“Healthy” chocolate milk

In case you missed it, the New York Times’ Well blog reports today that most of the country’s school districts are starting the new school year with healthier chocolate milk in their cafeterias:

The issue of flavored milk has been highlighted by the chef Jamie Oliver, who railed against chocolate milk and processed foods in school cafeterias in his ABC television series “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” On his Web site he notes that one serving of chocolate milk has four teaspoons of added sugar.

“When kids drink chocolate and strawberry milk every day at school,” he writes on the site, “they’re getting nearly two gallons of extra sugar each year. Too much sugar is threatening the health of our kids and we’ve got to do something about it.”

In the past, the pro-chocolate milk argument has been that chocolate milk contains calcium and vitamins kids need, and if you take away the chocolate-flavored option, many schoolchildren won’t buy plain milk instead; they’ll drink something else and miss out on the nutrients altogether. The new chocolate milk still tastes chocolatey but has a lot less added sugar.

Which just proves, once again, that my mom is right about things. When I was a child, she rationed the Nestle’s Quik powder so strictly at home that when I did drink the occasional carton of full-strength chocolate milk at school, it seemed almost too syrupy to swallow. Thanks, Mom! I’m toasting you with some healthy chocolate milk right now.

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