Uncrustables = Un-Edible

Today I barely had time to pack my kids' lunches. It's Math-a-thon day at O'Dea and my sweet hubby is actually volunteering today! he'll be running one of the 3rd grade math stations. It's his one volunteering job he does at the school every year because he's such a math nerd. Dan, who works at the Coloradoan at night is usually very tired in the mornings (understated). In fact, it's better just to not even wake him to ask for help getting the kids ready because he is a super grouch in the mornings. I mean, he is crankier than my baby when she's cutting a new tooth!
Anyway, he had to get up today to go to Math-a-thon, so I thought I would make a hot breakfast for everyone; hence, no time to make lunches for the monkeys.
I checked out what was on the PSD lunch calendar and as usual, I get grossed out just by reading it.
PSD does try. They offer a salad bar (which I'm sure my boys do not visit), serve whole wheat bread for greasy hockey pucks (burgers) and feature a fruit or veggie every month. They actually think that serving wheat "Uncrustables" as oppesed to white bread Uncrustables is a better choice. What is an 'Uncrustable"? It's a PBJ pre-made in a bag without the crust. Jeez, we can't even spread a fresh PBJ for our kids? I decided to check out the nutional info on these fau PBJs. I am frightened by what I found.
A regular PBJ conatins what? Let's say you have natural ingredients in your kitchen. Your PBJs will contain whole wheat bread, jam preserves (all fruit), and natural peanut butter (only peanuts as ingredients). That is 3 ingredients.
Uncrustables contain over 50 ingredients and almost all of those ingredients are things I cannot pronounce. I'll admit, I'm not the hugest health nut, but I am conscious of what my kids and I eat. My highly scientific rule of thumb is, if I can't pronounce the it, I won't serve it to my kids. Straight from the Smucker's Uncrustables website, here are the ingredients and what your kids are served for lunch at PSD when they choose a PBJ sandwich.

Smucker's Uncrustables: BREAD: ENRICHED UNBLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, UNBLEACHED WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, YEAST, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: WHEAT GLUTEN, SALT, DOUGH CONDITIONERS (MAY CONTAIN ONE OR MORE OF: DIACETYL TARTARIC ACID ESTERS OF MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES (DATEM), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, ASCORBIC ACID, AZODICARBONAMIDE, L-CYSTEINE), YEAST NUTRIENTS (MAY CONTAIN ONE OR MORE OF: MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM SULFATE, AMMONIUM SULFATE), CALCIUM PROPIONATE (MAINTAIN FRESHNESS), CORNSTARCH, ENZYMES (WITH WHEAT). PEANUT BUTTER: PEANUTS, DEXTROSE, SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: PARTIALLY AND FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED AND/OR RAPESEED), SALT, MOLASSES, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES (PALM AND/OR SOYBEAN OILS). GRAPE JELLY: GRAPE JUICE, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: PECTIN, CITRIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), SODIUM CITRATE.

EEK! There you have it! Some of our favorite food groups, conditioners, high fructose corn syrup, diacetyl tartaric, sodium stearoyl lactylate...

Needless to say I packed my kids' lunches. I made veggie chicken wraps from our leftover chicken from dinner last night. Horizon organic chocolate milk, carrots and ranch, and a fruit leather. I think all of those things in my kids' lunchbox contain about a eighth of the amount of ingredients or much less than what is in 1 Uncrustable PBJ.