Nutrition News by Charlyn Fargo

Those new rules announced earlier this week to make school lunches healthier — slashing sodium and limiting calories — may be something you want to put in place for your meals at home as well.

In the next year, students are going to see school lunch trays with pizza with a whole-grain crust and bigger portions of fruits and vegetables. After much debate, students are still going to get French fries — but they'll be baked and sprinkled with less salt. These new nutrition standards are dramatic changes, raising the grade for school meals for the first time in more than 15 years.

The changes are designed to improve the health of nearly 32 million children who eat lunch at school every day and almost 11 million who eat breakfast. The changes were fueled by the increase in the nation's number of overweight or obese children — now estimated at one-third of all children. Overall, kids consume about 30 percent to 50 percent of their calories while at school. The new standards for school lunch:

— Establish maximum calorie and sodium limits for meals. The sodium limits are phased in over 10 years. Currently, the average sodium content might be in excess of 1400 mg; the new rules would cut that by 25 to 50 percent over time.

— Require schools to serve a fruit and vegetable every day at lunch and in larger portions than offered before. Portion sizes vary by age group. For instance, high school students will have to be offered one cup of vegetables and one cup of fruit a day. Right now they have to be offered a total of three-quarters cup of fruit and vegetables.

— Require schools to offer a minimum number of leafy green vegetables, red-orange vegetables, starchy vegetables and legumes each week. The amount varies by age group. For example, high school students have to be offered at least a half-cup of green leafy vegetables a week.

— Require that after the two years of implementation, all grains offered to students must be rich in whole grains such as brown rice. Breads, buns, cereals and pastas must list whole grain as the first ingredient.

— Require that only plain or flavored fat-free milk and unflavored low-fat milk be made available.

— Saturated fat is now limited to less than 10 percent of total calories for the week, and trans fats are banned.

In reality, the rules are healthy for all of us. Model them at home, and you and your kids will take a step toward healthier eating.

Q AND A

Q: Is adding some Parmesan cheese to salads or pasta a healthy way to add flavor?

A: Sure.

With a flavorful cheese like Parmesan or Romano, 1 tablespoon or less is plenty. If adding some grated Parmesan to salads or vegetables helps you to enjoy them so much that you eat larger portions of these, healthful foods then go for it. A diet with plenty of leafy greens and other low-calorie vegetables is linked to health benefits, including lower risk of cancer, heart disease and more.

Note that using Parmesan cheese in small amounts like this for flavor is lower in fat and calorie content than in baked dishes that include the Parmesan name (such as Eggplant Parmesan, which is generally smothered in mozzarella and Parmesan cheese). Standard recipes for these kinds of dishes are not at all low fat.

Information courtesy the American Institute for Cancer Research.

RECIPE

I'm a huge fan of cooking fish in little packets of parchment or foil. You can add flavor with vegetables and seasoning, and the fish turns out moist and flaky. Here's a recipe from "Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2012" that uses arctic char, but nearly any white fish can be substituted. Best of all, it's healthy and low in fat.

Arctic Char and Vegetables in Parchment Hearts

— 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
— 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
— 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
— 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
— Two 6-ounce arctic char fillets (about 1 inch thick)
— 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
— 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
— 1/4 cup julienne-cut leek
— 1/4 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
— 1/4 cup julienne-cut carrot
— 1/4 cup julienne-cut snow peas

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl; stir until blended. Cut two pieces of parchment paper. Fold in half crosswise. Draw a large heart half on each piece with the fold of the paper along the center of the heart. Cut out the heart and open. Sprinkle both sides of fillets with salt and pepper. Place one fillet near fold of each parchment heart. Top each fillet with half of vegetables and half of butter mixture. Start at top of heart and fold edges of parchment, sealing edges with narrow folds. Twist each tip to secure tightly.

Place packets on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Place on plates; cut open. Serve immediately. Yield: two servings. (Serving size: one fillet, 1/2 cup vegetables and 1 tablespoon sauce.)

Per serving: 301 calories, 34.8 g protein, 6 g carbohydrates, 14.6 g fat, 111 mg cholesterol, 1.4 g fiber, 369 mg sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian from Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com. To find out more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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