American's are fat because they want to be fat.

Good Day! - posted on 06/25/2011

I'm coming into this late so instead of reading the whole thread, I'll just answer the question. =)

I only keep good foods at home so I let the kid eat what she wants within reason. She'll eat fruit all day and I'm cool with that. She'll take small bites of veggies, but we're working on that. I sneak veggies into other things she eats.

I would 100% support a mass overhaul of the American school lunch program. It's not creating a 'nanny state'. If we are going to feed kids at school, why not feed them the most nutritious food possible? They can still eat crap at home if they so choose. Simple things like using whole wheat bread, pasta, brown rice, fresh fruit and veggies and getting rid of sugar drinks would be a HUGE improvement. And the kids wouldn't be hyped up during the school day...ex-teacher here speaking from experience. =)

Vicki - posted on 06/25/2011

yeah I looked for the barilla gold in canada and they don't carry it (duh the whole country doesn't carry it I know how stupid that sounds but googled it also) and haven't found it here yet either so figure they probably make it just for export to US. will try and get emanuele to email them cause I really really want to try it as well. sounds too good to be true. try other brands though. some are better than others. when I get home I'll recheck the brand I found is actually good cause I can't stand ww pasta either. and brn rice pasta blech. you should try an air popper for the popcorn. cheap snack and she can eat as much as she wants (at least I would).

barb go get a degree in nutrition and either become a chef or a health and wellness counsellor.

as for eli and sofia and food...well you guys know how I struggle. but man are they loving their nonna's cooking. even if it is chicken chicken pasta pasta. don't give a shit how much meat they are eating...they are eating. and even eat some veg cause she cooks it with the meat. but still made a gross lentil veg loaf tonight. oh well...at least I can kinda bake.

Tah - posted on 06/25/2011

The husband hated the pasta..Sydney pushed it around her plate, rylan ate the meat out of it..lol....I have to try the barilla gold marina said it taste the same....as far as portions, I have limited them and there are no seconds for her, unless it's the salad..which I usually cut up a head of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes for and some weight watchers cheese with a vingerette...the snacks have changed from cookies to lite popcorn and sugar free Popsicles because it's hot out now..I but cases of water and don't care about juice because I don't even like it really...

Brittany - posted on 06/25/2011

Barb that is why I do fruits and veggies for snacks, then I don't feel like I'm gagging down that 5th serving, because I was lazy earlier in the day. Seriously that's why these diet women go home to a salad, it's the only way they know to get down 5 servings of veg a day (they are too busy the rest of the day to eat some carrots).

Barb - posted on 06/25/2011

See, i don't think it's eating as much as you want from fruits and veggies that causes an issue. If a person eats their daily amount of fruits and veggies, protein and legumes, there would be little appetite left for meat and dairy, which is how it should be.

It shouldn't be one serving of each for each meal.. there should be 6 to 9 servings of healthy grains per day, cereal, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.. so if you eat 3 meals a day, that is two servings per meal.

Vegetables, 3 to 5 servings per day.. so one and a half servings per meal.

Fruits, 3 to 4 servings, so one serving per meal and a snack.

Dairy, (milk, yogurt, cheese) 3 servings per day, so one serving per meal.

Protein, meat, poultry, fish, beans and nuts. only 5 to 7 oz per day of lean meat. So two servings a day of a small amount of meat.

That is a lot of food. I mean really, think that all out.

Breakfast, cereal, with fruit, milk, toast and you need to get your veg in there or add more to another meal.

Lunch, if you didn't get your veg in for breakfast, now you need to eat 2 servings.. so maybe a burrito with grilled veggies, black beans, mashed (protein) cheese, (dairy) whole grain tortilla, and a nice strawberry and spinach salad.

Dinner, have to double down on the veg again because you didn't get any in breakfast, so maybe salad again plus a sweet potato with baked chicken, need a grain in here.. maybe some long grain rice seasoned with ginger, onions and mushrooms.. and then we need dairy and fruit, so maybe for dessert a blueberry yogurt smoothie..

Who is going to starve eating all that?

Brittany - posted on 06/25/2011

Thanks Barb, I'll look into that. I know it will have to most likely wait until after this current one is born. But that will give me time to get a bunch or recipies going. Hmm trading an engineering degree for buisness... yup the economy is still tanked.

Amy - posted on 06/25/2011

Hm. I'm the only one who doesn't limit them on what they eat beyond - have to eat some of everything on the plate.

2 and 4 yrs old. If they want raspberries or strawberries...heck, I let them eat the whole container. If they are loving on the broccoli and butter, go for it kids. Only thing I don't let them eat much of is dessert. We eat dessert about once a week here. Usually saturday nights with daddy. other than that, we fill up on food. but, it's real food. garden grown/fresh most the time. I figure if you're hungry eat. just don't be a lazy lump. Kids are outside racing back and forth across the yard. They need that energy right now. I need tons of food too. I'm nursing. I just think like in all things, try moderation. But if it's a healthy food, I don't see an issue with having a bit too much of it. I love fresh peas from the garden. I sure don't limit anyone on those. Can't live life by a chart. Our noodles probably aren't the healthiest either. home made egg noodles. I use white flour. gasp. eh, oh well.

Vicki - posted on 06/25/2011

hey tah good for you for keeping it up. I know you've been at it for awhile. does she like brn rice or is it white rice? and what ever happende with the whole grains pastas? did they like them? did you?

Carisa - posted on 06/25/2011

It is so important for parents to be educated on portions and nutrition. Because sometimes it doesn't matter what you give them. If they are eating more than their allowed portion that can do them in also. A portion is the size of their fist, which is suppose to be (according to my pediatrician) the size of their stomach. A fist full of each food group you are serving. So if you're serving rice with veggies, then it is a fist of rice and a fist of veggies. If you are serving two food groups mixed together then it would be 2 fist fulls of that food. It has made a difference in our house and I do not let my kids dish themselves up anymore. I allow seconds, but half of what the first portion was. However, with 6 kids we usually don't have seconds available! lol

Tah - posted on 06/25/2011

i actually agree with you Carisa..sydney has always been solid..my issue is getting her stomach down..we started eating better here, but she spends lots of time with her dad..all summer..then i spend the time from when she gets home to until her xmas break trying to get the summer weight off of her..then she leaves for xmas break..comes back with a few more pounds for us ot try to get off and then again spring break. they say that they understand and they will stick to what we do for her and that they are trying to eat healthy as well..truth be told i can't tell a difference in them so i don't expect to see a difference in her. i try to educate her, but at 9.if they are eating crap and put it in her plate she will too...i always get some weight off but not all. when at home she rides her bike, we go to the park..swimming...karate and i let her play outside..with the she isn't as active and i have even asked them to send her to our dojo up there but they can't be bothered to take her 2 hours a week..too busy i guess. The food at school is crap so i do pack lunch sometimes, but sometimes she eats there. I am still learning, but things are baked and grilled here more often..i don't do many starches and when i do for the skinny boys in the house, i don't eat any and i give her about a tablespoon of rice etc but more veggies. I have changed my seasonings and buy more water than anything else...its an endless cycle it seems when i am only part of the equation. I don't want her to be fat.she definitely doesn't want to be fat. It's education and outside influence as well.

Barb - posted on 06/25/2011

Brittany, google sbdc + your town and see what up. The SBDC is the Small Business Development Committee that is partially funded by the federal govt. Here in our little town they offer free business classes and a free business feasibility class. At the end, they can also help you get a low interest loan from the bank to start it up. Not sure if this next part is everywhere, but here they have a contest on who came up with the best business plan and that person wins $25,000 to start their business. Would be worth looking into. Any edumacation that is free is worth looking into.

Carisa - posted on 06/24/2011

Absolutely! I am a homeschool mom, formerly had my kids in public schools and I can attest to the fact that the lack of physical and health education that our kids get is disgusting! Mix that with unhealthy food and you get fat kids. Period! Even with my kids doing less physical activity during the day (the Texas heat is partially to blame for that one), because they are eating healthy they do not double their weight to any extent of the imagination.
I don't think it is a "nanny state" to mandate certain basic needs for kids. I mean, we pay the taxes that pay the salaries of all school employees. I am not a radical or anything, but come on! If our money is suppose to be used to watch and protect and nourish our kids while they are in the care of other adults, then it better be good! Especially with the cost of some taxes these days.

Brittany - posted on 06/24/2011

eh... no. my secert... But hey I'll send you some. You guys can be my test market. I plan on getting a buisness degree, so I know more to open shop. Yeah I was totally serious... how else am I going to have money for 2 kids without help? Oh yeah, gonna get me an online college edgimication.

Vicki - posted on 06/24/2011

blah blah blah just post it already. I'm hungry.

Brittany - posted on 06/24/2011

I'd have to check the lables on the different milks I use. I know the coconut one wouldn't be fat free, but I might be able to reduce it with an almond or hazlenut milk (I don't do soy). Even with a fat free milk, the chocolate still has fat in it, so I couldn't really fat free, but it would certainly be reduced.

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

I want organic, vegan, gluten free fudge!! can you also make it fat free, or is that just pushing it over the edge?

Vicki - posted on 06/24/2011

and waiting for recipe please...and this is the shittiest debating group ever. we all agree and don't bitch each other out. wtf?!

Brittany - posted on 06/24/2011

It IS gluten free, which my SIL loves, it's the one treat she can eat without guilt. Ha now I can charge an obscene $6 an ounce (maybe even more)! Then if I sell it in a food truck, it will be a major novelty and even more money!

Ok hysterics are over.

Vicki - posted on 06/24/2011

OOH and toss in gluten free (if possible). if not possible you can lie. aren't most organic certs lies anyway?

Brittany - posted on 06/24/2011

I understand organic fruits and veggies, but not the processed foods. I told Chris that if I sell my fudge all I have to do to make bank, is call it organic vegan fudge. To make even more I just would have to advertise that some how it is sustainable (which I doubt it is).

Vicki - posted on 06/24/2011

yeah I doubt what I'm doing about organic but figure not sure so do what I can. my dad said the same thing to me about how rust is organic. who knows. emanuele hates me trying as much organic as I can but he grew up in a country where as I sit here typing I just finished an apricot I pulled off the tree beside me and ate unwashed so who knows. also...eli and wheezing...not a single problem here and it is hot! and the kid does not stop. fresh air and clean air compared to polluted toronto. do have to say am loving not worrying about his breathing here. still baking my stupidass loaves though but I digress...

Brittany - posted on 06/24/2011

Amy I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about organic. I love to drive the organic people nuts by saying water isn't organic; it doesn't have carbon AND hydrogen, therefore not organic. It makes them so mad. Most poisons are organic too.

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

Saw this today and found it interesting and fitting for this discussion:

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

Wednesday before we took the kids to the children's museum, Doug offered to take everyone out to eat. Debbie and Steve said to meet at a certain Mc Donalds. I was less than pleased, but, i wanted grandkids.

I got the chicken mandarin salad.. it was the most disgusting salad i've ever had. I didn't even eat half of it. They don't have any fat free dressings, just reduced fat. I took one bite of the chicken and took all of it off my salad. It was like biting into a salt block. After about 4 bites i tasted dirt, so that was the end of my salad. I just drank lots of water after that. Debbie was getting the kids drinks and i saw her giving them all orange soda. I said, "Debbie, let's give them watered down lemonade.. they don't need that much sugar." I mean, really? Steve is diabetic, she should know about sugars.

But her mom is a nurse turned crackhead, so everything is medicated. Don't change your eating habits, just take more insulin. So frustrating.. as if you all can't tell.

Amy - posted on 06/24/2011

tomato's technically a fruit anyway, right? lol

"organic" bothers me now too. Hell, RUST is organic and natural. doesn't mean you should eat it.

my husband tries telling me all the time that pizza is the perfect food with all the veggie/meat/cheese/tomato is the fruit/grain crust....yeah. I don't buy that. lol. Although we make ours from scratch so i don't feel it's as bad, but kids are eating it at every meal.

people also eat just iceberg lettuce and think it's healthy because it's "salad". uh....sure. uh huh. But, I was basically raised in a health food store, so kinda stuck knowing what i know. And people are trying to say mcdonalds is healthy because of the apples - and caramel dip things. and chicken is meat...uh, doesn't look like any part of a chicken i've ever seen!! Looks almost like textured vegetable protein - and if it were, it'd be healthier than the scrap stuff they use. AFter all, mcDs and a dog food company often buy from the same suppliers. Makes you think.

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

Oh and Jane, i so agree with you on the ketchup. I remember when they came out and said that it was considered a serving of vegetables.. I thought that was the stupidest thing i'd ever heard.. and everytime someone says it or a commercial comes on for manwich or chef boyardee products i yell.. "ketchup is NOT a vegetable"

That is what killed me in the first Jamie Oliver food revolution season.. they were saying the pizza counts as the grain because of the crust, and the pizza counts as a vegetable, because of the tomato sauce and the pizza counts as a dairy because of the cheese.. it also counts for a whole days worth of fat and sodium. And here he was offering a stir fry full of veggies and they said he didn't have enough veggies for the chart? wth? it didn't make any sense. .or the rice didn't count as a grain? it had more grain than the crust of the pizza.. it was obvious to see the effects of lobbying so the producers of this 'food' could market and sell it to schools.

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

Here is another example:

http://www.foodfacts.com/food/Bran%20Bas...

It says "organic" and that is the new buzzword for "healthy" but this item is NOT organic... it has 16 grams of sugar outside the dietary fiber per cup. So that is 16 teaspoons of sugar in one cup of this cereal that will go straight to fat because it's not fiber.

Since the word "organic" has to meet certain guidelines put out by the FDA, it seems obvious to me that instead of spending the money to make it truly organic and good for you, they have spent the money lobbying the Govt to have them change the definition of the word so it will include what they want to pass for "organic"

I guess i go back and forth on the nanny state thing.. like Vicki said, it's okay to have a nanny state as long as it's not run by the corporations. As long as they don't have the power to lobby.

Barb - posted on 06/24/2011

They are scrapping the pyramid and using a plate that makes more sense. Here is a picture of the plate:

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-06...

Vicki - posted on 06/24/2011

where was that school that did a test. they started two kinds of offerings. healhy salads and real foods and still kept some of the crap on offer. taught about healthy foods and nutrition. grew foods. eventually the kids were choosing the salads and stuff on their own. was that local toronto or on some amer news show? anyone remember or heard?

oh and we can't forget our sell out schools with their pop machines and crappy vending machines. who is at fault there...schools for doing it or provinces/states for not funding enough so schools don't need the money to do it? probably both I figure.

wish saw that worst cooks show. sounds good.

oh and to answer question (remember its without being able to see the clip) yeah I think we do need a nanny state mentality if that means a close eye on our schools and gov't (re: lack of) funding and schools for lack of intelligent education re: nutrition and the now needed understanding of science regarding so-called nutrition. shit guess it goes all the way to our issues of poverty as well. anarchy for me? no way...NANNY STATE NANNY STATE (but only if we get to run it).

oh yeah and we get to totally scrap that stupid ass pyramids and rewrite based on truth and not effectiveness of lobbyists.

Jane - posted on 06/23/2011

@Tah Dula - No, not joking. My SIL is from there. Anybody with any money at all sends their kids to church schools or private schools, not public schools.

Jane - posted on 06/23/2011

We may not NEED Hollandaise, but it can sure be nice upon occasion.

Mac and cheese was one of the first things my mom taught me to make. Also a good marinara and a good bolognesa. Plus I didn't know you could buy salad dressing, aioli, or tartar sauce in jars until I was in college. We always make our own.

I, too, saw that Worst Cooks show. I find it hard to believe how bad those folks were. They must have been trying to be bad. And I suspect they and their families lived on frozen meals cooked in the microwave or on take out.

Brittany - posted on 06/23/2011

I love the catsup remark there. I laugh everytime I see a chef boyardee comcercial and they talk about all the veggies in it... no it has one, tomatoes.

For a while (before our daughter), we were so stinking poor it was Ramen for every meal. We would get eggs and peas to add to it. Not much but at least it was something more. Hubby wont touch beans, and at the time I couldn't cook them anyway. Finally figured that one out thanks to good ol' Food Network. I taught myself to make bread the same way. Now that I can make a simple cream sauce, I can make homemade mac and cheese, and completely homemade chicken casseroles with mushrooms.

Seriously I am so teaching my daughter the Mother sauces... then she'll be able to make anything... maybe I'll leave out the Hollandaise (no one needs that stuff).

After watching Worst Cooks, I've realized how badly people can cook. Some of that stuff was nasty. Most just didn't know how to follow a recipe. Other's made me wonder how their families hadn't died yet. One guy's idea of dinner was cheese whiz on crackers.

I like the idea of the school garden. Our local Y is trying to find some land to buy to make a comunity garden. But they haven't found any that is for sale and not lease.

Vicki - posted on 06/23/2011

ah once again can only be watched in states. wonder if I was in canada as oopsed to italy I'd get it. doubt it. if jamie oliver is that british dude and if he is referring to his food revolution as that slow cooking thing then it was actually italy that started that in response to having too many mcdonalds crop up. is it the slow cooking thing?

I totally agree that americans (and I mean n. amer) are 'fat' not cause we want to be but cause we have become ignorant. yes, we drive too much. yes, our schools cook and provide shit food for our kids. yes, our cultures have parents working too hard and children with less time with family and eating more processed.

our socieites are become that in which we don't value children as we should. we don't value family time as we should. we don't value ourselves as we should. we value work. and we all know the saying..we live to work. then we have those that work to barely get by and yes...quality food is expensive and time consuming.

even here in italy things are changing. processed cheeses for kids, mcdona;ds not as popular as here but still here, crappy little cakey things for snacks. transfats being poured into children with no education about it at all. people here don't know what I'm talking about re: palm oil, etc. regardless, they do have healthier diets for the main bulk of it.

we are not fat because we want to be. we are fat because our societies are a mess. I agree barb. water. food. education. health care. not luxuries but rights.

oh and recently received a forward email about all those fabulous blueberries in our baked goods/mixes. not a real blueberry in any of them. yet people think they are eating healthy.

Tah - posted on 06/21/2011

Please tell me you are joking....

Jane - posted on 06/21/2011

In New Orleans they still have inside plumbing in the public schools, but ya gotta bring ya own toilet paper.

Tah - posted on 06/21/2011

its normal as far as i can see. this is why when they say they need to cut more funding i figure they will be going to pee in buckets or outhouses soon. When my husband who is from North carolina, saw the schools he didn't know they were schools. lol. I went to Catholic school up until 11th and 12th grade so this crap was new to me. I had taken my education forgranted. As i said..when we were reading of mice and men in 12th grade when i had already done that in 9th grade at west catholic high school, and the students..some who were 19 with jobs and apartments, were stumbling over the words, i was in shock. i used to sell papers but i had to write the paper according to how they read and spoke but give enough info to get them a decent grade to graduate. It was great for extra pamper money for my son but sucked for those students. Some teachers, if they gave a crap, would photo copy some info. Most wouldn't so we didn't have too much homework. I met one of my boyfriends in 12th grade by sharing a textbook and having to drag my desk over to his..lol. There is no home economics classes in kost, if you find one its rare because unless you were bused to a school in a well to do neighborhood, you didn't have those type of classes. I knew that my kids wouldn't be going there and if we did stay they would be bused or i would bust my humo for private school...thats why we are in Virginia..less violence..better education system....

Jane - posted on 06/21/2011

Americans are fat because their environment has changed to reduce the need for physical exercise and to increase the availability of food. Americans are fat because they don't understand this and so haven't realized that they need to develop ways to combat this situation, which is very unusual to find in nature. Usually organisms have to work hard to find food, and that food is not pre-processed by some big factory that puts all sorts of odd things in the food. Americans are fat because they go with the cultural flow: drive a car instead of walking or riding a bike, use an elevator instead of climbing stairs, work sitting in an office until you have no time to cook, grab an inexpensive but questionable fast food meal designed to attack our senses where we are most susceptible, and entertain ourselves by watching and listening instead of doing and making. Americans are fat because large companies do their damnedest to get into our pockets through our tastebuds and our innate desire to rest.



Americans are also fat because the government guidelines are interpreted by people who don't understand them and so declare catsup to be a vegetable. Instead, school districts now prepare processed foods in a central kitchen and deliver it by truck to the schools. It used to be that lunch ladies actually made the lunch.

Barb - posted on 06/21/2011

And you can't take textbooks homes?! wth?! how do you do your homework without a textbook?

Barb - posted on 06/21/2011

So Philly schools don't even have Home Ec? No culinary arts or anything? Wow, i guess i took my education for granted.

That is not right. Not even having enough desks? What kind of learning environment is that? Not having enough desks would not encourage kids to come back.. it screams to them "you don't have a place here"

I agree, 1st priority is to get enough seats. Wow, that is just ridiculous. And they wonder why there is such an issue with education in this country. Is this pretty normal for inner city schools?

Amy - posted on 06/21/2011

yeah, because splenda is one molecule something or other short of being chlorine. i loved chemistry, but been away from it too long. Can't remember how it all goes.

Our home ec teacher rocked for that. Taught about good vs bad oils, msg was bad and all that stuff...but it was because it was how she lived her life. And....I lived in podunk middle of nowhere with a classroom size of ten for home ec. total classmates in my graduating class was like 40/42 something like that. so tiny class.

But, even apples are waxed, scrub or soak veggies because may have chemicals on them still.... yeah, it's not like pulling peas out of the garden and just blissfully snacking on them --- which I SO did today.

think they should also have gardening classes so kids learn how to grow/weed/harvest and store food. Where are the survival skills? No no, let's make sure they know algebra. uh.........ok. it has it's place. computer classes....yeah, sure kinda need that too. but what if you just need to live?

Tah - posted on 06/21/2011

That's the thing Barb..in Philly, we don't have those classes...he'll we can't take text books home. That's why I moved my babies here. My son had a class that taught cooking, kitchen measurements etc. Things we didn't have..so let's get the kids enough desk for the 37 kids in their class so that they don't run fight over seats and the left over students sit on top of a long table or in a chair next to a filled desk to share a text book that has to be turned back in, and then maybe the kids would give a rats tail about hydrogenation of a soybean..lol...it's way deep..not because they want to be..

Barb - posted on 06/21/2011

To be honest, i don't recall if i was educated on these things when i was in school. I know i failed home ec, but it was in the sewing part.. that machine was just kicking my ass! I did better with the welder in shop. Maybe i should have made an iron apron LOL

I like and agree with Jaime Oliver's idea that food education should be taught in all areas. Like in social studies, how diabetes affects lives. Or in science class, what is hydrogenated soybean oil? what is sucrose? Not just a home ec class of how to follow a recipe and prepare meals.

Tah - posted on 06/21/2011

Exactly barb..I have been label reading and when I see what's added, it's like if I eat a cup of this so called healthy stuff, I've just undone the hour in the gym...people just aren't educated on what is what

Barb - posted on 06/21/2011

It is also the chemicals and additives they put into what some would think would pass for real food.

Take for example Green Giant's "glazed" carrots. People see, ooh, carrots! But they don't read the ingredients the ingredients to see what the 'glaze' is. It is hydrogenated soybean oil. Anything hydrogenated is a trans fat. So now, healthy carrots adds 4 grams of fat to the diet. And people will think.. well i'm eating lots of veggies, why am i still gaining weight?

Brittany - posted on 06/20/2011

I was helping my sister nanny about 5 years ago. She brought in some potatoes to make a cottage pie for them for dinner. The 10 year old didn't know what it was. They had only ever seen potato from a box.

I need to get back to buying the turkey once a month. So many ways to cook it and sooo cheap.

As long as I don't have to eat a vegan, gluten-free, salt-free meal I will be happy.

Amy - posted on 06/20/2011

oh - and most people don't know how to cook anymore. becoming a lost art.

Amy - posted on 06/20/2011

i worked with a gal who didn't know how to make a baked potato - really ??? i think it is lack of education. they think processed chicken nuggets are great for meat group, white bread for grains, potatoes are a healthy veg, kraft singles are your dairy...you get the idea. i do think a lot of the hidden chemicals are behind some of it. some is laziness. and i know some who think it really is cheaper to eat out. ??

Barb - posted on 06/19/2011

I agree Tah.

I think his statement was frighteningly uneducated and he is the head of the school board in a public school just outside of LA.

Healthy foods are not overly expensive, but they can be inconvenient to prepare. It is a myth that it costs too much to eat healthy. If nothing else you can buy a bag of black beans, which are known as a superfood for being high in fiber, flavinoids, iron and Omega 3 fats. Mix that in with some brown rice, chop up some tomatoes, toss in some seasonings like cumin, red pepper (anti-inflammatory) cilantro. And you have a healthy tasty side dish for about 1.00 a serving.

But it takes a day to prepare it because you have to soak the beans overnight and then put them in the slow cooker all day.

Buy whole chickens and cut/cook them up yourself.. but again, time and well, like you said, education. If you don't know how to prep and cook it, you won't.

And if you have more important things to worry about than the food you are eating, like staying alive, being educated on food is the least of your worries.

Personally, i think that is also a good argument for legislating a minimum standard. I think if schools are going to say "no sack lunches, you have to eat what we feed you" Then it is their responsibility to provide children with a healthy one.

I think it should be a right to have clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and real food to eat.

Water is regulated, air quality is regulated, why not the food?

Kaleigh - posted on 06/18/2011

Well said!

Tah - posted on 06/18/2011

It may have something to do with that. It may also be the lack of education. The fact that healthy foods are very expensive and parents are struggling to make ends meet as it is may also be a factor. If you live in a neighborhood where gunshots are the norm, are you children outside playing hopscotch when a 8 year old was just shot..uh..no. Then they go to school, eat the processed groul, have 15 minutes of time to play, little to no physical activity and then come home to what mom can afford or all she's educated to and next thing you know you are overweight, but not to worry, so is the whole family, so it's your normal reality. You don't know the little skinny woman on t.v that doesn't look like you so what she says means nothing. If she does look like you she still doesn't send money for organic food so steroid filled fried food it is...it's way deeper than just wanting to be fat.