Oh my gosh, when I heard this I was enfuriated. I couldn't believe it. This criteria basically allows EVERY dish to be a veggie. Tomato paste? Spaghetti then is a veggie too. So is lasagna. These aren't vegggies they are dishes, just as pizza is a dish as well. What is the world coming to, seriously? And they wonder why children are becoming increasingly overweight younger.
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Again, so it's clear, the regulation doesn't say that a bowl of pasta counts as a veggie and ONLY as a veggie. It only says that the tomato sauce portion of that dish can count toward the minimum vegetable servings required by law for the meal.
So pizza, for example, would be a grain (crust), a protein (cheese), a dairy (also cheese) and a veggie (sauce) serving. Spaghetti would be a grain (pasta), a meat/protein (ground beef) and a veggie (sauce) serving.
To say that the government declared "pizza a veggie" is misleading. PIZZA is a combination food which contains many different servings of different food groups, and ONE of those servings is a veggie serving due to the sauce.
I don't think there's any need to get bent out of shape about how, exactly, the government defines pizza sauce. Unless they make the rules exceedingly meticulous, there's no way to prevent unhealthy food from being served in a given school lunchroom. I doubt anyone would argue that okra or spinach are vegetables, but that doesn't mean that the lunch lady can't serve them deep fried or creamed and still be within the law. Technically, the tomato paste (assuming it actually is tomato paste and not high fructose corn syrup and red dye number 40) is quite healthy on its own, whether you want to consider it a veg or a fruit. As far as calling it a veg goes, I'm all for it. Let's just hope that schools can get the funding to serve their pizzas on whole grain pitas with some delicious fresh broccoli and peppers on top.
I have to say that I'm alot less worried about tomato sauce being considered a vegetable - or a fruit for that matter, than I am about potato being considered a vegetable.
When I was watching Jamie Oliver's show, I learned that french fries are the primary "vegetable" served in many schools. And the entire 1.5 cupss of veggies that the schools have to serve, can be comprised of potato.
So a burger and 1.5 cups of fries is considered protein servings, starch servings (from the bun) and 1.5 cups of veggies for the potato.
At least with ketchup and tomato paste, the lycopene is actually more bio-available than in fresh tomatoes (so processing actually has some benefit where tomatoes are concerned).
But to count potatoes, especially deep-fried potatoes as a vegetable, when the Standard American Diet is already overabundant in carbohydrates and fat, seems ridiculous - especially with the childhood obesity and diabetes rates so prevalent and on the rise.
Exchange plans have lost popularity, but they're still one of the easiest and most convenient ways to "balance" a diet, and it strkes me as odd, that it isn't used as a tool for designing and regulating school lunches.
What? Potatoes are considered vegetables now? Growing up I was raised to think it was carbohydrate (aaah, the food pyramid.)
I used to joke with my sister that a hamburger is the most ideal food in terms of the food pyramid. You have your protein, your carb/starch, your veg, and your dairy...But now I guess its no longer a joke.. D:
What? Potatoes are considered vegetables now? Growing up I was raised to think it was carbohydrate (aaah, the food pyramid.)
I used to joke with my sister that a hamburger is the most ideal food in terms of the food pyramid. You have your protein, your carb/starch, your veg, and your dairy...But now I guess its no longer a joke.. D:
From what I understood this isn't a change, at least not a recent one. So it's not that potatoes are "now" considered a vegetable, it's that they always (or for quite some time, at least) have been considered a vegetable.
Corn, peas, and beans (in my opinion) also should be considered starches, but my guess is that they're not.
