Tuesday links

Lunch Lessons
Children's nutrition is a big deal right now. Obesity is, well, growing, and the school cafeteria is under fire for allegedly piling kids' plates with fried foods.
In many schools, that's not the case. But could cafeterias use a little greening in terms of what foods they give to children?
Chef Ann Cooper is on the case. A "renegade lunch lady," Cooper wants to turn the national school lunch program into something that offers organic, healthy options that kids want to eat. And she's starting working on it through a pilot program and her current job at Berkeley Unified School District in California.
How does that help you? Cooper's Web site offers tools you can use to assess the food your child is eating. How many calories does he or she need? Cooper can tell you. Download her MealWheel to see what portion of your child's meals should be each food type (grains, fruits and veggies, etc.). Or print out a report card to grade the meals, from the ones you make at home to the ones consumed in the cafeteria.
There are recipes, links and other resources. You can even subscribe to a weekly podcast. If that doesn't make your kid think the new healthier meals are better, I don't know what will.