What they got: Baked breaded chicken, canned sweet potato, fresh broccoli, a dinner roll (white), fruit juice and lowfat milk.
While this meal looks 'OK' I am not sure the kids had the same reaction. In fact one kid broke down into a symphony of cries when he realized that it wasn't chicken nuggets! It seems Tuesday's at school have become 'breaded chicken day'. From nuggets to lemon chicken, rest assured you will find chicken caked in some sort of breading as the main meal. Again, I have to say I am NOT a fan of the breaded chicken. I think the kids can do without the fake seasoning and/or KFC look-a-like batter.
I also wonder if the school gets raw whole pieces delivered and then breads them on site or whether its been breaded and deep-fried at the manufacturer and then reheated/baked at the school kitchen. I would obviously opt for the former, at least then the cooks would have control over what goes into the breading and whether or not it gets fried. I asked for real pieces of chicken and we got them, I just wasn't betting on them being drenched in batter.
The dinner roll proved to be popular and at least the kids didn't leave the cafeteria hungry...or did they? There was some fresh broccoli, which they ran out of, and as for the canned sweet potato, while it may have some nutritional value it looks fake and quite unappetizing. A dinner roll is definitely not a wholesome meal for growing inquiring minds, so all-in-all I'd say this meal is a fail. Which gives me an idea, I think from now we should start grading the meals! Plus, it would be pretty awesome if you the reader would also grade it from a visual perspective. What do you think?
