No? What if it's really, really good olive oil direct from Italy? Still no?
But it's probably better than chocolate covered pretzels and Diet Dr Pepper, right?
And for certain it's healthier than the "meals" served at my children's elementary school. When I started working for Sodexo I was surprised and excited to learn about our K-12 School Meal Programs. I was also disappointed because one look at the "ball of spaghetti" served at our elementary school I knew Sodexo was most defiantly NOT contracted by our school district. It's such a bummer.
Sodexo dietitians work together with our chefs to ensure K-12 students have fresh, delicious, and nutritious meals every day. And our chefs create and kid-test new recipes every day to make sure the foods served are not only healthy but taste good too. We've even created age-specific dining programs for elementary, middle school, and high school students. I'm still hopeful one day our school district will see the light and contract with Sodexo.
Speaking of school lunches did you see last Wednesday night's episode of Top Chef on Bravo? The episode included White House Assistant Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator, Sam Kass and he tasked the Top Chef teams with creating healthy school lunches on a budget.
The winning meal?
Braised Pork Carnitas Tacos with Cilantro Roasted Corn
Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Black Bean Cake with Whole Grain & Sweet Potatoes
Caramelized Sweet Potatoes & Sherbert
Um... hello... Yum! They had me at braised pork and sealed the deal with sherbert.
Sherbert!? At school? For lunch? I am positive that sherbert is a healthier treat than the over sized Nutty Buddy my son tells me "all his friends" get to buy on Fridays. An exaggeration I'm sure because I know I'm not the only mother telling their child that it's "too bad so sad" when I hear the Nutty Buddy sob story. If braised pork carnitas tacos, roasted corn salad and caramelized sweet potatoes were on the menu at my kid's school every day I'd not only save 20 minutes every morning making 2 lunches - I'd also spend a few days each week with them at their school for lunch enjoying a healthy meal.
Sam Kass has a passion for child nutrition and healthy school lunch programs to fight childhood obesity and so does Sodexo. We feed students at more than 470 school districts in the US, which is why we joined First Lady Michelle Obama's National Fight Against Childhood Obesity campaign this year. The goal? To eliminate childhood obesity within a generation by including more fruit, juice, vegetable, whole grain and milk options at school and to educate children on the importance of healthy food choices. And, as Sam Kass pointed out on last Wednesday night's Top Chef episode it's called a challenge for a reason.
Michelle Obama is up for the challenge. Sam Kass is up for the challenge. Sodexo is up for the challenge. As a parent, I am up for the challenge. What about you? Are you up for the challenge?
1 comments:
Not only is the challenge to make it healthy, but within the budget. We have a $1.00/plate food cost to work with each day.
I think the chefs had twice that to work with. It was a great show, but not realistic
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