Wednesday, December 19, 2012
After a garden was planted near the playground, teachers use fruits and vegetables in lesson plans to teach students about healthy eating.
- SCHOOLS
- Erin Egan
-
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Danayah Goodman no longer chooses chips and cookies at snack time. Thanks to the Scotchtown Hills Elementary School’s fruit and vegetable garden, the third grader now opts for healthier alternatives. “The garden has helped me make smarter choices because it makes me think about what to eat,” Goodman said. “It makes me think to eat vegetables and fruit more often.” The garden was created in May, after the Laurel Home Depot donated six 32-by-40 inch beds, two apple trees and two pear trees to the Dorset Road elementary school. In the six months since the school celebrated the inception of the garden, they’ve grown corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, lettuce, beets, watermelons, cucumbers and sunflowers. The donation came after …
Newly approved regulations for school lunches have forced schools to revamp their menu options, but a local expert talks about changing how children see healthy food.
In August of this year, Congress approved calorie limits on school lunches. Under the new regulations, cafeterias are required to serve twice as many fruits and vegetables while limiting proteins and carbohydrates. The DC-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting better nutrition, sponsors the Healthy School Lunch Campaign. The PCRM Healthy School Lunch Team works with school districts across the country and organizes meetings and presentations for school boards, PTAs, and student groups and its message is that the food served in school should promote the health of all children. PCRM has worked closely with D.C. public schools, along with schools in Montgomery …
Montgomery and Prince George’s county schools serve more fruits and vegetables, but students may not be eating them.
- SCHOOLS
- Erin Egan
-
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Every day at lunch, children across Prince George’s and Montgomery counties may be facing what conventional wisdom says is one of their worst nightmares. No, it’s not monsters hiding under their beds or behind their closet doors. It’s not zombies chasing after them, either. It’s fruits and vegetables. After Congress passed a nationwide law limiting the amount of calories schools are allowed to serve at lunch, schools in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties are adhering to the rules and serving up more healthy options for students. “Before this year, each student had to select three out of five items,” said Marla Caplon, Director of the Division of Food and Nutrition Services at Montgomery County public schools. “This year, the student …
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Advice for eating the goodies you like over the holidays — the healthy way.
Thanksgiving represents a major kick off to the holiday festival of foods that flows non-stop right up to the New Year. Just how do we resist the parade of goodies barraging us at pastry-packed parties and at those holiday dinners with all of our favorite family recipes heaped a top a china dish. The answer is simple — don't. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE Paulette Thompson, RD, nutrition educator and former long-time dietician for Giant Foods headquartered in Prince George's County, said the holidays are probably not the best time to think about losing weight and being restrictive. Calling herself a "foodie" dietician who likes food and likes cooking, Thompson claims a better goal is to end the holidays at the same weight you started out with. …
