Barf Wrecks...

    What is a Barf Wreck you ask? It’s the glowing term my son Gabe gives to his least favorite school lunch. The actual name of this particular menu item is “Train Wreck.” This is a pretty accurate description for a pile generic dorritos covered in ground beef, globs of nacho "cheese" sauce, and shredded ice berg lettuce (meaning lettuce that has the equivalent nutritional value of a chunk of ice) optional. Oh lest I forget the cinnamon roll for dessert. Train wreck… this is the state of the school lunch system. The school lunch system is the same government run program under which day care providers get reimbursed monies for their lunch program, provided they keep accurate records and adhere to the "strict" guidelines set forth. In my years as a day care provider I was baffled by these guidelines; for instance, french fries count as a vegetable, as do tater tots, pizza sauce, and the orange sauce in "spaghetti" O's. I don't need to go on and on to prove the short coming of the government’s guidelines for good health. What I can say, is as a parent at what point do we say no? I started three years ago, and it does get easier over time. One approach that I use is being very scientific about the issue. Explaining to Ben, age 11, (who sort of digs having cheap nacho's for lunch once in awhile) that he will get an initial sugar rush and feel pretty good. However, by the end of recess his blood sugar will drop causing fatigue. All that salt will make him thirsty and his brain will be foggy; finally he will feel more hungry that before he ate lunch. Quite often their response is complete disbelief and shock that "food", which is supposed to be fuel for their body’s, can do harm.

    I have felt some success in my years of railing on them about sugar, no pop, more water, and no white grains etc. Success came last night; their pallets have changed.  Ben has been working on a persuasive speech for English; he decided speak on why food additives are bad. When he was giving me the speech as practice, he thanked me for not letting them eat cereal with BHT in it. (Which if you are aware, GREATLY lowers your choices to about 3% of what is in the whole cereal aisle) "Mom it causes cancer and its illegal in most countries, and food dye is made from Tar. I know sick, right!" Ben's final conclusion after an evening of practicing and re-checking facts was: "I think the FDA is broken, or doesn't work anymore." He noticed that in the past, they were quick to outlaw certain food additives, such as orange dye 1. He was very disturbed when he was reading that it is highly toxic and was actually in food for a period. But now, there are many additives and none of us ever ask why. (Including the FDA) He was also confused as to why MSG and corn syrup are in almost every food in the supermarket.

    I would like, as a "dare", to have every person who reads this to attempt to buy 10% of your groceries as whole foods. If the fruit is waxed or sprayed it is not whole. It is NOT as easy to buy whole foods as one might think (although it should be, but that's a rant for a different day).  My children are an investment and I am looking at the big picture for them health wise. For now, they are pretty healthy kids. Sure we get the normal stomach bugs and colds. But I honestly don't remember the last ear infection we had around here or the last bout strep throat. I called the clinic once for one of the children's records and the nurse on the phone said, “is it true this child hasn't seen the doctor in three years?” I said, "uh.. well... yeah I guess not, he's pretty healthy." I guess our investment is paying off, sooner rather than later.

    Fourteen years ago on February 1^st I lost my mother to cancer, just four months after my 20th birthday. This is a huge reason why I take my health and my children's health so seriously. I plan on being strong and active when my children enter adulthood. I hope our efforts to change both of our family's health history will result in very positive outcomes for this crew. My mother wasn't at fault for having cancer. She lived, ate, and smoked the way her culture did. But that is the point, are we going to be a "train wreck" culture, and watch as our children crash? Or are we going to be advocates for cultural change and watch our children grow and enjoy all the adventures this world has to offer, happy, healthy, and free from disease.