My school lunches from middle school till graduation

Middle school and high school, everyday we all ate:

Pizza (which i actually kind of miss)
french fries/ tator tots
veg (that no one grabbed)
fruit (that no one would take unless it was a cobbler)
Chocolate Milk

Then they started bringing in Pizza Hut on fridays, and you wouldn't even have access to any other food if you chose the Hut...if you wanted tots or baked beans or fruit you would have to get school pizza.

Then they started having Papa John's EVERYDAY.

We must have all collectively just not told our parents because I'm pretty sure that most of them would have been pretty vocal about what we were eating.

Yikes...sorry to hear about the Crohn's Disease!!! I too have developed digestive disorders over the past 3 years, but I'm not sure if I would relate it to the processed foods (though I will say that diet helps A LOT for those with digestive orders/diseases. That's usually the key to control).

I posted another comment about what I had for lunch as a kid. I ate the chicken nuggets whenever they were offered in elementary school, but other than that I brought my lunch to school every day.

Middle school: Domino's Pizza EVERY day. They brought in Chick-fil-a every other Thursday. They offered other things...but you can imagine just about everyone ate pizza every day.

High School: I kind of quit the lunches. They offered fries and a chicken sandwich every day, but I only got them occasionally. For the most part I ate a Slim Fast bar and water for lunch every day--usually a muffin during the class before lunch.

College: PSH! I didn't buy a meal plan because I lived off campus. I can honestly say I ate in the dining hall maybe...twice...my entire time at college.

My high school had pizza every day. I think the cooks made it, but I'm not 100% sure. It came is pepperoni or cheese and wasn't tasty. If it came from a fast food place, it sure didn't look like it.

French fries were there daily, in "small" sizes (like, McDonald's happy meal size) or "large (a 12 oz cup filled with fries). I don't know if healthier vegetables were sold in the line. Most kids ate a large cup of fries as their entire meal, with maybe soda or water to drink.

Fried chicken patty sandwiches were offered daily, too, or at least they were on the menu frequently.

I don't recall milk being an option in high school. We had fruit drinks in the machines and perhaps had real juice, too. I never saw milk.

Soda and snack machines were in both of the cafeterias. Teachers complained about kids eating candy bars and soda during classes, so the school made a rule that machines could only be on during lunch and after school. This was in the late 1990s. I know a lot of schools have banned vending machines or swapped candy for healthier snacks.

I very rarely went through the line. I remember getting fries a couple of times. We only had 22 minutes for lunch and going through line wasted about 10 min. A lot of kids were impatient and got stuff from the vending machines so they'd at least have time to gulp it down before the bell rang. I thought the school food was disgusting and always ate lunch at home because school let out at 1:45.

My high school had Domino's everyday and students who had free lunch didn't have to pay so I saw people eating that everyday most of the time with fries and soda. It was the same thing every week: really hard chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, nachos, spaghetti with meat-less sauce, and mozzarella sticks. They used to have donuts and cinnamon rolls in the morning but they stopped those.

Sorry about the Chrons - I have 2 friends with Crohn's, and they stopped eating processed foods, and went gluten-free. They mostly stick with Organic Chicken, Fish, and Lots of Fruits and Vegetables. They also make a lot of gluten-free desserts, which are delicious.

They both eat Hormone and antibiotic-free Yogurt (This is good for folks with digestive problems) as well. My favorite Yogurt is Voskos Greek Yogurt, but there are other great varieties as well.

I have a condition called Sarcoid. I went Pectarian, mostly organic (Fish, Veggies, Fruits, Brown Rice), and all of my symptoms dissappeard.

If you follow a processed-food free eating plan, you shouldn't have any more flareups. Just remember, read the ingredient labels. If you don't understand what the label says, then don't eat it.