Lunch Lessons

Remember how simple school lunches used to be You'd have something from every major food group, run around the playground for a while, and you looked and felt fine. But today it's not so simple. Schools are actually feeding the American crisis of childhood obesity and malnutrition. Most cafeterias serve a veritable buffet of processed, fried, and sugary foods, and although many schools have attempted to improve, they are still not measuring up: 78 percent of the school lunch programs in America do not meet the USDA's nutritional guidelines.

Chef Ann Cooper has emerged as one of the nation's most influential and most respected advocates for changing how our kids eat. In fact, she is something of a renegade lunch lady, minus the hairnet and scooper of mashed potatoes. Ann has worked to transform cafeterias into culinary classrooms. In Lunch Lessons, she and Lisa Holmes spell out how parents and school employees can help instill healthy habits in children.

They explain the basics of good childhood nutrition and suggest dozens of tasty, home-tested recipes for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The pages are also packed with recommendations on how to eliminate potential hazards from the home, bring gardening and composting into daily life, and how to support businesses that provide local, organic food.

Yet learning about nutrition and changing the way you run your home will not cure the plague of obesity and poor health for this generation of children. Only parental activism can spark widespread change. With inspirational examples and analysis, Lunch Lessons is more than just a recipe book&#8212it gives readers the tools to transform the way children everywhere interact with food.

“"Perfect for working parents who believe they're far too busy to pack a school lunch for their child" (Publishers Weekly)”

"Perfect for working parents who believe they're far too busy to pack a school lunch for their child" -- Publishers Weekly

Chef Ann Cooper, a former Executive Chef of the Ross School in East Hampton, New York, and the Putney Inn in Vermont is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. She has turned her commitment to sustainable, delicious, nutritious food toward education in order to help children. Chef Cooper is the author of A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen and coauthor of In Mother's Kitchen and Bitter Harvest.

Is your child being fed well at school? 78 percent of school lunch programs in America do not meet USDA's nutritional guidelines. In fact, most school cafeterias still serve a veritable buffet of processed, fried, and sugary foods. So, where can concerned parents turn for help in providing healthful, delicious lunches? Chef Ann Cooper has emerged as one of the nation's most influential and respected advocates for changing how our kids eat, working to turn school cafeterias into culinary classrooms. In "Lunch Lessons," she and Lisa Holmes spell out how parents and school employees can help instill healthy habits in children, by providing a variety of invaluable information such as: An explanation of the basics of good childhood nutrition Dozens of tasty, home-tested recipes for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Tips for how to support businesses that provide local, organic food Ways to spark widespread change throughout a community With inspirational examples and valuable advice, "Lunch Lessons" is more than just a recipe book--it gives readers the tools to transform the way children everywhere interact with food.

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