…the teacher will probably still serve pretzels.
Last week I got an email from my first grader’s health teacher announcing that they’d be tasting healthy snacks that Friday, and parents were invited to send in some food for the class to share.
Oh, now you’re speaking my language!
Examples of healthy snacks included carrots, cheese, fruits, whole-grain crackers, pretzels, low-fat yogurt, and a few others. Hmmmm…
I pondered whether I should share the news that low-fat is no good for kids (or other human beings), but instead I immediately responded with a passionate note about how much I’d love to bring something, and in fact I have this ebook and blog thing going on, and could I please even come in and observe the kids eating the snacks for a little market research for the update to my book?
I probably scared her a little, but she graciously let me come anyway.
I whipped up three flavors of the power bars from Healthy Snacks to Go and three flavors of the new Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (coming tomorrow in the 2nd edition).
I had to hide my grin as my son struggled with the work that day, to separate pictures of foods into "healthy snacks for school" and "tasty foods to leave at home," the euphemism for junk food like donuts, cookies, and chips. Poor kid kept getting too many images on the junk food list, since crackers, pretzels, and cereal land squarely in that category at our house.
The plates of healthy snacks to try, intended to broaden their horizons and help the kids try some new foods they may not have had before, included half a string cheese, a big slice of orange, two baby carrots, and my contributions here:
Those are Cinnamix, Sunny Vacation (nut-free), and Cherry Almond Power Bars with Cool Ranch, Mexican, and Cinnasweet chickpeas in the back. Mexican was a mistake, because kids were too scared of all things spicy, so they didn’t eat any chickpeas by and large. Oops.
I have to say I was surprised that any of the foods the teacher brought would have been new to kids, but at least they were all real food.
Some of the kids had started eating and tasted the chickpeas or power bars before the incident, or they probably would have all been thrown away.
I could have cried.
The teacher walked around the room with a bag of pretzels, dumping a handful on each plate, right on top of all the healthy goodness we had already served them!
In a fight between pretzels and chickpeas with 6-year-olds as judges, the pretzels are victorious every time.
That was the lesson I learned at school last week.
Stay tuned next week when I go on a juice rampage, challenge you to advocate for school food change, review Fed Up with Lunch, tell you what my son and I are already doing to help his new school get green, AND talk about the food pyramid and what’s wrong with school lunch these days. It’s going to be a week you don’t want to miss (and I’m inviting the parents from my son’s class to visit me here at KS, too).
Even better, TOMORROW watch for the 2nd edition of Healthy Snacks to go, now with over 45 recipes. It goes out free this weekend to everyone who purchased the first edition…or manages to sneak in a purchase today, just under the wire! 
(Buy here.)
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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
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How awesome schools are getting into healthy eating and teaching kids healthy eating habits. All of your treats look amazingly delicious!
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My 4YO walked by and saw the picture and said, “Aren’t those cooked (roasted) chickpeas?” I said, “Yes. You like those, don’t you.” “Yep. They’re kinda spicy!” LOL! He would have devoured them, especially since he can’t have pretzels at all!
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School is SUCH a fight. Both Kindergarten classes at my daughter’s school is really good about not allowing typical junk food to come to school. But the couple days she is at after school are defeating. Lolly pops, skittles – it drives me NUTS. For the most part she is good about at least bringing it home. But I want to know WHY they are allowing a 5 year old to determine if she can have candy.
Snuck in my order today!
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Your treats look very yummy! I can’t wait for the 2nd edition this weekend:)
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I have this problem frequently. I almost cried at my kids birthday party las summer when almost all of the lovely (expensive) coconut flour cake hit the garbage can! Those chickpeas look tasty! What were those kids thinking?
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the teacher seriously dumped a big pile of pretzels on top of your chickpeas? Wasn’t that like… inconsiderate?
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One of my grandsons lives in a household where junk food is the norm–he doesn’t eat much at our house because we don’t eat the junk. Occasionally he will try something. I have to be very careful of what I offer.
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Ha! Yet another reason we educate at home. When my oldest was in school we had constant food troubles. He was allergic to barley. They just couldn’t get it that they needed to call me if it was a food that wasn’t on his “ok” list, because barley is in just about every processed food (it’s a common additive to cheap all purpose flour). So they gave him a Rice Krispie treat without asking me and he broke out in huge itchy welts all over his body.
My children would much rather chow down on some veg dipped in homemade hummus for a snack than Rice Krispie treats any day.
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Holy cow, I totally thought Rice Krispie Treats were gluten-free. Not that they’re good for anyone, but I thought they were at least GF!
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Susan Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Rice Krispies contain malt flavoring, and, judging from my son’s reaction, it must be derived from barley malt (they don’t tell you on the package)—this is how I learned that “malt” is another code word for barley in food. Here’s a helpful article on it: http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/Browse/file/plate%20fall08.pdf
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Emily Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:28 pm
I just wanted to clarify that Kellogg’s is now making Gluten Free Rice Krispies.
I still think that pre-packaged Rice Krispie treats are NOT gluten free, but I’m not positive about that, since I don’t buy them.
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Jesse Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Yay for home educating! I can’t imagine the battle you must have Katie :-/
I will be home educating my two kids and am relieved to think that I will not have to deal with ridiculousness such as this. My main reason for teaching them will be because I am a Born again Christian and do not agree with what they teach in schools, but not dealing with unhealthy food will be the bonus.
Thank you SO much Katie for all that you share with us…it is so appreciated!
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AmandaonMaui Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
I’m so curious. What is it that is taught in schools that so offends your religious beliefs?
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I feel your pain on this one! “Healthy snacks”…ie pretzles just aren’t healthy!! lol I did want to share a rather shocking and inspiring incident when I recently brought a snack for my daughters class. It was the last day before Winter Break and in Mrs. Shivers class they do a science day and have a little party at the end of the day. I broght a veggie tray….just one from teh store as we are not allowed to bring anything that is not wrapped and purchased at a store. There were tons of cookies, cupcakes, gatorades and here is my little lovely veggie tray! lol The veggies were the last to be passed out and to my suprise all of the children WANTED veggies! Some took just carrots but quite a few took the tomatoes, snap peas and celery:) It was just nice to see them wanting real good-for-you-foods. PS They ate them without dip too…I tossed the dip because its too messy! PPS You are AWESOME:) Thank you
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LeaG Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 4:42 pm
Great story! Just another example where I think many adults prejudge what they think kids will eat and just close the door on so many wonderful truly healthy things the kids would love
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I just downloaded the book and I can’t wait to get started. I’m supposed to bring snacks for my daughters class next week. (Each family is responsible for one week’s worth of snacks. You’re supposed to bring them in on Monday morning.) I’m wondering if you think the crackers, granola bars and power bars would stay fresh enough to last the week if we made them this weekend.
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Erika,
Katie
So awesome…and YES to all! We keep them around longer than that sometimes, for sure (when they end up in the cupboard, you know, instead of on the counter and we just eat them all w/o thinking…)
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Ah, my 2.5 YO would LOVE those roasted chick peas because he loves them in general! Just plain cooked ones. I sprouted some the other day and put them in soup. My husband hates them, sadly. I’m about to make my own version of your power bars: chocolate hazelnut!! I have an obsession with all things chocolate hazelnut.
Too bad kids don’t know what they’re missing!
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Jessica Moore Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 3:35 pm
I’ve done the chocolate hazelnut variation too, Kate! They were so good!! I need to play with it some more, mine didn’t stick together perfectly. You’ll have to post your recipe on your blog once you get it perfected
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The school and food are tricky for sure! My oldest is in 5th grade. In health class they are promoting those things that so go against our beliefs: low-fat is best, pretzels are healthy, fats in general are bad, etc.. I am not sure I handled it well, but I empathized with his confusion and told him to give them the answer they want, even if it is wrong or not what we believe, as his grade depended on it. He seemed to understand that. He is still in shock that whole milk is not offered at school (let alone raw milk) and the so-called salad dressing is fat-free (what the heck is it then?). He insists I pack him his own raw milk for lunch, which makes me glad that he can still see its value, even if the school teaches different. Thank you for your blog and the support it provides in eating healthy!
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Wendy,
What a great kid! I’d tell him to feed the teachers the answers they want, too…
And that fat-free salad dressing is HFCS, guarantee it. Blech.
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AmandaonMaui Reply:
February 10th, 2012 at 3:54 pm
When I was in high school the salads only came with the “option” of fat free ranch dressing. Blech! I couldn’t even get Italian (which would have had bad fats I am sure).
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Just purchased the book and can’t wait to get started. Coming up with new healthy snacks beyond the same old thing are always a challenge. Thanks!
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I usually send a snack with my kindergartener, but I have on occasion let her buy snack at school. I asked her the other day what she had for snack, and when she said “a Slushy and a Moonpie” I nearly drove off the road! On further questioning I discovered that the “snack room” options were things like Gatorade, orange juice, chips, and cookies! Sooo, I just bought your eBook. I will NOT be caught without a ready to go snack again!
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Ay yi yi.
I sent chickpeas with my 13-month-old for lunch at mother’s day out today, and his TEACHERS didn’t even know what they were. That’s kind of frightening to me.
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How do you approach this situation? We live in a low-income area where the children are all (you can opt out, and we do) sent home big bags of junk food to last them the weekend. It’s a thin line, isn’t it? Over 95% of the kids get free lunch so of course they’re going to eat the junk they are fed. They also give a snack that parents provide, but it’s always pretzels or cookies or fish crackers, candies, etc. How do I tell the school how thankful I am that they feed hungry childlren and still advocate for healthy options? (I’m in Wisconsin where we’ve seen lately that schools and children aren’t necessarily at the top of everyone’s lists, politically speaking.) I’m very excited to see how you and your son are advocating for a change!!!
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Kellie,
I philosophize a bit about that here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/06/04/how-many-people-have-you-fed-today/
Nothing is easy about kids being hungry.
And yes, more next week!
Katie
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Cindy Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Have the children over to your house for a party with all healthy foods and snacks. Maybe you could host a class for the parents on what is good to feed their children and what is not good and why. How to feed their children good foods while not going broke. Why it’s important to their childrens’ health. How it can be easy to make wholesome snacks.
(I’m in Wisconsin where we’ve seen lately that schools and children aren’t necessarily at the top of everyone’s lists, politically speaking.)
I’m also in Wisconsin and your statement is incorrect! The state is broke! Where do you think the money should come from so public employees can keep getting all of their healthcare and retirement benefits for free? I sure can’t afford such a hike in my property taxes. There is no reason that the public employees of the state of Wisconsin can’t man up and pay for part of their benefits just like other hard working people in the state have to do for their benefits.
It has nothing to do with not caring about children and schools. It’s about public employees crying about having to pay for a portion of their benefits. Recalling a govenor over it to boot, shameful behavior. Walker did nothing to deserve being recalled. They need to grow-up and redo their budgets!
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Kellie Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
This is not the place or situation to discuss budget spending, Cindy. However, when we ask the state to balance the budget on the backs of teachers and children, something ELSE ENTIRELY needs to be said about the decency of the state’s motivation.
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Cindy Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
I agree, you should have kept your first comment to yourself. I’m not going to stand by and let you slander what is going on in our state. What you said is a lie! “..balance the budget on the backs of teachers and children.” Can someone not recognize brainwashing when they see it? It has been my understanding that ALL public employees were affected. Did I misunderstand? I don’t have the benefit of soaking in the liberal medias’ lies like you seem to.
What children are suffering? Give me concrete examples, not just parroting what you’ve been brainwashed to believe in the media. I know that the teachers’ personal budgets are now suffering, but so is every other persons’ budget in the state. Why should teachers be excluded? Let’s hear some answers from you to my questions instead of parroting the lies the media reports. Good stuff is happening in Wisconsin: http://americasmrsright.blogspot.com/2011/08/good-stuff-happening-in-wisconsin.html
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Kellie Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Again, sweetie, not the time or place. peace.
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I laughed when I saw your post title because I immediately flashed to the first preschool snack I ever sent in- I carefully doled out carrots and hummus into little serving sized cups. All but one cup of hummus was returned to me unopened and the teacher commented, “I don’t even like hummus myself, I think you need to acquire the taste when you’re young.”
After reading your post, I was reminded of a second incident…. I remembered on the drive to school that it was my day to bring snack. Since I had three kids in the car (including a newborn) I needed a quick solution that did not require getting three kids out of the car and into a store. Alas, I settled on mandarin oranges from Wendy’s. Even though they had added sugar, I am a believer that it is the message we are sending that is most important as they are learning, and at least the “message,” was that they were getting fruit as a snack.
I was staying at school that day to help with an activity and was able to observe snack being served. The teacher gave each child a cup of oranges. Immediately one girl pushed her cup away and said, “I don’t like oranges.” Without missing a beat, the teacher pulled out a bag of cookies (animal “crackers,”) and gave the girl a handful. This then resulted in a ripple effect of EVERY SINGLE CHILD (except mine) pushing their own cup of oranges out of the way, and requesting animal crackers (cookies) instead. No one else even so much as tasted the oranges. My daughter, on the other hand, devoured them since they were a rare treat for her!!
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Julie,
Oh. My. Goodness. Crying. I’m so sad that a teacher would ALLOW all that waste, plus the bad example it sets. Sigh. Shakes fist at air!
Now I’m getting even more excited for next week!
Katie
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Julie@teachinggoodeaters Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:34 am
Katie-
Needless to say, I was fuming! The teacher didn’t even try to get the kids to eat it… in front of ME, the person who brought in the snack. Even if (a teacher!!) didn’t grasp the horrible lesson she was teaching, you would think that plain old manners would have kicked in??!!
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Liz Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Oh that is so sad! I was a preschool teacher for 2 1/2 years (staying home now that my son is born!) and my policy was either you eat what was brought for snack or you didn’t eat at all. (I never had a kid complain about this either – they were only there for 3 hours, they weren’t going to starve!) I would encourage the picky eaters to the best of my ability to try new foods. I couldn’t believe the foods some kids wouldn’t eat – and what some parents brought in that was “healthy”! I think the worst was a little girl who didn’t like *any* fruits or veggies -even berries! And once her mom brought ice cream for a snack at 10:30am because “it was her favorite” – crazy!
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I finally got the first e-book. So looking forward to trying some new things.
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I watched the follow up to Forks over Knives 2 this weekend, and was appalled that he was so discouraging healthy fats. Not sure why he would be on the avoid almost all fats bandwagon.
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My son’s 1st grade had a healthy eating evening last week. The dinner consisted of low fat turkey hot dogs on white bread buns, baked chips, and water. FAIL
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I’m really looking forward to this coming week at KS! My 2-year-old will be going to Montessori school 3x a week at some point this summer and I’m glad they make us provide lunches for our children. I found out that on Wednesdays, a parent is responsible for bringing in lunch from approved restaurants. It alternates so that each family buys lunch for the kids oncea week. The approved restaurants are, get this, Dominos and Taco John’s. Needless to say, my son won’t be going to school on Wednesdays. I don’t know what will happen with snack time, but I hope nothing too crazy. Can’t wait for the 2nd edition this weekend!
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Good for you for getting that healthy food on the plate, even if it wasn’t appreciated.
Kids have to learn to like new foods…so just presenting it once is a step in the right direction!
I’ve found most kids want and crave simple fresh fruits and veggies. I often have a house full of kids after school, and sliced apples, fresh grapes, and plain ol’ cheddar cheese chunks are among the most popular snacks I serve. And these are goldfish cracker kids all the way.
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My 1st grader would have LOVED your Chickpeas.. probably even the mexican ones
jen
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A parent of a kid in my son’s class told me a few weeks ago that she doesn’t like it when parents send in fruit because fruit isn’t really that healthy of a option for snack. She would prefer they send in whole grain crackers. I just stood there looking at her. I had no idea anyone would think fruit wasn’t healthy. But I rarely let my kids eat the lunches or snacks because we have THE WORST school lunches. Today’s lunch menu was hot dog, nachos and cheese, fruit gushers (they count as a fruit) and fat-free chocolate milk. Snack was those fake cheese and crackers.
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Dana Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:08 am
That makes my stomach hurt thinking about eating that for lunch! Who makes your school menus the kids? I can’t get over that fruit snacks are considered fruit.
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Julie Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:43 am
I think that parent’s comment depends on context. Individual cups of fruit cocktail in heavy syrup is *technically* fruit – but I’d have to say that whole grain crackers with some cheese is a much healthier option.
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Oh, you are my hero!! Way to go with the chickpeas and power bars! At least those sweet kiddos got a taste of real food before their plates got loaded up with pretzels!
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Reason # 568 why we homeschool.
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You’re one sneaky businesswoman. I just bought your 1st edition recipe book. Looking forward to trying out some healthy treat for everyone in the family!
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I made my own version of powerbars a few years back with raw cacao powder. When my 9-year-old son tasted it, he said, “Now THAT’S what chocolate is supposed to taste like. I used to think candy bars were what chocolate tasted like, but they’re just sweet.”
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I hope some of the kids at least got the idea that there are other healthy options out there, and maybe they’ll be more open to them in the future.
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We can’t bring in anything homemade to school. It has to be in a package, unopened. A parent brought in fruit kabobs for a birthday treat and was rejected at the office because it was “homemade”.
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Stephanie,
So many schools have that rule, and I get the allergy thing, I really do, and I feel for kids who have peanut allergies…but that rule just kills me. KILLS me.
Katie
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Frugal Jen |Frugal Freebies and Deal Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:41 am
as if non homemade foods couldn’t have peanuts in them..
jenetta
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Julie Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:37 am
My school has the “no homemade rule” but it is not for peanut allergies, rather it is a concern about food born illness (specifically Hep A) that can happen en mass. Packaged food from the store is regulated to have certain safety/sanitation guidelines – food from home doesn’t have such guidelines.
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Jen Reply:
February 4th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
@Jenetta – It is more the fact that all the ingredients are listed on packaged food, therefore parents of children with allergies can know exactly what their child ate. Homemade food might contain something that the parent who made it might not know was a sensitivity problem and the the child with the allergy would have a big problem.
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Frugal Jen |Frugal Freebies and Deal Reply:
February 4th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
I guess.. but the reality is, that kids w/allergys cannot eat ANY of that store bought food, in general either.
My girls are dairy, gluten and corn free and it is sad because I can’t bring in cupcakes for their birthdays.
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Jen Reply:
February 4th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I have to say that I am little disappointed in the tone of many of the reactions on this post. I am a firm believer in eating truly healthy things, and I feed them to my children. However, I have to acknowledge that to the world that feeds kids fruit snacks, suckers, and other things like that pretzels are a better option. Does that mean that the children should not try chickpeas? Not at all, but we do need to extend a little grace to the teacher. As much as I would love to be able to send only grass fed meat, milk, soaked grain, and such with my kids I do not have that all available in my community, so I get the best that I can without buying the grocery store junk. The ideas on this website are different from what I learned growing up, and I am grateful to have learned them. Not everyone is at that spot yet – they are on their own journey. I appreciate the comments that encourage helping to gently educate people at schools as opposed to just saying how aghast we are that people don’t have this knowledge. I pack my child’s lunch daily and send things that are nourishing; I try to send snacks that meet my expectations of healthy food. I just think that we need to remember Katie’s previous articles that state the 80/20. If everyone once in a blue moon someone sends in something that is not the most healthy, it will be ok unless someone has an allergy. As for a healthy snack lesson, it is good to share this knowledge but remember where the teacher might be on the journey too. We get much farther speaking with honey than vinegar!
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Rachel Sanford Reply:
February 12th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I would have to agree with you. What makes me a little disappointed is the superior attitude that a lot of whole food eaters have. Almost every mom I’ve ever met thinks that they are doing the best they can for their kiddos, but some just don’t know what the best is or don’t have the time or resources to provide the best. I would rather see a gentle, helpful attitude, from whole food eaters rather than a superior and judgmental view. :/ You are right, everyone is at a different place in their life and a different part in their journey.
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Katie, does your second edition have more of an emphasis on grain free snacks?
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Cheryl,
Katie
Yes! I just counted, and 9 of the 11 new recipes are grain-free. I didn’t even realize that, but I guess it speaks to our life over the past year. Thanks for asking!
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I’m curious – is this a public school or a catholic school?
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Katie Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Julie – public. But they still say Merry Christmas, so it’s a different sort of public school that we’re used to!
Katie
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Julie Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:33 am
I don’t know how curriculum decisions are made in Michigan, but please please please investigate before you publicly call out this teacher to the other parents. I’d bet a bag of beans that she is only teaching what she has been told to teach (by the school board, or the state, or whoever makes the decisions). Like it or not, the current guidelines say that lowfat yogurt and pretzels are fine foods; don’t throw her under the whole foods bus and invite other parents to watch.
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Katie Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Julie,
Katie
I’m sure she is just teaching the government regs, no biggie on that. Next week will be about the government, not at ALL this health class. I hope this post didn’t seem like I was throwing the teacher under the whole foods bus…
Thank you for the reminder!
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I have taken to keeping fresh fruits and/or veggies in the middle of the kitchen table during the day. Lately, it’s been baby carrots, cucumber slices, and grape tomatoes. Or it might be grapes. Or watermelon. Whatever I have plenty of. My kids gobble them up, but the real payback is that hubs eats lots more fresh fruits & veggies this way! (It’s harder to get them into him than the kids, ’cause he forgets about them, unless they are in front of his eyes.)
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Julie@teachinggoodeaters Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:41 am
It’s so true that what is out and accessible is not only what’s eaten, but what is desired!
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I bring your larabars (balls) for playdates, and they are always devoured. My son starts kindergarten next year and I am just waiting for stories like this.
The majority of people’s idea of ‘healthy’ foods for children is something that desperately needs to be changed. Thanks for all you do. MUCHLY appreciated!
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Wow, my jaw is hanging open reading some of these stories! Our health and school systems are a wreck!
My kids are known to be great veggie(and fruit) eaters because we’ve been growing and serving them since they were in diapers. My seven year old devours cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas faster than candy. Thanks so much, ALL OF YOU, for serving healthy whole foods to your families, it really is a blessing to them! I just want to yell “Let our voices be heard…out with junk food in the schools” He he he.
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Interesting choice of categories the teacher of the health class made. Healthy snacks for school, and Tasty snacks to leave at home. I was going to ask what was wrong with those categories, but really I can’t see anything right with them. Wow.
We consider crackers, pretzels and boxed cereals to be junk food here, too.
My son is taking foods and nutrition in school this semester, third class is tomorrow. He took it last year too. He read how margarine is made in Nourishing Traditions and won’t touch the stuff. Schools use margarine in foods class. Except my son. He leaves it out entirely whenever possible. If he can’t leave it out, he won’t eat what he made. End. Of. Story. He’s seventeen, so is comfortable with his decision. He also mentioned last year that he overheard his foods teacher in the library one day asking the librarian if trans fats really were bad for people. He puts the answer he knows they want on his assignments, but he also knows he is being taught garbage. What a bizarre system!
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Katie Reply:
February 5th, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Karen,
Your son sounds amazing! I don’t know if I have enough will power to forgo snacks with margarine in them every time….admirable!!!
I should be fair to the teacher – I was going on memory when I wrote this post but found the actual worksheets this weekend. The categories were “healthy choices for snacks at school” and “Leave these snacks at home (should only eat a little bit once in a while).” The “delicious” part was in the oral description, and hey, it’s true! Junk tastes good. So I think her categories were fine. I actually asked her if she wasn’t supposed to demonize foods by saying “junk food” or “bad foods” but she said she’s just a positive person.
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Sarah Wight – that’s the thing, i dont’ think she was being inconsiderate at all. She just didn’t think – that of course the 6yos would just eat the pretzels.
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Sherri Coenen Cripe :0 is all I can say
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I live in the South of France, in a “Natural Regional Parc” meaning it is protected and has a lot of different agriculture. I go in to the playschool/kindergarten (ages 2,5 – 5) twice a month bringing snacks I have made using products that come from the park, like almonds, apples, eggs, walnuts, cheese, different vegetables, etc. My goal is to introduce the children to food they either don’t normally eat, or don’t normally eat in a healthy way. An example: I made a flourless walnut cake but before I gave it to them, I talked to them about walnuts and then laid handfuls of raw walnuts on the tables. They devored them! Or I brought some broccoli mini quiches but first had them eat raw broccoli spears. To the teacher’s surprise, they ate those, too. I so often hear parents say, My child doesn’t like such and such and so they eliminate that food from the table and the child never gets a chance to change their mind (which happens from meal to meal for many foods! But, I am lucky because the teacher NEVER intervenes! I would have been HORRIFIED if he ever laid pretzels on my broccoli!
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Julie@teachinggoodeaters Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:47 am
How fabulous!!
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I’m happy to read that at least some of the students tasted your chickpeas. They look very tasty. I have this issue with my 6 yo DS. He refuses to try any of the snacks I make unless his cousins are around to try them. He watches them to see if they eat it. If they don’t finish their serving, he doesn’t and visa versa. Kudos to you for expanding the little one’s food horizons.
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Most of those kids have probably never seen a chickpea!
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I actually don’t agree that kids should be told to give the answers teachers want to hear. Ever. Kids should be encouraged to ask questions, think critically and challenge things they don’t believe in or know to be inaccurate. That’s how true education happens — on both sides. And if a teacher balks at that (or penalizes a child for it), well, that’s when a parent steps in and calls the teacher on it.
And parents can be proactive, too, by offering to work with the teacher on food education. I’ve done this in my daughter’s school, with great success.
If we want to raise truly food-literate children, I believe we need to speak up about their food environment. And we need to encourage them to speak up about it, too.
Spoonfed: Raising kids to think about the food they eat
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Katie Reply:
February 5th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Christina,
With his regular teacher, I’m doing quite a bit, as you’ll see this week.
Katie
You are absolutely right; it’s important to me to teach my children to be thinkers and ask questions, too…but this teacher only works with my son 1/2 hour a week, and during class certainly wasn’t the time to tackle food advocacy w/ a 6yo.
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What shocks me most is that they were “tasting” healthy “snacks” but the teacher thought that the cheese, orange, carrots, chickpeas, and 3 bite-size bars weren’t enough food so they needed pretzels as well!! That’s a meal!
For people without gluten sensitivities, I consider pretzels a healthiER snack but not as good a choice as fruit, veg, or protein. Whole-grain pretzels are better, of course, but at least white pretzels generally have no fat instead of the bad fats that are in most store-bought crackers, chips, and cookies.
My son’s school recently announced a stronger Healthy Snack Policy that applies not only to the daily snacks in K-2 but also to all class parties, birthday treats, etc. No cakes, candies, cookies, jello, pudding, or added-sugar beverages. No trans fat. I think it’s a great start!
When I was a Girl Scout leader, I saw over and over again that kids will try new foods if the alternative to not trying them is not getting to have a snack. Like Julie’s example of the kids rejecting oranges once they knew they could have cookies–just don’t offer the cookies. Say, “Oh, you don’t like oranges,” in a factual, pleasant tone and move along. That one kid may not eat the oranges, but everyone else will!
We had one Girl Scout who brought a pound of RAW KALE for snack, and because there was no alternative, most of the girls tried it and most of those liked it. In fact, several parents told me their daughters were now requesting kale to eat at home, and when we planned menus for camp they’d ask for kale!
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So I totally just read this post thinking it was from today and bought the healthy snacks ebook thinking I’d get the new edition…does this mean I have to buy the new edition separately now?
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Katie Reply:
February 4th, 2012 at 12:05 am
Christina,
The new replaces the old…
Katie
Not at all…I’m just a day behind.
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Christina, As soon as Katie gets the new book up she is taking the old one down. I had the same thing happen and she emailed me to say it was okay. I presume we can just download it again as the revised version within the 5 downloads she gives you to get it downloaded and saved where you can find it on your couputer.
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I will be following this with great interest. I’m dealing with the same issues with my 7th grader’s basketball snacks! I’m mean and wouldn’t let my daughter drink the Gatorade she was given. Hehe!
I’m know as the organic mom. One stinky boy asked my daughter is her Vera Bradley pencil case was organic. I felt bad for my daughter but a little proud. Is that wrong?
And don’t get me started about working concessions to raise money for my Junior’s Senior trip and having to serve people nachos with glow-in-dark orange canned “cheese”. Gross!
keep on making a difference!
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those chickpeas look amazing!! That convinced me to buy the book just now – I hope I got my order in in time to get the update! Can’t wait to try those garbanzos!
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Also, it horrifies me that there is a dichotomy between “healthy” snacks for SCHOOL and “tasty” snacks for HOME – teaching kids early that healthy isn’t tasty, huh? And that they don’t have to eat healthy things at home? grr.
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This is an excellent example of how public schools brainwash children. As you conclude in the article, the pretzels win every time. And so will the schools. Good nutrition is the most important thing we can do for our children in a time when the majority of food in grocery stores is, essentially, poison. And good nutrition is one of many topics about which schools will misinform your children.
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Bringing snacks — my daughter had a terrible time because she has developed Oral Allergy Syndrome and any fruits or vegetables that would be brought, she couldn’t eat them and she wouldn’t eat the granola bars, cookies, fruit snacks, Gatorades or fruit drinks that would be brought. For her, she could eat the white flour, highly processed foods without having an attack, but she thankfully doesn’t like them as they’re too sweet! lol
And speaking of, we made the Peanut Butter Kisses yesterday and I had to keep adding more peanut butter and coconut because the honey was just too much for us. I’m thankful that all our our tastes are used to less sweets. We added chia seeds, sesame seeds (yum!) and flax seed in with the mix.
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