Melodi
Disaster Cat
I thought this article was interesting because it shows how school lunches can be nicely presented, full of good health food and have occasional treats that teach about the place of such things, which is occasional. Heck I'm a very picky eater and I don't usually like French food but most of the pictures in this article look pretty good. Even if it is edited to look better than it really is, the idea of real meat, real vegetables, real salads made on the day and fresh fruit with a side of good bread and the occasional ice cream or pastry; also occasional fried fish or potatoes is a much more balance idea. Also note that time is given for kids to eat, they are encouraged to eat slowly and enjoy good food and conversation.
I suspect if a school could switch to such a system in US, including a full lunch hour (supervised, especially at first) they would save thousands in wasted food and dealing with behavior problems and more actual learning would happen then by forcing kids to bolt it down in a hurry to "get back to class." Maybe something like this will even start to happen in wealthier districts as they drop out of the overbearing and wasteful current Federal Guildlines - note that a nutritionist reviews the French school menu every few weeks and still allows for some special comfort foods and that even the healthy foods look edible.
As far as I can tell, and based only on this one Australian article, the French government may have at least partly done what the US government supposedly is trying to do, only they combine Fresh ingredients with common sense as opposed to processed cheap stuff (including requiring things be processed so the calories are on the label) and the fantasies of P.h.d.'s in childhood nutrition thinking they know what kids will eat.
Melodi
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...hy-eating-habits/story-fneuz8zj-1227046226100
News.com.au
Why French kids don’t get fat
French school lunches show how to teach kids healthy eating habits
13 hours ago September 03, 2014 12:04PM
A typical Monday lunch might be a cucumber and tomato salad, veal marinated with mushroom
A typical Monday lunch might be a cucumber and tomato salad, veal marinated with mushrooms and broccoli, cheese and an apple tart. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
WE’VE heard that French women aren’t fat — now it’s clear their healthy eating habits start in childhood.
The country’s primary schools are setting students on the right path with a diet of nutritious, varied and freshly prepared food.
Rebeca Plantier, an American mother living in Annecy in south-eastern France, began researching the phenomenon after noticing the difference in her children’s public school meals after moving from USA.
Tuesday is cabbage and tomato salad, roast beef, potatoes, baked tomatoes with herbs, cheese and a kiwi fruit. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Lunches in France consisted of three small, balanced courses, along with plain water so as not to ruin children’s appetites.
Meals typically begin with a salad, move on to the main and side dish, then cheese, and finally dessert.
“By instilling our children with good habits early on — French kids start school aged three — we can avoid a lifetime of weight issues, and everything that follows in adulthood when there is bad nutrition and excess weight,” she told news.com.au.
Her theory is borne out in the fact that obesity rates in France are among the lowest in the OECD, with just under 40 per cent of the population being overweight or obese, while in Australia it’s 60 per cent.
Unlike with the often processed, pre-prepared meals sold in Australian schools, food is as fresh as possible, usually cooked on-site in a school kitchen.
There’s no school on Wednesday, but lunch on Thursday is a tabouleh starter made with bulgur, then sausages and zucchini, ice cream and an apple. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Menus are varied, and checked every two months by a dietitian to make sure they are balanced and nutritious.
The dietitian might take out a small chocolate eclair and replace it with a kiwi fruit for dessert if there’s too much sugar that week, or modify the amount of carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, or protein to keep the balance right.
Ms Plantier points to a wide range of fruit and vegetables at her children’s school, usually sourced locally and often organic.
Interestingly, treats are included — the occasional slice of tart, a dollop of ice cream or a delicacy from the local pastry shop — but enjoyed in moderation.
Friday is potato and pickle salad, breaded fish and cauliflower, cheese and a peach. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
“I had my four-year-old come home one day and ask me to start making beet salads because she loves eating them at the cantine (school cafeteria),” she says.
“The French government have put nutrition, eating and exercise on high priority where children are concerned, and it shows.”
Ms Plantier, co-founder of website Fit to Inspire, has now written a guide to the healthy habits of the French, Lessons from France: Eating, Fitness, Family which she hopes will highlight issues with school cafeteria food, childhood obesity, nutrition for children, and sugar dependence.
She claims that when you make health and wellbeing a priority at school, positive things follow: happy children, lack of weight issues, higher energy, better attention spans in class, little to no food allergies and fewer absences.
Food is freshly prepared on-site. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
“How you eat is as important as what you eat,” she says. “Sitting down to eat at a table that has been properly set, eating slowly, focusing on the food and its taste is key in enjoying food and letting it fuel your body properly.”
She says this sort of environment keeps children energetic after lunch instead of feeling drained and losing interest in their work.
“Children, no matter what their age, can learn to eat nutritious food and like it,” she says. “If you serve it to them often enough, they acquire a taste for it.
A chef seasons potatoes. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Story by
EMMA REYNOLDS
news.com.au
News Limited Copyright © 2014. All times on this site are AEDT (GMT +11).
I suspect if a school could switch to such a system in US, including a full lunch hour (supervised, especially at first) they would save thousands in wasted food and dealing with behavior problems and more actual learning would happen then by forcing kids to bolt it down in a hurry to "get back to class." Maybe something like this will even start to happen in wealthier districts as they drop out of the overbearing and wasteful current Federal Guildlines - note that a nutritionist reviews the French school menu every few weeks and still allows for some special comfort foods and that even the healthy foods look edible.
As far as I can tell, and based only on this one Australian article, the French government may have at least partly done what the US government supposedly is trying to do, only they combine Fresh ingredients with common sense as opposed to processed cheap stuff (including requiring things be processed so the calories are on the label) and the fantasies of P.h.d.'s in childhood nutrition thinking they know what kids will eat.
Melodi
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fo...hy-eating-habits/story-fneuz8zj-1227046226100
News.com.au
Why French kids don’t get fat
French school lunches show how to teach kids healthy eating habits
13 hours ago September 03, 2014 12:04PM
A typical Monday lunch might be a cucumber and tomato salad, veal marinated with mushroom
A typical Monday lunch might be a cucumber and tomato salad, veal marinated with mushrooms and broccoli, cheese and an apple tart. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
WE’VE heard that French women aren’t fat — now it’s clear their healthy eating habits start in childhood.
The country’s primary schools are setting students on the right path with a diet of nutritious, varied and freshly prepared food.
Rebeca Plantier, an American mother living in Annecy in south-eastern France, began researching the phenomenon after noticing the difference in her children’s public school meals after moving from USA.
Tuesday is cabbage and tomato salad, roast beef, potatoes, baked tomatoes with herbs, cheese and a kiwi fruit. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Lunches in France consisted of three small, balanced courses, along with plain water so as not to ruin children’s appetites.
Meals typically begin with a salad, move on to the main and side dish, then cheese, and finally dessert.
“By instilling our children with good habits early on — French kids start school aged three — we can avoid a lifetime of weight issues, and everything that follows in adulthood when there is bad nutrition and excess weight,” she told news.com.au.
Her theory is borne out in the fact that obesity rates in France are among the lowest in the OECD, with just under 40 per cent of the population being overweight or obese, while in Australia it’s 60 per cent.
Unlike with the often processed, pre-prepared meals sold in Australian schools, food is as fresh as possible, usually cooked on-site in a school kitchen.
There’s no school on Wednesday, but lunch on Thursday is a tabouleh starter made with bulgur, then sausages and zucchini, ice cream and an apple. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Menus are varied, and checked every two months by a dietitian to make sure they are balanced and nutritious.
The dietitian might take out a small chocolate eclair and replace it with a kiwi fruit for dessert if there’s too much sugar that week, or modify the amount of carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, or protein to keep the balance right.
Ms Plantier points to a wide range of fruit and vegetables at her children’s school, usually sourced locally and often organic.
Interestingly, treats are included — the occasional slice of tart, a dollop of ice cream or a delicacy from the local pastry shop — but enjoyed in moderation.
Friday is potato and pickle salad, breaded fish and cauliflower, cheese and a peach. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
“I had my four-year-old come home one day and ask me to start making beet salads because she loves eating them at the cantine (school cafeteria),” she says.
“The French government have put nutrition, eating and exercise on high priority where children are concerned, and it shows.”
Ms Plantier, co-founder of website Fit to Inspire, has now written a guide to the healthy habits of the French, Lessons from France: Eating, Fitness, Family which she hopes will highlight issues with school cafeteria food, childhood obesity, nutrition for children, and sugar dependence.
She claims that when you make health and wellbeing a priority at school, positive things follow: happy children, lack of weight issues, higher energy, better attention spans in class, little to no food allergies and fewer absences.
Food is freshly prepared on-site. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
“How you eat is as important as what you eat,” she says. “Sitting down to eat at a table that has been properly set, eating slowly, focusing on the food and its taste is key in enjoying food and letting it fuel your body properly.”
She says this sort of environment keeps children energetic after lunch instead of feeling drained and losing interest in their work.
“Children, no matter what their age, can learn to eat nutritious food and like it,” she says. “If you serve it to them often enough, they acquire a taste for it.
A chef seasons potatoes. Picture: Carine Duflos Source: Supplied
Story by
EMMA REYNOLDS
news.com.au
News Limited Copyright © 2014. All times on this site are AEDT (GMT +11).