The meatballs tasted like meatballs, not lamb, if you know what I mean! I can't remember what the gravy tasted like but it was good mixed with the mash potato. We've not had these yoghurts before but the toffee flavour was lovely even though it tasted of oranges. Told you it was an orange day!
Food-o-meter- 8/10
Mouthfuls- 30, I cut the meatballs in half
Courses- main/dessert
Health Rating- 6/10
Price- £2
Pieces of hair- 0
Wristband- Orange
Not everyone has school dinners and a lot of children bring packed lunches. This packed lunch has been sent in by 6yr old Lily's mum and it's all home made including the bread for the sandwich! I like the look of banana muffin and all the fruit and its all in a really clever looking box.
I wonder what colour wristband I'll wear tomorrow. I hope you noticed the new category!
VEG
Why is it that it's only school dinners where mashed potato is served with an ice cream scoop? Odd.
ReplyDeleteIt's rather common for sandwich shops to use ice cream scoops for tuna or chicken salad.
DeleteIn Hawaii, steamed rice and macaroni salad are served with an ice cream scoop.
DeleteI serve some things at home with a scoop too- it makes it easy, and the little one thinks it looks cool =-)
DeleteThat actually looks similar to what we used to get when I was at school. (Many, many years ago!)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for what you are doing, it's fabulous!
All I can say is... wow. I'm actually really jealous, I live in the USA and your food actually looks delicious compared to mine. I don't even eat the school food because it's so awful. I love this blog.
ReplyDeleteSame. Except I eat the food. My parents prepaid me for the entire year so I have to eat it. But you get used to it. Kinda. :/
DeleteI know what you mean. My family isn't in a good spot financially right now, so I get free lunch from my school in the United States. Pretty much all the food is either fried or soaked in grease. I wish I didn't have to eat it.
Deleteyou are quite an inquisitive and amazing girl. i spotted your blog in an article on yahoo. i thoroughly enjoy reading your blog and viewing pictures of your lunches. very interesting in comparison to the lunches i used to be served as a child. keep up the great work, and i'll keep reading your blog! p.s. i also have a blog, and i'll be adding yours to my links page :) my link is umami-quest.weebly.com
ReplyDeletei also noticed that many of your lunches are carb-heavy... your thoughts on this?
As a Mom of 2 girls in the US I will say that your lunches have a much better presentation then they do here. It also saddens me that their choices range from state to state and were worse in New York (where we moved from) then they are in Washington. Here they are offered healthy carbs such as sweet potato fries. Keep up the good work!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeletePersonally I think what you are doing is the greatest thing anyone could do! I hate our school lunches in the U.S. because they are not made right in the school, they are frozen and reheated. That is why I only eat 2 things on our lunch menu. I just wanted to ask if at your school, do they reheat the food at your school or do they make the food in a similar to old-fashion way right in front of you? In our health class we just finished talking about nutrition so I think I am lucky to have found this blog off of Yahoo!. Thank you for all that you are doing with this blog and keep up the good work!
Martha, I just found your blog. This is amazing and you are my hero! Last year, I tried to do something similar, I sent a couple letters to the newspaper and sent essays to our food company. Not only is our food old, there have been strange sightings. Once a ladybug in a salad, neon orange grease on our pizza,.. etc. You are doing literally everything I wanted to do. Good for you! I truly look up to you, this is spectacular!!
ReplyDelete-Sophie, 12 yr old.
What a lovely blog! You're a breath of fresh air (unlike some of your lunches!) and I hope you keep up the reviews. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteFound out about your blog from the Yahoo Article about you. Nice work! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog via a yahoo article and just had to check it out. Fabulous job! I love your blog; it's an eye opener, for sure, and I love how you have incorporated photos of lunches from children across globe. I have to say... Lily's homemade bread looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteRead the article on Yahoo and I LOVE your blog! Great job :)
ReplyDeleteMy, my - this IS an improvement. Five meatballs (protein), mashed potatoes (carbs), what looks like cabbage (greens), yoghurt (more protein and calcium), and bread (more carbs, but what the heck).
ReplyDeleteThis looks like LUNCH. Veg, I think you may be winning!
True, the potatoes are carbs, but they are also a beneficial vegetable. I saw the yoghurt and thought sugar! What else am I to assume with a "toffee" flavor?
DeleteBut I was less than impressed with the lettuce sitting in the gravy. Ugh! As a child, I would have turned up my nose, but then I was much more spoiled than I am currently (now that I have to prepare my own meals).
Following your blog from Tennessee, 30+ something non-parent.
This is an AMAZING blog!! What a clever idea. Your blog has reached California! :DSarah
ReplyDeleteheytherecalifornia.wordpress.com
You take such great photos of your lunches everyday!! You're doing an awesome job of standing up for what you believe in, and writing about it for the world to read. Keep it up!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you have to count hairs in your lunch. Do the kitchen workers wear hair nets?
ReplyDeletehow can I send you a pic of our lunches at school?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! Your food looks just like the food I ate in school. Wish I could send a pic of it! But, I agree with the mouthful problems. It was never quite enough!
ReplyDeleteYou are brilliant! I adore children like you! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI read your story in a Yahoo article and I have to say you've made a huge impression on my husband and myself. Good for you for bringing attention to such an important issue!!! Sending you lots of support from Washington, DC!!!
ReplyDeleteNow that you can get more veggies, maybe your salads won't look so small and sad. =)
ReplyDeleteIf you do another charity fundraiser, you should put a link to donate on your site. It's getting a lot of views, and I'm sure lots of people would help you raise funds.
Brilliant, Veg. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful blog! I went to school in a small country setting in Pennsylvania. I must say, your lunches look much more appetizing than what we had. I remember all the meat tasting the same and all of it looked very grey (except for the chicken dishes). I also remember orange cheese inside of our "mozzarella sticks" that you could pull out of the breading and roll into a ball and actually bounce it like a play ball.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the packed lunch has more fruit, than your typical school lunch. It's always nice to have something sweet like a piece of fruit to go with your meal.
Oh, this is just wonderful; to see you doing something so productive for yourself. Keep listening to your father he is a very wise man. You will have a very successful future if you keep working at it. Love your blog, sweetie pie.
ReplyDeleteGood job, young lady!! In the USA, even in high school (kids age 14-18), the serving sizes are similar to what you have posted. I always used to send lunch with my son to school, or he would opt for a sub sandwich ("cold lunch", as opposed to hot lunch like what you have pictured). He always came home starving for snacks.
ReplyDeleteKeep pushing the salad issue!! They need to have enough fresh veggies on hand to feed ALL the students, not just the early-lunchers!!
Young lady, I think what you're doing is brilliant, inspiring, and a wonderful way to bring attention to what the school is feeding you. At my daughter's school, I would love to do this, but the food is so bad, I won't even let her eat it! They count french fries as a vegetable serving, and apples drowned in sugar and cinnamon syrup as a fruit serving! I meet her for lunch once a week, and I'll try and get a picture of one of the kid's lunches to show you! Again, I REALLY love what you're doing, and how EXCITING getting a note from Jamie Oliver! He's amazing, and I love what he does too. Good for you, darling! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteLove you blog! What a great idea. Schools in the US especially are so worried about calories that they tend to serve cheap fillers that are unhealthy and unfilling. I would much rather my kid NOT be hungry during school (thus doing better in their studies) then not be fed enough!
ReplyDeleteGood for you!
Found your blog on yahoo today and wanted to thank you for drawing attention to school lunches! They seem to be so unhealthy here in the US... mostly carbohydrates. myplate.gov is a new way to look at eating healthy. It recommends half your plate be vegetables/fruits. I wonder how often that actually happens! Anyway... keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteFound your blog on yahoo today and wanted to thank you for drawing attention to school lunches! They seem to be so unhealthy here in the US... mostly carbohydrates. myplate.gov is a new way to look at eating healthy. It recommends half your plate be vegetables/fruits. I wonder how often that actually happens! Anyway... keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your blog. Kids really do need healthy lunches. My daughter, who is 8, packs her lunch most days, but she eats so early in the school day that she is absolutely starving on the way home. I am glad that your blog is creating some positive changes at your school. I hope that other schools take listen to what you have posted!!
ReplyDeleteHi, My name is Emilia and I live in Montreal and I'm 8 years old. I want to say that your website is really cool. For my hot lunches we get a list of one meal per day and then you get to pick what days you get a lunch. We get a meat, a vegetable, potatoes or rice or pasta, dessert and a juice. My favourite are salisbury steak w/ potatoes, apple crisp, shepherd's pie, tuna wrap, canelonni and lasagna, rice crispie squares and other stuff. The food is very good and healthy too - they bake crispy things like chicken tenders and fish, with whole wheat crusts. No frying and no fries. I think you would really like our lunches.
ReplyDelete(submitted on Emi's behalf by her mom, who is very impressed by your work too!
looks way better then my old school lunches :D
ReplyDeleteWhat you're doing is fantastic and congrats on the success you've achieved. I wish I could have blogged about school lunches when I was in school.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy those unlimited salads and fruit, and keep up the good work.
Children can and will change our world. Martha, you are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI don't know it all looks like prison food to me and I'm a Mom......I think you should suggest to your school that they have IKEA cater your daily lunches....have you ever had their meatballs and mashed potatoes....your doing a great job and I will follow your progress and let's hope they watch out with those hairs....
ReplyDeleteThis is better than the food at my school and I'm in HIGH SCHOOL. Our food tastes disgusting. But once you eat it every day for 9 years, you get used to it. Be happy. Even your worst school lunches are probably better than ours. You even get real plate things. All we get are Styrofoam ones.
ReplyDeleteHaha, at my highschool we don't even get plates! Slide through grab milk/juice, a small fruit, a pizza or hot dog or something of that sort, punch in our lunch number, and try to carry everything.
DeleteCongratulations on entering the Food Revolution, Martha! I loved Jamie Oliver's show and just happened across a little article on Yahoo about your food blog-- one person *can* make a difference! The press you're getting clearly has made a difference already in your school district with regards to the food policies. Don't let the internet stardom overwhelm you too much-- great job and keep doing what you're doing!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Cari from NY
I saw the Yahoo article about your blog and I had to come see it for myself. Good for you, Martha! My husband and I want to start a farm here in the US and grow organic fruits and veg. We also want to have chickens for eggs, bees for honey and goats for milk and cheese! We live very close to Washington, DC and think it's really sad that school kids here don't get healthy, fresh foods at lunch (and sometimes breakfast, too!) Maybe someday, our farm will provide some good food to the kids around here :)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, smart girl! You're making a big difference!!
Martha,
ReplyDeleteAs a mommy of a healthy, hearty, hungry little boy, I want to thank you for making waves in a corrupt food system. I know your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I believe that you are helping to create a healthy food system that will greatly benefit my little boy when he is of school age and for that I am truly thankful.
Keep up the wonderful work.
Kirsten from North Dakota
It seems better than before. Looks like the meal at IKEA restaurant.
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.roodo.com/dwwz/5802b2af.jpg
great blog! So interesting to see what school lunches are like in other countries. You right very well too, good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Martha!!! I just want to tell you how much I look up to you and how much I respect what you are doing. I am 12 years old and in 7th grade. My school lunches are TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even eat lunch on Mondays!!! I think what you are doing is AMAZING!! don't let anyone tell you differently. I have a website myself (www.heggyhelps.com) where I write about things that I find cool and inspiring. I am totally writing about you. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeletestay strong and rock on!!
Meg from CA, USA
Veg, Thank you so much for sharing your lunch time stories with us! You are truly inspiring on how one little person can make a huge difference! I can already see the differences in your lunches as the weeks have gone by! You should be SO proud of yourself sweetheart!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is only 20 months old (1 and a half years old) and you have inspired me to work hard to make sure she has healthy meals everyday as she grows older! Wishing you ALL the best Veg! I hope you continue to make a difference and inspire others! I hope you keep blogging, because I'll keep reading! :)
Martha, I, too, saw your story on yahoo. You are so smart and brave. I know your dad is proud of you. I am now following your blog from Alabama, in the USA. I look forward to reading more about your school lunches and your activism. Always believe in yourself, you have already made a difference!
ReplyDeleteThis looks much nicer!
ReplyDeleteHi Veg, I saw your story on Yahoo Canada and have shared it and your blog on facebook. You are an amazing young lady and there are so many people out here that are proud of you and sending you positive thoughts and support. You are making a difference to the kids at your school and hopefully bringing change to other schools. Keep up the great work!!
ReplyDeleteI am a day behind today as had to catch up on a load of paper work.
ReplyDeletehere is a linq to what the kids had Yesterday ( Monday)
http://todayschooldinner.blogspot.co.uk/
In your Picture its had to pick out the meat balls !!
your lunches and those who had send pictures and their stories about them are way more delicious that what I had when I was at school. ( a reader who happens to stumble your blog on a yahoo article). Keep it up!!! a revolution is a start to something greater!!
ReplyDeletewonderful blog you have here, keep up the good work,
ReplyDeleteVeg - you are doing wonders and we love your blog in our office! Keep going, please! When we first found you I said "I hope Jamie sees this" and I am delighted for you that he has. Keep going!
ReplyDeleteThis is the most balanced meal you have shown us so far.
ReplyDeleteI think somebody is reading your blog and taking notes.
Well done you!
I saw an article about you on Yahoo. What you're doing with your blog is really great! You're a very smart and ambitious girl and you should be proud of what you're accomplishing for your school and for yourself. I've shared your blog on Pinterest and I'm sure many of my friends will be interested to read it. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Katie from College Station, Texas
I'm having trouble posting my comments but maybe third time lucky .........
ReplyDeleteThis looks like the best balanced meal you have shown us.
I think somebody is reading your blog and taking notes.
Well done!
Nice blog!! ;)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant Veg! I look forward to reading your critique each day. Maybe someday you can be a critic in all the swanky places across the world! Dream BIG!
ReplyDeleteWow! A blogger after my own heart! Keep up the good work! One tiny voice absolutely CAN change the world.
ReplyDeleteFollowing you from Ohio USA!
That food really looks awful! Doesn't seem to get better.
ReplyDeleteLooks like little Lily made the better choice.
Never the less I really enjoy your blog. Keep on posting!
Oh, Martha, what a lovely and smart blog! I love your delightful sense of humor. I will be reading your blog often. Best wishes to you.
ReplyDeleteHi Veg,
ReplyDeleteI saw your story on Yahoo. We live in Kennesaw Georgia. Bravo! with the blog. It takes a very brave young lady to write a blog like this. Keep up the awesome work.
Hi VEG
ReplyDeleteSince I don't find any e-mail-adress to contact you, here is my question as a comment: Can I use one or two of your pix to illustrate an article about your blog in my blog: dastrueffelschwein.ch Thanks in advance
Martha, I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I think your blog is amazing. I am now following it from Lincoln, Nebraska in the USA. When I was in school (70's & 80's) school lunches were prepared by our cooks, all home-made and fresh ingredients. It seems school lunches these days contain many processed foods, especially here in America. Showing your lunches and rating them is brilliant. We adults tend to over-complicate things. You smart, straight-forward approach is so effective. Your narratives are a joy to read. You are well-spoken and do not fill your comments with useless slang. I also love your positive approach! You say what needs to be said but you're not nasty or snide about it. You, young lady, are a bright star with an extraordinary future ahead of you. Keep blogging away and I'll keep reading :D
ReplyDeleteThe salad in the gravy is making my stomach do flips. Gross. The lunch the mom packed for the 6 year old looks much better.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, Martha. This council your father spoke to...perhaps its time they made you one of their members. Just a thought since you would bring common sense and a practical approach to their operations.
ReplyDeleteAll leaders in the world show clear signs of initiative from childhood. Good job, VEG. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteNice job with the blog! Your photos are nice and I like your stories too. It was funny the way the lunches were better on the day that the newspaper reporter came to your school. I also like the photos from other children around the world.
ReplyDeleteThe schools that my boys have attended in the US (North Carolina) weren't very good either so I always packed their lunches from home. I wish I'd thought of taking pictures and blogging - maybe the lunches would be better now. Our school cafeterias don't cook anything, they just warm up frozen things. When I was a little girl the schools cooked the food fresh and it was much better. Keep up your excellent work!
This one appears to be the best yet...though still pretty short on vegetation.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually quite appalled at what you are being served. I think my 2yr old can put away more than what has been on your tray some days. Growing children need lots of healthy food options, not fillers and cheap eats.
Keep up the good work Veg!
Martha, you are phenomenal and you are making a difference out there. Keep on being awesome!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! It's brave and exciting to see what you're doing with your blog!
ReplyDeleteMy question for you is: Did you sneak a camera in your school, or was it not an issue? I don't believe my child's school would be too happy about her bringing a camera to document her food.
Keep up the great work! You are the start of something HUGE!!!
Your friend in the USA
Dear Martha, I read an article about you on Yahoo this morning, and I just wanted to congratulate you! Your blog is lovely, and it is so inspiring that you are making a change in your school. :) Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteMy first visit to your blog, thanks to an article on Yahoo. I'm loving it!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!
Very entertaining and informative.
I noticed and read a few comments, that the meals really lack a good source of protein, you may want to add that as a rating point to.
All the way from Trinidad and Tobago (in the Caribbean).
if you look into what has happend you will find there has been no change at all to the school dinners ...the school has a menu system with always a healthy choice and also more "main stream" meals for the kids who will not eat if there is no "junk " on the plate there is always salad and baked potatos or a choice of main meal off the four week menu perhaps if veg asked the dinner ladys if she could photograph all the choces she has on offer it would give a better reflection of the healthy options that are being passed up
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your blog I'm thinking you're much older than you are but when I listened to the interview I realised you're not as old as I'm always thinking! :D
ReplyDeletehello martha,
ReplyDeletelove that you are doing this and way to go!!
question, can you find out the recipe for that homemade bread from lily's mum? it looks really good. thanks.
I want it too!
DeletePlease let me know if you get it!
Here's the bread recipe, it is incredibly easy! (The original is from Nigella Lawson, 'Nigella Express' - p.131 Lazy Loaf, but I have changed it a bit):
Delete90g Porridge Oats
90g Sunflower seeds
20g Linseed or flaxseed or similar (or use 100g of each of the above instead)
325g Whole grain flour (I use stone ground Spelt flour but whole wheat is fine too)
2 teaspoons 'Quick' yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
500ml water
Mix the dry ingredients, then mix in the water. Put mixture into a lined 2lb loaf tin and into a cold oven. Turn on to 110°C and leave for 30 mins, then turn up to 180° C and bake for 1 hour.
I have also done it with Walnuts instead of half the Sunflower Seeds.
OMG, im from samoa ,a found your article on yahoooo AND I JUSt loveeee IT, atleast the little people are now standing up for a change now ! :)
ReplyDeleteGoood luck on that MARTHA ! a wonderful and spectacular idea !
You go girl! Keep up the great work. I love how intelligent you are!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was just posted here in Portland, Oregon, USA. I've been reading this morning and I thank you for doing this. Love the honesty and the little bits of wit in your writing.
ReplyDeleteLunches are a mystery here too. I've called nutrition services myself, telling them the nutritional guide lines won't do any good. If the food tastes bad the kids will not eat it. I believe the food should be nutritious but they have to prove or convince the kids that it can taste good too. Please keep up with your blog and writing. We enjoy what you have to say. (& Thank dad too)
The homemade bread for Lily's sandwich looks amazing. Makes me hungry.
ReplyDeleteMel (Tennessee, USA)
Also found your blog from yahoo. I think this is an awesome thing your doing. :). Thumbs up from the U.S.A.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!!!! All the way from Washington DC, USA, you've got a fan in me!
ReplyDeleteMartha, you are my hero! What an amazing ball of dynamite! I never post ever on websites, but I was reading about your lovely blog today and I just had to post. I'm from Washington DC and I think it's brilliant what you are doing. You dad and mother must be twinkling right now!
ReplyDeleteHugs+kisses,
Misa <3!
MARTHA!you are my hero! I never post on websites, BUT, I just had to after reading about your wonderful website and ideas. I'm from Washington DC and I just wanted to send a big *great job!* and *rah rah* to you to keep it up! Your father and mother must be twinkling right now ;) Stay true to yourself!
ReplyDeleteMisa ;)
I have been out of elementary school for quite some time (I'm 27 years old in the US) and this really makes me nostalgic of my old cafeteria lunch food days. I'm amazed by how interesting and lovely your words are yet you're just 9 years old! You're gifted and inspiring. Keep up the wonderful work!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like the best offering so far. Although, is that lettuce with your gravy? Strange combinations you are offered. Think you should keep up the blog as it's clearly making a difference to what you are getting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, if you could choose any meal for your school dinner, what would you have?
Wonderful job. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI just read about your blog on Yahoo as well. Congratulations! What a great idea! You are such a mature young lady and your blog is inspirational! I will try to get my son to take a picture of his school lunch to post on your blog. I hope your writing has an impact on schools around the world. Great job!!
ReplyDeletehi..... my name is Elisabetta, from Italy. I appreciate very much what you are doing!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a mom of an eight year girl.... and I'm in a wordwide new social network.... made from women for women...... we wonder if you could come and create a group in thre to discuss about food quality in schools all over the world..... we are very interested in hearing your point of view.....
http://www.withandwithin.com/ this is the link to the community, hope to hear from you soon......
Great Job Veg! I posted the Yahoo story link and Blog link to my Facebook. I asked all to share and have their children and grandchildren follow your Blog and become involved for the improvement of their school lunch.
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
Don...
Hope your lunches continue getting better and better.
ReplyDeleteThat plate totally reminds me of the IKEA food I always get when I go to IKEA! Yum Yum :3
ReplyDeleteHi, u consider IKEA Food as Yummi Yummi.. brrrrrrrrr in my eyes it can be considerated as my worstes Food-Expirience in my hole Life the day when i fooded in one of this terribly IKEA-Restaurants. God with you!
DeleteI've got that lunchbox! (I'm 23!)
ReplyDeleteKudos to Lily's mum - now THAT'S a lunch worth eating!!
ReplyDeleteI am vegetarian and don't go to school so I don't know what school dinners are like, but your pictures look really unappetising. Ps I have the same lunchbox as Lily and I love it :)
ReplyDeleteI would love for 6 year old Lily's Mum to share the recipe for her bread...looks amazing! Please, Lily's Mum, if you're reading this, get in touch! retrogranniecooks@gmail.com
ReplyDelete