Free Republic

Nine-year-old Shreya Patel of Schaumburg will be among the young winners of Michelle Obama’s “healthy lunchtime challenge” who’ll get to dine with the first lady at the White House later this week. Her garam masala quinoa burger with raita was chosen as the winning recipe entered from Illinois, winning her a spot at the awards luncheon Friday. Entries had to be healthy, affordable and tasty. Shreya wrote in an essay accompanying her entry that she’s been cooking since she was 3 and said she loves to “mix, measure, chop and even clean up afterwards.” Here’s her recipe: GARAM MASALA QUINOA...

Artificial trans fat will have to disappear from the American diet, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA on Tuesday ruled that trans fat is not "generally recognized as safe" for use in human food. The department gave food manufacturers three years to remove the partially hydrogenated oils, or PHOs, from their products. The companies can petition the FDA for a special permit to use it, but no PHOs can be added to human food unless otherwise approved by the FDA. Eating a diet rich in trans fat is linked to higher body weight, heart disease and...

WILLIAMSON, W.V. – Students and parents are rallying to the defense of a teacher who is accused of violating federal school snack rules. The Williamson PreK-8 teacher, who was not identified, would give her students “wrapped candy” as a reward for their hard work and good behavior. Because the practice was an alleged violation of the federal rules championed by first lady Michelle Obama, Mingo County Schools Director of Child Nutrition Kay Maynard “placed a call to officials at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) to report the incident,” the Williamson Daily News reports. Maynard also spoke to Williamson...

I have disturbing news to share with you from our federal government. The USDA wants Americans to remove chocolate and marshmallows and fire from our summertime s’mores. Instead—the USDA is suggesting we load up the graham crackers with strawberries and low-fat yogurt. That’s not a s’more. That’s a fruit salad with an oversized graham cracker crouton. Over the past six years the Obama administration has waged a War of Culinary Aggression against lard-loving Americans. …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pushing back against a campaign criticizing First Lady Michelle Obama’s school lunch rules by showing one picture of a somewhat appetizing child’s lunch. “They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the digital age we have ample opportunity to document and broadcast every moment, meeting and meal,” wrote Deborah Kane, the national director of the USDA Farm to School Program, in a blog post Thursday. “We have all seen those unappetizing photos of food served at school that quickly go viral,” she said. “A lonesome whole wheat bun atop a sad...

When it comes to McDonald's, everyone seems to have an opinion about what the company needs to do differently. After turning in another quarter of sliding sales and profit, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said the chain will unveil initial details on a plan to turn around its fortunes on May 4. Among the challenges it is facing are intensifying competition and an image for serving junk food that it just can't seem to shake.

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. -- Thousands of students have now stopped buying lunch each week in County cafeterias. The district says it all started when schools were forced to implement the USDA's Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. It was part of first lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative to get kids to eat healthier. All of a sudden, kids are pitching pounds of food in the garbage. "I like vegetables too, like I like spinach and potatoes - great - but they just don't have any flavor at all," freshman Aislinn French said. Hundreds of kids have now dropped out of...

The First Lady of these United States is now urging Americans to stop drinking sweet tea. Yes – friends – you heard correctly. Mrs. Obama has declared war on the House Wine of the South. It’s all part of her anti-obesity campaign — called Let’s Move. The website Free Beacon was the first to report on her latest culinary atrocities – urging us to wash down our lettuce and bean sprouts with unsweetened tea. The First Lady also told Americans to stay away from all-you-can-eat buffets — which I’m sure is great news for all those folks employed by all-you-can-eat...

First lady Michelle Obama believes Americans can keep the federal government from meddling with their lives by eating healthy foods and maintaining an active lifestyle. In an interview with Cooking Light magazine published Monday, Mrs. Obama said the best way to avoid dealing with “the system” is to take care of one’s own body. Doing so, she said, will eliminate trips to the doctor and the need to deal with Obamacare. “It’s just making sure people understand that the most powerful thing that they can do for their overall health is feed their bodies good nutritious food,” the first lady...

Empty chicken nuggets, ‘thimble-sized’ portions, rotten fruitDesperate students are still taking to Twitter to reveal the horrors of school lunch under First Lady Michelle Obama’s rules, including empty chicken nuggets and complaints that meals taste like “prison food.” While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raves about “locally sourced chicken sandwiches” that meet nutrition standards served in a school district in South Carolina, students across the country complain about what they are eating under the new rules. “My poor little sister has to eat prison food #ThanksMichelleObama,” one student tweeted on Friday. Students are unhappy about their “chickpea sliders” and...

Once again the left is offended by a commercial, which shows the patriotism and the traditional values that exist in most main street towns in America. Airing this past Sunday during the Golden Globes, the McDonalds ad featuring their various sign messages is one of the best commercials on the market since the “God Made a Farmer” commercial done by Dodge for the 2013 Super Bowl. The company notes on its Tumbler page, "there's a story behind every one…that captures a moment in time and reflects the lives of the community it serves." Yet, almost immediately those on the left...

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, the government has been issuing guidelines about healthy eating choices. Now, a panel that advises the Agriculture Department is ready to recommend that you be told not only what foods are better for your own health, but for the environment as well. That means that when the latest version of the government's dietary guidelines comes out, it may push even harder than it has in recent years for people to choose more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and other plant-based foods — at the expense of meat.

The Obama administration is becoming increasingly involved in what Americans put on their dinner plates and in their cereal bowls, from requiring school children to be served fruit to eliminating trans fats in doughnuts. But the new Republican Congress is already laying the groundwork to push back in 2015. As the opening bell sounds for the 114th Congress, don’t be surprised to see GOP lawmakers take on school nutrition. The $1.1 trillion omnibus this month included provisions to allow states more flexibility to exempt schools from the Department of Agriculture’s whole-grain standards if they can show hardship and to halt...

Regulation: Cures for cancer and Ebola having been found, the federal ubernannies have decreed that sprinkles should no longer adorn kids' ice cream because they contain the trans fat that liberal groups once pushed for. Come the New Year, the Food and Drug Administration, ignoring the principle that in most cases it's the dose that defines the poison, will issue new regulations designed to remove even trace amounts of hydrogenate oils, commonly known as trans fats, from our diets. Trans fats have been in our foods since the 1950s to increase shelf life and improve taste. A small amount appears...

And you’ll never guess why! Well, unless you guessed “global warming,” which is what you did the moment you saw Al Gore’s name. He cannot and will not shut up about it. And I, for one, don’t want him to.Here’s the President of the Environment: It’s time for a national policy on food. Brilliant essay in today’s Washington Post: http://t.co/bvGjpej5wN— Al Gore (@algore) November 9, 2014 If Al Gore thinks it’s brilliant, it must be hilarious. Let’s take a look!

Sen. Rand Paul took a playful jab at Michelle Obama and her healthy eating initiatives that condemn all types of junk food, tweeting to her handle to let her know the location of his first New Hampshire stop — Dunkin’ Donuts. He wrote, to his nearly half a million followers: “Just arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire. First stop: @DunkinDonuts cc: @MichelleObama,” The Hill reported. He didn’t specify his menu choices — but the jab was obviously at Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move!” anti-obesity campaign. The first lady has fielded considerable fire from schools, parents and hungry students who say her cafeteria...

School children in Elyria, Ohio are mourning the demise of a 40-year tradition – the loss of their beloved pink cookie. The fabled cookie, long served in local school cafeterias, was done in by a pound of butter, six cups of powdered sugar and the Obama administration’s food police. […] The USDA “Smart Snacks in School” standards mandate that all snacks must contain less than 200 calories. It’s not exactly clear how many calories are in the pink cookie, but the recipe for the frosting calls for a pound of butter. The cookie was banished to comply with the federal...

The school teachers lounge is a respite from more than just bratty kids. It’s a safe zone from the long arm of Michelle Obama’s food police. Students are already revolting against the newly-implemented school snack regulations that affect what is sold in vending machines. They will probably be equally upset to learn the vending machine just across the hall – in the teachers lounge – is exempt from the regulations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Some 500 former military leaders are deploying to Capitol Hill in an attempt to save Michelle Obama’s changes to the National School Lunch Program. Politico reports:

“Put Down the Cupcake: New Ban Hits School Bake Sales” a Wall Street Journal headline warned. The Daily Caller blamed the first lady: “Michelle Obama’s Meddling In School Lunches Now Causes BAKE SALE BANS.” But no, the government isn’t waging a war on brownies. School bake sales haven’t been banned as some recent headlines have suggested. Nor does little Johnny have to bring carrot sticks instead of cupcakes to share with classmates on his birthday. New rules requiring healthier foods in public schools took effect July 1 as a result of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in 2010. They...