A Gift of Money to Improve School Food

I know not everyone has time to advocate for better food in the school food program. I also know that many many many people care about this issue and want to do something improve school food.

If you have been unable to volunteer at your school to support better school food or to help kids learn healthy eating habits, there is something you can do.

Donate Money
You can give money to support Slow Food USA's movement to advocate for a garden in every school with food based lessons integrated into math, science and English.

I'm sharing an email I got today from a fellow school food advocate with instructions on how to donate money.

Dear Jenna,
I'm a dentist, a food educator, a nutritionist - but most importantly I'm a mom.

One day I discovered fruit roll up wrappers in my daughter’s backpack. As a dentist, I was stunned that my kid’s school would sell such sticky, sugary junk. That day I became a school food activist.

This year we showed that working together we can overcome problems in our food system, when Slow Food USA joined with countless others to push for the first real increase in funding for school lunches - and won.

Slow Food has built a food movement that will not fall back asleep. I'm writing to you today asking you join with me in helping make sure this movement can continue to advocate in every community for better school food, and for the other changes our food system drastically needs.

Click here to help sustain the Slow Food movement next year and beyond:


Democracy is not a spectator sport. I want to see the day where we have a garden in every school with food based lessons integrated into math, science and English. But we have to work for it, and we have to be willing to roll up our sleeves and pitch in.

Grassroots involvement at the local community level can accomplish this, if we all get on board. Please donate today to Slow Food USA before the end of this tax year, so that this and other invaluable work can continue in 2011.

Thanks for joining me,
Dr Susan Rubin
Slow Food Westchester NY volunteer

PS - 2010 showed the power of our movement to create the change we want in our food system - but we understand that we're just getting started. The longest journey begins with a single step, but it can continue with your donation today. Thank you.

Slow Food USA and the Slow Food USA Logo are registered trademarks of Slow Food USA.
20 Jay Street, Suite M04 Brooklyn, NY 11201 Tel: 718 260-8000 or 877 SlowFoo(d) Fax: 718 260-8068 info@slowfoodusa.org

What makes us fat? Fat or Carbs? Another Letter to Child Nutritional Services Director

The LA Times ran an article today, "A reversal on carbs."

Is the pendulum starting to swing?
Are mainstream health and nutrition professionals starting to believe research that points to too many carbohydrates (especially sugar and refined grains) as the cause of metabolic syndrome- a precursor to diabetes and heart disease?

I hope so. I sent the link to this article, and additional resources to Spring Branch ISD Child Nutritional Services today. He is reluctant to make changes to the school food program where "allowable" foods are concerned. Flavored milks/yogurt, canned fruit in syrup, sugary breakfast cereals, and fruit juice are all allowable items. Since fat levels are restricted per regulations, school food programs often use sugar as a way to boost calories in a meal to make them fit calorie requirements. Sugar is currently thought of as "empty" calories and a way to increase acceptability of food like milk, fruit and whole grains.

I urged him to consider the research and eliminate some sugary items from menu ahead of revised regulations which may take years to implement.

How many more generations of high school graduates do we send off into the world with compromised health; generations where 25% have metabolic syndrome, a red-flag for diabetes and heart disease?

From the article:

The first sign of insulin resistance is a condition called metabolic syndrome — a red flag that diabetes, and possibly heart disease, is just around the corner. People are said to have the syndrome when they have three or more of the following: high blood triglycerides (more than 150 mg); high blood pressure (over 135/85); central obesity (a waist circumference in men of more than 40 inches and in women, more than 35 inches); low HDL cholesterol (under 40 in men, under 50 in women); or elevated fasting glucose.

About one-fourth of adults has three or more of these symptoms.

I also sent these two resources to him. If you haven't watched the video "The Bitter Truth" it is a wise investment of time.

1. Drinking 1-2 sweetened beverages increases risk of diabetes by 26%, compared to individuals who drank 0-1 per month. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Diabetes+care[Jour]+AND+2010[pdat]+AND+Malik+V[author]&cmd=detailssearch Based on data from these studies, including 310,819 participants and 15,043 cases of type 2 diabetes, individuals in the highest quantile of SSB intake (most often 1-2 servings/day) had a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those in the lowest quantile (none or <1>
2. This video will take an hour of your time, a wise investment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM It is a lecture by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. In it you’ll find an explanation of how different forms of sugar are metabolized.

Your thoughts? Is sugar more than empty calories?

Santa is Stuffing Stockings with Pomegranates

I grew up with oranges in my stockings. My dad would tell stories of how fresh fruit wasn't always available. When it was in season and in plenty you had it and it was special, like a present. I thought it was pretty silly that Santa brought me oranges, as there were always oranges and multitudes of other kinds of fruits in the fridge and at the store. What I really wanted was more toys. As an adult I can appreciate his lesson of seasonal fruit and I'm glad he taught it.

That's the great thing about December in Texas. All the citrus fruit is in season, and it is plenty. But there is one fruit that is not available year round in Texas. Pomegranates. They are only in season from October - January, and when in season we indulge. It is a long spring and summer when my sons wander through the store lamenting at the absence of pomegranates.

Santa always stuffs stockings with Pomegranates
Big and little boo get pomegranates from Santa. And they cherish them. I still love how big boo, even at age six, will have pomegranate splatter all over his face after demolishing one.


Frugal Fruit
While pomegranates are more expensive this year than last (haven't seen them for less than $2/each), they are quite large, one fruit feeds a family of four all the pomegranate they can stand, and it doubles as breakfast in the stocking. I'm happy the kids have some nourishment amongst all the holiday candy, treats and convenience food. Follow this link for more details on nutrients and how to cut a pomegranate

This post is participating in LifeAsMom's Frugal Friday.

What food items does Santa stuff in the stockings hung by the chimney with care?

My Letter to Our Child Nutritional Services Director re: Cheerios Breakfast Pilot

I just sent this thank- you note to SBISD's Child Nutritional Services Director for giving Sherwood Elementary the opportunity to pilot out a low-sugar only breakfast cereal menu for a week. Of course because it's written by me, who can never follow just one agenda at a time, it turned into a vision statement of what I hope to accomplish with the newly formed D-SHAC School Food Reform Sub-Committee and an attempt to mitigate any damage to a productive partnership I caused in past meetings by being demanding and unappreciative.

Thanks for approving and implementing the Cheerios breakfast pilot at Sherwood. I know you took a risk to overall participation to see if a few kids could adopt better eating habits. I realize the obstacles to continued school food improvements are many and I’m glad SBISD is committed to knocking them down one at a time.

I know kids don’t want lower sugar cereal for breakfast or lower sugar beverages at lunch, or eggs for breakfast. For them to have a chance at not being one in 3 overweight young adults, they need those changes. My concern isn’t that students can’t find wholesome options on the SBISD menu. It’s that in the presence of so many less-wholesome choices, many of them never choose the foods that won’t eventually harm their health. If I offered my kids a choice in bed-time every night, they would pick the later one most of the time. Because I know better and because their well-being is my concern, I don’t offer a potentially harmful choice on a regular basis. No one episode of staying up late will impact their performance at school, mood or health. But accumulated on a regular basis staying up late would eventually cause many problems.

Some kids do choose a sausage/bread combo for breakfast (skip fruit) and a hot bread and meat sandwich for lunch (skip fruit and veg) and a chocolate milk. Those choices once or twice a week, may not push a kid’s health into danger, but choosing it 5 days a week, week after week, year after year will. It is possible for kids to become overweight (later obese) and suffer other health issues with choices on the current menu. It’s hard to live with handing a young kid who depends on adults to stay safe and healthy that kind of health prospect.

According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 34% of Houston’s high schoolers are overweight or obese (2007 data).

I hope that through D-SHACs school food reform sub-committee CNS has a direction to point parent advocates so we can more effectively partner and support with CNS for future changes. I’m sure there are many changes your department would like to make but can’t due to budget, labor and other constraints. I would like to think there is a way to compel the school board to provide additional funds to CNS to implement some of these changes. Other large districts across the country have been successful in gaining funds from other sources outside of reimbursement and paid lunch revenues. What is SBISD’s path to get there?

I may be naïve in this thinking, but I believe the students in SBISD deserve all the effort our community can muster to help them avoid the life long health issues associated with eating a diet too heavily based on processed food. I realize I’m impatient with the little wins, and narrow scope of new initiatives. While I know it will take years to improve the current school food program and the palate of students, that may mean a whole generation of kids (or 2 or 3) is still susceptible to preventable damaging health issues. The trade-off of poor health for a generation of kids who depend on the school food program for their nourishment is a high price to pay for slow yet steady progress.

Again, thank you for your support of SBISD students’ health through food. - Jenna Pepper

Coconut Cookies

Every year I try a new cookie recipe during my Christmas baking spree. This year I'm extra excited about baking because I'll have a special visitor in town to help. My friend (and co-creator of my nutrition class instruction) moved to CA this year, and she'll be back for a Christmas visit. Hope she likes coconut! Food with Kid Appeal's guest recipe posts continue with this inspiring real food conversion story from Lisa, who blogs at Nurtured Family Life.

My name is Lisa and I am a mom of 5 on a mission to get my kids to eat healthier. We've gone from shopping at Aldi and buying all the sugary cereals to Whole Foods and kefir smoothies. I love to make things from scratch using real food ingredients. My recipes are usually simple and have been "kid approved" by my picky eaters.

I have always been interested in nutrition and weight loss, but it wasn't until I looked to some bodybuilder friends for advice did I learn about how all the processed "diet" foods I was eating was sabotaging my weight loss efforts and my health in general. I changed my eating habits and started exercising smarter. The weight dropped off and I now have a body I can be proud of.

I made healthier lifestyle changes for myself, but didn't extend those same choices to my family. While I ate baked salmon and green beans drizzled with a little olive oil, they ate things like potato chips, frozen fish sticks, and fast food.

I noticed my kids were sick a lot and they seemed like they were just not happy. I wondered if maybe the foods I was giving them was behind the frequent illnesses and bad attitudes and decided it was time to clean up their diets. Since then they are healthier and happier. Occasionally they have treats or their grandparent take them for fast food, but in general they eat real foods from scratch.

My blog, Nurtured Family Life, is about our family's journey to a healthier life: the triumphs, struggles, and failures. It has lots of great, healthy, family friendly recipes and weight loss tips for moms.

Because I have a little one with gluten and dairy allergies, I am constantly on the lookout for treats he can enjoy along side his brothers and sister. I was glad I stumbled upon a recipe for coconut cookies at cavemanstrong.com. I adapted the recipe a little to suit my family's taste.

These are great to keep on hand when I don't feel like fixing a snack or to tide the babies over while I make dinner. The original recipe calls for chocolate chips. I omitted these because chocolate chip cookies equal messy faces and little hands, which in turn touch anything and everything in the house. I think these would also be delicious with added dried fruit and nuts.

Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup honey
6 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 300 . Combine oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Add shredded coconut and coconut flour. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make golf ball size balls and then flatten with hands. I wet my hands before forming the cookies to keep the batter from sticking. The dough will not spread out so however flat you make them is how they will turn out. Bake for 20-30 mins or until lightly browned.

What are YOU cooking?
Please share your recipes with kid appeal with us! We are all eager to hear what fare your kids are gobbling up. Stay tuned for butternut squash pizza and green goulash. Can't wait to share those recipes with you. For recipe, bio, and photo submission requirements, see this post.

Double Ginger Snaps - Real Christmas Cookies

I like to bake for the special people in our kids' lives. I plan on setting Sunday aside as a baking day so the boys can give a little stack of real no-ick ingredients cookies to teachers (all 9), administrators and the cafeteria manager (she has put up with a lot of my requests this year, all of which make her crazybusy days even busier.)

These double gingersnaps are a rich delicious treat with a crisp exterior and chewy interior. I better make a double batch so I can gift some to the Santa Christmas Cookie Jar sitting on my buffet.

Even though I've posted this recipe twice already, it's special enough to share again. Here is last year's post. This year I'll do all coconut oil instead of half coconut half canola. Don't skip the candied ginger, it makes these cookies extra special. If you have the time to buzz up whole cinnamon sticks and cloves, you'll put an extra antioxidant punch in these cookies.

I'll be looking out for alternate flours to try in this recipe. My changes include coconut oil instead of canola and freshly buzzed spices and reduction of sugar.

Double Ginger Snaps (based on Williams Sonoma recipe in "cookies" book)

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves, ground fresh from whole cloves
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 large whole egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup chopped crystallized ginger (note: I used 1 1/4 cup in the doubling and it was fine...)

Pre-heat oven to 325. Sift together dry ingredients and spices. Mix oils, sugar, molasses until combined. Beat in the egg. (I had to get my kitchen aid out to mix the oils, sugar and molasses, then the egg. Wooden spoon wasn't cutting it). Add the crystallized ginger and stir in. Form one inch balls and place on lightly greased (or parchment paper covered) cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes until set and crackled on top. Let stand for a few minutes before transferring them to rack or brown paper bag to cool.

What are YOU Cooking?
I'm still accepting guest recipe posts. If you've got a neat recipe that's wholesome and a kid pleaser, I want to share it with FwKA readers. See this post for recipe submission details.

Are you trying any new holiday cookie recipes this year? I have my eye on this coconut cookie. I even have all the ingredients ready to go. Thanks to reader Lisa for the recipe.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday and the Real Food Christmas cookie exchange hosted by Domestic by Design.

Kids Will Drink Anything From A Straw - Gazpacho

Guest recipe posts begin today on FwKA! This one is from Gwen over at Simply Healthy Family.

Hi Jenna! I'm glad your doing this recipe swap thing, great idea! What do I do to get your kids to eat healthy foods? First and foremost, consistency and determination. I have been buying and cooking healthy foods for my family since my kids were born, starting with home made baby foods. So that's all my kids know. There are no cookies or processed foods sitting next to the fruits to choose from or waiting for them after a long battle at the dinner table. I realize not everyone has the tools to make this a reality which is the biggest reason I started my blog. I have tips and tricks there for the average family in helping the 'picky eater' battle and busy mom syndrome.

Check out her Gazpacho story and recipe here. Her kids drank it!

I wish I'd started making vegetable juice when my boys were in the toddler-straw-obsessed phase. One of my resolutions for 2011 (read: post Eat to Learn program development) is to start juicing vegetables. I've been reading Dr. Mercola's vegetable juice lectures for 2 years and still not incorporated them into my daily (or weekly/monthly/quarterly) meal plan.

Thanks Gwen for the great recipe and Kid Appeal Tip : Straws.

Gazpacho Recipe (courtesy of Gwen at Super Healthy Family)
MAKES 6 CUPS (48 OZ. ) ABOUT 4 SERVINGS

2 tablespoons Hemp Seeds ( put in first to keep them from flying all over the blender and sticking to sides)

1/2 small head of cabbage, cut into chunks

celery

1 clove garlic, smashed and cut into small pieces

2 cups ( 16 oz.) Veggie Juice ~ low-sodium! preferably organic and in a glass jar ( not plastic or a can)

* other ideas: purple onion ( this is when my 5 year old won't drink it, but I like it)
spinach, kale etc. carrots or beets to make it sweeter, flax seeds etc.

Question for Gwen:
When my kids were little and mostly eating at home it was easier to avoid processed foods, brightly colored artificial treats and such. But as they ventured off into public school, and to playdates with friends and birthday parties with less toddler fare and more kid fare, they both acquired a taste for junk. How do you keep interest in real food at home strong when junk is taunting your kids when they leave home?

What are YOU cooking?
Please share your recipes with kid appeal with us! We are all eager to hear what fare your kids are gobbling up. Stay tuned for butternut squash pizza and green goulash. Can't wait to share those recipes with you. For recipe, bio, and photo submission requirements, see this post.

Tongue Twister - Interactive Taste Bud Info for Kids

I got a press release from Fooditude this morning about a Local Chicago restaurant who is featuring a kid inspired pizza creation in their restaurant for the month of December. I love the collaboration between outreach programs like Fooditude, kids and local restaurants. Fooditude is a mutli-media food project empowering kids to make healthy choices.

I wish I could eat a slice of that thin crust brie, apple, moz pie that Charlie concocted. I wonder if Apart Pizza delivers to Houston?

I really liked this interactive activity called Tongue Twister. It would only take a few minutes to call a kid over to your computer and have them check out this rather large tongue sticking out of the screen. Kids can learn that as they age, their number of taste buds decreases which is why some older kids like foods that young kids don't, and why some adults like foods that older kids don't. The number of taste buds is related to how intensely flavors are tasted. Lots of taste buds = lots of intensity. Less taste buds = less intensity of fattiness, bitter, sweet and sour.

Tongue Twister can empower your reluctant eater to be a life long food taster. They will, as they age like the taste of foods they didn't like as kids. If you can empower a child to always be willing to taste a new food, or one they previously didn't like, their palate is bound to expand as they age.

Let me know what your kiddos think of this activity! Enjoy your weekend.

photo credit