Real Food for Healthy Kids

Say what? New York City Public Schools have passed an amendment barring homemade treats for fundraising efforts but packaged, unhealthy foods are still kosher to sell: As reported in The New York Times City Room blog, ‘”No homemade or unpackaged items are on the list of “approved” foods because “it’s impossible to know what the content is, or what the portion size is,” said Kathleen Grimm, the deputy chancellor for infrastructure and portfolio planning, who oversees the regulation.”‘

It’s ridiculous that it’s verboten to sell someone’s homemade brownies or cookies because we can’t decipher the exact calorie count or whether it was made with peanut oil, but selling items like Doritos or Oreo’s are fine. Effectively we are reinforcing to our kids that chemically enhanced fake foods are safer to eat than homemade ones, which are at least made with real ingredients. The simple answer is to sell muffins, cookies, brownies, and quick breads that have less sugar and more whole-wheat flour than the traditional recipes or manufactured versions. Check out our dessert chapter in Real Food for Healthy Kids, or some of the recipes here for healthy options.

–Tanya