Peas Pointers by Melanie Silverman

We have teamed up with a pediatric registered dietitian who thinks we are doing a great job getting veggies into your kids! Melanie R. Silverman MS, RD, IBCLC, is not only a pediatric registered dietitian and board certified lactation consultant, she is also the owner of Feeding Philosophies (www.feedingphilosophies.com) and has loads of tips and tricks to help your kids eat the way they should, from infancy through their adolescent years. 

Melanie counsels families with a wide range of nutritional concerns including food allergies, poor weight gain, and weight management.  She treats loads of those picky eaters between the ages of 15 months to 6 years old who have diets that largely consist of chicken nuggets (shaped as prehistoric animals), macaroni and cheese, and no veggies!

With her tried and true picky eater program, Melanie gets kids to eat a well balanced diet while easing the minds of thousands of worried parents she has counseled.

We want to bring some of Melanie's expertise to the Peas family so we have asked her to offer a monthly tip (or Peas Pointer as we call them) to our blog. Thanks so much Melanie!!! We look forward to your first Pointer next month!

Changes in School Food, Part 2. Get Involved!

We are thrilled about the changes happening to school food menus across the country, like the addition of Veggie Wedgies in place of the deep-fried standard!
 

At the same time, there are more improvements to be made, but what specifically is next? That is the big question. So we turned to our friend and pediatric dietitian, Melanie Silverman, to hear her opinion on the topic and tips on how to keep the momentum going. Here is what she had to say:

On December 13^th, 2010 President Obama signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.  Believe it or not, there had not been a change in school nutrition standards in 15 years so we were long overdue for change.  The gist of the bill is this: 

1. Schools will receive 6 cents more reimbursement per meal.  
2. Foods offered will have less sodium and fat and more fruits and vegetables.  
3. Policies will be made to help schools send consistent messages about healthy eating, which includes what is available in school vending machines and school stores.  
4. Processes for children who are eligible for school meals will be simplified.  
5. Farm-to-school pilot programs will be started.  

Many say, and I do agree, the bill falls short in terms of reimbursement for meals.  I have heard experts suggest that we need an additional dollar per meal to elevate school lunch to where it needs to be.  Six cents is a long way from a dollar so what are we suppose to do to move the process along?  When my clients complain to me about their kids’ school lunch programs I suggest this to them:  get involved!  

Here is what we can do: 

1. Look at your kids’ school lunch menu. Ask your kids what the problems are and take notes.
2. Talk to other families about their issues with the school lunch program and suggest changes.  Start small.  Simple changes like removing sugary drinks or changing white bread to wheat bread can make a big difference.  
3. Keep in mind, money is the issue so your challenge is to come up with cost conscious changes that the school districts can feasibly do.   
4. Contact the school administrators to set up an appointment to voice your concerns and offer suggestions. 
5.  Write your local papers and officials and let your voice be heard that you want change. 

Recently, I heard an excellent idea from a local mom in my community.  She suggested providing cut up fruit and vegetables trays on the tables for kids during lunch.  The problem was the labor involved to cut those fruits and vegetables.  Food service personnel are busy preparing meals and have little to no time to peel carrots and slice apples.  A super savvy mom came up with the idea that school parents or community volunteers could come in and help with preparing the fruit and vegetable trays and labor would be free.  This is the type of innovating thinking we need in school lunch.

I applaud the efforts in Congress passing the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, but we cannot sit back and wait for the six cents to become a dollar; we have to put our minds together now and make the change happen ourselves. 

Melanie R. Silverman MS, RD, IBCLC is pediatric registered dietitian and lactation consultant in Laguna Beach, California.  You can learn more about her private practice at www.feedingphilosophies.com and what her feeding philosophies are at blog.feedingphilosophies.com

Changes in School Food, Part 1

The fight against childhood obesity and the struggle to makeover the school lunch program have finally reached a critical tipping point. Our government is proposing and passing laws that are enacting real change to a system that has been in place for decades! Hooray!

We would like to share our stance on some of these powerful changes and what sparked them:

1) Have you seen Jamie Oliver's T.V. show called Food Revolution? Wow, has it really stirred up controversy by exposing the politics behind school lunch. We believe his revealing show accelerated the rate of change happening around this topic. "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution campaign seeks to educate families about food and cooking, and address the quality of the food served in school lunch programs." (jamieoliver.com)

• Peas position: We love to cook, break bread with loved ones, and enjoy swapping useful tips for cooking and feeding kids healthfully, but we recognize that there's not always time to make healthy meals from scratch. We are proud to offer wholesome and convenient food that parents can feel good about feeding their kids (and themselves) on those chaotic days when meals from scratch are not feasible.

2) Lisa Mancino of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees school-meal programs, calls the new approach "stealth health," getting kids to eat healthy without even realizing it. As it turns out, the problem may not be the presence of junk food after all; it's that the good food just isn't appealing enough. ("Stealth Health for Kids" - Newsweek, 2009.)

• Peas position: We're often associated with the concept of "stealth health"...where adults 'sneak' veggies into kids' foods. We take a more transparent approach. We aren't hiding the broccoli in our Broccoli Veggie Wedgies; we are just reinventing the classic French fry by making them healthier. For us, it's not about tricking kids. We hope they like what they are eating and also know that its made from veggies. Maybe after knowingly enjoying Broccoli fries, a broccoli floret in a stir fry won't look so daunting/disgusting.

3) Under a federal law passed last December, the USDA guidelines will limit the number of calories served at every school meal and require programs to offer a broad variety of fruits and vegetables - not just corn and potatoes. The USDA has proposed a ban on potatoes in school lunch programs as an attempt to fight childhood obesity. 

• Peas position: Years ago we tried to work with a few local schools but were told our foods didn't have enough calories required for school lunch. We couldn't believe that schools were wanting more calories instead of more nutrients! As regular french fries are served less frequently in schools (or eliminated from school menus altogether), Veggie Wedgies are bursting onto the scene, replacing the fat- and salt-laden offenders. We couldn't be more proud!

4) The expansion of breakfast served at schools has yielded great results with students and teachers. Many kids who weren't getting breakfast at home are now better able to focus in class from the mid-morning until lunchtime. Even the kids who were used to having breakfast at home are fond of choosing their breakfast (hot or cold) at school. Get the full inside scoop from an observant school teacher on the Fed Up with School Lunch blog.

• Peas position: We think this is a great idea and others in the food industry do too. Major retailers like Walmart are getting involved by funding projects like Breakfast in the Classroom which "aim to increase breakfast consumption among school children and spark the academic and nutritional gains associated with the morning meal." (walmart.com)

Stayed tuned for more thoughts on school lunch in a couple weeks!