Soccer snack grouch here. But this time I'm not griping about the nutritiously poor, often unnecessary soccer snacks tossed to young kids after the game. Today I'm celebrating the creative nutritional overhauls and exercise programs being implemented by many public schools across the country.

Check out these inspiring, real-life School Success Stories highlighted on the Alliance For A Healthier Generation's (AHG) website. AHG is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation to fight childhood obesity. Here is a sampling of bright ideas:

• Miami Springs Middle School renegotiated their beverage contracts to align with the beverage guidelines outlined by AHG. They serve a green vegetable with all starch entrees (salad with pizza), and that pizza crust is whole wheat, as well as the only cookies served -- whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies. Breakfast offers low-sugar cereals and low fat milk. A before school walking club and a new focus on lunchtime free play are also sparking active kids.
• Waubun Secondary School strategically raised the price of candy bars to $1.25 in their school store, eliminated many other unhealthy snacks and added taste-tested/student-approved yogurt, 100-calorie packs and string cheese at a significantly lower price of $.40. With these simple pricing and stock changes, sales of candy bars have gone down, healthier options have risen and here's the key -- overall store profits are up.
• Delaware Valley Middle School started a 13-week mini-marathon. About 40 students, along with several staff, meet Tuesdays after school to nail a two-mile run. They'll finish their mini-marathon this April at their school district's first annual 5K Race/Walk.

I love that these students are eating better and moving more -- this grouch is actually smiling! Forward AHG's School Success Stories to your school principal. Educate school district leaders it is entirely possible to make strategic changes to enhance school nutrition and incorporate more exercise without jeopardizing the bottom line.

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My son started soccer last year at the age of five. I loved watching him smack the ball around when he wasn't picking grass. But I could not stand watching the soccer snacks handed out after each and every game. Sugary cookies, juice boxes filled with sugar -- one family even brought Krispy Creme doughnuts and chocolate milk. I was disgusted. Call me a soccer snack grouch if you will, but why do kids need a snack after sporting activities? What happened to the coach taking the team to the ice cream shop ONCE during the season? According to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, about 17 percent of American students are overweight.

But there's hope. This year, his soccer league handed out a flyer requiring healthy snacks. For parents unaware of the distinction, they listed a few examples. This grouch actually smiled upon reading the flyer, but it was fleeting as I think the snack should be banned altogether. This is exactly the policy change taken by our park district's preschool this year. Snack time was taken out of the curriculum. No surge of calories near the end of the two hour and fifteeen minute class. The snack never made any sense to me -- class ends at 11:30 am, just in time for lunch.

Don't get me wrong, I admire parents inspiring kids to keep fit and learn new skills via organized sports. But if you still believe in that soccer snack, check out these healthier alternatives provided by No Junk Food.

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