Comments on: Angry Moms Want Better School Lunches http://www.chefann.com/blog/archives/498 Chef Ann Cooper is a renegade lunch lady who works to transform cafeterias into culinary classrooms for students - one school lunch at a time. She brings you information to learn about the importance of changing the way America feeds its children. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:40:32 +0000 hourly 1 By: Phil http://www.chefann.com/blog/archives/498/comment-page-1#comment-52584 Phil Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:52:00 +0000 http://www.chefann.com/blog/?p=498#comment-52584 I want to tell you about a very special food service director at Plum Borough School District in Pittsburgh. One of the moves she made to improve nutrition involved replacing french fries with carrot sticks. The kids understood why, but the move wasn't all that popular, based on the carrot stick food waste being generated. To entice the kids to eat the healthier alternative, she offered a ranch dip. A subsequent nutritional audit gave her high marks for many of the changes she put in place, and the carrots became more acceptable although the audit also noted that the high fat dip was off the charts as to fat content. She switched to a low fat dip and "nearly had a riot" on her hands as a result. The search was on for a low fat dip that didn't taste like a low fat dip. She discovered a natural fat replacement ingredient gel made from the fiber of grain. It repalces a portion of the fats in most food preparation with zero calorie fiber. Her dips and mayonnaise now taste the same or better than the full fat versions, and the kids are pleased. They are eating the carrots and the dip and she is finding ways to incorporate the Z Trim fat replacement ingredient into other standard menu items. Simple solution, simple product that works; it's just natural dietary fiber processed into a gel that mimics fat. She says it also helps to assure that she'll meet her nutritional guidelines for participation in the USDA school meals program. Dr. Mehmet Oz sings the praises of Z Trim on page 90 of his new bestseller, "You on a Diet." If you could remove the unnecessary fats and calories from a kid-favorite recipe, add some dietary fiber in the process, and not change the taste of it, where is the down side? More schools should be going this route. I want to tell you about a very special food service director at Plum Borough School District in Pittsburgh. One of the moves she made to improve nutrition involved replacing french fries with carrot sticks. The kids understood why, but the move wasn’t all that popular, based on the carrot stick food waste being generated. To entice the kids to eat the healthier alternative, she offered a ranch dip. A subsequent nutritional audit gave her high marks for many of the changes she put in place, and the carrots became more acceptable although the audit also noted that the high fat dip was off the charts as to fat content.

She switched to a low fat dip and “nearly had a riot” on her hands as a result. The search was on for a low fat dip that didn’t taste like a low fat dip.

She discovered a natural fat replacement ingredient gel made from the fiber of grain. It repalces a portion of the fats in most food preparation with zero calorie fiber. Her dips and mayonnaise now taste the same or better than the full fat versions, and the kids are pleased. They are eating the carrots and the dip and she is finding ways to incorporate the Z Trim fat replacement ingredient into other standard menu items. Simple solution, simple product that works; it’s just natural dietary fiber processed into a gel that mimics fat.

She says it also helps to assure that she’ll meet her nutritional guidelines for participation in the USDA school meals program.

Dr. Mehmet Oz sings the praises of Z Trim on page 90 of his new bestseller, “You on a Diet.” If you could remove the unnecessary fats and calories from a kid-favorite recipe, add some dietary fiber in the process, and not change the taste of it, where is the down side? More schools should be going this route.

]]> By: Lisa S. http://www.chefann.com/blog/archives/498/comment-page-1#comment-52556 Lisa S. Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:38:21 +0000 http://www.chefann.com/blog/?p=498#comment-52556 I agree that there is a lot of very bad food in school cafeterias, and kids are naturally drawn toward the fried foods & sweets. There are some businesses out there that are addressing this problem among our youth. My husband and I have recently become distributors of a great product called Swirl. We are happy to be associated with Swirl because the product is 100% fruit juice, fortified with Vitamins C, A, D, and Calcium. The juice becomes slushy in our granita machines, and the kids go crazy for it. Although Swirl does contain sugar (of course, since it's fruit juice), it is fat free, caffeine free, cholesterol free. Several of our schools in the Central Ohio area pulled out their pop machines this year to be more aligned with the Wellness Program. Unfortunately, it seems like school dieticians are having to do a lot of "shopping" and research to be able to convert the school lunches into healthy ones, but Swirl is a great option and we are happy to help, if only in a small way. I agree that there is a lot of very bad food in school cafeterias, and kids are naturally drawn toward the fried foods & sweets. There are some businesses out there that are addressing this problem among our youth. My husband and I have recently become distributors of a great product called Swirl. We are happy to be associated with Swirl because the product is 100% fruit juice, fortified with Vitamins C, A, D, and Calcium. The juice becomes slushy in our granita machines, and the kids go crazy for it. Although Swirl does contain sugar (of course, since it’s fruit juice), it is fat free, caffeine free, cholesterol free. Several of our schools in the Central Ohio area pulled out their pop machines this year to be more aligned with the Wellness Program. Unfortunately, it seems like school dieticians are having to do a lot of “shopping” and research to be able to convert the school lunches into healthy ones, but Swirl is a great option and we are happy to help, if only in a small way.

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