Red Beets & School Lunch Policy

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
My good ol Dad used to be a staff aid for a legislator way back in 1979, and there was a meeting between the Health Service people and some legislators. Hubert Humphrey, a Democrat, was siding with the Democrats decision that school lunch should be placed on the student's plate, no questions asked. All food types and foods of the day would be placed on each tray.



The Republicans wanted the school lunch to be served in a way that it is currently done, take what you want from the available and multiple choices, so that there wouldnt be so much "plate waste."



A Republican swayed the entire Democrat committee by recounting a story he had when he was in school. He said that when he was in school, the school ordered everyone to take a pre determined tray of food, no questions asked. The tray had red beets on them (not sure if there are more kinds of beets or not, but "red beets" it is) and that he noted that nearly 90% of the student body just threw out and wasted these beets.



The prominent Democrat, Humphrey, said, "I hate red beets! My wife always insists that I eat them at dinner, but i hate them! I'm with you guys on this one..."



My Dad told me he laughed to himself, saying that the health service people were horrified...



Just thought it was a cool story.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    "Beets".
  • Reply 2 of 30
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    "Beets".



    My wholehearted apologies.
  • Reply 3 of 30
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiahtosh

    My wholehearted apologies.



    Nothing meant by it. Just figured you still had time to edit it. It was distracting. That's all.
  • Reply 4 of 30
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    Nothing meant by it. Just figured you still had time to edit it. It was distracting. That's all.



    Consider it done, now I need a Mod to edit the ever so embarassing title.
  • Reply 5 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Hi Messiahtosh -



    The students at my school were once served a balanced hot lunch, but many kids threw a lot of it away.



    So now we have a buffet line where kids get to choose. 90% of them eat pizza AND fries every single day of the school year. Their daily lunch is pizza, fries and chocolate milk.



    But virtually nothing is thrown away.



    We do have a salad bar, where they can get jello, pudding, and lots of other stuff. Some choose jalapeno peppers as a side dish. They take a huge pile of it, instead of taking it as a garnish.



    I understand that during one Republican administration, ketchup was considered a vegetable for school lunch purposes.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Mmmmm jello and pudding salad....who could throw that away?
  • Reply 7 of 30
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    When I was in elementary school, the always-uneaten side dish was stewed prunes. I can't remember exactly how often they were served, but it was at least once a week, if not more often.



    The cafeteria staff could have just as easily thrown the prunes directly into the trash and saved everyone a lot of effort.
  • Reply 8 of 30
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Some choose jalapeno peppers as a side dish. They take a huge pile of it, instead of taking it as a garnish.



    Cool, I'm not the only freak.



    heh heh
  • Reply 9 of 30
    billybobskybillybobsky Posts: 1,914member
    yeah, who doesn't eat peppers as a side dish? Carol?
  • Reply 10 of 30
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Carol A

    Hi Messiahtosh -



    The students at my school were once served a balanced hot lunch, but many kids threw a lot of it away.



    So now we have a buffet line where kids get to choose. 90% of them eat pizza AND fries every single day of the school year. Their daily lunch is pizza, fries and chocolate milk.



    But virtually nothing is thrown away.



    [...]







    Nothing is thrown away...except their health. No wonder there is such an epidemic of obesity - including obesity in people who are quite young. I would put some blame on those in charge of the lunch program, but the problem is actually much larger than this (no pun intended). Likely many of these kids will be making unhealthy eating choices regardless. I have nothing against eating fries and other junk every now and again, but every day???



    I do think, however, that attitudes have started to change a bit and that more people are starting to think about what they eat.
  • Reply 11 of 30
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiahtosh

    Consider it done, now I need a Mod to edit the ever so embarassing title.



    Actually, "Red Beats" would be a good name for a band...maybe a Ska/Reggae group.
  • Reply 12 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chinney

    Actually, "Red Beats" would be a good name for a band...maybe a Ska/Reggae group.



    A 'Communist' Ska/Reggae group?
  • Reply 13 of 30
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Take it from a high screw-all student, school lunches SUCK, if i had a chem set and time,i could prove that a whopper combo is healthier than any school lunh i have seen.
  • Reply 14 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    Mmmmm jello and pudding salad....who could throw that away?



    Dear John -



    With a quick second look, you'll notice that I said 'pudding', NOT 'pudding salad'!!!



    The salad bar has different stuff every day:



    ~ always stuff to make an actual salad, like lettuce, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, whole almonds, Chinese crispy noodles, peaches, fresh whole apples, etc.



    ~ my favorite is raw spinach with a few strawberries (the juice from the strawberries acting as a dressing), with a few slices of hard-boiled egg as garnish



    ~ sometimes cherry yogurt, peach cobbler, pineapple chunks, fresh orange slices, fresh melon chunks



    The lunch line offers a daily hot dish, free for those who buy lunch, such as mixed vegetables with cheese; peas; corn; macaroni and cheese.



    A few kids actually make themselves salads, but not very many.
  • Reply 15 of 30
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    No second look needed, Carol, I was merely trying to make a funny.



    I merely saw "We do have a salad bar, where they can get jello, pudding..." and thought that was amusing, despite not being what you meant.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Carol A

    Dear John -



    With a quick second look, you'll notice that I said 'pudding', NOT 'pudding salad'!!!




    Haha, I think is point is that it's funny to have a salad bar if most kids just use it for the jello and the pudding. "Look! I got food from the salad bar so it's healthy!"



    As far as salads are concerned, there is a salad bar at my dorm's cafeteria as well, but I just don't like it at all and I end up eating somewhat unhealthy food because of it. It's not that I don't like salad... it's that I don't like the school's salad. I mean, salad is the sort of thing I like when it's done REALLY well, and that's about it. My mom makes great salad with romaine lettuce, pecans, parmesean cheese (thin slices, not ground!), olive oil and vinegar. Everything is fresh and good. Then there's the school... all the greens are bitter, all the dressing is either really creamy or greasy, and there isn't much else left after that. How does one have salad if you hate the greens (lettuce or spinach, the school's greens are all bad) and the dressing? Just pile some fruit, cheese and crutons on a plate?



    Maybe I'm just spoiled on my mom's cooking. She's such a great cook. There are very few things I will even eat at the dorm, and they're generally the least healthy of what's available.
  • Reply 17 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by murbot

    Cool, I'm not the only freak.



    heh heh




    Gosh murbot, I would have thought jalapeno peppers would be an unaccustomed challenge for all those delicate Canadian tummies up there!



    Actually, I'm surprised jalapeno peppers have even surfaced in your neck of the woods. What a small world we live in.



    I've only been to a few places in Canada: a lake in Saskatchewan on a fishing trip with my dad when I was 15; Montreal and Quebec City; Vancouver and Victoria; and the route from Vancouver leading to Banff and Calgary.



    I LOVE Victoria and would enjoy living there for a while. I love Canada in general, but refrain from mentioning how wonderful it is for fear more Americans will flock up there and affect that mellow, easy-going atmosphere.



    You guys are so much more polite and orderly than Americans. Well, maybe not YOU. (I mean that in the nicest possible way - hahahaha )
  • Reply 18 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by billybobsky

    yeah, who doesn't eat peppers as a side dish? Carol?



    But Billy (may I call you that?), jalapeno peppers?



    Actually I haven't tried any on their own. I do like green chilies. When I make pork chops, I pile diced green chilies on the pork chop (when it's already on the plate) as high as I can get them - like 3/4" high.



    I also love chile relleno - large chilies stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter and quick fried. Oh yum yum yum.



    I could eat Mexican food daily and never get sick of it. One of these days I plan to get really good at cooking it. There's a guy on tv named Rick Bayless who has a Mexican food cooking show. Have you ever seen it?



    Apparently all those chilies in Mexican food helps them to resist cancer. Plus they cook with all natural ingredients, and the perpetual combination of rice and beans is a complete and healthful protein.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    carol acarol a Posts: 1,043member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    My mom makes great salad with romaine lettuce, pecans, parmesean cheese (thin slices, not ground!), olive oil and vinegar. Everything is fresh and good.



    Wow, that sounds SO delicious.



    You have inspired me to go out this afternoon and buy massive amounts of salad fixings, including everything you mentioned.



    I do love spinach though. Anything with dark colors has more vitamins, so spinach has a ton, especially when raw. Iceberg lettuce is pointless - it's gotta be like 99% water, with zero nutrition.



    The food highest in nucleic acids is sardines. I used to add them to very elaborate salads. Maybe I can do that again, twice a week, as a punishment for all my sins.



    I like to add chickpeas, crispy Chinese noodles, cheese, slivered almonds, and maybe raspberry vinaigrette.



    A word of advice, Luca. Get your mom to teach you to cook this summer. Learn to make all of her best recipes. Then down the road, when you have your own apartment and invite a girl over for a meal that YOU have cooked, she will be SO impressed. A masculine guy who loves sports AND cooking knocks a girl for a loop. Well...that's my opinion, anyway.
  • Reply 20 of 30
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Carol A

    A 'Communist' Ska/Reggae group?



    There are no real commies left anymore, so probably not. I don't know why "Red Beats" makes me think of Ska and Reggae. Maybe it's the effect of "Red Stripe" beer. The Beat needs no explanation though.



    Looks like I am off topic again. And, in any case, someone fixed the title of the thread. I liked it the way that it was.
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