Meatless Mondays

Recently you may have heard of a new movement in the school lunch programs, referred to as Meatless Mondays. Using a marketing dichotomy targeted at adolescents, Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative that encourages eliminating meat from your diet every Monday of every week.

I have a problem with this idea of eliminating one food group in meals served to school-aged children for the following simple reasons:

1. I think the aim should be to teach children to make healthy eating decisions every day. Healthy, square meals include moderated servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy and meat. I don't like the idea of trying to teach children this concept, by eliminating one of the food groups on one day of the week. We all, and especially children, need all of the food groups EVERY DAY of the week.
2. Budgets drive school lunch menu decisions, and we'd all like to see meal options improve in schools, however eliminating a major protein source from the meal is not the answer. Students need nutritious meals to fuel their activities throughout the day and that includes a meal with meat.
3. Ounce for ounce, meat provides more vitamins and minerals than any other food products. Nutrient dense food products like beef, which provides zinc, iron, protein and Vitamin B12, should be included in a healthy lunch.

These are the three reasons that I don't agree with the promotion of Meatless Mondays and I am some of you have an opinion on the matter. Pro or con, let me know what you think about this initiative in schools across the US. Leave some comments and good discussion!

All my best,

Tera Rooney

What's in your lunchbox?

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is aired every Friday at 8pm central time, featuring new segments on his focus in Huntington Beach, West Virginia. The CDC has proclaimed this town to be the most obese town in America. I found the show very interesting and his philosophy on food even more interesting! It is a touching show that brings a face and true reason to advocate for healthier food choices.

Part of Oliver’s revolution is affecting the way schools prepare food for the children who walk out of the kitchen with trays. There is a very interesting website, The Lunchbox, that gives tools and recipes to school lunch programs. These recipes include a wide variety of healthy foods – from lean protein options to red meat recipes, whole grains and vegetables. This is a smart approach to shaping the future face of the food industry – by starting in schools. 

A New Food Philosophy

Fad diets. Miracle weight loss pills. Drastic lifestyle and eating habit changes that more often than not begin with the letter, “V”.  What if it doesn’t need to come down to all of that? What if we took a better, more responsible look at eating healthy and stopped looking for loopholes in the nutritional system?

I am excited to DVR Jamie Oliver’s, Food Revolution, which will air on ABC Friday April 2, at 9/8 pm central.  I hope I am not let down, but from what I have read it will be one of the most honest approaches to de-bugging the food industry and taking a realistic approach at making balanced nutrition decisions in schools and homes.  

Jamie’s philosophy is that food has become an enemy when it should be a joy. America wants to place blame on food groups rather than consuming a portion-controlled diet of various foods and letting the nutritional values of those foods speak for themselves. For more information about Jamie Oliver's philosophy on food, please visit his website and watch the show! Don’t let us down Mr. Oliver!