What do Americans put in their childrens packed lunches? And our school lunches there really as bad?

RachaelLei

Okay so I was watching Jamie Oliver's American Revolution and children who looked about 5/6 were being sent to school with just doughnuts, packets of sweets (candy), crisps (potato chips) and literally nothing else. One girl who was about 5 just had a big bag of skittles or M&M's and nothing else to eat. And then for a drink everybody was just drinking Chocolate milk. In my primary school (kinda the same as elementary school in England for kids 3-11) the school only provided us with water at lunch if we wanted a drink and orange and blackcurrant squash at christmas and even then it was quite water downed squash. Even now schools in the UK are banned from selling sugary drinks and water is free and you can buy juice and the only fizzy drink we sell is appletiser (fizzy 100% apply juice) but even then that contains no sugar.
In England children usually get a Sandwich (Jam,ham or cheese or something like that), a packet of crisps/Chocolate bar (sometimes both), a piece of fruit and a carton of orange juice or squash made from home. I'm 16 and this is what my friends usually eat in there packed lunches.
And then school lunches in high school didn't really get much better it was like chips everyday (in the show) for some kids. My school only serves them on Friday (schools can only sell high calorie foods once a week in the UK) and foods such as pizza have to be homemade. And hot meals are usually something like pasta or chicken the rest of the week and freshly made sandwiches the rest of the week for cold foods and paninis.

Do parents generally send their kids to school with just junk food? I'm generally curious because I'm not sure if they were just picking out the children with the bad lunch's for good TV or children in America generally send their kids to school with that kind of food.
And are school lunches sold in schools really as bad as Jamie Oliver's show makes out as well?

Answer
School lunches in the U.S. are largely heavily refined and processed foods. They are horrible for a person's health, and taste just as bad. They are the cheapest of the cheap.

Everyone packs different things in their child's lunch. A lot of people pack garbage in there also. You must understand, most Americans think a salad with bacon, ranch, cottage cheese, and iceberg lettuce is healthy. We are not a very educated bunch when it comes to nutrition. Another issues for some is that healthy food can cost double what the junk costs. And we have a huge problem with poverty in the U.S. Not to mention the recession, which has altered 98% of our lives.

I try to pack healthy. My son takes things like sandwiches, yogurts, plain pretzels or whole grain crackers, fruit, sometimes he brings a thermos with spaghettios. He drinks milk that he gets at school with his lunch.

Edit- It actually gets worse in high school. My high school had a Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and a nasty Ala Carte menu filled with junk.

Some schools in the U.S. are going all natural and even starting student gardens. I think that's awesome. Too bad the closest school to us that does that is 100 miles away. I am pretty sure they are the only ones in our entire state. :-(

What should I make for lunch?

Chris

I am on a new workout plan and I am sick of spending my money on subway every day for lunch. I was wondering if there is anything quick and easy to make besides sandwiches. I am busy all day every day so I am constantly in a rush and I am staying away from fast food. Most of the time my mother makes my lunch for me because I never have time to do it myself. I really want to make it as quick and easy as possible for her because she has spent so much time for me and I'm sure she would like a change in what she makes so that she isn't making the same thing over and over again.
Thanks in advance.

Answer
I personally prefer a good hot lunch to sandwiches. I would get a good insulated thermos and fill it with warm things like soup, ramen noodles with broccoli florets, spaghetti, or even leftovers from last night's dinner. For 15 easy packed lunch ideas, go here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/15-fresh-brown-bag-lunch-ideas Also find two weeks' worth of healthy packed lunch ideas here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8913826/ns/health-childrens_health/t/home-packed-lunches-your-kids-will-eat/

Some other ideas are wraps, pitas, mini pizzas (put pizza sauce and cheese on bagels or sandwich thins), pasta salad, and mini quiches. When I was having to do this, my usual lunch was last night's leftovers. It was easier for me to make a little extra dinner the night before and just go ahead and pack it away for my lunch. Hope those ideas help. Good luck.

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