What to do about school lunch?

I have no clue what is in it.. or even where to start. Should I substitute a snack into my lunch time instead of eating school lunch? then eating a sorta late lunch when I get home at about 3:00 p.m?

I think if I eat breakfast at 7:05a.m and a snack at 11:30a.m, I should hold over till 3:00p.m. for lunch at home.

They usually have fatening foods and unhealthy things there, such as greasy pizza, and even the salads are loaded with so much cheese, it's like.. umm.. can I have some more lettuce for my cheese caserol please? lol

Can anyone help me find an alternative or suggest anything I could do or eat?

Thanks alot guys, you've all been a great help to me.

Jonathan, you sound (from your multiple posts the last couple of days) WAY too concerned about your diet.  Step back for a second, and re-assess your situation.  Calm down.  Take some deep breaths.  There is not a race to lose weight.  It's great that you have decided to take the initiative.  It also seems that you know how to eat healthier items.

Start by making small healthy choices.  Don't skip lunch.  Just find the healthier option.  Or pack your own lunch.

We're here to support you.  But don't freak out.  You're only at the beginning.

Ya, my mom is a health freak, so the complications involved, and calculations are all just running through my head at the same time, yet I find myself addicted to checking the forums, and putting in items and activities into my logs.
Thanks for the advice!

I see.  Well, try not to let her influence you in a negative way.  I've had the same problem before.  Just take things one day at a time.

You're not alone, I have the exact same problem.
I find school food gross.  The only thing I will eat from there at lunch is the salad-cups (theyre like large fruit cups with salad inside) that dont contain shredded cheese.. OR an apple or 2.  Yeah looking at school food makes me wanna puke.. especially when i see those super-skinny kids getting DOUBLES (soo much food).   Anyway

what I do is either make a sandwich and have that, buy one of the things i named above, or eat a zone bar or something in history (11 something) and eat when i get home.  the only problem with the last option is that i think thats one of the reasons ive devoloped binge ED.  i feel like i havent eaten so i eat lots when i get home.

just be careful and be balanced..

and from my experience.. its okay to be OCD with calories, I know I am.  But be sure not to be too strict, it could lead to disorders in the future.

Hope this helped some!

I used to bring my lunch to school. I know it isn't "cool" to do that, but I didn't care. The only thing I would eat from the cafeteria were those crispy burritos with "chili and or cheese sauce". At any rate, even when you get the salad option from the cafeteria, they use the real buttermilk ranch and I don't even WANT to know how bad it is for you! If you can bring something like a lunchable and an apple or banana, I'd say you'd still be pretty cool in my book!

Hey Jonathan!

I agree with the Future Mrs. Haifley, bring you're lunch to school even though you might get strange looks from the "cool" kids.  In High School I would crash diet and lost a lot of weight.  I ate a diet bar for breakfast with water, M&Ms and Diet Coke for lunch and then I'd eat whatever my grandmother cooked for dinner so she wouldn't worry.  Then I'd exercise in my room for an hour.   But in the long run it didn't work and I gained back about 25 pounds of the 60 pounds I lost when I started to eat normally again.  You see I never learned to eat properly!  If there's one thing I've learned it's that you must eat!  If you do not eat, you can not burn fat.  Skipping meals just backfires in the end.  You're better off bringing a healthy lunch and a healthy snack or two to school.  Kick the bad habits now, learn to eat properly and you'll be better off when you're older. 

Best of luck!

Libbie

Thanks everyone again, I've learned more about dieting in the last two days than I have in my whole life. I understand I need to slow down on counting calories and revolving around the website all day, but just a few more fundamentals to learn, and I'll be out of everyones hair for a bit. :D

P.S. I am the cool kid :p

Jonathon, I am in law school, and even there I have same issues.  Its hard when you have half an hour between class to make smart food choices (expecially with all fast food on campus).  Think of this as lessons you can truely carry with you in future.  When i was working the same temptations were there to, donut fridays, pizza mondays.  I bring my lunch a lot (i have this igloo cooler lunch bag). Often I bring my leftovers,  I will make a little the night before and pack it up.  if you family makes dinner you could ask you mom to make a little extra pasta or another grilled chicken breast and bring it.  Does your school have a microwave?  I bet they do in the kitchen at least, but they should have one and if not get one (they are so cheap these days).  It really helps to have a hot lunch when your at school under all that stress.  I also pack things like yogurt, make salads, sandwiches, and i always bring lots of snacks (to avoid vending machine)  I personally love fruit trekker bars (pure fruit 120 calories=2 servings of fruit) no added suger, or  nature valley granola bars are great.   

htide

Well do you go out for lunch? I always get salads with italian from various places and skip croutons but then if ur friends become suspicious that you are on a diet and start calling u anorexic then start researching for calories prior to your next lunch and get lower calorie items. if you pack lunch like bars or fruits or don't eat lunch at school people are gona think ur weird (assuming ur in h.s)

if you can't go out, you shold see if your school has sandwiches take out all the unhealthy stuff out and be like you don't like them. when you get salad dont get dressing over it or if it's prepacked, don't get the salad cuz it'll have the same amount of calories. If you must, just get a bagel and eat only half of it it will be under 200 calories. lunchable is so bad for you lol its all processed meat and all sugar it WILL make you hungry again and it has a lot of calories. Yeah nature valley granola bars are good too.

Well, I have a really great school lunch program. Today I had a 12 grain roll with "jam like spread"= no added sugar, some sugar snap peas, veggy soup, a small portion on grapes and it was awesome. They support healthy eating, and it tastes oh so good...

gennx01 I disagree about it being weird.  Many people i know eat at home because I have the lastest lunch so its already like 1 and nobody is hungry for some reason.  Or even if you do bring healthy things, nobody has a right to tease you because youre eating salad and theyre eating doughnuts.  If youre paranoid (i know i am) it might feel like everyone cares but in the long run its better to do whats healthy for you.  Thats my opinion anyway, although I'm not a senior or anything haha.

But i definately agree about lunchables - youd have to look into it but they even look like processed junk haha.  I could be wrong.

Also in my first post - a good point someone made about salad dressing.  I get salad with no pre-added dressing.  I think it tastes better that way anyway.  I don't know if your school offers plain salad cups.  I can't find a picture, sorry.


Anyway have a great night all :]

They actually have some of the Lunchables listed here on CC - check here,

For example, The Chicken & Cheese Wraps with low-fat yogurt and fruit punch = 440 cals, with sodium checking in at 860 mg, fat at 13g and cholesterol at 40mg (for starters).   Is it any wonder it got a C- for a grade?

Yeah, I'm thinking you could probably make a nutritious lunch at home to bring with you that would be a bit better than that, with a lot less sodium, fat and cholesterol!

Jonathan....if you're in high school and not sure about the calories, then ask the head lunch lady. They are required by law (I believe) to have the calorie counts of the lunches between 750 and 850 (at least our school's is) but I believe that's assuming you eat everything they offer. I know it's not cool to talk to the lunch ladies, but you could always ask. I'm a teacher and so when the monthly menu comes out, I ask the head lunch lady the calorie counts for certain days and then I plan on bringing my lunch to the other days that I don't want to eat school food (which is almost always because I don't want to eat an 800 calorie lunch!).

Just a suggestion. :)

Jonathan, I hope that they have a variety of choices that you're just not seeing at the cafeteria.  Be creative, you can have an apple a cheese and crackers or a yogourt, carrots, celery or another veggie for lunch.  You don't have to have a "meal" when you eat lunch,  a bunch of different healthy snacks all put together can make a meal.

Hope this helps!

Ok, ya, they have some things that MIGHT be ok.. but even their brocoli is drenched in butter, and by the way. The Mobile County school board in Alabama recently banned most greasy foods in public schools because of our obesity rate. Even still.. they are not offering just one thing that I could eat.. like an apple, or banana, the closest fruit they have is mixed fruit with ranch dressing dripped in it from the messy kids.

Hey Jonathan!  I know how you feel about school lunch, and the only thing I can say is pack!

I go to school really early (6:30am) so I eat breakfast before I leave. . . depending how I feel, it can be fruit, some toast, or both! Usually something like a piece of toast with half a tablespoon of peanut butter (you might like more) or a piece of toast and a banana to get my metabolism going.

Well, I get hungry again somewhere between 8:45 and 9:30am so I make sure I have a banana or something. I don't know what your school is like (I'm in high school) but even though we're not supposed to eat in class, my teachers are pretty lenient. 

And then there is lunch around 11:15am.  I usually have a sandwich (half a tablespoon of peanut butter and a little jelly or ham and mustard)--the bread I use is pretty dense (depending on what my parents buy that week, 90-120 calories a slice) though. And I have a piece or two of fruit depending on if I ate my earlier snack or if I'm feeling particularly hungry. I don't bring any chips because I always nibble on my friend's, but I'm trying to stop that habit!

I get home around 2:45 and I get hungry around 3pm so I have another little snack.  and then another little snack . . . and then some more.  I'm still working on getting my afternoon food schedule on track. :D

my son takes his lunch everyday, and some how he is a "cool " kid. considering the gene pool i dont get it but he is. any how. there are all sort of healthy alternatives you can pack that are not only healthier but better. i help him a bit and we are creative, he eats healthier and better food this way.

hey well i have that exact problem too,now i bring my lunch to school, may sound dorky but its totally fine because you get the healthy stuff YOU want and not some nasty greasy super-size lunch meal. i usually bring like leftovers to school and just eat em @ room temp since we cant use a microwave or a roast beef sanwich (yummo!) but you can put just about anything on a sandwich, maybee do a wrap with some veggies on the side, you got yourself a healthy non-fattening meal! hope this helps