Healthy School Lunches- Forever An Oxymoron?

I certainly hope not.

But there’s clearly a lot of work that needs to be done.

Just this past week, I had an opportunity to speak at length with a woman who teaches kindergarten at one of New York City’s Public Schools.

She commented that yes, there are vegetables offered, but they’re so horribly prepared that even she, someone who loves eating well, steers clear of them as they’re overcooked, brown, mushy and odorific.  She rarely sees the children eating any of the items deemed ‘healthy’ and admitted she hardly blames them as they all seem to fall into the same genre- absolute unappealing.

She brings her own salad for lunch every single day.

What can we do?

It’s hardly as easy as making a quick call to the principle, asking to revamp the menu.  Ha!  If only…

But that doesn’t mean shrugging our shoulders, throwing our hands in the air and letting the kids continue to eat breaded, deep-fried pseudo meats and refined carbohydrates along with some nice, low fat chocolate bovine bodily fluid every day.

We can make little, yet significant changes without even getting political.

• Start small:  ask your children’s classroom teacher if you and perhaps a few other parents might form a group to collectively prepare a healthy lunch once a week.
• Look into starting a small classroom garden to have the kids engaged in learning how veggies grow and how great they taste when they’re local and fresh.
• Inquire about taking the children on a field trip to see a nearby farm or nursery to witness sustainability in action.
• For older kids, see about arranging a screening of some of the great documentaries available now, to show them where their burgers are coming from, and how the animals are treated, and what they’re supporting when they frequent McDonalds.

Whatever idea you have, don’t be afraid to reach out and do your best to implement it.   Leading by your own example, others will intuitively want to do what you’re doing when they see you at your True Paleo best, at a healthy, lean body weight, with clear skin, pain free motion and a glowing energy, all thanks to proper eating.

It’s not insurmountable when we consider that we can all do something about it.   It’s just not an option not to!