Podcasts about smart snacks

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about IQ Bars—a popular nutrition bar that promises impactful brain and body benefits. But do they really live up to the hype? Are they a smart choice, or just smart marketing? If you've ever grabbed a bar on the go and wondered what's inside, you won't want to miss this episode. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday.  Have an idea for a nutrition nugget?  Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/       RESOURCES:Become A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn's Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramMushrooms are Nature's Technology (feat. Alex Wolfe)Microdosing, Mega Impact (feat. Peter Reitano & Daniel Sanders)

Back in the Iron Sights Podcast studio with the crew from Red Dot Fitness! Today, we're tackling a topic that so many people struggle with—sticking to your nutrition plan while traveling. In this episode, we break it down from multiple angles, covering mindset, preparation, and strategies to set yourself up for success before, during, and after your trip.We provide a roadmap for eating out, making smart food choices, and ensuring you get enough protein while avoiding hidden pitfalls in restaurant meals. If you've ever struggled with staying on track while traveling, this one's for you! Like, share, and subscribe to stay tuned for more actionable fitness insights.-25% OFF! Red Dot Fitness Programs: rdfprograms.comRed Dot Fitness Training Programs:rdfprograms.comOnline Membership (Full Access To All Programs & Virtual Coaching):https://www.reddotfitness.net/online-membershipVirtual Coaching:https://www.reddotfitness.net/virtual-coachingSelf-Guided Programs:https://www.reddotfitness.net/Self-Guided-Programs1-Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:46 Nutrition Challenges On The Road05:17 Setting Expectations For Trips10:02 Planning Post-Vacation Routine14:37 Business Travel & Nutrition Strategies20:31 Healthier Restaurant Choices26:02 Maximizing Protein Intake32:07 Smart Snacks & Fiber Sources38:19 Hydration & Staying Prepared42:11 Avoiding Pitfalls & Staying On Track-Connect With Us:Website - https://ironsightspodcast.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ironsightspodcast/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/

Struggling to stay consistent with your nutrition? Good nutrition doesn't have to be complicated. In this episode, learn about seven no-fuss meal prep tips to help you keep your nutrition on track effortlessly. From starting simple with easy recipes to batch-cooking protein and investing in quality containers, these tips make meal prep straightforward and manageable. 1-2-1 Online Fitness Member Inquiry FormMy InstagramMy XMy ThreadsMy YouTube ChannelMy ArticlesFree Workout PlanFree Fat Loss GuideFree Effortless Eating GuideFree Protein Cheat SheetFree Calorie Calculator Timestamps:(00:15) Struggling with Nutrition Consistency? Here's the Fix(01:46) Start Simple: Easy Recipes for Meal Prep(03:46) Prep Smart Snacks to Stay on Track(05:18) Batch Cooking Protein for Busy Days(06:42) The One-Pot Method: Easy and Nutritious Meals(07:29) Invest in Quality Containers for Meal Prep Success(08:33) Spice Things Up for Variety in Meals(10:45) Don't Overcomplicate Meal Prep(12:49) Recap: 7 Tips for Simple and Consistent Nutrition

Sapna Von Reich is a Food for Life instructor for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. She holds a certification in plant-based nutrition from the Center for Nutrition Studies at eCornell. She is a lifestyle health coach and well-known plant-based food educator in Northern Colorado. She enjoys teaching nutrition and cooking to all ages. She also offers one-on-one consultations and private cooking classes. Sapna is working to integrate fresh, healthy, and inspired cuisine into the lives of all her students and clients. She believes that good food doesn't need to be complicated and has made it her mission to help others balance health and lifestyle. Download the list of Sapna's Healthy Food Swap: https://bit.ly/PBNM-Resource Sapna's website: http://www.sapnavonreich.com/ Sapna's online classes: https://form.jotform.com/211216047293045 Sapna's IG Handle: sapnavonreich Listen and Subscribe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pbnm.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pbnmorg/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrHajqYAnc6b0syopySVkOg/ #nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionfacts #nutritionstudent #educatorsmindset #educator #plantbased #plantbasedfood #plantbasedlife #plantbasedlifestyle

The following is a Feed Play Love highlight episode, back due to popular demand.When kids are growing it can feel like they are going to eat you out of house and home. Making sure that you're filling that hunger with the right kinds of foods can make a real difference to their ability to concentrate and learn. Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg has teamed up with passionate foodie Flip Shelton to create a snacking guide called Smart Snacks. Michael explains how to choose the best foods for a growing brain.

James Vas Dias, the Vice President of Sales for Genius Gourmet, makers of deliciously smart keto snacks joins Enterprise Fit Radio. The post Creating Deliciously Smart Snacks appeared first on Enterprise Podcast Network - EPN.

It wasn't that long ago that there was a nutrition free-for-all in schools where sugary beverages, high calorie snack foods, and even things like pizzas and cheeseburgers direct from fast food chains were part of the food landscape in schools. What do you think the situation is today? Has it deteriorated even further? Has it improved or stayed about the same? Today's guest, Dr. Marlene Schwartz, is a champion for improved nutrition and physical activity in schools and one of the leading experts in the field. Schwartz is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and professor of human development and family studies at the University of Connecticut. She's an expert on nutrition and physical activity policies in schools and preschools nationwide, and has collaborated in particular with the Connecticut Department of Education on their policies.   Interview Summary   Let me ask you about the food landscape in schools. When people generally think of this, they think of school breakfast, school lunch, but there's actually a lot more of the picture of food in schools than just this. And you've talked about this a lot. Can you help explain?   Sure. So the school meals are definitely the most visible aspect of school food. And when I first got into this work, I thought that was pretty much all there was. But once you go into the school, what you realize is that food is available from a lot of different sources. In the cafeteria, there is often food sold outside of the meal program that's called competitive foods. So those are snacks or other beverages. High schools often have schools stores where they can sell a whole variety of snacks and beverages. Schools also have vending machines that sell food. And then there are fundraisers that are often done during the school day where children can buy food. And then in addition to all the food that's sold, there's food that's simply given out in schools quite commonly, particularly at the elementary school level. There is a lot of food available during parties, birthday parties, holiday parties, as well as teachers who use food as a reward in the classroom. So once you go in and try to start changing school food, you realize that there are many, many different places that you have to try to influence.   So when you mention birthday parties and things, every child just has one once a year, and you wouldn't think it really adds up to a lot, but you've made a different argument. Tell us about that.   Well, I think that yes, parents think, "Well, my child only has one birthday a year." But of course your child is one out of 25 children in the classroom. And so my argument was really that you have to look at what's happening in the classroom overall over the course of a year. And I actually made a slide that showed all of the different holidays, all of the birthday parties that take place during the year, so that people could really see that when you started to count, there were parties happening pretty much every single week in elementary schools.   So returning to school meals, and the competitive foods, and things served a la carte and things in bending machines, how the heck did things get to be this way? I mean, were there federal, state, or local policies that permitted or even encouraged this? Were people making money? What made this happen?   It's really interesting to look into the history of competitive foods in schools. What I learned is that there are actually multiple layers of policies. And historically, the main policy was the federal policy, because the school meal programs are federal programs. But in the 1980s, the National Soft Drink Association, which is now known as the American Beverage Association, actually sued the federal government to make the case that they should not be allowed to regulate what was sold in schools outside of the school meals. And that was really the beginning of a very sort of troubled era, I would say, in the school food environment, because a lot of vending machines started going into the schools at that point, selling soft drinks. Companies even had something called pouring right contracts, which were essentially contracts with a particular brand, so Coke or Pepsi, where they would give the school money, they would provide the vending machines, and they would sell their products, and they would let the school have a cut of the profits. On the one hand, it helped the soft drink companies sell their product. They made some money from that. But I think what was probably more important to them is they got their brand in front of the students in that school. And the deal was you couldn't sell other brands of beverages.   I remember when we first started doing this work, I went to a high school in Connecticut, and I remember counting 13 vending machines as I was walking through the halls. So that was 13 times during the day, you know, children would be passing by that huge machine with the logo for that beverage company. There were really limited regulations during that era of what could be sold outside of the school meals. There was something called foods of minimal nutritional value, which was a pretty short list of things you couldn't sell. So it was things like cotton candy and lollipops. And there were also rules about not selling unhealthy foods for 30 minutes before the lunch period or 30 minutes after the lunch period. So you had a situation where sometimes there would be a vending machine in the hallway and they would unplug it for 30 minutes before lunch and then 30 minutes after lunch. But people could go plug in the machine, buy their soda, and then unplug it again. Those are the sorts of stories that you would hear.   So the good news is that things started changing in the early 2000s. People started to realize that it had gotten out of control, and States started passing regulations to get rid of some of these unhealthy competitive foods. And at the time, there really wasn't much promise of making a change at the federal level. So you had dates that were progressive passing laws that you couldn't sell soda or you couldn't sell certain unhealthy snacks in the schools. And then something interesting happened in 2006, which was the federal regulation was updated, basically saying that school districts needed to set their own policies. So it was somewhat of a political compromise. I think that the advocates had hoped that time that the federal regulation would actually say what the nutrition standards would be for competitive foods. But instead of that, they at least got this idea that, okay, you need to set your own policy. You can't just ignore this problem. And so it sort of forced the hand of school districts to at least put down on paper what their rules were for the snacks that they were selling outside of school meals. And so there was this period of time where schools really were responding to three levels of regulation, often. The federal regulation, if they lived in a state that had state regulations, they had those. And then also their own district regulation. It was quite confusing. And I think schools sort of struggled to figure out what they were doing and which regulations they were following. But things have definitely improved.   There are lots of interesting examples of individual parents making a difference in this problem by what they've done within their own school systems. So you don't necessarily just have to think about top-down things, and you're one such person. I remember that as a parent, when you had children in the Connecticut schools, that you made a big difference in the way the school system looked at things. So I'd love to hear just a little bit about how you approached that. What was the situation when you began working on it? And then what happened?   I was one of those parents and have a reputation that continues to follow me to this day. I had, you know, young children in the schools and was not happy with what was being sold in the schools. I wasn't happy with the number of times, as I mentioned, there were parties or teachers were handing out candy or coupons for donuts in the classroom. And so I got involved in my own elementary school with the principal, and we formed what was sort of ahead of its time, but it was essentially a school wellness committee. And we invited the school nurse, the PE teacher, some other parents joined. And we really tried to think about what could we do in our own school to make changes. And given that, you know, my training as a researcher taught me that you want to collect data, you want to keep track of what changes are occurring.   We began with a survey of parents in my school district that the district helped orchestrate. And I was able to document that parents overall really didn't want these unhealthy foods in schools. They didn't really like the snacks being sold in the elementary schools. They didn't like teachers handing out candy. And so I was able to then go back to the board of education with the data and convince them that we should have a stronger policy in our district. Now I will say that it turned out there was mixed feelings about it. Even though the majority of parents felt that way, there certainly were parents that didn't feel that way. And I got a lot of really great research ideas from going to different PTO meetings presenting the research on this topic and really hearing the way parents talk about it.   One of the things I learned pretty early on is that it really seemed like it wasn't so much about cupcakes in the classroom, but the arguments were more about what is the role of government? What is the role of policy? And when do you sort of let parents do whatever they want and when does the school or the school district have the right to say, "No, this is how we want things done in our district."   Well, what you've just said is a great example of how much difference a single parent can make. So let's talk about the federal government and what it's been doing. So a lot happened during the Obama administration on school food nutrition standards, and the Trump administration as well. But there's quite a contrast in the way these two administrations have been addressing this issue. Can you paint us a picture of this?   The Obama administration: I think of it now as the golden age of improvements in school food. You had a situation where States were passing policies. The federal government didn't do too much other than require these local policies. But because of all of that, it became evident that change really could happen. So you had whole States that got rid of all of the sugary drinks in schools like Connecticut. In 2006, K through 12, no sugary drinks could be sold in any of our schools. And essentially we proved as a state that this change could happen, that there wasn't a disaster. People didn't lose so much money, you know, that it was a huge problem. And so all of the arguments that have been made as to why you couldn't make these changes were kind of shown to be false because we were able to demonstrate that it could be done. I think those stories started accumulating. And then of course, Michelle Obama was a tremendous champion for children's health, for nutrition. And a piece of legislation called the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 went through and I think completely transformed the school food environment. So that acted lots of things that really hadn't been done before. First of all, it revamped the nutrition standards so that they were in line with the dietary guidelines. So we saw things like increases in whole grains, increases in low-fat dairy, also more fruits and vegetables. And in addition to more in terms of larger quantities, also more variety in fruits and vegetables. So those changes were all really important. The other thing they did that was very new is they started setting calorie maximums for school meals instead of just calorie minimums. Those minimums had always been there because the concern was that kids weren't getting enough to eat. Now we had knowledge that we also needed to be careful about kids eating too many calories at school.   And then the other really major change that came with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act is that lawsuit I mentioned from the National Soft Drink Association in the 1980s that prevented the federal government from regulating foods outside of the school meal programs finally was changed. And now the federal government started to set standards for the first time for all foods sold on school campus during the school day. And they developed something called Smart Snacks, which is a set of nutrition standards that went into effect that essentially regulates everything that's sold. So those were all wonderful changes.   I think the USDA did a great job developing the regulations, implementing them over time. It wasn't like everything happened overnight. There were several years where each year different levels of the changes would get implemented. Another important one was sodium levels. There had been very clear research documenting too much sodium consumption and that school meals had too much sodium. So there was a progressive series of three levels of sodium reduction that were scheduled. So then came the Trump administration. And I think there were a lot of concerns about whether things would go backwards because one of the priorities, it seemed, from the Trump administration was deregulation and taking away things like federal regulations. And in the end, some changes have taken place. So there've been a couple of rollbacks. One is the original Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act regulation for milk said that all milk had to be 1% or fat-free, and there could be flavored milk, but it had to be fat-free flavored milk. And the reason was because that was a way to keep the calories below a certain level. So one of the roll backs was saying, no, you can have 1% flavored milk. So that was a change. Another had to do with whole grains. The regulation that had been implemented over time was that items needed to be what they call whole grain rich. And whole grain rich means more than 50% of the grains in the product are whole grains. And originally 50% of your grains had to be whole grain rich. And then it went up to 100% had to be whole grain rich. And essentially Sonny Perdue, about a year ago, rolled that back so that only 50% needed to be whole grain rich. So that was a step backwards. But I would say probably the biggest problem were the sodium changes. So as I said, there was this progression that had been scheduled pretty slowly to allow the industry time to reformulate to decrease the amount of sodium in schools. And essentially, Sonny Perdue announced last year that they were going to get rid of that third, most progressive level, and they were going to give more time to reach the second level. So it rolled back and then essentially stopped the progression in terms of improving the amount of sodium in schools.   So where do you think the most important advances in policy will be?   You know, I think that it goes up and down, if that makes sense. I think that things begin at the local level, because you have districts that really get out in front and have community that, you know, sort of taking this on as a priority. And then I think when you have districts showing that something can be done, it's more likely to happen at the state level. And then when things are done at the state level, oftentimes when you have a handful of states around the country that have demonstrated that something could be done, it's much easier for the federal government to make the changes. So if you're in a progressive state, the changes come earlier, because they are at those local and state levels. If you're in a less progressive state that doesn't tend to be out front on these issues, you really have to wait for the federal government to step in. That's what we've seen. And I wouldn't be surprised if it continued with that pattern.   So what do you think are the top priorities for what can be done in schools as we look forward?   The nutrition standards where they are, those rollbacks notwithstanding, I think are great. And I think it would be fine to keep them where they are now. I don't necessarily think that there need to be big changes there. What I think is more important now is to work on the culinary skill of people who are preparing school meals and find ways to help everyone make meals that follow those standards, but are also highly palatable and really attractive to the students. Overall, there have been a lot of success stories in terms of students liking the new school meals. I mean, we collected data in New Haven and documented very clearly that there had been no increase in plate waste, that children were eating the meals, they were eating more fruit than they were eating before. And I think that's the story in a lot of the cities and particularly districts that have 100% free lunch, so universal free meals. Those are the students who are used to eating school meals. They've been eating school meals since they came into schools. It's free, it's available for everyone, and that I think is often where you're going to see the most success. I think what's harder are the school districts that have a smaller proportion of students who qualify for free meals and therefore their rates of participation tend to be lower. They're faced with more challenges because they don't have the volume of participation that financially helps them invest in, let's say, new equipment or staff or training. And so they're the ones that I think have been struggling. And so I would love to see efforts to really help those districts learn from the districts that have seen a lot of success and kind of get the training, get the equipment, to really be able to provide meals that all of the students are going to want to eat.     Bio Dr. Marlene Schwartz is Director for the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences. Dr. Schwartz's research and community service address how home environments, school landscapes, neighborhoods, and the media shape the eating attitudes and behaviors of children. Schwartz earned her PhD in Psychology from Yale University in 1996. Prior to joining the Rudd Center, she served as Co-Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders from 1996 to 2006. She has collaborated with the Connecticut State Department of Education to evaluate nutrition and physical activity policies in schools and preschools throughout the state. She co-chaired the Connecticut Obesity Task Force and has provided expert testimony on obesity-related state policies. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Food Bank.  

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Michael Carr-Gregg about the growing mental health crisis among young people in Australia and ways on how we can all address it. Dr Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's highest profile psychologists, author of 14 books, broadcaster and a specialist in corporate mental health, families, parenting, children, adolescents and the use of technology for mental health. Michael works in private practice at Corporate and Personal Consulting in Melbourne. He is the Commonwealth Government representative on on the Board of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. He is an accredited trainer for Mental Health First Aid Australia. Community Ambassador for Smiling Mind; Big Brother Big Sister; a Patron of Read the Play and a columnist for a number of publications.. Michael is the resident parenting expert on Ch 7's Sunrise as well as the top rating Morning Show with Neil Mitchell on Fairfax Radio 3AW. In 2018, Michael helped launch the Green Light to Talk mental health initiative with PWC. He has subsequently worked with Westpac and AMP on mental health in the workplace. His last book, co-written with foodie Flip Shelton is called Smart Snacks. He is has just finished 2 books for 2020 with Penguin Books one Starting Secondary School with Sharon Witt, the other Surviving Year 12 with Elly Robinson which were published in February and March 2020 respectively. Episode link at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/michael-carr-gregg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TUNE IN TO LEARN:What are some better snacks to transition from a carb-burner and sugar/snack-addict to an elite fat burner?Why do we want to break free from snacking?Balanced energy - no super-lows "give-me-a-snack-right-now-or-I'm-gonna-eat-you" kind of lowsBalanced emotions - no drama queens, no depressive episodes, no hypersEasy and sustainable fat lossDid I mention superb health and fitness?BOOK: The Fatburn FixCreative Immune Booster - virtual field trip with Creative MorningsSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/FoodSchool)

Lindsey Turner, PhD joins JAMA Network editors to discuss a cross-sectional study that examines the association of state laws for implementation of the Smart Snacks in School with students’ dietary intake behaviors. Read the article here: https://ja.ma/2RiMxFt. JNO Live is a weekly broadcast featuring conversations about the latest research being published in JAMA Network Open. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on the next broadcast.

WE'RE LEGAL YALL!! Comin in hot with Season 2, EP 18!Join The Anaks as we discuss our Crab Strats, the PIMA Graduation Shenanigans, Taste Test some Bono's Bakery Ube Cookies / Smart Sweets and how we practice this Lick Game! Chaotic and fun, its game time!Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE so you know when the next episode drops and SHARE with all of your friends. WE BRING IT WEEKLY! Find us where you find Podcasts and don't forget to email us at THEANAKSPODCAST@GMAIL.COM.OH YEAH, leave a review, we love reading them!Support the show (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl5aTaNaO7oacYyuCU4jroA)

Do you need some inspiration for quick and nutritious snacks for the kids?   Today we are catching up with the lovely Flip Shelton to chat about her new recipe book, Smart Snacks!   When it comes to kids' mood, energy, focus and success at school, one of the most influential factors is diet. And a hugely important part of what kids and teenagers eat and drink every day happens between meals- mid-morning, after school, when they finish a sports game, at the beach. A smart snack will boost them with nutrients and slow-release energy, whereas a processed snack or soft drink can cause a spike in their blood sugar, throwing out their mood and concentration. Poor snack choices can also have longer-term effects on their physical and mental wellbeing.  But family life is busy. That's why passionate foodie Flip Shelton and renowned adolescent and child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg have teamed up to create this collection of simple, speedy recipes to help you make the most of snacks every day without devoting hours to the process. 

Join Laura Turner and guest Dr Michael Carr-Gregg - one of Australia's most high profile psychologists, author of 14 books, broadcaster and a specialist in parenting, children, adolescents and the use of technology for mental health. Michael's new book is called Smart Snacks (with Flip Shelton) and is available now at good bookstores or HERE You can connect with Michael on Twitter HERE 

Michael Carr-Gregg is a psychologist who has just released a book with foodie Flip Shelton called Smart Snacks, 100 + nutritious recipes for surviving the school years. He explains why a psychologist decided to release a cook book, and why what your child eats will make a lasting impact on their growing brains.

More than 90,000 schools in the U.S. have participated in the Box Tops for Education program—one of the largest school-based brand marketing initiatives. The program was launched by General Mills in 1996, and participating schools can earn money by collecting Box Tops from select products. While eligible goods include paperware and office supplies, Box Tops are featured on a wide array of packaged foods and beverages. Because these products are not actually sold in schools, they're not subject to federal nutrition standards. But if they were, how would they stack up nutritionally? New research from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and MassGeneral Hospital for Children finds that less than a third of the products would meet federal "Smart Snacks" standards. In this week's episode we speak with Elsie Taveras, Division Chief of General Academic Pediatrics at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and professor of nutrition at the Harvard Chan School, and Alyssa Moran, a doctoral student at the Harvard Chan School. They'll explain why the Box Tops program may be driving parents and children to make unhealthy food choices—and unwittingly turns kids into brand ambassadors for these products.

September 14, 2017 — More than 90,000 schools in the U.S. have participated in the Box Tops for Education program—one of the largest school-based brand marketing initiatives. The program was launched by General Mills in 1996, and participating schools can earn money by collecting Box Tops from select products. While eligible goods include paperware and office supplies, Box Tops are featured on a wide array of packaged foods and beverages. Because these products are not actually sold in schools, they're not subject to federal nutrition standards. But if they were, how would they stack up nutritionally? New research from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and MassGeneral Hospital for Children finds that less than a third of the products would meet federal "Smart Snacks" standards. In this week's episode we speak with Elsie Taveras, Division Chief of General Academic Pediatrics at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and professor of nutrition at the Harvard Chan School, and Alyssa Moran, a doctoral student at the Harvard Chan School. They'll explain why the Box Tops program may be driving parents and children to make unhealthy food choices—and unwittingly turns kids into brand ambassadors for these products. Visit our website, hsph.me/thisweekinhealth to see a list of healthy options available under the Box Tops program. You can subscribe to this podcast by visiting iTunes, listen to it by following us on Soundcloud, and stream it on the Stitcher app.

Transform your health with few key diet and exercise swaps. It's easier than you think!

What's so smart about those USDA-regulated "Smart Snacks" sold in school vending machines? More whole grain, and lowered sugar, fat, and calories—even if they're Cheetos, Doritos, or Pop Tarts. These reformulated items are less unhealthy, sure, but new research from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity proposes that their "copycat" look and packaging is designed to maintain brand loyalty outside of school, where the original versions are heavily marketed to teens. The strategy may be working—and backfiring on school food service when the presence of perceived junk food undermines parent trust.

Since July 2014, an interim USDA regulation on foods sold outside the reimbursable meals program requires healthier offerings nationwide. But questions remain. Many of the new “Smart Snacks” are reformulated copycats of highly processed stuff sold outside school. In some states, liberal waivers of restrictions on bake sales and junk-food fundraisers keep sugar levels high. Should we be worried? Not necessarily, say today’s guests. Districts can choose to adopt (or retain) stricter standards, setting a successful example that others can emulate. This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market

Whether your sales up or down, there has to be a reason. So what’s behind the participation slump among students who don’t qualify for free or reduced-priced meals? Some school nutrition professionals say it’s a clear case of cause and effect: paying kids don’t like the new menus, so they’re not buying. But a recent report from the Food Resource and Action Center describes a much more complex set of circumstances. So does the experience of one well-to-do Kansas high school, where competitive foods are losing ground to the healthier, reimbursable “deal meal.” This program has been sponsored by The Tabard Inn. located in Washinton DC. “The vast majority of schools are offering competitive foods. USDA research says that competitive foods drive students away from the school meals program. They create stigma, especially for middle and high school students, where it’s not necessarily the cool thing to be participating in the school meals program” –Jessie Hewins on Inside School Food “We were anticipating a drop in our a la carte sales, just like all the other schools implementing Smart Snacks. However, our reimbursable meals are up. Part of that is due to the fact that we’ve turned everything inside of the serving area into a potential reimbursable meal. We’re calling it a ‘meal deal.'” “We encourage the high schools kids to take a whole apple or banana with them, to eat in study hall or before practice, and a lot of them are doing that. It’s the change we want to see. The more popular students are being role models in this, and that’s helping a lot.” –Amy Droegemeier on Inside School Food