Vegetarian Star

Iron Chef competitor, founder of Chefs for Humanity and a celebrity chef who’s publicly acknowledged the value of incorporating more vegetarian meals in a healthier diet, Cat Cora, is one of several celebrities praising Congress and Obama for putting the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law.

“From the First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative to the President’s Childhood Nutrition bill, the Obama Administration has instigated a much-needed attitude change towards proper nutrition. As a chef and as a mother of four, I understand the importance of providing my own children with wholesome meals and firmly believe that all of our nation’s children should be afforded the same opportunity to grow up healthy which is why this legislation is so important.”

A sample of what school menus looked like before and what they may offer now that the law has been signed is available online.

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The Child Nutrition Bill was passed by Congress and sent to Obama for his signature.

The bill received criticism from some who accused it of being overreaching and dictator-like in determining what’s acceptable for school children to eat while engaged in school activities. Bake sales may be a thing of the past, as the bill gives the government the ability to limit these if it determines they are being emphasized too much over healthy food.

The bill gives more money to schools to purchase food for meals, makes more children eligible for free or reduced lunch and gives cafeteria staff education in nutrition training. There’s also a mandatory $40 million in school garden and Farm To School programs to source ingredients from local producers.

The school gardens portion of the bill may boost students’ critical thinking skills as well as get their nutrition needs fulfilled. Third, fourth and fifth graders participating in school gardening curricula while receiving traditional classroom based education scored better on achievement tests than students who received classroom education only.

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Jessica Seinfeld became an even more famous wife of Jerry Seinfeld after publishing a cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, that offered tips for incorporating vegetables into kids’ meals. While the title made it sound as if Seinfeld wanted parents to trick kids into eating something unknown, she clarified with Parent Dish that was never the intention. It was more about enhanced vegetable marketing.

“There is never a moment when my kids don’t know how important vegetables are. I add purees like I would add milk or sugar. I don’t think of them as anything scandalous or deceptive. I think what’s really deceptive is how food companies market their food as good for people when it’s not. That’s the deception going on in the food world, not making your family’s food better for them. That’s not something I feel bad about.”

This fancying up of vegetables and other healthy foods and placing them in different locations is similar to what one high school in New York did to increase sales of wholesome foods and decrease consumption of sugared milk, desserts and other less desirable items.

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Jennie Garth has written a letter to Congress in support of H.R 5504, Improving Nutrition for America’s School Children act.

Garth specifically addressed Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the house, regarding the bill.

“I’m writing to you because I am passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles. This past year, I have been working to educate and motivate children to make healthy choices,” says Garth. “But nutrition education isn’t enough. We also have to make sure that every child in American can find healthy foods in their school cafeteria.” (more…)

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Basketball legend John Salley recently went to Congress to throw his support for the Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870.

The bill, that would offer more plant based proteins and non dairy beverages in schools, currently has 51 co-sponsors in Congress, according to Afro.

Salley is eager to see these items on the menus, even if meat is still served besides them.

“It’s important for folks to know that I’m not against meat, I’m for fruits and vegetables, just like I’m not against war, I’m for peace,” Salley said.

Currently, in some schools, it may be better to send a child to McDonald’s for lunch.

A USA Today investigation found that many fast food giants like Jack in the Box require more rigorous testing for pathogens in meat used in their restaurants, testing it up to 5-10 times more than the USDA does for school lunches.

Or try packing some cat chow in the lunchbox.

Chicken normally only acceptable for pet food was also routinely accepted by USDA standards.

Just another reason to forgo the “mystery” meat, where unknown substances don’t just refer to animal parts.

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Rachael Ray recently went to Capitol Hill to spend four hours speaking with lawmakers on the need to make changes to the Child Nutrition Act, according to the New York Times.

Specifically, they need to put their money where the mouths are!

Ray called the reimbursement rates for school lunches “ridiculous.”

“How could you go to any state in the union and say you are not for an extra couple of cents to eradicate hunger, to make our kids healthier, stronger, better focused?” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense that you would even have to have a long conversation about that, to me.”

The celebrity chef known to incorporate many vegetarian entrees in her cooking repertoire has already worked with the New York City school system to create healthier changes, such as pasta dishes with whole wheat pasta instead of white.

New York senator Kristen E. Gillibrand wants an increase in spending by $.70 per child, while the current bill is aiming for a mere $.06.

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The most unhealthy school lunch sitting in the cafeteria these days is beef and cheese nachos.

Given the amount of animal fat, cholesterol and dairy in such a meal, it’s easy to understand why.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine analyzed the school lunches on menus from 18 elementary schools across the country and found meatloaf and potatoes, cheeseburgers, cheese sandwiches and pepperoni pizza didn’t trail far behind the beefy nachos.

A bill introduced by representative Jared Polis, the Healthy School Meals Act or H.R. 4870, is trying to change this.

If passed, it would provide funds to school districts to purchase healthier items and place more vegetarian entrees and non dairy beverages on the menus.

H.R. 4870 can’t come soon enough!

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First Lady Michelle Obama invited students from a Baltimore school to join her at the White House for a discussion on healthy eating.

Hampstead Hill Academy 4th-8th graders are already ahead of the game, as they’re growing their own produce in a garden set aside in the schoolyard.

“Learning doesn’t stop at lunchtime,” Mrs. Obama said to a student who asked how schools can teach children better eating habits, but added that “The cafeteria is one of the most important classrooms in the school.”

One of the most important classrooms in schools may still not receive enough funding, even after changes to the Childhood Nutrition Act take place.

Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of Food Politics, Safe Food, What to Eat and Pet Food Politics told The Atlantic that although the $4.5 billion allocated over 10 years for school meals is a 10-fold increase over previous funding in 2004, it only averages to a mere six cents more per meal.

One the plus side, the bill does provide mandatory money for schools to establish gardens like Hampstead Hill Academy does and buy food from local sources.

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