Produce News for September 15, 2008

LONG PROMO:   Hey, the school bells are ringing and that means our kids are getting back to school, back to the three Rs, and you and  I also need to get back to the three Rs of building a very healthy school lunch.  I’m going to tell you what the three Rs.  Plus, I’m going to tell you my tricks for making sure your kids eat their lunch…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  Getting back to the three Rs of building a really good school lunch for your kids…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

                                                                                                         

SCHOOL LUNCHES (PART I) – THREE Rs (Monday, September 15):  Let’s see - reading, writing, arithmetic.  Our kids are getting back to the three Rs.  School bells are ringing.  Well, Your Produce Man says that you and I, as parents and grandparents, we also need to get back to the three Rs, especially when it comes to our kids and their nutrition.  Building a better school lunch for our kids, you know, when they’re taking their school lunches.  Well, here’s the first R from Your Produce Man, ready for this?  Role model.  Look.  If you want your kids to eat  some bananas, and apples, and oranges, and strawberries.  Then you better role model that.  You pick up a banana next time you want a snack instead of a candy bar.  Second R:  Reduce the amount of fat and sugar your kids eat.  Do this slowly.  You don’t have to do it like overnight.  But your kids don’t need a whole donut.  You can feed them half a donut and that’s just fine.  And the third R:  Remember to eat more fruits and vegetables and to exercise.  So you and I need to get back to the three Rs so our kids will eat healthier.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

SCHOOL LUNCHES (PART II) – CUT IT UP (Tuesday, September 16):  All right.  I’m making lunch for little Landon this morning.   He’s going into preschool, you know.  And, so he needs a really good lunch here.  So what I’m doing, I’m slicing up the oranges for little Landon, and let’s see, I think I’m going to put an apple in there too. You know, one of the keys if you want your kids to eat their school lunches that you make for them.  May I suggest, please cut up the fruit.  That’s right.  Simply cut up the fruit, and your kids, I guarantee, you know, they’re going to eat this as opposed to this.  In fact, if you put this in their lunch, they’re probably going to have like four or five bites and throw the rest away because it gets too messy, but if you cut everything up for them, it’s a lot neater for them.  Kids guaranteed, they’re going to eat it a lot easier.  You know the apples, by the way, look at this.  They already come cut up for you.  So if you don’t even want to cut it up, you can buy them cut up, already fresh cut apples.  So that’s one of my tips for making a really healthy lunch for your kids.  Cut it up for them so they’ll eat it.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report…you building a good lunch for your kids?  Get out the knife if you’re including an apple.     

SCHOOL LUNCHES (PART III) - BANANAS (Wednesday, September 17):  How in the world can you build a better lunch for your kids if, you know, they’re taking their brown bag to lunch, to school with them without putting a banana in there.  Now, a couple things you need to know about the bananas.  First of all, I would never put this banana in my kids lunch.  I mean look.  It’s only half ripe.  It’s mostly green, and your kids, you know, when they try to peel this thing, this thing is going to be very difficult to peel.  They’re going to leave part of the peel on the fruit itself because it’s so green.  So, if you want your kids to eat the bananas, buy riper bananas.  They’re going to be sweeter.  They’re going to enjoy them so much better.  Also, I know when I was a kid, I would not touch a bruised banana.  So please, when you get these home, treat them like fine china.  Don’t bang them around, and make sure when you store them, you store them upside down so most of the weight is down there on the stem.  Now when your kids get this banana in their lunch it’s not going to be as bruised, and I guarantee your kids are probably going to eat that banana.  By the way, they need it for all that potassium.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite) 

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, which banana would you put in your kids lunch?  This one or this one?

SCHOOL LUNCHES (PART IV) – DRIED FRUIT (Thursday, September 18):  You know, it was always fun in the Mark’s household when Shane was growing up, and he was going to school.  Now Clair and Landon, he’s in Kindergarten now, you know, how many fruits and vegetables can we actually get into their lunch?  And one of the ways we could tell whether we had a good lunch for school, we would lift that thing up.  Oh, man!  If it was heavy, that was going to be a good lunch because that means we had lots of carrots in it, and fruits and vegetables.  And one of the things I always put in their lunch - dried fruit.  Always include a little bit of dried fruit.   Whether it’s some raisins, maybe some dried apricots or peaches.  Oh, little Shane, man, he loved fig bars…so a little bit of dried fruit.  Why was that?  Because I always wanted an extra snack for the end of the day.  And they could leave the dried fruit for the end of the day.  That’s because it wouldn’t go bad.  If you leave the cut up apple for the end of the day, it’s all going to be brown and mushy, and they’re not going to like that so the rule was in our house, leave the dried fruit for the end of the day so if you get hungry, you’ve got a healthy snack.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes Bite)

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, include some dried fruit in your kids school lunch

  

SCHOOL LUNCHES (PART V) - FOOD SAFETY (Friday, September 19):  The most important thing in your kids school lunch – you know, when you’re building that lunch in the morning and you’re making that lunch and the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and you’re putting the fruit in.  Well, there’s one more thing you need to include.  That’s food safety.  That’s right.  Make sure when you’re making the kids lunch, make sure you’re using a clean surface.  You’re cutting board is going to be clean.  You’re knives are clean.  And also, please make sure you include a little sanitizer in your kids’ lunch, right? You want that in your kids’ lunch because right, you know, they’re coming in from recess and they’re, you know, they’re playing with the balls, and they’re playing with all kinds of stuff on the playground and they come in.  Tell your kids, “Before you eat your snacks, before you eat your lunch, please wash your hands.”  And always make sure you have a little bit of sanitizer in their lunch just in case for a little quick one.  So that is probably one of the most important things.  Also, cold things cold in the lunch and hot things hot.  Tell your kids don’t share because you don’t know how the other parents did their food safety thing.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. 

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, the most important thing when you’re making your kids’ lunch.