Real Food for Healthy Kids

When Sarah Palin dedicated a s’more to Michelle Obama on her most recent episode of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” she was once again raising her disagreement with the so-called Nanny State. CNN reports that Mike Huckabee retorted today that Palin obviously didn’t understand the First Lady’s true intent. Palin has repeatedly expressed her disagreement with Obama’s healthy eating initiative. According to CNN:

“The former vice presidential nominee told conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham last month that “the first lady cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat.”

Palin also hand-delivered cookies to a Pennsylvania school last month before delivering a speech there, saying: “Who should be deciding what I eat? Should it be government or should it be parents? It should be the parents.”‘

Yes, parents should have the ultimate control over their children’s eating habits. And yes, we love us a s’mores. But parents first have to know how to eat a healthy diet and teach it to their kids; plus, kids consume much of their daily diet away from their parents; and, everyone, including Tracey and I, need to be reminded about moderation. So, enjoy a s’mores. Have two with your kids. But don’t follow that up with hot chocolate unless you are Sarah Palin, and have time to take a long hike in the Alaskan woods.

We are thrilled that Congress finally passed the Child Nutrition Bill on Thursday. This will enable millions more children to get school breakfast, lunch, and after-school snacks. And those meals will be more nutritious, with fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean dairy and meats to be served much more than they have before. There are down sides to the way the $4.5 billion bill is paid for, with cuts to food stamps, and schools receiving a larger government reimbursement but will have to foot the cost for greater food costs themselves. But despite those drawbacks, we don’t agree with the sentiment expressed by Representative Paul Broun of Georgia who was quoted in The New York Times as saying, “This bill is not about child nutrition. It’s not about healthy kids. It’s about an expansion of the federal government, more and more control from Washington, borrowing more money and putting our children into greater debt.”

Our children will be in even more debt as the rise of obesity continues in this generation, with its attendant health problems, and they will be footing the bill for even greater health-care costs. But at the end of the day, this issue shouldn’t come down to money, or whether the federal government is telling you what to eat. It should come down to us all agreeing that feeding our kids the best, healthiest food we can will only lead to a stronger, smarter generation to lead this country in the future. What do you think about the bill? Is it creating a Nanny State or not?

The First Lady kicked off National School Lunch week with a recipe contest: The Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge. To enter, students must form a team that includes a school food nutritionist, a parent, and a chef, and create a recipe that falls within one of three categories: whole grains; dark green or orange veggies; or dried beans and peas. The recipes must first be voted on by the student body. A panel of judges will then choose from the entered recipes, selecting 15 finalists. Of those, eight will win a prize with the top team winning $3,000. Deadline is December 31, 2010. Good luck kids!

–Tanya

Calling all chefs: Anyone with an extra few hours a month could be a true Top Chef by helping out your own community with your expertise, passion, and knowledge. Join the Chefs Move to Schools initiative, begun by First Lady Michelle Obama, and the program will pair you up with a school in your area. Then it’s up to you. You can help reformulate the school’s breakfast and lunch choices, teach cooking and nutrition classes, or plant a school garden. One thing is for sure–no matter how you choose to help, you will be making a difference in hundreds and hundreds of lives.

In the past several years, as our kids have grown and we have gotten older, Tracey and I have begun to adopt a six-days-a-week vegetarian lifestyle. We’re not talking just salads or pastas every day, but eating a diet that is heavily produce-and-grain based, one that is fresh, seasonal, and filling. Because of this, we are at work on a new cookbook that will share some of our favorite vegetarian recipes. Do you and your family eat more vegetarian dishes than ever before? If so, what kinds of recipes are you making for your family? If you’re in need of inspiration, check out Real Food for Healthy Kids‘ chapter on Meat-Free Mains. My favorite is the Harvest Tomato Tart, which has a whole-wheat parmesan crust. Yum!

–Tanya