{"id":104641,"date":"2025-08-23T16:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104641\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T16:27:10","slug":"wake-county-dietitian-promotes-4-letter-code-for-success-wral-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104641\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake County dietitian promotes 4-letter code for success :: WRAL.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year when students head back into the
\nclassroom, and parents are faced with the daily challenge: What should go into
\nthe lunchbox?<\/p>\n

Nutrition experts say the start of the school year can be
\ntough as kids go from long summer days with flexible eating schedules and more options,
\nto high demands on their brains and bodies. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking a lot of their brain to go from minimal
\ndemand to maximum demand,\u201d said registered dietician Addie Clare Jones. \u201cThat
\nfirst week back can be really a shock to the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

A simple acronym for parents to remember to set their
\nstudents up for success in the classroom is PFFC, Jones said. <\/p>\n

\u201cProtein, fiber, fat, and color. The color stands for a fruit
\nor vegetable,\u201d she explained. \u201cIf there\u2019s a four-compartment lunch box, then we
\nwant those four things represented.\u201d<\/p>\n

How often kids eat can also be a big factor in how well they
\nperform in school, the health professional warned. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times the first lunch is 10:30 a.m. and then they
\nstay in school until 3 p.m. What can they eat between 10:30 and 3?\u201d Jones said.
\n\u201cThey need to be eating every 3-4 hours, especially on the three end for
\nyounger students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wake County Public Schools allows families to look at breakfast
\nand lunch menu options ahead of time using the interactive Meal Viewer<\/a>. Clicking
\non individual schools and specific dates reveals additional nutrition facts.<\/p>\n

WRAL asked Jones to weigh on the lunch menu
\nbeing offered at several high schools<\/a>, including Sanderson Senior High, for
\nthe first day back to school on Aug. 25.<\/p>\n

The choices are stuffed crust cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza,
\norange popcorn chicken and rice bowl. Sides include ginger broccoli, seasoned
\ncarrots, and pineapple tidbits. <\/p>\n

Jones picked the pepperoni pizza, made with whole wheat, turkey
\npepperoni, and low-fat cheese. For sides she opted for broccoli and pineapple
\ntidbits.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy initial thoughts were that there were certainly a lot of
\nstarch sources available. I was curious about the protein,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI was
\nreally happy to see, for the individual pepperoni pizza that will be available
\nthis coming Monday, that it has an excellent protein-carb-fat ratio.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cI was really happy to see there was a great
\nmacronutrient balance. About 50 grams of carbohydrates, which is excellent for brain
\nfuel for about 3 hours, 20 grams of protein, and about 15 grams of fat and 7 grams of fiber.
\nThat\u2019s a good relationship to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones graded the meal an \u2018A\u2019 for balance, but said the
\ncalories specifically earned a B-. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only about 400 calories,\u201d said Jones. \u201c400 calories is
\ninadequate for a meal for a high school student, especially if I\u2019m thinking
\n\u2018Are they going to get an opportunity to eat again?\u2019 and \u2018Are they active?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said many high schoolers play sports, participate in
\ntheatre, or have jobs after school that require additional calories for energy
\nthroughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s asking a lot of their bodies. 400 calories is really
\nmore of a hearty snack for high schoolers especially,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The registered dietitian also said she would prefer to see
\npizza offered on fewer days overall. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe get our relationship with food established during
\nchildhood,\u201d she explained. \u201cIf you in your mind are like, \u2018Pizza is something
\nwe eat four days a week,\u2019 then you leave high school and go out into the world
\nand you continue to eat pizza four days a week that perhaps hasn\u2019t been
\noptimized for macronutrient balance, you\u2019re going to have some health
\nconsequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones reviewed the limited
\nschool menu available for Durham County Public Schools<\/a>, and stated her
\ngrading \u201cwas about the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

WRAL also asked Jones to review two versions of breakfast
\nand lunch options made at home by a Wake County parent for their two children
\nthis week.<\/p>\n

The breakfast options included fruit and either sausage or
\napples with peanut butter, and both were served with milk. <\/p>\n

\u201cI like it,\u201d Jones said for a short answer. \u201cI like that
\nthere are multiple colors per plate. I think the top thing is \u2018Will they eat
\nthis?\u2019 If so, I love it. It\u2019s got some of everything and if palatable to the
\nchild at 6 a.m. or whatever time they\u2019re having to eat this breakfast, it\u2019s
\namazing because again, frequency is the top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

For lunch, Jones was shown one photo of a sandwich with
\nlunch meat, tomatoes, olives, Pirate\u2019s Booty popcorn, cheese sticks and yogurt.\n<\/p>\n

The other was similar, with lunch meat and a granola bar
\ninstead of a sandwich, and an apple with two gummy worms. <\/p>\n

Jones said both meals achieved the key components of
\nincluding a creamy, crunchy, salty, and sweet item. <\/p>\n

The Pirate\u2019s Booty popcorn also added a boost of protein, and
\ngummy worms hit on a fun Back-to-School theme she said. <\/p>\n

Her one recommended swap was to trade the store-bought
\nyogurt pouch for a DIY version in a reusable pouch. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou could make a week of these ahead of time,\u201d said Jones. \u201cI
\nuse a large Ziplock bag and put whole milk, Greek yogurt, and pureed fruit and
\nmake my own and freeze them. It would be a little less sugar, a little more
\nprotein, and a little more fat option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said the option is a good idea for the whole family as
\nthe dishwasher-friendly bags can be filled as much, or as little as someone
\nlikes depending on the age of the person, they\u2019re preparing a meal for. Freezing
\nthem allows the pouches to double as ice packs.<\/p>\n

Another snack idea Jones makes in her own home is applesauce
\nwith chia seeds. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe apple sauce gives them the yummy taste, but the chia
\nseeds is giving them omega-3s and fiber and fat and its\u2019 great for their brains,\u201d
\nadvised Jones. <\/p>\n

For parents looking to add greener foods into their child\u2019s
\ndiet, Jones said adding spinach into a smoothie and naming it something fun
\nlike \u2018Green Hulk Strong Smoothie\u2019 can increase the likelihood your child will
\ntry it. <\/p>\n

\u201cStudies do show they\u2019re more likely to eat it outside of
\nthe home when mommy and daddy aren\u2019t watching and hoping that they\u2019re eating it,\u201d
\nnoted Jones. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s that time of year when students head back into the classroom, and parents are faced with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-104641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}