Before the storm

Veg Here I am thinking a lot about Ms El, Zee, Sunflower, everyone at their school and in their neighbourhood. I got sent this post before the storm Sandy hit. I hope they are all ok and we hear from them soon.



Today’s “A” lunch option was grilled cheese. I realize we have not been describing our lunches in much detail, so I will try to fix that with today’s meal. I have been eating the school lunch with the children this week. “American Cheese” is a little hard to describe. Some people insist it is not cheese at all, but a processed dairy product. It is creamy and salty, and it melts very smoothly, but it doesn’t have any strong “cheese-y” or sharp flavor. The whole wheat bread is very soft and toasts up nicely in the oven. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and sweet; I tried the ranch dressing dip that the children were offered with the tomatoes, but I preferred them plain. And, the peaches were very good. I remember canned peaches being too sweet when I bought school lunch as a kid (I grew up nearby in Queens, New York City), but the peaches schools serve no longer come in heavy syrup. They’re canned in juice and water. I am not, and never have been a milk drinker. I drank it the first three days of our project, but I couldn’t stomach it yesterday, so I had a water.

Zee-
“This sandwich is too hot.”
Zee opened his bag of “veggie straws” from home, and ate that for the rest of the lunch period. With a lot of coaxing he took a nibble of cheese from inside his sandwich. I took a peek at the label on the veggie straws. They are mostly made of potato flour and starch, they’re doesn’t seem to be much to them. I don’t really have an opinion on how “healthy” or “un-healthy,” this snack is. I can tell you that I’ve had them before, and I definitely would not have been full enough after lunch. But, Zee did not seem to be hungry.
The weather has been a little wet in New York this week. The children had a relaxed indoor recess period before lunch. They definitely eat more of their lunches when they run around before coming into the cafeteria. Zee’s class also had a snack break sometime in the morning. I’m sure his parents sent him in with a large morning snack.
“My lunch today was healthy. I ate some cheese. I forgot to drink my milk. But, my lunch was healthy because I had vegetable chips.”

The Veggie Straws are a snack from home.

Food-o-meter: “4/10”
Health meter: “8/10”
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).
Recess: Indoor “I played checkers with my friends inside.”

Sunflower- “Today the grilled cheese was good. It took 20 bites to eat. The peaches are good and the tomatoes are [takes a bite, gives me the thumbs up sign] good. The chips I have aren’t healthy, but I bought them because my sister got some too and she likes them.” Sunflower also did not drink her milk. She did finished her entire sandwich and a good portion of the sides.

Food-o-meter: “10/10”
Health meter: “6/10”
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).
Recess: Indoor “We went to the playroom. I made paper airplanes. My sister taught me how to make them. She learnt from other kids in her class.”

Brunch for Lunch

Hi Neverseconds readers,

Before I get to today’s lunch I wanted to give readers a little bit of background information about school lunch in the United States. Many, if not most, public schools in this country participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSPL) run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Many not-for-profit private schools use this program as well. The NSPL estimates it feeds about 31 million children under the age of 18, many of them for free. From what I understand, the USDA gives food as well as monetary subsidies to schools participating NSPL. However, the federal government is NOT picking out the meals for every school. The USDA sets guidelines every school must follow. This school year (2012-2013) the USDA increased the amount of fruit and vegetable servings children must receive. They also made changes to incorporate more whole grains into lunches, and set sodium limits. There are food vendors approved by the USDA that school districts can use to buy the food for lunches. Schools can also receive “bonus” foods from the USDA when there is an agricultural surplus.
You can see the site and learn more about school lunch in our country here: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch/

Today at our school we had “Brunch for Lunch,” Lunch servings included mini whole grain maple flavored waffles, sweet potato bites, turkey sausage, milk, and a banana. Zee was very, very excited to get school lunch. He is one enthusiastic kid. But, Sunflower brought her own lunch from home. She was also happy with her meal.

Zee-
“Waffles! Waffles are the best! Ms. El, they’re YUM!! (Takes a bite,) Mmmm…” Zee was busily dipping his waffles in syrup, and I had to prompt him to tell me about lunch today. “I like syrup; it’s so good. Can I have more syrup?” I answered “no” without checking the actual rules (the syrup comes in a little plastic tub. The ingredients are corn syrup, water, and some coloring). “I am not going to eat the sausage or the sweet potatoes [this is said with a disgusted expression]. I only like waffles and the strawberry milk because I like strawberries.”
Zee drank about half his milk. I ended up wearing the rest of it.

Food-o-meter: 7/10
Mouthfuls: We’re not sure, but I think my clothes contain at least 10 sips.
Health meter: Zee told me, “Very healthy, I don’t know what number.”
Recess: Indoors in the gymnasium. We played games with the giant parachute.
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).

Sunflower-
“I have tomatoes today. And, I have a bologna sandwich and chocolate milk and fruit snacks. My mom made my lunch, I like it. I have regular white bread.”
I asked what she would’ve bought if her mother hadn’t made her a lunch. “I would’ve had waffles, not the chicken patty even though I like chicken. I like the waffles and the sausage. My sister [twin] says the sausage is spicy.”

Food-o-meter: 8/10
Mouthfuls: I forgot to ask Sunflower to keep count
Health meter: 8/10
Recess: Same as Zee.

Nuggets

Chicken Nuggets are an extremely popular lunch choice at our school. This is going to be a very chicken-y week. Monday the lunch “A” option is chicken nuggets, and the “B” lunch for the week is a breaded chicken patty on a bun. There will be one more chicken entrée Thursday, as well. On any given day about a third of the students at our school opt to receive the school lunch. The rest of the students bring a lunch from home to the cafeteria. On the first day of the school week (usually Monday, unless there is a school holiday) the “A” lunch is always chicken nuggets, and on the last day of the week (Friday) the cafeteria always serves a variation of pizza. There tends to be a higher number of children buying lunch on those two days.

I interviewed Sunflower and Zee at lunch today-

Sunflower: “Chicken nuggets are healthy because they are made of chicken and chicken is good for you. I like all healthy things. The applesauce I had is delicious! I didn’t eat the potatoes because I know I don’t like them. I only like the kind of potatoes that my mom makes. She doesn’t put all this stuff [herbs] on it.”

Sunflower also ate her corn, and drank her chocolate milk. She did not eat the roll, and she didn’t comment on it.

Zee- “My stomach hurts today. [Zee had some sort of mishap or misunderstanding involving the playground, rules, and appropriate first grade behavior. As a result he was very upset when he first came in to lunch. He eventually regained his appetite and was able to tell me about lunch.] I like chicken nuggets. At home I like to eat barbeque chicken. I don’t like the corn here because I only like corn still on the oval [cob]. I’m not hungry for the bread. And, I only eat potatoes that are french-fries.

Food-o-meter: 9/10
Health: 6/10 (Ms. El pointed out that their trays were not very colorful today, so they knocked off a few points).
Recess: We played outside on the playground equipment for recess. That’s my favorite recess (Sunflower).
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).

Well done Blod! Hello Long Island!

First a thank you to Harshi for all her brilliant posts. You live in India and I live in Scotland yet we both love cheese! One of my favourite's is Gouda and you have it in your photograph. I don't know why everyone in the photo is looking away. I would be staring at the cheese! The school dinners from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are my favourites but I will add your Indian food as well now because it looks so tempting to try. I like your expression "Every morsel of food you waste today represents hunger later in your life". It has made me think. Thank you. If you are in Germany, France (do you have snails at school), Denmark or Spain please ask your teacher to help you guest blog for a week! NeverSeconds@gmail.com

We have been fund raising in school this week as well for Mary's Meals. We've already had sales of porridge, flapjacks and oatcakes. Mr Kipling wrote to me offering to send me some cakes because I won the Observer Award. I asked if I could sell them at a cake stall for Mary's Meals and he said yes. They were meant to arrive today but haven't but I hope they arrive tomorrow early so I can add them to the cake stall. We are also having a non uniform day like Blod but I don't know if we will raise more than your £150! Thank you everyone at Ysgol Kingsland and well done Blod's mum!

Joe, Polly and I gave a presentation at school today about Mary's Meals and Malawi. A lady from Mary's Meals came as well. It was nice to do it with my brother and sister because I wasn't alone. We got help with the microphone as we are all different heights. My headteacher gave me a certificate in a wooden frame to say well done. I went a little red.

I am going to the Halloween School disco tonight dressed as dad! That's scary enough I think.

Our next guest bloggers are from Long Island, New York.

VEG


Hi Veg! I’m Ms. El and I work in a school on Long Island, New York. This public school only has three grades in it: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade. I asked a couple of our First grade students if they would like to tell you about their lunches for a week. They enthusiastically replied, “Yes!” So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Zee and Sunflower.

“Hi! My name is Sunflower and I am 6. I am in first grade, and I like to play with my brothers, (Ms. El asked, “What about your twin?”) and alright, my sister too. So far my favorite part of first grade is outdoor recess. Today I had pizza for lunch. I had an apple, cheese crackers, and my drink was chocolate milk. I like this pizza because when I tried it, it was good. Because it’s not very sweet. Sometimes the pizza is sweet, but I like it not too sweet. I had a cardboard tray it has a lot of little spaces on it, and one big space. The apple is super healthy!”

“Hi, my name is Zee, and I am 6 too. I am in the same class as Sunflower in first grade. My favorite part of first grade is playing in Centers (On special days, the first graders can have some free choice playtime, Zee likes the small wooden geometric blocks). Pizza is the best food that I like. Because the cheese is so good. First I ate my apple. I ate it first because apples are my favorite fruit. Water is better than milk because water is more healthier. (At this point the children at Zee’s lunch table discussed the health benefits of water. One boy told the table, “Water keeps our kidneys safe.” And, another child announced, “Water is the healthiest drink on earth.”) I got the Pop-tart because I like cinnamon, but I didn’t get to eat it. I’m going to eat it at home today.”

Zee and Sunflower:
Food-o-meter: 8/10
Mouthfuls: Sunflower ate her entire pizza, she counted 53 bites.
Health meter: 7/10
Recess: Indoor, it was raining. We watched a video about children with food allergies so we know not to share food with each other. Sometimes if it’s raining we play crab-soccer.
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).

I (Ms. El) had a school lunch as well. I chose pizza just like Zee and Sunflower.

The lettuce salad had cucumbers and carrots in it, and the chickpeas were dressed with red onion and herbs. I chose an orange over the apple and fat-free milk. The kids had these options as well. They must have one fruit serving and one vegetable. The US government famously ruled last fall that tomato sauce on pizza is to be counted as a vegetable serving. So, both Zee and Sunflower had their fruit and vegetable serving today. The cheese crackers, Pop-tart, and water bottle were not included in the price of lunch; their parents allow them to buy extra snacks today.

French bread whole wheat crust Pizza was the “A” lunch option today. The “B” lunch offered was Turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread. The cafeteria also offers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, and salad every day.

The lunch line:

We had so much fun writing about our lunch experience! Can’t wait to tell you about lunch tomorrow.

Ms. El, Sunflower, and Zee.

We're back and we've been busy!

Hi VEG

I've seen that you have been very busy. I bet that going to Africa was amazing! I thought I'd write to tell you what we've been doing since the time I helped with your blog. It feels like ages ago now, back when I was in Year 4.

There was some really good news in the summer holidays, because my Mam was named the Anglesey Primary School Cook of the Year! On the first day back in school, my headmaster gave her a gold medal just like people in the Olympics! I thought it was real gold at first but when I held it I realised it was plastic!

Last week we sold porridge at break time to raise money for Mary's Meals. I liked the porridge. I have sent you a picture of me eating it. There was syrup on the spoons to make it sweet. I think the School Council are going to ask if we can have porridge in our Breakfast Club because everybody liked it.

Today is the last day before the school holidays. We always have a special theme day at the end of term. Today was French day! We dressed up and had a special menu at lunchtime. You can see a picture of me in my fancy dress here:

http://ysgolkingsland.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/dinners%20-%20cinio

I have sent you a picture of my dinner. We had Parisienne Chicken Pasta. I know pasta is from Italy, but we get more choice this way. I like pasta. It came with veg and salad and Parmentier Potatoes (cheesy roasted cubes!). I had some garlic bread too. For pudding we had Apple Tart with Creme Anglaise (I think that is French for custard!). There was fresh fruit too, but I wanted the tart. It was lovely!

We've kept the best news until last. All the children paid so that they didn't have to wear school uniform, and our School Council members decided that the money will go to Mary's Meals. Mr Roberts is going to pay it straight into your justgiving account. I don't know exactly how much it will be, but usually we raise over a hundred pounds!

Keep up the good work!

BLOD

Goodbye and thanks from Harshi

Hey guys Harshi here!

This is my last post for NeverSeconds and I want to thank Veg again for the opportunity. Congratulation on the award veg!

Today I want to say a few words about Childhood Obesity. Obesity is as harmful as malnutrition. While malnutrition can be countered by providing more healthy food, obesity is harder to counter.This is because when there are lots of foods to choose from, picking out the healthy ones requires a lot of self control. The First step towards battling obesity is gaining knowledge about healthy foods and the problems arising from obesity. This gives us the strength to say "NO!" to that extra slice of Pizza. The increasing use of gadgets among children promotes a sedentary life style. So we have to make sure that we include lots of physical activity in our daily routine.

Today my lunch includes multi grains.
Pesarattu - It is a dosa made with whole green grams.And it was spicy. It has a high protein content. You can call them green gram pancakes. I had them with yoghurt. Then I had some stir fried beans and beets. They are spiced up with pepper. I love vegetables! Usually I have to stay in school for after-school sports which for me is table tennis. So I need something to eat for the evenings. So I got a vegetable spring roll and a multi grain cupcake. My mom made the cake with flour which contains 4 or more grains, Raisins and cashews. In India we call the flour "Saththu mavu" which means nutritive flour. The grains are Ragi, Maize, Wheat, Bajra . This flour is mixed with usual cake flour to make the cake. It was not as soft as the cake made with white flour. But it tastes just as good. Usually while eating me and my friends share our food.


Food-o-meter-10/10
Mouthfuls - 40
Health rating- 10/10
Courses- Main/ snack
Pieces of hair- none.

An Indian story again by Harshi.

In India there is a saying,"Every morsel of food you waste today represents hunger later in your life"--Although it seems a bit harsh, elders quote this to children who waste their food and the children gradually learn to respect food and to never waste it.

We all know that food shortage is a huge problem in the world. 1/3 of the food produced across the globe is wasted from which millions of starving people can be fed. This wastage is due to poorly managed supply chains and includes household wastage too. As children what can we do? We can do great help from our side, like taking only the food we can eat, this ensures that no food is wasted. When we think of wasting our food because we don't like it, we should take a moment to think about the starving kids who are badly in need of food. We should grow strong in order to help others. So eat healthy food without wasting it and remember to be thankful for the food you get! I think Martha is doing a great job, helping starving kids around the globe and raising awareness about them.

Today's lunch is Idiyappam- A typical South Indian rice noodle dish. It is different from its Chinese counterpart. It is prepared freshly from fresh rice dough and is cooked in steam. Noodles in the small compartment is sweet, it was mixed with sugar, ghee, and grated coconut. The noodle cakes in the other one are plain . I had them with the vegetable stew. The vegetable stew had carrots, potatoes, and turnips. All the veggies are cooked with coconut milk and lot of spices whose names I don't know. Spicy stew with plain Idiyappam is very yummy!
The fruit for the day was the Custard apple. It doesn't taste like apple nor does it taste like custard! It has a cluster of black seeds covered by a thin white layer of fruit. Though I like the taste of the fruit I find it difficult to eat the fruit.

Food-o-meter- 8/10 (bored with custard apple)
Mouthfuls- 50
Health meter- 8/10 (less protein)
Courses-Main
Pieces of hair- 0 (lucky as always)

Harshi