CR tests find Lunchables and similar lunch kits contain relatively high levels of lead, cadmium and sodium; all but one contain harmful phthalates WASHINGTON, D.C.…
Consumer Reports called on the Department of Agriculture today to remove Lunchables food kits from the National School Lunch Program. CR recently compared the nutritional profiles of two Lunchable kits served in schools and found they have even higher levels of sodium than the kits consumers can buy in the store. CR also tested 12 store-bought versions of Lunchables and similar kits and found several contained relatively high levels of lead and cadmium. All but one also tested positive for phthalates, chemicals found in plastic that have been linked to reproductive problems, diabetes, and certain cancers.
It's crazy. We had full kitchens in our elementary/middle school and high school. I can't remember them ever actually doing anything other than reheating precooked frozen food.
my experience was closer to the opposite, elementary was always reheated packaged stuff and after that the quality improved a bit. I think the real problem is it seems pretty random if it's good or not
I'm in my 30s and I still love them. When I'm really sad I get one and it makes me feel like my life is simpler than it is and helps calm me down, gives me something to do with my hands while not requiring me to be functioning well enough to actually cook. They are trash though can't argue that lol
Get a block of cheese, crackers, and some kind of lunch meat. Only tool you need is a knife. Plus, you can add variations, like tuna or cream cheese or whatever you want. You pay more up front but get more food out of it and reduce plastic waste.
Marketing, TV Ads got me as a kid. I feel bad for my mom cooking me real food and my kid self being brainwashed complaining about wanting corporate toxic waste Lunchables
Easy prep. Granted, I grew up with a guy who fed us kids sleeve of saltines as a dinner because he couldn't be fucked to do more. Better than nothing but in hindsight, I think I can do better for my kids than fucking lunchables.
To be clear, this is a subset of the lunchables brand specifically manufactured and sent to schools for lunches, which has a higher sodium content than the retail variety you can buy. They don't want to ban all lunchables
I know its done to death but I really do blame Michelle Obama for how shitty school lunches have gotten. I dont know how the administration at the time got away with the enshittification of school lunches under the guise of nutrition. Some places were literally passing napkins off as vegetables because they are made of plant fibers.
I remember reading an article on reddit a long time ago, but the closest thing I could find was the ketchup as a vegetable thing in my 5 minutes of google searching. If I find the original article I was referencing Ill put it in another reply.