Milk with school lunches

[Riley-Madison]

when I was in school it was choc milk was a choice on fridays only. I think my kids get a choice of what kind of milk they want too....they mostly just drink white milk anyway( lol thats what they call it "white milk" lol)

[nakedbabytoes]

I certainly don't think Choc should be the "default" milk option.
My son's school serves skim, 2% white, and 1% choc everyday, but the kids pick it out of a cooler as they go thru. Strawberry on day prior to holidays.
My son hates milk but chooses choc when he drinks the required by mom, 2 glasses a day. One at school and one at home. He gags on white milk Always has. Even as a baby, he hated formula. He was so skinny. His pedi said do whatever it takes to get him those good calories and vits that's in milk. So we choclified it. He doesn't gag, but still hates it.
I noticed when I volunteer at school that a good portion of kids choose white milk, choc is definately the minority here. And my daycare kids can choose chocolate milk on Friday's at lunchtime if they want to. Half still choose white milk.
I don't see a problem with it EXCEPT that it's being the default choice in OP's school. I think that's wrong and encouraging the more sugary choice between the two.
Although yogurt has more sugar than a 12oz regular soda, so you really gotta watch what really is healthy and what appears to be so.

[iggyloo]

Originally Posted by nakedbabytoes I certainly don't think Choc should be the "default" milk option. My son's school serves skim, 2% white, and 1% choc everyday, but the kids pick it out of a cooler as they go thru. Strawberry on day prior to holidays. My son hates milk but chooses choc when he drinks the required by mom, 2 glasses a day. One at school and one at home. He gags on white milk Always has. Even as a baby, he hated formula. He was so skinny. His pedi said do whatever it takes to get him those good calories and vits that's in milk. So we choclified it. He doesn't gag, but still hates it. I noticed when I volunteer at school that a good portion of kids choose white milk, choc is definately the minority here. And my daycare kids can choose chocolate milk on Friday's at lunchtime if they want to. Half still choose white milk. I don't see a problem with it EXCEPT that it's being the default choice in OP's school. I think that's wrong and encouraging the more sugary choice between the two. Although yogurt has more sugar than a 12oz regular soda, so you really gotta watch what really is healthy and what appears to be so.

Just a heads up, but hemp milk and coconut milk are actually much healthier than cows milk, and taste sweet without all the sugar.

[amanda_rocks]

Originally Posted by iggyloo Just a heads up, but hemp milk and coconut milk are actually much healthier than cows milk, and taste sweet without all the sugar.

I def. don't see my school providing hemp milk..

[iggyloo]

Thats just crazy! I would definitely bring it up to administration. Change starts with one voice.

IMO chocolate milk is a treat. Something you have once in a while, not everyday.

[sillymama]

I'm not sure if this is true of chocolate milk in school, but a majority of the chocolate milk you buy at a store or get at a restaurant has high fructose corn syrup in it - which is disgusting to me. I would much rather my children have water, which is a majority of what we drink at home, than chocolate milk with HFCS in it. I'm not anti milk or chocolate milk (I prefer my flavored with nesquik), but not having water as an alternative is sorry.

[Leanbh]

This is my pet peeve!

My middle son attends a speech therapy program which is exactly like preschool but emphasis on speech etc. He is the only child to have white milk in his class of 10. The first day he came home saying one kid at 10am had chocolate milk and oreos for snack.
He's gotten over it, but it was hard being the only kid.

My oldest packs lunch and this is one of the many reasons why. He told me there is chocolate, white, strawberry and he want's to do a pattern of one each day....eh, no. So I pack his lunch and give him water in his thermos.

To me, the menu is even worse. Goes like this.....chicken nuggets, pizza, pizza hot pocket, hot dog, burger etc for an entire month! Yes, they have fruit and veggies but even some of those I think are canned. I did tell him he can buy lunch once a month so he doesn't feel completely deprived! Oh, and I love how the school advertise their wonderful healthy menu.....I think not.

I loved the Jamie Oliver show and I'm so disappointed it hasn't done as well as Englands school revolution.

[nakedbabytoes]

Originally Posted by iggyloo Just a heads up, but hemp milk and coconut milk are actually much healthier than cows milk, and taste sweet without all the sugar.

Tried all them, made him gag too. Believe me, we tried it all! Formulas of various kinds, milks of various kinds. Gag, gag, gag. It isn't the sweetness, it's the hiding the taste. Like it can't taste like milk for him to even be able to have it in his mouth, let alone swallow. He hates it the way it is. His choc milk is the last thing to go at the dinner table. He'll eat and have seconds and sit there and stare at it. Finally, it's like an "I'm wiping the table in 2 minutes, so plug your nose and just down it already!" thing.
And no, school wouldn't ever offer alternatives, as PP suggested. Choc IS the alternative(at least it used to be!)

[luvsviola]

Originally Posted by iggyloo Just a heads up, but hemp milk and coconut milk are actually much healthier than cows milk, and taste sweet without all the sugar.

I can guarantee that my inner city kids would turn their noses up at hemp milk. These are the same kids that ignore the perfectly steamed broccoli and beautiful salads (our cafeteria makes an effort to have beautiful healthy food in an attempt to entice the kids), and eat pizza, nachos, and flaming hot baked cheetos every day.

[mcpforever]

Originally Posted by Leanbh This is my pet peeve! My oldest packs lunch and this is one of the many reasons why. He told me there is chocolate, white, strawberry and he want's to do a pattern of one each day....eh, no. So I pack his lunch and give him water in his thermos. To me, the menu is even worse. Goes like this.....chicken nuggets, pizza, pizza hot pocket, hot dog, burger etc for an entire month! Yes, they have fruit and veggies but even some of those I think are canned. I did tell him he can buy lunch once a month so he doesn't feel completely deprived! Oh, and I love how the school advertise their wonderful healthy menu.....I think not.

This sounds like my son! This year's new addition is vanilla milk. He's not much of a lunch eater in the first place these days, so
I'm happy for him to get some quick, consistent, semi-healthy calories into him. My daughter is going to be the one I will want to encourage/require to choose white milk though.

That menu sounds just weird to me. Our menu has pizza 2x during the month of September. The rest is a pretty good variety of dishes ranging from chicken and broccoli afredo to grilled chicken sandwiches, to steak and gravy. All breads are whole wheat, including pasta and corndogs (of all things to be whole grain!). There are items such as fresh steamed vegetables, Alabama grown fresh green beans, and brown rice. (more than just once or twice per month) There are some things that are canned (pineapple, pears, peaches, corn) but on any given day at least one item is fresh (other than the daily green salads that can be a choice).

I guess that being in Alabama, I assume that we will be behind in a lot of areas. Surprisingly, we're not as behind (policy wise at least) in some areas. A year or so ago I found out we are pretty unique in the mandatory 30 minutes per day of PE.