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SALT LAKE CITY -- New federal guidelines for school lunches may soon have more kids eating vegetables and whole grains and less trans-fats and salt.
It could take years before schools begin to implement the guidelines, but one Utah school district is already on the path to healthy eating.
- Increase amount of vegetables served
- Add more whole grains
- Limit trans-fats and sodium
- Switch to 1 percent or skim milk
Given the choice between chicken strips or a salad, most kids would probably go for the chicken strips.
Granite School District says it's found a way for kids to still eat the foods they love while practicing healthy eating habits.
Students at Mill Creek Elementary understand the importance of healthy eating, and it's up to them to decide what goes in their basket at lunchtime.
Granite School District says it's tough to get kids to eat healthy, especially considering some of the menu items that are most popular.
Registered dietitian Alan Coker said, "Pizza, hot dogs, those are just staple items, so the only thing we can do is try to make it healthy for them instead of taking it away altogether."
Coker says to do that, the district had to be sneaky.
Pizza crusts, bread and tortillas are now made with whole wheat grains. French fries are baked instead of fried, and foods with trans-fats got the boot.
At first, students passed on the healthy changes.
"When they first came out with the wheat tortilla, a lot of students wouldn't choose it," said principal Tina West. "But as they got used to it, I just had one boy (who) said,‘I love these. Can I have another?'"
The district says it's changing the way students and parents think about school lunch -- like offering a daily salad bar with fresh fruits and veggies.
"When we went to school we had one or two choices, and that's all you got," said Sheldon Moore with Granite School District Food Services. "If you didn't want to eat that, you just didn't eat that."
The district nutritional guidelines follow the newly proposed USDA guidelines for school lunch. School must increase the amount of vegetables, offer more whole-grain foods, limit trans-fats and sodium, and switch to 1 percent or fat-free milk. The guidelines would also propose switching to fat-free chocolate milk.
For more information, CLICK HERE to read the entire guideline proposal.
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