School Lunches Are Getting Healthier

As a pediatric dietitian and mom of school-age children, I am continually encouraged by the improvements to the National School Lunch and SchoolBreakfast Programs.  First Lady Michelle Obama has been a champion for childhood obesity, and continues to make great strides in making school lunches healthier under the Healthy, Hunger-Free KidsAct.  New school food guidelines are coming to all schools that participate in the National School LunchProgram.  You should see changes by the second half of 2012.

Instead of weeding through all the USDA releases, I have highlighted the changes here:

School meals sample menu -before/after
(click to enlarge)

·         Double the amount of fruits and vegetables being offered, up from just ½ cup combined to a minimum of ¾ cup veggie and plus a minimum of ½ cup of fruit per lunch.
·         Weekly requirements of dark green, red/orange and beans/legumes, as opposed to no specific requirements before
·         Specific amounts of protein requirements by age group with younger children having smaller portions; as opposed to one set portion across the board for every age
·         Half of all grains must be whole grains, as opposed to them being “encouraged”
·         Milk must be fat-free (flavored or unflavored) or 1% (unflavored), as opposed to no guidelines before
·         Now, sodium levels set by age as opposed by no sodium levels established before
·         Minimum and maximum calorie levels set by age ranges
·         No trans fat in any food, as opposed to no limits before

If you want to read all about the changes including the press release, changes to the School Breakfast Program, new meal patterns and specific timeline rollout, go to the USDA’s page on Nutrition Standards forSchool Meals.

If your child attends private school, or if your child attends public school with a high socioeconomic distribution then your school may opt out of the National School Lunch Program.  Ask your school foodservice administration for their child’s school nutrition standards.

Cute Notes for Lunches & Snacks

I was shopping at a local specialty toy store near our home last weekend and came across these super cute notes and stickers especially made for your child's lunch and/or snacks.  I've been using them with the food I send to school for my daughter, Hannah, and she loves them! 

This little 4" x 3" trifold notes and stickers set is such a neat, compact set of "special touches" that  buttons up nicely and can be stored easily in a kitchen drawer.

When you open it up, there are 3 pockets.  I laid out what each pocket contains.  The right side contain the stickers in each pocket and the left side contains the note cards.  On the back of the note cards are lines where you can write your child a special little note or reminder.

You can purchase these online at Chronicle Books.

Make your child smile by sending sweet notes to school that will make them especially look forward to eating healthy. Order these, or you can start simple by just writing a little "I love you" on a sticky note.  What a great way to make them feel special!

Does your school participate? HealthierUS School Challenge

When I was working on a recent television interview in which I discussed school lunches, I was prompted to check on the progress of my daughter's school lunches this year.  I was pleased to find out that her school district has taken on the HealthierUS School Challenge!


Volunteer initiative for schools to make
their environments heathier for children.


What is the HealthierUS School Challenge?
The HealthierUS School Challenge is a government-to-school encourager to voluntarily make school environments healthier.  The participation rate started skyrocketing when First Lady Michelle Obama added incentives to schools that took part.  The result is that more and more schools are cleaning up their kitchens - reducing fat, calories and sugar and adding more nutrient-rich foods in their place - for the sake of our growing children.

HealthierUS Food Guidelines
The initiative as a whole includes good nutrition and physical activity.    Here is a brief rundown of what your child will be exposed to when he/she eats the school lunch:

• Offers a different vegetable each day of the week
• Offers dark green or orange vegetables 3 or more days each week
• Offer dry beans and/or peas 1 or more days each week
• Offers a different fruit each day of the week
• Offers at least a serving of whole grains 3 or more days each week
• Offers only low-fat and fat-free milk each day

In addition to the foods that must be included, the schools must also:

• Teach nutrition education to the children
• Incorporate the teaching into the classrooms
• Use multiple channels of communication including the cafeteria, classroom and home

I don't know about you, but I see this as a big improvement.  Hannah's school is teaching them MyPlate, the new USDA food icon, so they can make their own decision to fuel up with great food choices.  Educating, Exposing and Empowering are 3 of my keys to long-term proper nutrition.  It starts in childhood!  Talk to your children about the food choices they make and empower them to eat the super power foods that will help them make good grades and do better at their extra cirricular activities.

Does your school participate in the HealthierUS School Challenge?  Find out here.  If this is their first year to participate, you may want to contact your child's foodservice manager and ask them.  If they are not currently participating, encourage them to do so!  For more information on the HealthierUS School Challenge, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/vision.html.

Food Containers: The New Brown Bag

As summer ends and temperatures (hopefully) cool down, it’s time to think about school supplies, new school outfits, and what to pack for lunch.   Are your kids apathetic towards a home-packed lunch? You can change this by inspiring you to pack different foods and inspire your child with a more interesting container.   Swap out the boring brown bags and use food containers to rejuvenate lunchtime. These containers are cost effective, reusable for years, and easy to clean. As parents, you can make nutrition a priority by preparing fun and nourishing lunches for your kids. Have them help you, too!  Among our favorites are included in this post and all pictures are linked to sites for purchase.



Laptop Lunch's Bento Boxes!



Some food containers provide compartments to keep different foods organized.  Our favorite is Laptop Lunch's Bento Box.  Now they have even more colorful styles to choose from!  This type of lunch container encourages to serve more than just a peanut butter sandwich. How about whole wheat spaghetti, fresh peach slices, snap peas and a savory dipping sauce? Bust out the cookie cutters and cut sandwiches, fruits, or cheese into fascinating shapes.  This is a great occasion to make simple, creative and assorted meals.  Laptop Lunch's has a great set of menus categorized by seasons on their website.  (Our favorite recipe is the red lentil and sweet pepper hummus!)

We all “eat with your eyes” first, and this is absolutely no different with children. Using different colors and shapes will draw their interest and they can be excited about opening their lunch box every day.  Bring the fun back to lunching!



The Slimline Quaddie by Klip It provides drink container and many compartments!.



Some containers also have a place to store drinks.  You can fill a bottle like this with low fat milk, water, or 100% juice.  Go green and ecomical by investing in BPA-free containers.



Fit & Fresh brand has a great variety of containers to choose from.

 These containers have an added cold pack built into the lid.  It’s great for keeping cold items like fruits or salads cool for lunchtime.  Add another ice pack or additonal resusable ice cubes to keep your lunches nice and cool.



The "Salad Blaster Bowl" can be purchased at The Container Store.



Speaking of salads, this is another great container to make lunch fun!  Simply fill the container with your salad and put the green lid on.  Then, fill the central container on the lid with your salad dressing.  This keeps the contents from mixing.  By mealtime, press the center container down, and shake!  It releases the dressing with ease.  Tell me this isn’t a great way to get kids interested in salad!



Purchased at The Container Store.

We can’t leave out breakfast- this is a fabulous option for cereal and milk.  Just pour your milk into the bottom container that is insulated to keep it cold longer.  Then screw on the top container and pour in your perfect portion of cereal.  Pop the lid on (folding spoon included) and go!

Hot Foods

Expand that lunch menu by providing a hot lunch for your child.  Heat soups, leftovers and other hot foods to 200 degrees before putting them in the hot food containers so they can still be above the temperature danger zone of 140 degrees by lunchtime.



Purchase Laptop Lunch's food jar and it fits nicely in the Bento system.



Thermos brand makes food jars in your child's favorite character design.



Other ways to make your child's lunch special:

Bento to Lunch - Collection of really cool food decoration ideas to try.

Kids Lunch Box Cards - spice up your child's cards with stories, riddles, gross science facts with these creative cards that you can sign.

Your kids are not the only ones that can enjoy food containers. These are also very practical for the working person.  You can put your lunch together at the same time as your kids and you’re set for the day.  These are also a time saver when traveling or even picnicking.  Trying out new food containers will make the boring “brown bag lunch” a thing of the past. 

Special thanks once again to Gina Tran, TWU Dietetic Intern, that co-authored this blog post!

School Lunch vs. Brown Bag: Obvious Choice?

Many people believe that sending a school lunch is always the healthier alternative. Is it? School lunch has been under heavy scrutiny for good reason. However, I have done many diet recalls on children and have seen my share of issues with lunches brought from home as well. Therefore, I put a chart together that gets you to think objectively about your child buying vs. bringing a lunch to school.



(If you are having trouble reading this table,
let me know and I will happily send it to you directly!)

 Addressing The Issues: Brown Bag & School Lunch

If your child is brown bagging:
- Commit to providing food variety for your child. Even if you believe the same lunch you make is considered healthy, don’t make that same lunch every day. Sit down with your child and discuss menu options that they can get excited about eating.  When kids are invited to be part of the planning process, they will feel more inclined to eat the foods you provide.  I absolutely love Catherine McCord's super creative lunch ideas that also make healthy foods fun to eat.  Check out her quick video to inspire you on Weelicious. 
- Include a fruit and veggie in your child’s lunch every day. And for vegetables, branch out from carrots! Make a side salad, veggie kabob or even make fun faces out of veggies and provide a nice dip such as hummus for dipping.
- Concentrate on quality carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, rices and noodles. Low-fat chips are fine sometimes, but try not to use that as the staple carbohydrate in your child’s lunch.
- Make sure portions are right for your child. Some healthy bagged lunches do not provide enough calories to get your child through the day. On the other hand, too many “healthy” sweets might push your child over the calorie limit recommended for a child’s lunch.
- Include a low-fat dairy everyday – either a low-fat yogurt, milk or cheese. For those with milk allergy (rare), consider soy products as a good alternative.

If your child is buying a school lunch:
- Review the school menus with your child. Empower them to make healthy choices on their own. That includes, for example, making the choice not to have ice cream every day.  Allow the cafeteria experience to be part of the education experience!
- Encourage your child to eat the healthier meal items first to maximize their nutritional intake. Remind them that there is a limited amount of time to eat, and that their lunch will help them power out the rest of their day.
- Become involved in your child’s school lunch menu. Contact their school nutrition department and discuss any concerns you have with them directly.

The biggest thing I want to highlight is to get involved in the changes happening with school lunches everywhere. Schools get so many negative comments about their food, so when you see an improvement, let them know. Positive changes are slowly occuring, which is certainly something to be celebrated.  I am inspired by the changes being made in my city - Dallas, Texas. They have taken out many high calorie/low nutrient foods out and have added quality foods in their place. And now, a new initiative is on the horizon where Dallas Independent School District will be collaborating with Registered Dietitians from the Dallas Dietetic Association to educate freshman students on nutrition. These are the wonderfully positive things that are happening in my area. What about yours? Encourage positive change by recommending practical solutions that your school district can implement. Help to be part of the solution – for the sake of our children!

Three E's For Optimal Child Nutrition - Educate, Expose & Empower

My children, almost 3 and 6 years of age, are at an age where they are curious, but cautious about the foods they eat. This is a natural and normal state for their ages and I am reminded to utilize my education to train my children to choose healthy foods on their own. Just like anything else in life, we would all agree that we want to train our children to eventually be able to do life on their own and it is no different with food choices. But how do we go about doing that? This is the challenge, and I fully realize it's a challenge, because I am living it out myself. But stay encouraged. we can do this together!

Educate. This requires us to be tapping into accurate and reliable informational resources. If you have inacurrate or undeveloped nutrition knowledge, then your children will naturally have the same. There are so many governmental, reputable origanizational and university websites that you can count on to bring you unbiased, reliable information. A great portal of information can be found starting on the U.S. Government's Nutrition landing site that connects to other governmental nutrition sites. The American Dietetic Association, which is the national association for Registered Dietitian and Dietetic Technicians, has a wealth of information as well. Start there. Obviously I am biased to say you should consider getting individualized guidance from a Registered Dietitian in your area as this is the best way to get off to the right start. But actively become educated so you can educate your children.

Educate, Expose & Empower Your Children!

Expose. Let's be honest. We all come to the food table with certain likes and dislikes. Are you a picky eater yourself? Do you dislike most vegetables? Do you eliminate certain food groups altogether? These things can directly impact your children's exposure to foods. Even if we would categorize ourselves as "healthy eaters," we all have a tendency to gravitate toward our favorite foods. This can also limit our children's food exposure because even healthy repetition is limiting. Head to a new grocer or even visit your local farmers market to investigate new foods.

The biggest thing I want to say about exposure is that we all need to remember to serve our children foods that they have already rejected. I know, I know - food wastage comes to mind - but if we remember that children are curiously cautious to new foods, we will gain patience. I have seen this many times with my daughter and continued exposure has lead to eventual acceptance much of the time. My son is at an age where he is rejecting most vegetables, and that's OK! I still serve them to him knowing that most likely he will accept some of them. Exposure is a big topic when it comes to child nutrition because we like to make the foods that we already know our children like because we want them to eat! Let's take the school lunch, for instance. Many of us commonly think that sending a school lunch with your child is the healthier option. I would challenge you by saying that is not always the case. The typical "healthy" brown bagged lunch has maybe a sandwich (primarily peanut butter and jelly, but also lean lunch meat), baked chips and a fruit cup or a fruit snack along with a juice or maybe even a milk. Where is the vegetable? Most children either do not have a vegetable or they get the same baby carrots everyday. Maybe your child will get the lettuce and tomato on the sandwich and that is good. But what about the next day? Is the lunch something different, or will it be more of the same? You see, the typical school lunch always provides the option of a vegetable and in most cases, provides variety from the home food. That is why I feel comfortable allowing my daughter to purchase school lunch mulitple times per week. This way I know my daughter will have the opportunity to take in a variety of nutrients by eating a variety of foods. But will she choose the vegetable, you say? That's where empowerment comes in.

Empower. This is another big one. It is essential that we teach the "why's" behind good nutrition. Let's not stop by saying "because it is good for you." And certainly, I do not encourage any talk, particularly with young children, about eating certain foods to avoid being "fat". This is sure to cause poor relationships with food, so please refrain from talking about your own fad diets and dieting practices around your children if at all possible. We all need to be healthy. And kids want to be strong and smart. I teach my children that healthy foods such as whole grains, lean meats, fruits, vegetables and milk provide "super powers" that will give them all they need to run fast, read better and can even make their skin nice. My daughter loves that eating vegetables makes her skin look like a princess. See, she gets that and it encourages her to make that healthy choice much of the time. I tell her that eating candy is fine when it is eaten sometimes, but when you eat it all the time, it does not give you the fuel her body needs to be all that she can be. So, right now she thinks she is carrying around the "secret" that healthy foods have "super powers." The other day, she asked if it was OK that she tell her best friend the secret. I told her it was OK. You can go ahead and share the "secret" with your kids, too. :)