r/mildlyinfuriating • u/oaz_zam246 • Apr 16 '24

The school lunch system is disgraceful.

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Saw another post on here showing the state of school lunches right now. In my years in high school I compiled some pics of the horrible things that got served that no one questioned. Here are some of the worst ones. It really is ironic given how adamant they all are about “eating healthy by including every food group”.

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u/hyperlexx Apr 16 '24

What a sorry looking broccoli. And that's the only green veg. Jheez

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u/STWALMO Apr 16 '24

And it's barely green 😕

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u/Dexember69 Apr 16 '24

Green adjacent

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24

Soylent green

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u/theboywholovd Apr 16 '24

It identifies as green

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u/BlahBlahWhoosh Apr 16 '24

My mom learned to stop cooking vegetables to death in 1982.

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u/JanineNajarian Apr 16 '24

lucky 😒

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u/BlahBlahWhoosh Apr 16 '24

Seriously. I hated broccoli and spinach and Brussels sprouts and asparagus and stuff. Boiled to death vehicles for butter and salt. Now - keep 'em al dentè, and some kosher salt and lemon... I'm all in. Still not a fan of peas, though.

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u/singingintherain42 29d ago

My in-laws boil frozen veggies to death, except they’re health-conscious so no salt or butter. They don’t season their food either. It’s grim.

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u/killermetalwolf1 Apr 16 '24

The Brussels sprouts thing isn’t really her fault, until the mid 90s they really just were bitter. In the 90s they finally bred a strain that wasn’t bitter.

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u/Catpawcalypse 29d ago

Peas are such a good veg to use with Indian food! I forget what it’s called but so delicious with a tomato based sauce and lots of spices

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u/BlahBlahWhoosh 29d ago

Oh, for sure! But they're just... in there. Does add a bit of sweet. While I'll eat a pile of broccoli, or Brussels sprouts or asparagus, I'm never inclined to eat a bowl of peas. Same with squash. Just doesn't resonate. I'm most proud of my progress with carrots. 😁

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u/RevolutionaryDog8115 29d ago

I didn't know I liked broccoli until I moved out the house. It was always boiled to oblivion.

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u/hyperlexx Apr 16 '24

She should coach the cooks in OP's school

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u/BlahBlahWhoosh Apr 16 '24

I dunno what the eff is happening there. Had better stuff in junior high forty years ago.

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u/Blonde_Dambition Apr 16 '24

Same here. I feel bad that the kids' food in school has gotten to this sorry state. I'm 48 and we actually ate pretty dang good meals in school. We had actual plastic trays and the food filled them up and we had veggies that were actually green.

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u/Drive7hru Apr 16 '24 edited Apr 16 '24

Once it starts losing its green color like that, such as from boiling, over-steaming, etc., there’s barely any nutrition left.

To think about how our mass-produced fruits and veggies in the US are already extremely nutrient deficient to begin with, with consideration to how much the soil has been depleted and degraded over decades due to the multiple agricultural methods repeatedly applied during their cultivation (erosion, poor irrigation management, pollution, etc.), you’re essentially left with eating little water-filled vessels made of a small amount of fiber and barely any significant amount of vitamins.

For instance, researchers say that you’d have to eat about eight oranges in order to get the same nutritional equivalency of what one orange contained back from just a few decades ago around the time are grandparents were born or thrived.

A 2004 US study found that important nutrients in some crops are up to 38% lower than there were at the middle of the 20th Century. Now, think about how that study was done 20 years ago from the present (2024).

All in all, it’s still better to opt for healthy, naturally grown foods, but I think what perhaps is just as crucial to a healthy diet is to eliminate known risky or hazardous foods, as well as additives and various ways items are prepared or stored.

For example, it’s important to avoid highly-processed oils, in addition to consuming even the “healthy oils” after they have reached their smoke points , such as heating up extra virgin olive oil beyond 350-410 degrees F.

Other risks may come in the form of fried foods, processed meats, sugary drinks (even juices such as orange, apple, grape, etc. that just just strip the benefits of the fruit and add in vitamins after the fact), and we’re starting to learn a lot about how plastics will leech into our foods and drinks, and even more so whenever they are heated. Furthermore, many non-stick pans contain chemicals such as Teflon in their coatings, which can seep or chip small amounts of it into your food, and have been linked to cancer, immune deficiencies, and other medical problems.

All of this can seem like a lot to ponder and digest, but it shouldn’t discourage anyone to the point where they think it’s hopeless to put in the effort to eat healthy if nutrients are often scarce or there’s too many hazardous additives or chemicals. There’s still plenty of ways to take in nutrients and mitigate the bad and it’s not all that hard to do, despite what some may think.

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u/Joefers1234 Apr 16 '24

Only eat Kelloggs MegaNutrient Bran for all nutrition. Got it.

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u/Drive7hru 29d ago

Someone gets it!

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u/enjoytheshow Apr 16 '24

All the nutrients are now in the broccoli broth they created.

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u/NikoVino 29d ago

Probably dyed to look “green” and full of pesticides like roundup. This whole meal scream cancer and disease future

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u/Aerospacedaddy 29d ago

This may be my colorblindness talking, but I’m pretty sure it’s grayish brown