Living Holistically

Each year with the beginning of school I dread packing lunches each morning.  What do you put in the lunches of two children who are gluten free, soy free, dye and chemical free?  During the summer they feast off of left overs or I cook something for them but in school it is a bit more difficult with no access to a stove or the ability to keep things cold / frozen. 

Other mom's have offered some advice that I have found helpful and I thought it would be good to share with you. 

It's almost time for many students to return to school.  Parents will carefully purchase clothing, backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils and more to prepare their child for a sucessful year.  But are they safe?  Many dangerous chemicals are lurking in items used by your children and in things found in the schools your children attend that have been linked to asthma and even autism.  I read a great article today regarding where these toxins can be found and how you can protect your children from them. 

PVC, the Poison Plastic - Unhealthy for Our Nation’s Children and Schools

Even lunch boxes can be dangerous as many have been found to contain lead.   The safe option we have been using for 4 years and love is the Laptop Lunchbox system which are great for the *green* consience family.  They can be purchased from Laptop Lunches, Amazon or Ebay.  You should also make sure that you are buying a good quality stainless water bottle to avoid BPA's that interfere with hormones in developing bodies.

Speaking of lunch boxes.  It's time to consider some healthy options to put into their tummys.  The Laptop Lunches website has some great meal ideas.  The little containers can make some eye pleasing lunch options.

Along with school comes sickness in many cases as children have new schedules, are exposed to other children's germs and are a bit stressed.  There are things you can do to help your child stay on top of his game.  First of all we use good old fashioned Vitamin C.  We love the Ultra Potent C from Metagenics.  They offer a chewable form that is orange flavor that contains lysine as well as Vit C for immune boosting properties.  Along with the vitamin C my supplement cupboard (we have no medicine cupboard) always contains Sambucol.  This is a syrup from elderberries.  Did you know that elderberries have been shown to be effective against the H1N1 virus (just a side bar in case the *scare* comes up again)?   If your child does get sick there is a wonderful homeopathic product  from BORON called Oscillcoccinum.  It is small tubes of tiny pellets like sprinkles on a cupcake.  They are sweet too so the child will not mind taking it.  Both items can be purchased from your local pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS. 

To your health....Naturally!

Stephanie