's motd Sat Sept 11, 2010 - Lunches

[Guest guest]

WHAT'S FOR

LUNCH?

Saturday, 11 September 2010

Around this time of year, I begin

receiving lots of E-mails from parents telling me

about the sorry state of the lunches their kids are

served at school. Sometimes, they'll even send me

examples of the menus their children's schools offer.

And I have to tell you, it seems if you've seen a list

from one school, you've seen the lists from all

of them. You can always expect to see things

like pizza, tacos, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot

dogs and tater tots.

As you know, I've gotten to visit

many schools around the country, teaching exercise

classes for the students. And when I do, I often get

to tour the school's cafeteria and see for

myself those very food items I just told you about in

so many of those school lunch rooms.

Now hey, I've gotta tell you...I love pizza and

tacos. Yes, I love processed foods. They're quick,

easy and delicious...for a few moments anyway. But

the bottom line is that these foods are not what we

want our kids to be eating all of the time.

I know that lots of schools have to live within a

budget, just like we do at home. They receive

a set number of dollars from the government to keep

everything at the school going...from textbooks,

to school sports and yes, to the school's lunch

programs. Of course, there're those private schools

which are supported by private contributions and

tuition. But most of America's schools are public,

which means they're financed by your tax dollars and

mine.

Now let's face it, today's kids are raised watching

television and so they're bombarded by junk food

commercials all day long. And when they see those

commercials, they run straight to their parents and

ask, "Mom...Dad, would one of you please pick up

some of that new cereal for me...the one with the

real chocolate chips? It even comes with a little

game inside the box!" (Hey, I know I bugged my

own parents that way when I was a kid. Oh, I'd drive

them crazy until they got that new food for me I just

had to have.)

Let's get back to what today's

kids are being served for lunch at school. I know a

lot of high-powered people are trying to change the

menus at our schools and offer students healthier

foods for a change. But, unfortunately, I

don't think those changes are going to occur in the

very near future. We're still in the depths of a big

recession and schools are really feeling the pinch

when it comes to their budgets, including in those

cafeterias.

So what's the solution? Well, to me, the best

solution is to start packing your kids school lunches

yourself. It really doesn't take that much time. You

can make them a healthy sandwich including some

fresh sliced fruits and vegetables. (They'll love the

crunch and will be so much better for them than potato

chips!) Ask your kids what they'd like to take with

them for lunch to help with your planning.

And you know what else? You

should do the same. That's right, I've told

you before and I'll tell you again, you should be

taking your own healthy lunch with you to work. Be a

good role model for your kids when it comes to what

they eat.

Speaking of lunch, I can remember the lunch box I had

in elementary school. It was a Roy

lunch box with a big-old color picture of Roy &

Trigger. What did your lunch box look like when you

were a kid?

Love,