Food for Thought

I don't remember the "healthfulness" of school lunches ever being an issue when I was a kid. I remember that breakfast cost a quarter, and lunch was 75 cents. We had hamburgers with tater tots on Thursday, spaghetti on Tuesdays, and pancakes for breakfast with your choice of maple, blueberry or strawberry flavored syrup at least once a week. Your beverage choices were plain or chocolate milk. Last year, Anastasia's school cafeteria was basically the same. Lots of processed foods, overcooked canned veggies, and sugary cereals were offered, with strawberry or chocolate milk. Here's a picture courtesy of the Better D.C. School Food blog:



Though Orlando is a chef, and food is important to us, we don't harp on healthy eating with Anastasia (or ourselves for that matter). We do limit her choices, and obviously, the kid doesn't eat ice cream 3 meals a day, but you will find more than just organic fruit and veg in our kitchen.

And, our little girl loves food. She's never met a protein she didn't like (including, we learned this week, chicken gizzards). Ditto fruit. With vegetables, she's a bit more finicky, but I can't really call her picky, since she loves broccoli, peas, carrots, asparagus and any salad.



As much as she loves food that's good for her, like her parents, she also loves junk food. She'll happily help mommy and daddy dig into a bag of potato chips, and it's guaranteed that every night she'll ask for a treat after dinner. Only recently did she start liking french fries, but now that she does, it's even odds whether she'll choose fries or apples at McDonalds.

Because we're not the type of parents to worry too much over it, and because breakfast and lunch (and 2 or 3 snacks) are free to every student in her school, last year, she ate cafeteria meals, rather than a sandwich packed by me. I'll confess, though, I wouldn't have eaten most of what they served.

This year, in response to new legislation made possible by parents who care a lot about this subject, the DC Public Schools school lunch catering company is offering a much more healthful menu. Every meal now includes locally grown fresh fruit or vegetables, and whole grains. The processed sugars are largely removed, with cereals now tending more toward Kashi and Shredded Wheat than Fruit Loops and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And, there's no more chocolate or strawberry milk on offer. A more recent pic of a chicken lunch from Better D.C. School Food:



I didn't think this would be a big deal to me. I'm surprised by the level of happiness that I feel knowing that she's being presented with choices that are both better for her, and more appetizing. But I am pleased, and it's one of several examples of the changes that are being made in DC Public Schools in the last couple years.