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.
Showing posts with label lunches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lunches. Show all posts
It's School Lunch Packing Time
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Back to School and Staying Healthy
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
Laptop Lunches: Think Bento
I love my laptop lunch box systems for my children. Even though school lunches are coming to an end there are still the day trips to the beach or a park where a laptop lunch is useful.
Another useful resource can be found midway in this blog. You will find a printable lunch "item" sheet for Packing A Healthy Lunch. I love how it is laid out in columns which allows me to plan my grocery shopping list and get ideas for items I may have forgotten about when packing a lunch.
To your health .... Naturally!
Stephanie
Nutrition For Our Children
As parents, many of us have lost the art of feeding our children. I have the privilege of working in my children's classrooms during lunchtime. Inevitably I leave them grieving for the future health of many of the children. I remember one occasion in particular.
I was working in my daughter's 2nd grade classroom. One particular boy's lunch really stood out and has stayed in my mind almost 9 mos later. If you look at this child you can see he is unwell. He is thin, short in stature, pale complected and possessed an obsessive behavior pattern. Why would this lunch stand out you ask? Because it wasn't food. It was highly processed and *white*.
There are 825 calories in this "lunch". There are 30 grams of sugar - that's 7.5 teaspoons full of sugar (or 2 1/3 TBS)!
The thing that is most troubling about this is that this food is dead. There are no enzymes, vitamins or minerals. The body cannot use this. The brain is starving for good fats. Cell regeneration requires good fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Without them the cells DNA will mutate and disease sets in. Whether you see it in your child now or not. It is inevitable. Tooth decay, allergies, hyperactivity and more. They are all signs of a poorly nourished child. In future blog entries I will begin to cover what things you should consider feeding your child.
Here are the "nutritional" breakdowns of this child's lunch.
Ingredients
School Bagel and Cream Cheese Bars/Original-bagel-fuls Original (Water, Fine Whole Wheat Flour, Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Cream Cheese [Pasteurized Milk and Cream, Cheese Culture, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum], Brown Sugar, Contains less than 2% of Each of the Following: Wheat Gluten, Sugar, Extract of Malted Barley and Corn, Yeast, Wheat Flour, Salt, Dimagnesium Phosphate, Degerminated Yellow Corn Flour, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Soybean Oil, Calcium Sulfate, L-cysteine, Ascorbic Acid Added As A Dough Conditioner, Niacinamide, Sorbitan Monostearate, Zinc Oxide, Azodicarbonamide, Calcium Iodate, Ammonium Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Enzymes, Calcium Peroxide.) Contains: Milk and Wheat Ingredients.
Nutrition Facts
Kraft Bagel-Fuls - Whole Grain W/Cream Cheese Servings: 1 filled bagel
Calories 180
Sodium 200 mg
Total Fat 6 g
Total Fat 6 g
Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 4 g
Saturated 4 g
Total Carbs 26 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Sugars 4 g
Trans 0 g
Trans 0 g
Protein 7 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Vitamin A 0%
Cholesterol 15 mg
Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 10%
Vitamin C 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Iron 10%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily
Total Fat 12 g
Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 5 g
Total Carbs 40 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Sugars 26 g
Trans 0 g
Vitamin C 25% Iron 5%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily
This is a sample of my children's lunches. I use the Laptop Lunchbox system. My children's lunches consisted of fresh strawberries and blueberries, trail mix (cashews, peanuts, almonds, raisins and M&M's), cheese stick / cubes, pretzels and home made gluten free applesauce spice bread. There are proteins, enzymes, whole grains, and good fats in these lunches.
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily
Nutrition Facts
Little Debbie - Boston Creme Rolls Servings: 1 roll Calories 270
Sodium 140 mg Total Fat 12 g
Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 5 g
Total Carbs 40 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Sugars 26 g
Trans 0 g
Cholesterol 15 mg
Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 2%
Lay's - Classic Potato Chips Servings: 1 oz (28g / 15 chips)
Calories 375
Sodium 450 mg
Sodium 450 mg
Total Fat 25 g
Potassium 825 mg
Potassium 825 mg
Saturated 3 g
Total Carbs 38 g
Total Carbs 38 g
Polyunsaturated 11 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Monounsaturated 11 g
Sugars 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Trans 0 g
Protein 5 g
Protein 5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0% Vitamin C 25% Iron 5%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily
This is a sample of my children's lunches. I use the Laptop Lunchbox system. My children's lunches consisted of fresh strawberries and blueberries, trail mix (cashews, peanuts, almonds, raisins and M&M's), cheese stick / cubes, pretzels and home made gluten free applesauce spice bread. There are proteins, enzymes, whole grains, and good fats in these lunches.
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