My High School Diet 3 During Coronavirus

It is a chocolaty start for Day 3 of my series on High School Meals during Covid-19. Along with a steady diet of Chocolate Milk, you have the makings of adolescent chocoholics. Can't say that's a bad thing though.

So what are High School kids being fed these days? Read on to see for yourself. 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.

Click on any photo to see larger.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. And even when it's raining out, you can still drive right up.

I'm sure school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout in the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see what last week's meals were like, too.

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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!"

Well, this week my Breakfast and Lunch Meals are chocolaty and cheesy -- pleasing to any palate, young and old.

Day 3 Breakfast - Chocolate-Filled Cresent, Milk (always Milk for every meal,) Chocolate Flavored Rockin'ola Granola and Tangerine.

There are a couple food items I have never tried before, so I'll fill you in.

Pillsbury Chocolate-Filled Cresent is precooked and ready to go, but I would heat it up on a skillet for a couple minutes like making toast. It's better warmed up with the bread softened and the chocolate filling runny and warm.

The bready Crescent is light and airy like a dinner roll, with a slight sweetness. It's tasty but a bit boring for a pastry.

The chocolate filling is a sweet syrup-like from a Hershey's squeeze bottle you would pour on ice cream. You do get a good amount of chocolate filling. Overall it is a satisfying and lightly sweet take on a filled donut bar.

And you get a second helping of chocolate with Chocolate Flavored Rockin'ola Granola.

It's a Granola I've never had before. Pretty simple really, just dried oats lightly coated with chocolate.

The chocolate is baked in, not coated like a Raisinet. So this is a dry crumbly bite. Kinda interesting concept, but a bit underwhelming. It would be good sprinkled on cereal or yogurt.

And you get to wash it all down with half-pints of lowfat Driftwood Real California Milk. The milk comes in cardboard cartons like the ones I used to have, but they also handout plastic pouches, which hold a bit more milk or chocolate milk.

 A Tangerine serving is a tasty addition. I seldom have Tangerines and was happy to have it here. This Breakfast reminded me how much more I like them over an Orange.

Day 3 Lunch - Pillow Pull Aparts, Chocolate Milk, Carrots and a Pear.

Yesterday for Day 2's Lunch I had Grilled Cheese and today it's Cheese again. At least it is a mild white cheese for variety and it's stuffed into bread squares.

The Pillow Pull Aparts bread are precooked and lightly browned and have dinner roll texture.

And the White cheese is very mild, even milder than American cheese. Each square has a lot of cheese, so this is a satisfying Lunch.

While ready-to-eat, they are best heated up on a stovetop grill, to keep the Squares a little crispy on the outside. You can microwave though, just be careful the cheese doesn't reach a lava-hot molten stage!

And it's more chocolate with a large serving of Driftwood Real California Chocolate Milk. While nonfat, it is super-sweet. As I got older I prefer dark chocolate with very little sugar. But it was fun to slug down a half-pint of chocolatey dairy.

Included is a single serving of Carrots. It's nice to have crunchy Carrots. I can eat one anytime, there's something so satisfying gnawing on a Carrot.

A green hard Pear is included. Interesting selection as pears (and peaches) are not ready-to-eat unless soft and ripe. I guess some like them unripe, but you can hold on to it for a few days and wait. Better Apples and Oranges for ready-to-eat.

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!

My High School Diet 2 During Coronavirus

Welcome back to my reviews of High School Meals during Covid-19. As my last blog post mentioned, I am picking up carryout High School meals for a week and will give detailed accounts of the High School dining experience.

Pop-Tarts & Grilled Cheese

I have no idea what schools are feeding kids these days so read on to see for yourself. I'll be sharing a different breakfast and lunch meal every 6 days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

Click on any photo to see larger.

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 drive-thru Susan Miller Dorsey High School's Grab & Go. 

Well, this week my Breakfast and Lunch Meals are definitely old school, Pop-Tarts and a Grill Cheese Sandwich.

Day 2 Breakfast - Pop-Tarts, Milk (always Milk for every meal,) Juicy Juice, and Apple slices.

You get two Pop-Tarts in a package. They are the size you are used to, a little bit smaller than a slice of toast.

Pop-Tarts were filled with an apple sauce or jam. The thin smear of tart filling is quite tasty if a bit over-sweet like typical grocery fruit jam. The apple jam is flavored with cinnamon. A strong amount of spice, but it works with the soft cookie-like pastry.

Pop-Tart ingredients & nutrition facts

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, I was 10 years old, and when 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.

It's been quite a while since I had one and boy do they hold up as a cheap breakfast pastry. I see them all the time at my local Dollar Tree, too.

Fooducate  Heath Tracker info on Cinnamon Pop-Tarts is here.

A 2-ounce bag of Apple Slices accompanies Pop-Tarts. It appears to be from a Gala apple. I like that type over the other most-grown Red Delicious.

The Apple Slices are crisp and have that tart and sweet taste I enjoy so well.

I've never had Juicy Juice before. This one is an Orange Medley.  The ingredient list is a bit surprising with sweet potato and carrot juices, too. At least there is no added sugar.

It is a light orange flavor upfront and after a few sips, I could barely detect sweet potato and carrot flavors lingering. While a perplexing fruit and veggie combo, I liked it.

Day 2 Lunch - Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Milk (always Milk for every meal,) Jungle Crackers, and Celery Sticks.

For lunch, it's a fave most students can't help but like, a Grilled Cheese. I love Grilled Cheese Sandwiches forever! This one was packaged with no label so I'm guessing the types of the specific ingredients...is it American Cheese and White Bread with Butter? I hope so.

Fortunately dietary and health food restrictions have not changed this L.A. high school version. It hits all the right tastebud pleasure zones.

This Grilled Cheese has a thick slab of American style cheese. Buttered (?) and lightly browned white (?) bread cradle the cheese. I reheated the sandwich on a skillet, being careful to not burn the toasted bread. I just want the cheese melted.

Once heated through, It's a gooey Cheese Sandwich, just the way it should be. And not too much butter or oil on the toast. The balance is just about right for a classic Grilled Cheese. Bravo to Los Angeles Unified Schools Grab & Go Meals!

A bag of Celery Sticks is included. It's from 2 to 3 ounces. I'm not a big fan of raw celery (I will stirfry the heck out of them), especially without a dip. But I'm sure veggie-friendly kids eat it up.

For dessert is a small one-ounce bag of Jungle Crackers, which are basically Animal Crackers.

We used to have them in a cardboard box in the shape of a colorful circus-style crate. Definitely not a sensitive package design in these cage-free days, but back then we didn't give it a thought.

It's a hard cookie, and mildly sweet, with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon -- a less pungent graham cracker. Ingredients like whole wheat are used, and I'm sure there is less added sugar. The package says "no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives." I found a website, Fooducate, that gives nutrition grades, click here to see one for Jungle Crackers.

 I still like Animal Crackers even if it's been decades since I ate them. Old-school classic cookies never go out of style for me.

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!