You Are What You Eat

HoCo schools have teamed up with schoolmenu.com (registration required) to display the daily menus for each school, along with relevant nutritional information.

Today's Western ribs on seeded bun? 489 calories and 1798 mg. sodium, we learned.

The chicken nuggets? 248 calories and another 90 calories for the potato dinner roll (does that count as a vegetable?).

The fruit and veggie of the month? Apples and sweet potatoes.

Here's what Food and Nutrition Services Director Mary Klatko had to say in the school system's e-newsletter:

...www.schoolmenu.com is a fun, colorful site that includes features like nutrition and fitness messages, exercise tips, allergen information, a kids' area with food-related activities, coupons for parents to print and use, frequently asked questions, as well as meal prices, pre-paid meal plans and the local weather.

"It is a very informative site," says Klatko. "We hope the school communities in Howard County will find it useful and interesting."

The site can be accessed at www.schoolmenu.com or by visiting the HCPSS website, clicking on "Lunch Menus" in the quick links area, where a link to the schoolmenu site is highlighted.

We had to smile at the coupons featured on the site, for Bagel Bites, Pillsbury rolls and Ghirardelli chocolate. But dig a little deeper and you will find offers for vitamins, soups and other more nutritional deals.