The lunch provider for both District 203 and District 204 is OrganicLife. They follow the National School Lunch program checklist of offering assorted fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low or no-fat dairy products and lean meats. The school lunch guidelines, while seemingly striving to provide nutritious options, fall short in the fact that most of the entrees are processed foods.
Choosing the school lunch occasionally, is ok, especially if our children are eating mainly whole foods at home. However, choosing processed foods day after day does not provide the best nourishment for growing bodies and brains.
What is wholefood? Whole food choices are as close to their natural form as possible. Think apple, banana, hamburger, chicken breast, carrots, mushrooms and lettuce. Wholefood choices are fully recognizable and simple but potent in their nutritional content. Foods move down the spectrum to highly processed the more that the original form is changed and the more ingredients are added. While it may be unrealistic to never eat any processed foods, we can do much better than the Standard American Diet (SAD), especially over a full week of meals.
One great way to achieve this is to adopt a wholefood meal philosophy in our own kitchen. Evaluate the percentage of processed foods we are currently eating, and move to a lower percentage overall. If we are eating 50% processed and 50% whole, move to 25%/75%. We can do it with some simple meal planning and basic cooking skills. By eating a whole food menu at home, our children will learn about the most nutritious food options. We can even make extra portions at dinner and use the leftovers for lunches.
Review the school lunch menus carefully at the beginning of each month, and try to choose the days that are the healthiest options for the “treat” days of eating school lunch.
Then, follow the Lunch Box Rules from the article last month (featured online) to create a healthy, fun environment around packing lunch.
