Food Advisory Committee

School lunches. They are convenient for busy families. But what about nutrition? From rumors of the United States Department of Agriculture purchasing 7 million pounds of ammonia-treated meat--referred to by many as "pink slime"--for school lunches, to a teacher buying school lunch for an entire year and blogging about it, the quality and nutritional value of meals offered in America's schools is a hot topic.

Several years ago, our school district implemented a health and wellness policy that "promotes healthy schools by supporting wellness, good nutrition, and regular physical activity as part of the total learning environment." In addition to providing an environment where students develop and practice lifelong wellness behaviors, this policy encourages all foods available on school grounds and at school-sponsored activities to meet or exceed district nutrition standards. The policy also looks to provide more opportunities for physical activity.

A little over a month ago, while browsing the district's website, I saw a notice about a Food Advisory Committee being formed with the goal of bringing together parents and administrators to improve our district's offerings. I was eager to participate for a few reasons.

1) It's important to be involved in my children's education. Not only because it helps me to understand  more of the process--my perception versus the operational realities of the district--but also because showing my girls the joy and need for volunteering is a priority.

2) I've eaten some of the school lunches and wondered how kids eat them. There is one meal that sticks out in my mind--pasta. A few years ago, the district went to whole grain pasta. We eat it at home, so I figured it would taste the same. Not even close. A lukewarm, sticky glob of pasta is not what I want to eat. The Lil' Princess likes French toast sticks, but they taste nasty to me. Why? Is it just my personal taste that's the issue? Is preparation the challenge? Are there simply too many students to service in each school at lunch time and not enough people running the kitchen to prepare meals?

3) I couldn't reconcile how the district had a health and wellness policy in place, yet, still offered mini-pancakes, French toast sticks, stuffed crust pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs on their menus. Especially when it has grown stricter about classroom snacks for parties and birthday events.

4) Meeting with like-minded individuals helps alleviate the feelings of isolation I experience working from home.

After the first meeting this week, not only do I already have a better understanding of how Food Services must balance menu offerings between required nutritional guidelines and providing meals children want to eat, it confirmed to me that the administrators of this department are dedicated to providing the healthiest meals for my children while at school.

This is a simplistic overview. There are so many other aspects to what the Food Advisory Committee and the Food Services Department must consider as we move forward. I'm excited to be part of such a dynamic group.

BackUp Care: 30 of the Best Blogs with Summer Looks for Busy Moms

I'm not much into fashion. It's something I simply don't have time to be concerned about. I want to look good, but I rarely pay attention to the latest and hottest fashions. I am, however, interested in health and fitness. As I've gotten older, and considering my husband's previous scare with high cholesterol and being borderline diabetic, diet and exercise have become important to us. It's changed what we eat and what I purchase at the grocery store.

This article, "30 of the Best Blogs with Summer Looks for Busy Moms," offers links to blog articles on all types of fashion and styling tips, in addition to some articles about workouts for busy moms. Click here to access the article. I also encourage you to watch this video from author Robert Henry, produced solely for readers of The Busy Mom's Daily, that offers exercises for busy moms. You can find it at http://www.thebusymomsdaily.com/2013/05/guest-blogger-robert-henry-author-of.html.

Diary of A Busy Mom - Things I Learned on Vacation

Our family recently went to Disney. It was fun. We ate too much food, went on tons of rides—only one of which made us sick to our stomachs—and got plenty of exercise walking around the parks and around our resort.

A few days before we were scheduled to leave, the family snuggled around the laptop to plan our dining reservations. That’s when we noticed a problem: the travel agent booked us five-day park passes and we were only going to be in the parks four full days. Originally, we were scheduled to fly out of Bradley at 12:30PM and arrive in Orlando a little after 3:00PM. Yes, we could have gone to the parks that night, but we didn’t plan to, and why pay full day park-hopper fare and only get to spend a few hours at one park?

It took hours on the phone and me calling Southwest to reschedule our flights—not to mention an additional $200+ dollars—but in the end, we would get to use the passes we were sold.

This was an interesting vacation, filled with learning experiences.

Did you know kids can fight just as well in Florida as they can in Massachusetts? My girls screamed, argued, kicked, and told one another to “go die” most of the vacation. Next time I’m bringing ear plugs, rope, and duct tape for when they get out of hand.

Why do they even make sun block with 30 SPF? It’s useless. I bought it because it came in the type of container I wanted to pack in my suitcase. We sunburned our shoulders and the back of our necks. Even globbing it on like glue didn’t help.

Trying to get children to do homework on vacation is even less enjoyable than trying to get them to do it at home. Thankfully, only the Lil’ Diva had assignments to work on. I might have smacked my head on the wall if I had to convince two children they needed to complete homework from the hotel room.

What is it with hotel sheets and coverlets? Do they make them five inches shorter all around? One person is destined to have her rear end hanging out while the other person sleeps comfortably.

Why do so many resorts carry Coke products? And why is there only coffee available in the hotel room? After paying an arm and a leg for the vacation can’t I at least drink all the Pepsi I want and have tea bags in my room?

And what is up with those motorized scooters? I appreciate the fact that Disney is so accommodating to people with disabilities, but they are everywhere. I’m not talking elderly people, either. The majority of people riding those scooters were maybe 10 to 20 years older than me. My 83-year-old father-in-law with two fake hips and arthritis in his legs doesn’t use one, but there are out of shape people 30 years younger than him riding around Disney waiting in line for rides that state you must be in good physical health to ride them? And don’t even get me started on that investigation into wealthy families hiring disabled tour guides to bypass lines.

Despite the learning curve, we rode our favorite rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, and It’s A Small World. We took the boat rides in Mexico and Norway over at Epcot. In addition to eating at the usual places—The Crystal Palace, 50’s Prime Time Café, and Liberty Tree Tavern—we tried Rose and Crown Pub and Dining Room in the United Kingdom at Epcot. Excellent food and it’s right on the water so you can catch the fireworks if you eat late enough.

I’m glad we took the trip. My wallet, however, is still crying. 

Wordless Wednesday

Product Review: Sun Maid® Tropical Dreams (Pineapple)

I'm a huge snacker when I work on my computer, but I don't want to load up on junk food and gain tons of weight. On a recent grocery shopping trip I saw Sun Maid® Tropical Dreams Pineapple on the shelf above the raisins. I figured these would be a great way to add fruit to my diet and still feed my snack cravings.

These are chunked pieces of pineapple in a 6 oz bag. The bag is the perfect size to keep by my computer. The fruit has a nice texture considering it's dried. Too bad I didn't enjoy them more. I've eaten my share of pineapple. I love it. The added sugar made these snacks way too sweet. A quarter cup serving of Sun Maid Tropical Dreams Pineapple has 27 grams of sugar. Even the Lil Diva' who is a sweet freak found them too sugary. They are a bit big to add to yogurt, but maybe if you add them to a large bowl of oatmeal it would cut back on the sweet taste. One Amazon reviewer said this would make a healthier alternative to candy, which makes sense to me. With how sweet these are, I really can't say I would recommend them as a healthy snack.


I purchased this product at my local Walmart during a normal shopping trip. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

Free for Kindle: In Need of A Joshua Man by Teresa D. Patterson

When Audrey Peterson walks into church feeling the need to purge past sins, she sees Pastor Raymond Dickerson and is immediately put off by his striking good looks. She unfairly assumes that he must be one of those hypocritical preachers, the kind that praises the Lord on Sunday and raises hell the rest of the week.

As Audrey opens her heart and listens to Pastor Dickerson’s sermon, she decides that her preconceived views may be wrong. There’s more to the pastor than a handsome face. She feels something that she can’t explain when she briefly shakes his hand upon leaving the church, and that “something” is returned by the pastor. He senses something different about Audrey from first glance. He sweats at the altar and has to brace himself before he can carry on with his sermon. He feels a connection, just like her, and finds himself turning to God for answers.

At first, Raymond is unsure of what role he’s to play in Audrey’s life. Once he receives confirmation from God that she is to be his “help meet,” he sets out to teach her about loving God and herself. He ends up being the “Joshua Man” who leads her out of the wilderness into a land of promise.

File Size: 331 KB
Print Length: 252 pages
Publisher: Edit Again Publications (November 20, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B003BEE9Y0

PURCHASE AT AMAZON!

You've Got Mail Monday

Between being gone to Disney and spending so much time in the garden, I haven't had a lot of time to concern myself with the mail. June is also a notoriously busy month for us. With softball, end of the school year activities, meetings for fall sports, and volunteering, it seems the days whiz by.

A new Dave's Soda and Pet Food City opened recently. We haven't been inside yet, but our mail carrier brought us a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more or $10 off a purchase of $60 or more. Payless Shoesource® also sent us a coupon for 20% off a purchase through June 9th. I don't think I'll have a need to use it, but with the ways these girls grow, you never know how quickly that will change.

SpongeBob Squarepants characters have come to Build-A-Bear Workshop®. Our catalog shows SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Gary are available. Arriving in June, they'll have Sully and Mike from Disney Pixar's Monsters University.

The June 2013 issue of Traditional Home® magazine arrived. This month's cover is stunning. Love the pink marble-looking walls in the featured room. There's a beautiful guesthouse on Lake Manitowish in Wisconsin featured on page 75. The June 21, 2013 issue of All You magazine also made it's way into my mailbox. Looking forward to reading the article on how to save $100 on groceries this month.

Catalogs arrived from FrontGate®, Improvements®, Grandinroad®, and Land's End.

That's it for this week's edition of You've Got Mail Monday. Hope you have a great week.