My High School Diet 8 During Coronavirus

Pop-Tarts and Tacos are on the menu of my latest High School Diet series. 

This is the eighth free meal I picked up from my local high school and it hits all the sweet spots, especially if you are a student. Hey, even an old-timer like me had a pretty tasty flashback experience inserting a couple of strawberry flavored Pop-Tarts into the toaster, and it's pretty hard to mess up a Beef and 2 Cheese Taco.

And since when did Goldfish Crackers become healthy? I guess listing whole wheat as an ingredient gives junk food a passing grade! 

For this new Food Series, I gave myself the assignment to find out what High School kids are being fed during Covid-19. We here in Los Angeles care about the nutrition needs of young people.

I'll be sharing a different Breakfast and Lunch meal every few days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. I'm sure regular school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout at the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see the first meal I had at my neighborhood Grab & Go.

The GIF above is a Grab & Go walk up at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. 

There seem to be plenty of meal bags laid out on the tables and once I asked if they ever run out and the attendant replied emphatically "Never!"

Breakfast: Pop-Tarts, Apple, Orange and Milk

It's been quite a while since I had Pop-Tarts, and boy do they hold up as a cheap breakfast pastry. Since I tried Pop-Tarts again I've purchased off-brand ones called  Toast 'em from my local Dollar Tree and 99c only Store. While not officially Pop-Tarts, they are close enough.

You get 2 Pop-Tarts in a package. They are a bit smaller than a slice of toast. And the best way to heat them up is in a toaster, of course.

 Pop-Tarts were filled with strawberry jam. The thin smear of fruity filling is quite tasty if a bit over-sweet like typical grocery shelf fruit jam. It works with the soft cookie-like pastry. 

And there is that hard sugar frosting shell on top that softens when toasted. It's super sweet of course, just the way I remember them. When Pop-Tarts originally appeared on grocery selves in 1964, and we first had them it was a memorable day, indeed. They were a favorite at my breakfast table, and so convenient for late-running student sleepy-heads.

They used to be pure sugar and white flour, but now it's whole wheat flour and sugar.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Fresh fruit is needed after these sugary pastries. The school supplied apple and orange does the trick

Lunch: Beef and 2 Cheese Taco, Carrots, Goldfish Crackers, Apple, and Milk (always Milk.)

Let's dive into my High School Lunch bag and start with an appetizer of Goldfish Crackers. Can't say I've ever had many Goldfish Crackers before, I guess I missed that boat, but I could learn to like them after trying a bag. 

They are salty like a regular cracker, but with cheddar cheese as extra flavor. I can see how kids could become addicted to them.

I've seen different flavors of Goldfish in my local Dollar Tree, too. 

I do play with my food and Goldfish Crackers are another product in need of a personality like The Lego Movie.

Included in my High School Lunch is a small bag of baby carrots. Peeled and bite-sized they are a welcome raw veggie addition. No need to describe them, right? 

For the main course, the following high school Mexican treat is a Frankenstein Taco, halfway between a Jack-n-Box and  Taco Bell taco. But don't get me wrong, I actually liked it better than the Jack-n-Box two tacos for 99 cents. 

There is more cheese than ground meat. Again with no label, I could not tell if the meat is beef or fowl or a soy/meat mixture...hmmm

The corn tortilla is a swimming pool of molten cheese when microwaved. Cheese tastes of mild Jack cheese with a sprinkling of yellow cheese (American?) Since there is no ingredients label I am guessing specifically what's in the Beef and 2 Cheese Taco. 

The ground meat is mushy more than chunky. I couldn't tell what kind of meat it was. The seasoning has a welcome, but mild, chili flavor - this is a taco meant to please all palates. 

The tortilla is not a typical one, it seems like a rough cornmeal blend, it doesn't quite work like the corn tortillas you would normally get at a grocery or taco truck. But I can see how unformed palates would be okay with it, as it's really not bad, just inauthentic.

The Beef and 2 Cheese Taco reminded me of a Jack-n-box version with the mystery meat and off tortilla texture. Although I thought it better than Jack's.

 If you want to see what I really think of Jack-n-box tacos just watch my 99 Cent Chef Cheap$kate Dining Review below.

For reviews or info about the purveyors of these food items you can check out Fooducate, just enter a product food name and see what pops up about it: https://www.fooducate.com/

And you can learn about Los Angeles Unified School District's Cafe LA (which supplies a lot of the packaged food) here: https://achieve.lausd.net/cafela

And do check back for more of my latest food series High School Meals.

 Be safe & keep your distance!

Sign(s) of the Times During Coronavirus- Photos & Slideshow

With some training in Art & Design, I've always had an eye for street art and business signage. And there are unique and timely signs galore during this Coronavirus pandemic.

The warning signs are everywhere...literally.

Click on any photo to see larger.

As with any social upheaval, there is money to be made. My street corner entrepreneur set up shop a few weeks ago and is still going strong even now.

The grocery stores are still busy and people queue up to the entrances, staying about 6 feet apart waiting for their turn to shop. At Ralphs head-counting is done and limits are enforced to avoid overcrowding. And wearing a mask is required (I've seen customers walking up to the entrance sans mask, but sliding it on as they cross the threshold.)

 And with more checkers most of the checkout-lines are open. And marks on the floor are spaced 6 feet apart to keep the customers at a safe distance. Plastic shields are newly mounted at the cash registers to protect the employees.

But it's still an obstacle course in the shopping aisles, trying to stay a safe distance from each other - I find myself holding my breath passing anyone. Sometimes I'll just back up and wait until the fellow shopper exits the section I'm heading for.

If you're a frequent visitor, then my High School Diet Series is familiar to you. In a nutshell, Los Angeles Unified School District has taken on the herculean task of feeding students and parents since the Covid-19 shutdown. I hear this will go on thru the summer.

The free food program is called Grab & Go. You just follow the signs into the High School and drive or walk up to tables set up in a couple outdoor areas for a bag of breakfast and lunch meals. Now it's High School fare so my expectations aren't too high. I've had Pop-Tarts to Bean & Cheese Burritos (their Mexican fare is, on the whole, pretty darn tasty.) 

I don't go every day and this summer Series is a fun way to see what teenagers are fed these days - boy I've never had so much chocolate milk in my life. But I have created a hack for that - I call it a Black Appalachian!

Around here in my food world, restaurants and fast-food joints are hit hard. I hope they can hold on and make a comeback. After offering to-go only they are starting to open up for regular sitdown service with state-mandated health guidelines (click here to see them.) 

Well, until there is a vaccine for Covid-19, I don't think things will truly come back to business as usual. But it is important to support your local businesses safely - right now when they need it the most.

Nothing's gonna stop me from documenting during these pandemic times, and yes I'm careful keeping my distance and wearing a mask (despite the naysayers - hey, I'll stick with what the majority of health professions recommend on this one.)

  

Below is my Sign(s)of the Times Slideshow with a bunch of street signage during this time of Pandemic...for the record.

Stay safe and keep your distance!

My High School Diet 7 During Coronavirus

No meat in this day's High School Meals and that's okay, but there is plenty of dairy and with French Toast an egg is normally used to coat the bread.

The unusual part of this Meal is Ardella's Fun Pack for Lunch. It's just a couple of bread rounds with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.

And I can't remember when I had a frosty Slush, but what the heck I'll give it a taste test!

For this new Food Series, I gave myself the assignment to find out what High School kids are being fed during Covid-19. We here in Los Angeles care about the nutrition needs of young people.

I'll be sharing a different Breakfast and Lunch meal every few days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. I'm sure regular school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout at the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see the first meal I had at my neighborhood Grab & Go.

The GIF above is a Grab & Go walk up at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. 

There seem to be plenty of meal bags laid out on the tables and once I asked if they ever run out and the attendant replied emphatically "Never!"

Breakfast: French Toast, Blueberry Muffin, Apple, Juice, and Milk (always Milk.)

French Toast is a real kid-pleaser and this one is almost perfect except one part which I will talk about later. The bread is soft and the coating extra-eggy. Is it sweet too,  and with a dash of fragrant cinnamon spice.

French Toast is precooked so all you need to do is heat it for a few seconds until warm...or just go ahead and eat it at room temperature.

A very good French Toast, however, there is a strange slick coating, that I'm not sure of...hmmm, I think it is oil? I know it isn't syrup as it's neither sticky or sweet, just a neutral taste. Since the package has no labeling, I guess it will remain a mystery.

It's a 2fer of sweet bread with the addition of a Muffin. I don't know if this was supposed to go the lunch as these 2 meals come in one bag and it's up to me to guess what item goes with breakfast or lunch?

The cupcake is moist and sweet with cinnamon spice. There is no package label but once I broke it open I could see a couple of blueberries. It is a tasty Blueberry Muffin.

Lunch: Fun Pack (Bread Round, Pizza Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese), Carrots, Orange, Frozen Slush.

This is a very good Fun Pack, even when served at room temperature. I guess you could call it a vegan pizza, or an open-faced sandwich?

The bread round is very soft, so not really pizza dough or pita bread. It's a thick slice too and that's fine. I assume the bread is made of whole wheat, like most bread products I've tried so far.

The Marinara Sauce or Pizza Sauce is thick and loaded with herbs and spices, very satisfying in fresh tomato flavor. I liked it a lot and want the recipe!

The shredded Cheese is Mozzarella (I think as there is no ingredients list on the package.) It's very soft and a mild-flavored version -- quite tasty.

The most peculiar thing is the amount of Pizza sauce and Mozzarella cheese to too much for just 2 bread rounds - you would have to really pile it on to finish those toppings. So if you have any bread laying around then get out a slice!

I tasted the open-faced sandwiches at room temperature and grilled. Of course, grilled is better as a cracker bread crispness and flavor come to the fore, but either way works for me.

It was fun to have childhood visions when slurping on a Cool TropicsSlush packet.

Click on any photo to see larger.

It's a short ingredient list and I like that, a nod to healthier fare these days. 

Paradise Punch is lightly sweet and a mild fruit flavor like white grape juice. I liked that there was no lingering cane sugar extra-sweet flavor. 

I refroze the packet since it was lukewarm to the touch by the time I got home. After a half-hour or so I poured and squeezed out the icy parts into a glass. There is a spout to cut along, but next time I would cut lower across the wide part and pour it all out at once. This would enable the packet to be more frozen like a Slush should be.  

Finally, the Orange was sweet and seedless while the Carrots are crunchy and fresh tasting.

For reviews or info about the purveyors of these food items you can check out Fooducate, just enter a product food name and see what pops up about it: https://www.fooducate.com/

And you can learn about Los Angeles Unified School District's Cafe LA (which supplies a lot of the packaged food) here: https://achieve.lausd.net/cafela

And do check back in a few days for more of my latest food series High School Meals.

 Be safe & keep your distance!