salisbury steak; a passive aggressive love story.

- by just a mom in mesquite

So, some you trivia buffs may appreciate this. Did you know that the Salisbury steak was invented by an American physician named Dr. J.H. Salisbury in 1897? He wanted to help encourage the eating of more beef. While serving as a physician during the Civil War, he created the infamous recipe of ground beef, seasonings and onions. As an advocate of beef, he heavily promoted the idea of eating more beef to alleviate mental illness, tumors, diarrhea and heart disease. Thus, the "steak" was born. With a much deserved self-pat on the back, he named it after himself, declared it to be healthy, and then took it to the masses. He decided it was so good for you in fact, that he suggested it be eaten three times a day.
 
Ummm, it should also be mentioned that he thought fruits
and vegetables were the culprits behind the tumors, mental illness, and such. [1]
 
Don't get me wrong, I love a good salisbury steak.
 
Despite the nutty reason for it's conception, it does have the potential to be super delicious and healthy. Repeat... potential. Pictured above is yet another one of my submissions to Simple, Good and Tasty's school lunch contest. I'm not going to lie, it did taste like a Salisbury steak. I only had a slight initial cramping when I started to eat it. Keep in mind, however, I was still convalescing from the "Great Enchilada Assault of 2010" just two days prior. I have always assumed today's version of Salisbury steak, was just that, steak (ie. beef) with seasonings. Of course, me being me, upon looking at the school version, I began wondering how they managed to get the thing so flat..and un-beefy.
 
A quick google search, made me wish I wouldn't obsess so much about stuff like this.
 
Turns out, the USDA created their own version of an acceptable Salisbury steak (yeah, it's bad, you already know). Here's what they say according to their Labeling Policy Book:
 
Salisbury Steak

Finished product must contain at least 65 percent meat. Fat is limited to 30 percent. Other requirements are:

1. It is an unbreaded cooked product.

2. The meat block may contain 25 percent pork, with the remainder beef. Or, the meat block may contain up to 12 percent partially defatted chopped beef and pork.

3. Extenders are permitted up to 12 percent. When isolated soy protein is used, 6.8 percent is the equivalent of 12 percent of the other extenders. Those extenders include, but are not limited to: cereal, bread crumbs, cracker meal, soy flour, soy protein concentrate, isolated soy protein, and textured vegetable protein.

4. Meat byproducts are not permitted. Beef heart meat is permitted.

5. Permitted liquids include, but are not limited to: water, broth, milk, cream, skim milk and reconstituted skim milk (9 parts water to 1 part NFDM).

6. Product not cooked which conforms to the above may be labeled —Patties for Salisbury."

I'm not sure if the policy really embraces kooky 'ole Mr. Salisbury's vision. I know for a fact it doesn't embrace the one I have for our kid's school lunches.

 
 Now...here's where it gets silly. As, the policy states above,  the finished product must contain at least 65% meat (pork, beef) to be considered Salisbury steak. Got that?
 
Ok...now read this:
 
The product name can be a key factor in the consumer's decision to buy the product
The "95%" rule applies to products consisting primarily of meat, poultry or fish..In these examples, at least 95% of the product must be the named ingredient.
Counting the added water, the named ingredient still must comprise 70% of the product.
Don't worry, our schools aren't actually doing anything wrong, per the USDA. In fact, our schools don't have to worry about the above policy. Those are just the regulations concerning pet food labeling  the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) established. They didn't feel USDA's policies (aka, the same one's for our kid's) were specific enough. According to the AAFCO standards, the proper name for my "Salisbury steak"  would be more properly called  "beef and maybe pork dinner, for kids".
 
Raise your hand if you're freaking out right now.
 
Because our schools say they are at the mercy of the USDA's guidelines and the USDA says schools have options to not be, I feel like our kids are caught in the middle of one huge Mexican standoff. I guess it's time, as parents, to interject ourselves in the middle and start demanding some changes. Anyone else feel like parents need to establish an organization to set up some guidelines?  
 
By the way, the FDA wants you to know:
 
 Pet owners and veterinary professionals have a right to know what they are feeding their animals. The pet food label contains a wealth of information, if one knows how to read it. Do not be swayed by the many marketing gimmicks or eye-catching claims. If there is a question about the product, contact the manufacturer or ask an appropriate regulatory agency. [2]
 
 
 
 
 

Posted via email from just a mom in mesquite


finally, a food processing manual i can understand.

- by just a mom in mesquite
Thank you FAO for putting this together! Granted, it was written for under-developed countries, it's easy to understand.  I am happy to know it follows guidelines by the HACCP. Which I trust, because the HACCP was developed by Keystone Foods, here in the USA. Which has a partner called McKey, not here in the USA.. Which supplies McDonald's.
Ummmmm..McWhat???

the enchilada tried to kill me.

- by just a mom in mesquite

That enchilada hates me. I'm not sure what I did to make it so angry at me, but it must have been something terrible. Maybe it's because I'm using it to help me win a lunchbox from Simple, Good, and Tasty. I'm guessing I offended it. Oh, well.
 Before I start my anti-enchilada rant, I think it's important to establish some things first.
  1. I do not in any way, blame my son's school cafeteria ladies for the enchilada's attempted murder. They did not make this thing. They only reheated it. They are innocent by-standers.
  2. I am, what can easily be considered, a healthy person. I am of average height and weight. I work out often, rarely eat fast food, and regularly take vitamins and probiotics. My blood pressure, while on the lower side, is very much in the healthy range. My only food allergy that I know of, comes from foods that contain insane amounts of yellow dye. The kinds in fake lemonade and unusually brightly colored desserts. It has to have alot. As a general rule of thumb, I tend to stay away from day-glo colored food.
Now, about that enchilada.
Again, like the pizza, my first concern is the size. You're probably looking at it thinking, "it doesn't seem so big".  While it may not be too big for a grown adult, it's pretty big when you consider it's being served to someone with a stomach three times smaller than your's. Add that to the beans, rice and mandarin oranges; you get a full-blown sugar-infused, straight from a can carb fest. If you look real close, you can see the salad under the cup of dessing. Now, stand back a little (kind of like you're looking at one of those magic eye pictures), and see if the proportions look out of whack.
The fork was optional.
I understand that it was listed on the menu as an enchilada, but most that I've come across have required a fork. I'm suspicious that this one didn't. It was so hard, that cutting it with a fork would have required much more time and man power than allowed... and probably a steak knife. I gave up on the cutting idea and was suprised that I could pick it up and eat it with my hands. Since, the meat sauce was less "sauce" and more of  "crumble", I was able to eat that, too. Amazingly, it all stayed together. It did taste like an enchilada, and it wasn't bad. I just wouldn't call it good, either.
And then came the aftermath.
Immediately after lunch, I started to feel bad. Like the pizza, I had a headache. About an hour later, my stomach began rumbling. I started feeling tired. I felt "out of it". Then, the sides of my face started to tingle. This is what happens right before I have an allergic reaction to yellow dye. I took two benedryl just in case. Yet, sure enough, the hives came. Thankfully, I had taken the benedryl early enough and the hives weren't so bad. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me until I looked at my pictures, to question how in the world that cheese was so yellow. I think I have the answer.
Later that evening, I was still feeling weird. My stomach was still feeling gross. I got a fever. I threw up.
Then I cursed that enchilada and I cursed its enchilada family for the next hundred years.
I kid you not, it took me three days to quit feeling the effects, digestively speaking. Mentally, a little longer. Physically, the hives are gone.
I would like to thank my father-in-law at this point for the probiotics. I think he has a large part in the saving of my life.
 
I really hope my near death-by-enchilada gets me a prize.
 
 
 
 

Posted via email from just a mom in mesquite


just because you buy it bulk, doesn't necessarily mean you have to serve it in bulk.

- by just a mom in mesquite

Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at my first entry of Simple, Good and Tasty's School Lunch contest. All I can say about that pizza slice is..
"Wow. That thing is huge."
In case you're wondering, yes, this is also the same size the kids got. Imagine looking into a sea of children sitting before you in the school cafeteria. They have each elbow propped up on the table, using both hands to grip their pizza. They lower the pizza, take a bite. They raise the pizza back up to chew. Each time they raise it back up, their little faces disappear behind the slice. Really, I mean totally hidden behind the pizza. Take a bite, see their face; raise it up, face is gone.
From now on, I propose that schools serve portions smaller than our children's heads.
It could be because I never eat anything this cheesy, greasy, or large. But, whatever the reason, I can tell you that after 10 minutes into eating this beast, I got the worst headache ever. I was also sad to find out that the green beans had managed to lose all flavor somewhere between the farm and my tray. Because of the pizza induced head pounding , I kept reaching to the green beans for safety. Yet each time I put a bite into my mouth, I had to do a double take because they didn't taste like anything. Nothing. Nada. Nope. How can you make a green bean taste like nothing, not even a green bean?  It's bizarre.
I guess my main questions to the people that buy our food, would be...Couldn't we just serve half of that slice instead of the whole slice? Wouldn't we then only need to order half that amount, and end up spending only half of what we did? 
Do you think we could use that extra cash to buy some green beans that taste like green beans?
Everything IS bigger in Texas.

please, don't call me the "a" word.

- by just a mom in mesquite

So, I was talking to my brother a couple of days ago. We were just catching up on each our projects; mine, being on the smaller scale, his,  the larger. Sometime during the conversation, he had made the comment, "I think it's great that mom raised a couple of activists."
Immediately upon the word "activist", I cringed.
Don't get me wrong, I know what my brother meant. By definition, an activist is "an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause; especially a political cause". In a sense, I suppose I am being an advocate of a cause. And yes, a cause, that sadly has become a political one.
Unfortunately, here in Texas, being an activist isn't so great. Sure, there are a handful of people here (mostly in Austin) who proudly embrace the label. But, you have to keep in mind, that for every handful in Austin, there's a Ford half-ton pick-up full in Dallas, laughing at you and calling you a liberal hippie. Why? Because "activists" here, try to pull this kind of thing off. Thank God they didn't make their point. Had the Dallas World Aquarium listened, hundreds of "sea kittens" would have been released that August...at high noon. It would have been the largest impromptu exotic fish fry in the metroplex to date. Yikes and yuk.
If you like, you can call me an "obvious-ist".
My problem with "activism", is that after all the effort and money spent to make a point, it would have been just as time consuming to fix the problem. It's hard for me understand how just one person in that angry mob can't  look over at the person next to them and say, "Hey, while they're picketing, you wanna go work on a solution? Because this could take a while." Taking a more obvious-ist approach of doing things, just might get something, well, done.
Or better yet, you can call me just a mom (in mesquite).
That is why I'm trying to start a garden at my son's school. It's why I want kids to be able to grow their own vegetables and eat them in their own cafeteria. That is why I want our kids to have the opportunity to learn outside. Being a mom is the single-most reason I want him and his classmates to respect each other and their environment. It's why I want them to grow up with a better understanding about the consequences the irrational "just hurry up and get it done" decision making creates. At the end of the day, they should feel proud of themselves. That is the very core of being "just a mom" ("just a dad"'s, you're included, too). We can't help it, these feelings are inherent.
Here, hold my sign, I gotta go feed our kids.
So, what should we do while congress decides if they can afford to toss a few more pennies our school's way? Everything you can. Sign petitions of the organizations you support, inform your friends, and meet other people who share your concerns. And when that hour or so is up, do what you always do..find the obvious solution, and do it. Start where it matters most, where your child is. If your school district tells you they don't have money to hire people to cook healthier foods, ask the parents picketing the school board meeting to start volunteering in the cafeteria with you. Make use of them all congregating in one place. They aren't going to say no, if just for fear of looking like a hypocrite. If the school can't afford fresh fruit and veggies, start a school garden. If your kid's classes are overcrowded, ask the teachers what you can do to help. *by all means....help your teachers!!!*
Don't wait for total strangers to come up with a  logical plan, when you can do it yourself.
When it's cold outside, you make your child  wear a jacket. When they need you to explain something, you do. If they can't tie their shoes, you do it for them..and then you teach them how to do it for themselves. If they get too close to a busy the street, you jerk them back to safety. When things like this happen, do you bust out the magic markers and make signs that say:  "MY KID IS COLD! WHAT THE HECK DO I DO?"  How about one that says:  "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SHOELACES? THEY AREN'T TYING THEMSELVES!"  Probably not. As a  parent, you do the obvious for your child. Why on earth would you ever want to start being passive about what they're eating? It shouldn't take a group of activists to convince you to do the right thing.
If you can't beat 'em, just go around 'em. They will have no choice but to follow you.
I honestly hope that congress can get it together and finds a way to make the Child Nutrition Act something to be proud of. I love that we have organizations like The Healthy School Campaign and my brother working so hard on behalf of our kids on a grand scale. But, until that happens, I want to remind you that you can make important changes, too. Of course, I don't need to tell you that. You know what to do, use your parental instinct.
Now go on...get busy. Your kids aren't going to start eating healthy by themselves.....

mechanically freaked out.

- by just a mom in mesquite

 

A couple of days ago, I decided to join a school lunch contest created by Simple,Good, and Tasty. The rules are easy,  prizes are involved. Of course, I'm in.

All I have to do is:
1. Meet my child for lunch. Order the lunch.
        Done and done. I volunteer at my child's school next week, super convenient!
2. Take a picture of the lunch.
        That can be arranged, my camera is awesome.
3. Eat the lunch.
        OK.
4.  Submit my pictures and add any comments to Simple,Good, and Tasty.
         Pretty much the easiest contest ever. I can't wait to win that lunchbox! Seriously...I was about to buy one and then I saw I could win one...or at least try :)

I do have a confession. Mesquite's lunches aren't exactly that bad. As a matter of fact, after reading what the kids at School Lunch Found Guilty are subjected to, I'm getting off really easy. All of sudden, I don't feel like I'm playing very fair in this contest. Mesquite gives our kids a choice of three different entrees (including a vegetarian option). The lunches also come with side dishes that include a veggie and a fruit. They accommodate special diets and children are allowed to buy extras...like juice, a cookie, bottled water, and sometimes ice cream. The choices are there.
I frequently eat lunch with my kid at school. I usually just get the non-meatiest looking thing there is and eat that. Of course, like all school lunches across the country, there are some questionable items. Being as that many of our local schools fall into a high poverty level category, we still are not immune to the "nugget" and "nacho" type of fare.
In anticipation of the contest, I looked over next week's choices. Some good, some not so good. Example... the "chicken rings." I was curious as to which part of the chicken involved the ring. As it turns out, all of the parts are involved, well, the ones left over anyways.  Somewhere in America, chickens are being mechanically separated to make that ring I will be eating. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I'm not sure if I feel sorrier for those chickens, our kids, or me right now.  
With that being said, I decided to give myself a few more guidelines to really get into this contest. I think this is a great opportunity for me to truly appreciate what the Child Nutrition Act and lack of regulation is all about.

Here's what I've added..(and yes, I do realize just how strange it is to add new rules to a contest I did not create..just go with me on this one.)

Rule #1 1/3: I will order the lunch that a child on the reduced price plan will receive. I will not get to have my choice of juice, bottled water, or any sort of extra offered that day. Even if the kid in front of me and behind me gets to have a choice because their parents can afford the extra $.50 to $1.00, I will not.

Rule #1 2/3: I will order whatever looks to be the most fun with the most creative name (IE. "chicken rings" or "fish shapes") being served that day. Isn't that what law makers tell us the kids like these days?

Rule #3 1/3: I will eat my lunch silently. I will not talk to my neighbor. If I need anything, I will raise my hand.

Rule #3 2/3: I will eat as fast as I can, because after waiting in line and then having to line up after lunch...I  really only get about 20 minutes to get 'er done.

Because I am at the school more than one day, I get to try all the options. Except for one day:

Rule #5
I will be like the kid who has forgotten their lunch money/ is waiting for their parent to send in an application for the reduced program/ has a family that is still waiting for their food stamp application to be approved etc. 

That is the day that I will eat a peanut butter sandwich and have a choice of milk. I will also have a stamp put on my hand to wear the rest of the day. When I get home, it will remind my parents that I need money for lunch.

I really want one of those lunchboxes.

I tried to recruit my husband for this challenge, he said he would go only if he could take his lunch. He offered to watch me eat the chicken rings. BTW, This is our child's first year in public school. The private school he attended last year was only half-day, so we never had to worry about his lunch. When he began this year, he decided that buying his lunch was the coolest thing ever. So we let him do it. Back in November, I noticed that by every Wednesday or so, he would get some sort of tummy ache or a gastric-type situation that I don't really feel I need to get into. (your welcome.)
So, a couple of months ago, my husband and I decided to start packing his lunch everyday and our son would have to live with the uncoolness factor.  While I don't want to blame the school lunches for the toilet-stories-that-shall-not-be-mentioned, I can say that they haven't occurred since.

I'll keep you posted on how I end up.
Oh..and in case you're wondering what that picture is at the top..that's my soon-to-be-rung chicken ring. You can get the whole story about it here, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Posted via email from just a mom in mesquite


the loophole.

- by just a mom in mesquite In: , , , , , , , , , , ,

When I tell people here that I want our school to have an outdoor classroom and garden in our public school, I always get that big wide-eyed "ummm, OK, crazy lady" look. The garden part, they get..the classroom part, not so much. I should probably approach the subject differently. Apparently, when I say outdoor classroom and garden, people assume I want our kids sitting outside in the elements trying to have class in a third-world type of manner while gnawing on ears of just picked corn.

 

 I understand their concern.

 

Luckily, that isn't what I mean. For those of you (mostly outside of Texas), who already understand the concept, feel free to check out other posts.  The rest of you, yeah, you...with the crazy eyes, let me explain.

 

Think of an outdoor classroom just as any other classroom your kid would have access to. Sort of like how they go to the library or computer lab. It's just another "room" that they can use. The only difference is that, instead of going into the door marked "library", they go out the door marked "exit". That's it. I can't say it any easier than that.

 

This is the part of the conversation that usually starts the suspicious question asking and debbie downer comment making. Here is sample of one of my most recent conversations:

 

They already get P.E.  

You're right, they do. The Texas Education Agency (aka, TEA)  has graciously decided that our elementary-aged children must have a manadatory 150 minutes (out of 2100, btw) of moderate to rigorous physical activity per week. In other words, they spend about 7% of their time moving about, 93% not moving about. That is unless,  the school district chooses to require students to participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 135 minutes during each school week as an alternative...now drop it down to 6%.

 

According to the Texas Education Code,  "The activity is based on the grade appropriate movement, physical activity and health, and social development strands of the essential knowledge and skills for physical education specified in Chapter 116 of this title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Physical Education)."

 

According to Mesquite ISD policy, P.E. lessons are to based on a TEKS structured activity, 135 minutes a week, in a properly equipped gym. Standard quipment in a gym is: a form of communication system to the main office (i.e. 2 way radio, cell, phone, etc.), ample storage for equipment, a drinking fountain, and  restroom facilities.  

 

Ummm, I don't get it, what does that have to do them being outside?

 

Well, that's the thing, nothing. That's why they need another way to get outdoors.  

 

 Good luck getting the teachers outside. I don't see them wanting or using any outdoor classroom.  

You know, I'm sure some may not want to go outside and have another way of reaching our kids ie., their students. There could quite possibly be a couple that would rather sit inside and have storytime, to show kids what the lifecyle of an earthworm looks like in a book, to look at pictures of growing plants, and would prefer not having the added bonus of receiving some much needed educational grants, but I've met our teachers, I don't think that will be that big of an issue.

 

So, you think you're going to change our entire school district's curriculum?

 God, no. Have you seen what a person has to do to change a policy in this district? Its a full blown 20+ step process. Check it out here if you don't believe me (go to page four). Actually, I don't want to attempt to change any previously written policy. I'm only one person with the same amount of hours in my day as the next. I do, however, want to encourage our school to teach our kids by "doing" and not so much by just "saying". I'm going about this using policies that have already been written, but we haven't started using.

 

Why do you keep saying "free-range" kids? That's weird.

Think of it like this..and I apologize for taking the long way to my point. There are countless policies, procedures, laws, and rules mandating how I and our educators are to best raise/manage/corral/educate our children. Thankfully, they even tell us what sort of physical movement is appropriate for our kid's age. Yet, for the life of me, I can't find in any of the written legislation, that explains how to teach our kids to relax, make smart decisions, get back to nature, appreciate the earth, and well, just be a kid. I use the P.E. policy only as an example. This block of time used to be the one area throughout our kids' day that they could take a break, be outside, run around, and socialize. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the recess idea turned into a physical education idea, which then, somehow morphed into a "135 minutes a week of a structured, moderate to rigourous activity, in a fully equipped gym" idea. As I've stated above, I'm not trying to change anything. I'm just looking to add an alternative to being cooped up and indoors all day. Convicted felons in prison get yard time, our kids should, too.

 

 *I would like to add, however, that if given a chance, kids will actually play. Oddly enough, they instictively know how to move in an age appropriate manner. As a parent, I have witnessed this unexplained phenomena first hand. As a former kid, myself, I can attest to this. While I make no claims to be any sort of scientist, lawmaker, or salaried educational over-seer, I am fairly certain that the wild free-range running about of children may be as, if not more, effective than having them line up and wait their turn to participate in any structured activity. Just sayin'.*

 

You'll never get the school board to approve funding.

That's OK, I wasn't planning on asking them to pay for it. As a matter of fact, it would defeat the purpose if they did. The whole reason of starting this on a grassroots level is to get our community, kids, parents, teachers, local groups and volunteers involved. A "coming together" for the kids, if you will. The idea (and the sneaky lesson involved) is to use reclaimed materials donated from our community, to have parents and volunteers use our own hands build it, and to have the kids and teachers sit in on the design board and witness the process. Plus, there are also tons of grant opportunities. If the school board just handed us money, our children will miss out on a very important opportunity to learn what it feels like to start something on this scale and see it to completion.

 

Between the TAKS/TEKS testing and trying to cram all the lesson plans in, teachers will not have time to let the kids go outside and play outside in the garden.

First of all, the important thing to understand, is that this is an extension of the curriculum. There are lesson plans that have been approved and certified by the Texas Education Agency that correlate to the TAKS/TEKS guidelines. Subjects include science, math, language arts, music, and art. Your children also have the added benefit of learning about environmental awareness, composting, water conservation, community involvement, having their parents volunteer more at school, a sense of ownership,  healthy food choices, and they get to become little educational trailblazers. Did I mention the getting to be outside part??

 

  

 

So, that pretty much sums up a conversation I had with one parent. Luckily, I convinced her. Only 500-ish more to go.

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project: There is no money

- by just a mom in mesquite
via fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com

I love this lady. Any adult brave enough to eat school lunches daily with the kids at her school, deserve some sort of fabulous prize.

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


i heart my city...again.

- by just a mom in mesquite In: , , , ,

The City of Mesquite will be getting an outdoor classroom!

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


not letting that whole e-coli tainted meat thing go.

- by just a mom in mesquite

Sorry I'm still on this rant, I really am. I do actually have lots of great news to share...I promise  get to that in a minute. Unfortunately, that Huntington beef recall is still bothering me.

Last week, after seeing an article in USA Today, I learned that our schools are serving up e-coli tainted meat, and they don't really seem to care. I posted about this earlier and gave a quick shout out to all my buddies on Facebook. Since I'm one of those parents/people who don't mind asking questions (no matter who you are), I offered to ask area school districts about this recall on behalf of my friends. The school responses were pretty astounding.

All of them gave me the usual/vague  "we constantly get updates from the USDA", "act accordingly per the USDA", "have pulled and isolated any meat included in the recall", etc. While I'm thankful for their quick responses, I am left with some very unanswerd questions.  

Once again, I find myself needing to be a little more specific.

So, with that being said, I am taking some time out to try to nip this thing in the bud. I am writing a call to action letter for Texas schools to stop serving any taco/burrito related food item until they can tell parents the the exact place that their taco meat came from.  I will be forwarding it to the Texas and local PTA's, TEA, and school districts in the surrounding area. . Here's the jist: (my letter won't be so rude, of course. I am a lady afterall;)

  •  According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, secondary companies and distributors will contact you if you received this product. 
    School districts and schools may get a call either from a company or a distributor about product they may have received or from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service when they conduct recall effectiveness checks.

Secondary companies may call my kid's school about a product they may have received from the USDA? This recall doesn't even involve the program. This stuff was purchased separately...by our individual school districts.

  •  On February 26, the USDA expanded the recall in a 130 page document...for just the hundreds of retail locations that they have found..so far...with not one school mentioned.

 Well, that's pretty self-explanatory..or at least it should be. The USDA admits that it takes roughly 10 days to put together a list of places that may be involved in a recall. Lets all keep in mind that they haven't extended this recall to any actual schools, just retail establishments.  So, until they look at school's, your's kid's district won't  know until 10 days after that.

  • Caleb Weaver, a USDA spokesperson, has said that the USDA met last Wednesday to "focus on how to identify suppliers of source material in products testing positive for E. coli O157:H7." 

Is it just me, or does Caleb kinda sound like they haven't figured that out, just yet? If you are meeting three weeks after expanding the original recall, that should have taken place 347 days ago, I'm not 100% confident all of the schools are aware. (*add a few more days to that 10 day estimate from above)

  •  -Arlington ISD Food Director Jackie Anderson said she did not get the news through a phone call or e-mail. It came in a letter sent via regular mail from Fernando’s in Compton, California, makers of a taco snack.

Guess who isn't on that recall list  that the schools are "getting constant updates" about. Yep, Fernando's. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.

  • -Did you know Plano ISD had the meat?  They have pulled it (back in February), but they have yet to send a letter informing parents. They are still holding on to it waiting for disposal instructions.

Nice.

Its a sad day when Petco informs me of meat recalls before our kids school. Not sad for my pets,of course, but you know what I mean. I'll keep you posted on the school's responses. In the meantime....keep packing your kids lunch and tell your friends.

 

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


i wouldn't eat that if i were you.

- by just a mom in mesquite In:

Turns out, the recent Huntington beef recall is far from over. Last month Arlington schools were informed (too late, btw) that they had been serving e-coli tainted beef to their students. Thankfully, kids didn't get sick. Unfortunately, not all schools have been informed of the recall. Here's why. Our school districts order their food from a distributor...in Mesquite's case, usually Sysco Food Services in Dallas. Sysco gets that food from contracts they have with other suppliers, processors, and who knows who else from all over the country. Since Sysco doesn't allow non-customers to see where it is they get their food, we have to wait for them to sort it out and then let our schools know.  That's going to take a while. In the meantime, I would probably pack my kids lunch on taco/burrito/meat day. If that's not an option, tell your kids to eat the vegetarian option offered.

Keep in mind, I am in no way questioning our district. I love my son's school, his teachers, principal and PTA. I know that they are doing everything they can to research this. I have already informed MISD's food services co-ordinator earlier this morning. Sadly, they have to navigate through the USDA's ridiculous laws.

Here's a link giving you some more information while the USDA tries to figure out what to do. Its going to be hard for them, since they have no way of actually keeping track of our kid's food.

On why we (parents, schools, etc) aren't allowed to see the names and inspection reports of the actual food makers that have tested positive for pathogens from USA Today :

'"Divulging their identities would discourage companies from contracting to supply product for the National School Lunch Program and hamper our ability to provide the safe and nutritious foods to America's school children."

This came from USDA spokesman Bobby Graviz...feel free to email him and tell him "good job"... bobby.gravitz@usda.gov . Better yet, we could always invite him to have lunch with our kids next Monday. Its burrito (taco snack) day.

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


i heart my town

- by just a mom in mesquite In:

Mention the word "Mesquite" and you get all kinds of responses...usually negative, in the "outdated" and "redneck" sort of way. That makes me sad. Our little city has so many great things that tend to not get talked about. Sure, there are some bad...all cities have that, but I want to take second to mention the good. So, here you go:

1. Did you know that the City of Mesquite has an awesome recycling program? They give out reclycling bins to residents to put out and be picked up with their regular trash. Not many cities in the entire Dallas/ Fort Worth  do that.

2. They give free mulch and compost to residents.

3. They have been awarded "Tree City USA" status by the Arbor Day Foundation.

4. The school district has eliminated unnecessary paper flyers throughout the schools to reduce paper waste. They now use electronic methods.

5. Have you heard about the Keep Mesquite Beautiful mission? You've probably seen signs around town and notices in your monthly water bill, but did you know it has a youth outreach program? Here, see for yourself: http://www.cityofmesquite.com/kmb/

6. Ever been to Ron's Organics? Its amazing! Get over there! He has a newsletter that I stalk monthly, and a radio show Sunday mornings.

7. Did you know you there's a local co-op that supports our local farmers,ranchers and producers? Grass-fed beef folks..not the bovine growth hormone injected kind.

 

 

 

Posted via web from just a mom in mesquite


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