.html

Notes: Some sort of scrambled egg with tomato salsa inside a giant flour tortilla. Note the double dose of sugar on the side, chocolate milk with orange juice.

UK School Lunch - Fish Sticks

Country: UK

Contents: Fish sticks, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and sponge custard.

Source: Thanks Michael J.

Notes: This is from 1974.

UK School Breakfast - Porridge

Country: UK (Scotland)

Contents: Porridge, jello, and drinks from home.

Source: Thanks Michael J.

Notes: Jello for breakfast? Ok, I guess. Oatmeal on the other hand, very filling, cheap, and good for you. "Please sir, can I have some more?" (A little Oliver Twist there. You couldn't tell but I said it with a British accent.)

USA School Lunch - Pancakes

Country: USA (Homemade)

Contents: Pancakes from scratch, sausage, bananas, strawberries and skim white milk (not pictured).

Source: Thanks Nicole!

Notes: That looks delicious. What is it about breakfast food? It has to be my favorite meal.

Giveaway

CSN Stores is going to give one lucky What's for School Lunch reader an $80 dollar gift code. To enter, simply shoot me an e-mail. In one week I will pick a winner at random. The code can be used at one of CSN's 200 online stores, including cookware.com, which has all sorts of awesome kitchenware. Good luck! And tell your friends!

Future Giveaway

Because I love all my readers so much, in a few days I will be doing a little giveaway. The giveaway will be a great gift certificate from CSN Stores. CSN has over 200 stores, with a ton of different products. They have everything from sectional sofas, home decor, and even cookware.

Anyway, I'll post the details in a few days, with instructions on how to enter (Please disregard my previous post on the subject, as it was a little premature).

You can see all they offer here, CSN Stores.

Better DC School Food in the NYT

Our good friend Ed Bruske's blog, Better DC School Food, was mentioned in the New York Times! Congrats Ed, and keep up the good work.

Most of the revenue would then be used to improve the miserable quality of many school lunches in Washington. One blog, Better D.C. School Food, has taken to documenting these lunches, with a series of photographs of bland bread, processed cheese and reconstituted beef.
You can read the rest of the article here. And here you can find more from Better DC School Food.

UK School Lunch - Pasta

Country: UK

Contents: Pasta, vegetables, bread, cake, and milk.

Source: Thanks Michael J.

Notes: What kind of cake is that? Also, I think American kids should wear ties; looks sharp.

USA School Lunch - Turkey and Peas

Country: USA

Contents: Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, chowder(?), roll, peas, and milk.

Source: ?

Notes: This looks a lot like what I had as a kid. It really did taste pretty good. I can't tell, but that even looks like real turkey.

UK School Lunch - Curry

Country: UK

Contents: Curry, and water.

Source: Thanks Michael J.

Notes: It also looks like the girl in the front of the photo is eating something different; perhaps a piece of bread.

Improving Virginia's School Lunch

Note, this doesn't necessarily represent my views, I'm just passing on the information.

Virginia's Kids Deserve Real Food! You can help make it happen.

A small group of volunteers in Fairfax County Virginia are working to force the county to get rid of the greasy, sugary, MSG-spiked, chemically-laden lunches and replace them with food.

Why Fairfax County?

30 years ago similar group of volunteers forced the county to get rid of the synthetic additives in their food. They had to force this change since the food service department was not just disinterested, but outright hostile to parent requests for better food. Petitions with several thousand names were presented to the school board, who then instructed the dietitians to make the changes.

For several years the county served healthy, delicious lunches, and then -- gradually -- they went back to the usual factory food. Now, many years later, things have become so bad, what is being served in the cafeterias might not really be considered to be "food." [Take a look at www.School-Lunch.org.]

Why Fairfax County?

Here's another reason why we are targeting Fairfax: it is among the wealthiest counties in the United States! What's more when the school foods were improved back in the 1980s the good food did not cost more.

Real Food Can Cost Less!

Healthy food can actually cost less! Take a look at the wonderful lunches being served in a small Vermont community -- Arlington, VT. It is a low-income, rural community where more than half of the children are on free or reduced lunches, yet the students, faculty, staff and visiting families enjoy food you would expect to find in an upscale bistro. Here are some of the recent menu items:

Chicken Parmesan with Rotini Pasta & Homemade Marinara Sauce
Cranberry, Raspberry Salad with Feta Cheese, Walnuts and a Breadstick
Triple Decker Turkey Club Sandwich
California Cobb Salad with Chicken, Egg, Cheese, Bacon & Avocado with Tortilla Chips
Southwestern Wrap - Grilled Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Tomatoes, Lettuce & Chipotle Mayo
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Broccoli, Peppers, Tomatoes & Mozzarella on Panini Bread
Homemade Tomato Basil Soup with Cheese Tortellini & a Breadstick
Grilled Chicken, Fresh Orange Sections, Walnuts, Dried Cranberries & Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing

Arlington Vermont schools are serving these wonderful meals, and by using creative ingenuity, buying in season and making the best use of government commodity foods, they are saving a great deal of money over what the school system had previously been paying for factory food! [www.School-Lunch.org]

They also offer the usual kid-friendly foods like burgers and pizza, but in healthier natural versions.

How You Can Help

Please visit our petition site, sign on, and pass this information on to your friends. Here is the link:

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Real-Food-For-Kids

While we are especially interested in hearing from people who live in Fairfax County, Virginia -- we are receiving supportive messages from citizens all over the world. So, regardless of where you live, we invite you to add your voice to ours.

Note: This project has been created by volunteers who have seen that the foods our children eat have a direct connection to their health, behavior and academic ability. See www.feingold.org for details.

UK School Lunch - Hamburger

Country: UK

Contents: Hamburger, salad and shredded carrot.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Yum.

Japan School Lunch - Noodles and Watermelon

Country: Japan

Contents: Bread, watermelon, pasta, egg on bacon, vegetable soup, milk, ketchup and butter.

Source: Thanks Aska S.

Notes: That doesn't look like traditional American bacon, but it does look delicious. Looks like a varied meal, covering all the bases.

UK School Lunch - Baked Potato

Country: UK

Contents: Baked potato with cheese, bread, corn, carrots, cabbage (?) and fruit salad.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Wouldn't mind some meat, but still delicious.

Malaysia School Lunch - Fried Noodle

Country: Malaysia (Home Made)

Contents: Noodle, prawn, fish-cake, eggs, a packet of vegatable and fruit juice, and an apple.

Source: Thanks Henry!

Notes: My mum is so great she wakes up early in the morning about 5.30am to prepare a school lunch to me because we take about 30 ~ 40minutes to drive to school, I have to be at school before 7.15am.

UK School Lunch - Lasagna and Salad

Country: UK

Contents: Lasagna, bread, salad and yogurt.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: I'd eat it for sure; though I'm not a big fan of iceberg without at least some dressing.

Taiwan School Lunch - Sweet and Sour Pork

Country: Taiwan

Contents: On the left: sweet and sour pork with pineapple, radish, carrots and green pepper, middle: vegetable stir fry with garlic, on the right: fish ball stew with cabbage, carrots and wood ear mushroom, and soup: seaweed and egg drop.

Source: Jennifer (http://tw.class.urlifelinks.com/class/?csid=css000000025038&id=model6&cl=1269319924-2643-173&_ulinktreeid=)

Notes: This is a public elementary school in my childhood neighborhood. They also provides food and kitchen services to other 3 public elementary schools in the nearby area.

UK School Lunch - Lasagna and Corn

Country: UK

Contents: Lasagna, corn, and fruit salad

Source: Michael J.

Notes: I love lasagna, though I usually didn't like the lasagna at school, because it didn't have ricotta cheese. To me, it isn't real lasagna without ricotta.

Country: USA (Washington DC)

Contents: sandwich ("ham," turkey and cheese),

Source: Thanks Bruske http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-for-lunch-turkey-sandwich-chips.html

Notes: The "ham" is made out of turkey thighs, chunked and formed.

Taiwan School Lunch - Mushrooms and Minced Pork

Country: Taiwan (elementary school)

Contents: On the left: mushroom and minced pork, in the middle: Chinese chives stir fry with tempura, on the right: eggplant (probably stir fry), soup with radish and pork, and steamed white rice.

Source: Jennifer

Notes: Budget is NT$32/person = USD $1/person.

UK School Lunch - Pizza and Fruit

Country: UK

Contents: Pizza, salad, and fruit salad.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: That pizza looks pretty weak. Give me a big slice of pepperoni, dripping with cheese. Mmm. Oh, also there is a place near me that sells a Greek Pizza. It has gyro meat, red onions, yogurt sauce, feta and mozzarella. Oh man is it delicious.

UK School Lunch - Vegetable Curry

Country: UK

Contents: Vegetable curry, tomato, spinach, cauliflower and a fruit salad

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Healthy and delicious, though no real strong source of protein. I think lamb would go well with the meal.

UK School Lunch - Roast Beef and Potatoes

Country: UK

Contents: Roast beef, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, either broccoli or spinach & cauliflower

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Now that's a nice spread. Seriously, that's what you would expect to find in a top of the line buffet.

UK School Lunch - Risotto and Salad

Country: UK

Contents: Risotto, salad, corn and crackers and cheese.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: I dunno, that kid looks pretty upset with his lunch.

Japan School Lunch Blog

Here is a blog dedicated to what one person eats at his Junior High School in Japan. The food looks delicious.

Find out what I am fed each day at my Japanese JHS in Kyushu!

http://japaneseschoollunch.blogspot.com/

Bento Lunches

Here is a fun approach to school lunches brought from home, bento.

http://anotherlunch.blogspot.com/

Thanks Michael J.!

UK School Lunch - Fruit Snacks

Country: UK (Esher High School)

Contents: Strawberries with yougurt, pineapple with carmel, yogurt with crunchy bits, and I'm unsure of the last item.

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Looks like some awesome snacks. Wouldn't have thought of paring pineapple with carmel. Pineapple and cottage cheese? Yes please.

UK School Lunch - Pasta and Salad

Country: UK (Esher High School)

Contents: Pasta with peppers and onions, salad, focaccia, water, fruit-kabob

Source: Michael J.

Notes: Mmmm. Is that a carmel sauce on the fruit? Mmmm.

USA School Breakfast - Sugar

Country: USA (Washington DC)

Contents: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cookie, chocolate milk and orange juice.

Source: Ed B. http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/04/whats-for-breakfast-sugar-strategies.html

Notes: The Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains 9 grams of sugar, the Goldfish Giant Grahams has 6 grams of sugar, the chocolate milk has 26 grams of sugar, the four-ounce container of orange juice has 13 grams of sugar. That's 54 grams of sugar in total or 13.5 teaspoons.

What's For School Lunch?