School Dinners

If you read my last blog Food-Freaks then you almost certainly would have read my post “school menus.”  In this I was talking about the quality of the food at my primary school. However after I moved on to secondary school I decided to rewrite this blog from my opinion of the food at my current School.
 At my old school, everyone came in for lunch at the same time and there was never anyone missing out or getting caught skipping lunch as we were all young and didn’t care. However after starting secondary school I have begun to notice more and more that there are people that are skipping lunch. In my previous school this was not such a problem as they kept track of everyone that came in and out of the lunch hall. At secondary school, since everyone is now a teenager they have the strange thoughts of thinking that lunch is not vital. But guess what? They are wrong. Teenagers should not be skipping lunch just because they know that they will get away with it. My idea is to find a healthier more tasty option than some of school products as it will make teenagers more willing to come to lunch. It will also stop the number of packed lunches in the school. This is better for enviromental reasons such as less plastic wrapping and packaging is being used. 

In order to rethink the school dinners, they must be:

Cheap

As healthy as possible

A balanced diet

And food that can be made quickly and in big portions.

 After experiencing two different types of school lunches I noticed the same product that is served at every meal. Pasta. Whether with tomato sauce or just with plain grated cheese pasta always happens to make an appearance. Although pasta is not bad for you, having it every day is not the healthiest alternative. Many schools serve pasta because they know that the majority of children eat it and it is cheap, quick and easy to serve. However so are other healthier products such as jacket potatoes?  They don’t frequently make an appearance. Why not? I think that schools should be serving other alternatives to the main meal such as a healthy jacket potato with butter or protein like tuna or baked beans. Currently my school do an alternative of pasta and Jackets along with the usual salads, sandwiches and fruit and vegetables. However after asking a few of my friends from other schools, I have come to the conclusion that my school is only of the only schools that does this. Well this should change.

If you agree tell your school or your child’s school. They will most certainly be impressed that you raised awareness. Make a stand today and try to change the meal you have for lunch. If you want something healthier that’s also cheap and easy then ask for it. There are most probably people that agree with you and also want the healthier alternative. 

The picture above is my school dinning room.

Please comment below for ideas for healthy school dinners as I would greatly appreciate it

Thanks

Lottie X

Kale and Milkshakes

Over my last few posts I have been talking all about healthy eating. People talk about how children should not be eating junk food and only the negatives.

This post is different.

I want to tell teenagers that having a treat once in while is fine and will not damage your health.

The picture above is a MESSY MILKSHAKE. It is covered in white chocolate chips, marshmallows, whipped cream and smarties. My mum would call this a diabetic coma. Having this every day would be terrible it could cause illnesses such as type 2 diabetes or rapidly make you obese. However, having this once in a while is the complete opposite.

A balanced diet does not just include fruit and vegetables. It also includes some fat and sugar. People can conclude that it is ok to have sugar every so often. Especially if you are a growing child.

Unlike other children I love kale and sprouts and most other green vegetables. In honesty, I almost certainly enjoy these kinds of foods more than sugary products. However this does not stop me. 

When I am out with my friends or family or am at a special occasion I, like everyone else love having a milkshake or an ice cream sundae. And that is OK!

So if you are having a bad day or are at a party or occasion, then have some fun with food. Let the healthy eating go for a couple of hours, and trust me it will not cause any damage to your body.

The next generation

please check out my guest blog on My relationship with food by Lisa Roukin!!

http://www.myrelationshipwithfood.com/the-next-generation/

NEWSFLASH

I am really excited to have been asked to write a guest blog for a really great chef. I will post more after it has been published.

Packed lunches

Sorry I haven’t posted a recent blog in while, I hope this one makes up for it. Based on my previous post a couple of weeks ago “school dinners,” I decided to go to the opposite subject this week “packed lunches.”  As I have school dinners at my current school, I would appreciate it if you comment below, healthy and cheap packed lunch ideas. Enjoy reading!

 At my primary school packed lunches were prohibited. However, after joining my secondary school, I noticed how many people have them. Although at my school they serve a great range of hot food, sandwiches, salads and more almost 50% of the school every day. This is not only a problem for environmental reasons, but is also a problem for healthy eating.

My friend’s packed lunch usually contains: a sandwich, a drink, and a packet of crisps and a chocolatey product of some kind. Having this cold pre packed meal five out of seven days a week is not always good for a child's balanced diet. people will of course rely on more processed food than fresh food in their lunch box. 

Having plastic wrapping being thrown away every day can lead to problems such as pollution. All of these problems, just because someone is not keen to have school dinners. Having a packed lunch once in a while is not bad for you but having sugary products such as chocolate bars AND salty products such a crisps is not good enough if you are having it five out of seven days a week.

if your child is having a pack lunch, think about the products you are putting in everyday. maybe stop making them sandwiches and start making them more healthy filling foods: like pasta salad .  maybe even try to get them hot School lunches which will save you the stress of making a quick lunch every morning. you will also be helping the environment by not wrapping up so much food in cling film. 

Like I wrote above, if you have any packed lunch ideas I would love to here them so i would appreciate if you could comment below.
Thanks 
Lottie X