A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:
Much to the dismay of the meat industry, the Baltimore Public School System has instituted Meatless Mondays on the lunch line in an effort to reduce students' intake of cholesterol and saturated fats.
Building on the success of "Top Chef," Bravo plans to launch "Top Chef: Just Desserts," a competitive show for pastry chefs. They have yet to release the planned panel of judges or the host.
Jelly Belly announced a new line of beverages called Jelly Belly Gourmet Soda to be sold in 4-packs in popular jelly-bean flavors Sour Cherry, Lemon Drop, Crushed Pineapple and Blueberry.
Still looking for Halloween costume inspiration? Check out this slideshow of celeb chefs and dress accordingly -- will you choose tattooed arms or the traditional chef's coat?
Restaurants: The meatpacking district's Standard Grill suffers some dining hiccups but is still a solid food experience, the Village's Joseph Leonard has "flashes of daylight" in otherwise so-so fare and Brooklyn's Bark Hot Dogs rests between chic eats and fast food.
Following in the footsteps of her famous father, talk show host Montel Williams, 14-year-old Wyntergrace Williams has taken to the airwaves to solve other people's problems. But instead of counseling couples or advising addicts like Montel has done, the younger Williams is advocating for vegetarian meal options in public schools.
Williams' promo spot debuted last night during ABC Family's show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." The 30-second PSA is part of a campaign to urge Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to include more vegetarian and vegan options in public school lunches. The CNA is up for reauthorization this year.
According to healthyschoollunches.org (the site that Williams is working with), though some schools are able to offer innovative school lunches that include numerous vegan and vegetarian options, some of which are even environmentally sustainable, many schools only meet the bare minimum nutrition requirements set forth by the CNA.
Did you know that this week is National School Lunch Week? Oh yes, Serious Eats posts that The Healthy School Lunch Campaign has decided that this is the week to praise and give love to the world of school lunches.
To me, that means Adam Sandler's "Lunchlady Land," which you can see above. While the lunch ladies of my youth didn't quite look like Chris Farley, they DID have similar 'dos and uniforms.
This week is also meant to bring awareness to the food that gets consumed, but no matter how important healthy food is, I feel a wave at nostalgia for the lunches that made me love those terrible, moist squares of pizza, huge piles of PB&J, and gave me a neverending love of sweet peas smushed into mashed potatoes. Share your cafeteria (and lunch lady!) memories in the comments!
We're heading into the waning days of summer now. With just a couple of short weeks to go before Labor Day, it's time to start thinking about school lunches. While I don't have any little ones to send off to school quite yet, I know that lots of you do. When I spotted this Lunchbag Round-up over at Teensygreen, I knew it was just the sort of thing that Slashfood readers would be interested in.
They've taken the time to search for lunchboxes of all shapes and sizes in order to help you find the perfect lunch storage devise for your kids. Several of these boxes would be great for grown ups too, as you're never too old to bring your midday meal along with you.
On the days that I stay at work for lunch, I carry my meal in a combination of jars and reusable plastic containers, tucked snugly into a zippered, insulated bag in which someone once mailed me cheese. For those of you who often bring your lunch with you, what's your preferred way to transport your food?
When I was a kid, I wasn't a picky eater, but I was difficult when it came to school lunches. I hated buying lunch at school, but I wasn't a big fan of sandwiches, mostly because of the squish factor. I also got tired of things easily, which made it hard for my mom to keep track of acceptable lunch bag contents. I really liked taking yogurt and granola to school, but I got teased mercilessly for having food that seemed too healthy (you must remember that we're talking about the late eighties here, when eating locally and organically was not the norm).
Cookbook author Keri Fisher currently has a post up over at Culinate that addresses the question of the lunch box. She talks of her own struggles making lunches for the kids in her household and offers a few of her suggestions for successful and kid-approved meals. I particularly like her Frog in a Bog Muffins, as they are essentially a healthy version of a corn dog. And who doesn't like corn dogs?
There's still a little time left before kids have to head off to school, which means that you might still be packing a lunch. Without debating whether or not kids should be packing their own lunch - which depends entirely on whether they realize the value of having a meal that is more than Pringles and chocolate chip cookies - MSN has a list of foods that you might want to tuck into that brown paper bag on a school day. Most are convenience foods, but they are convenience foods that are healthy choices. Their suggestions include:
Propel Calcium, for a healthy dose of calcium that doesn't need to be refrigerated
Yves Veggie Deli Slices, which are soy-based (meatless) and low in fat and come in many varieties for sandwiches
100 calorie packs of pretzels, crackers, chips and cookies
Don't forget to include a piece of fruit or some raw veggies and dip (hummus or black bean, which doesn't need to be refrigerated) so the kids get something fresh in their lunch, too. In fact, why not include some in your own lunch box?
I'm not sure if LunchBox software will help solve child obesity, but it can't possibly make things worse.
Some school districts in South Carolina will start using LunchBox this school year. Parents will be able to track their kids eating habits and restrict what their children eat. The system works by issuing students PIN numbers that are entered each time a purchase is made. Mom and Dad can then monitor junior's purchases from home.
From looking at the company's website LunchBox seems to be a POS/inventory/ordering/sales tracking solution that's trying to get parents in the loop.That's all well and good, but parents can't possibly track everything their kids eat at school. My folks never knew about the pints of Ben & Jerry's I scarfed during my free period in high school.
Yes, it's full of high fructose corn syrup, and added in huge quantities to your burger, ketchup might contribute to childohood (and adult!) obesity. However, the condiment hasn't been banned from an Arizona high school because of fears of nutrition. The cafeteria actually allows students to take three packets of ketchup per hamburger.
However, extra ketchup can be purchased for 25 cents each. Students can bring ketchup packets from home, but bringing bottled ketchup to school is not allowed because it violates health codes. A student has been disciplined because he brought it to school two days in a row.
The limits were placed after students were caught stomping on ketchup packets, leaving messes in hallways and on sidewalks.
There's still a little time left before kids have to head off to school, which means that you might still be packing a lunch. Without debating whether or not kids should be packing their own lunch - which depends entirely on whether they realize the value of having a meal that is more than Pringles and chocolate chip cookies - 
I'm not sure if 
Yes, it's full of high fructose corn syrup, and added in huge quantities to your burger, ketchup might contribute to childohood (and adult!) obesity. However, the condiment hasn't been banned from an Arizona high school because of fears of nutrition. The cafeteria actually allows students to take three packets of ketchup per hamburger. 
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