Tips for Packing Healthy, Nutritious, Eco-Healthy Lunches
Today my friends, I would like to discuss our kids, eating healthy and organic, going green and eco-friendly. Since it is that great time of the year that all parents love -“Back to School” –this is the perfect time to give you some ideas on how to make sure they have a healthy nutritionist lunch without feeding them toxic foods.
My goal is to help you provide a packed healthy lunch that your kids will actually eat and isn’t bad for the environment. Having a nutritious, healthy lunch is extremely important because it affects your child’s learning ability and how they function throughout the day.
Tips for packing a healthy lunch for your kids that are smart and eco-healthy:
1. Keep a stockpile of healthy recipes that work for your kids. Consult the experts that can help you with quick and easy ideas that you can keep on hand. Leftovers from a healthy meal makes a great school lunch and saves you time, energy, and saves waste. Here are a couple of the experts that have some great ideas:
- Lunch lessons: Changing the Way We Fed our Children, by Ann Cooper.
- The Renegade Lunch Lady by Lisa M. Holmes. This book includes great recipes as well as solid information on kids nutritional needs and suggestion from personal experience for improving school lunch programs.
- The Earthbound Cook: this is 250 recipes for delicious food and a Healthy Planet, by Myra Goodman. This book is not only about lunch recipes but it also focuses on food that is good for our health and environment.
- The Unhealthy Truth, by Robyn O’Brien. This book focuses on the author personal quest to serve her family healthy food, the ugly truth about our food system that she discovered by herself, but also has many recipes throughout the book.
2. Send less and better meat. As we well know not all meat is created equal. Small portions of the healthier low impact are sufficient.
Why? According to EWG Environmental Working Group, Americans on the average eat far more protein than they need and kids get 3-4 times the recommended amount.
- Some smart meat lunch choices: Skip processed meats totally such as sliced lunch meats, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, sausage and etc. Yes they are easy to pack but they are loaded with unhealthy food additives, preservatives and GMOs.
- Look for organic or at least look for the message on the label of “no” as no antibiotics or hormones.
- Stick with chicken and turkey because they are low-impact and low-fat.
- Try some alternatives such as humus, nuts, and whole grains, or raisins with a mixture of almonds is an excellent choice.
- Check out EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide–if will be a great help-gives you label decoder for meat and dairy products, tips and helpful resources for smarter shopping, and even some online recipes.
3. Pack more fruits and vegetables, with minimal pesticides. The government guidelines recommend that half of kids lunch box should consist off fruits and vegetables.
Try pineapple mango, bananas cantaloupe for great chunks foods.
EWG recommends organic when possible. Kids neurological system are still developing and recent studies of organophosphate pesticides used on some fruits and vegetables that children with high exposures are at risk for impaired intelligence and neurological problems.
Check out the Food News site. No every one can afford buying all organic so Check out he Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce– it will help you make the healthiest choices.
4. Junk juice: No sugary juice, soda or bottled water–send you kid to school with filtered water or organic, low-fat milk in a stainless steel bottle.
EWG recommends Klean Kanteen’s stainless steel. This is much healthier than plastic and saves money. Check out EWG’s safe drinking water tips. pdf
5. Reduce lunchtime waste. Send lunches and snacks in reusable container such as non-toxic , reusable container, like stainless steel lunch boxes. If you choice plastics make sure they BPA free and wash them by hand. Send tableware from home, use reusable straws if necessary, no juice boxes. Visit Waste Free Lunches.org.
6. Ask your child what they want: Let them help you do the grocery shopping. Just ask them what they want. Of course you do want to influence them with their choices. You don’t want them eating potato chips, but ask them if they want some organic popcorn that comes already popped, pretzels, and whole-wheat crackers, baby carrots, or raisins. A healthy snack is find as long as they are also eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, protein, and making sure they are not eating too many carbohydrates. Keep it balanced.
7. Try shopping at a natural foods store or in the Organic section of your supermarket: This way you’ll know that everything you buy is free of preservatives, nitrates, additives or unnecessary sugars and salts. Remember try to choose organic when possible.
Send Your Kids Back to School In Style!
I hope some of this information you will be able to use if you have children in school. If you are able to make just a few changes this can be a major factor in their ability to learn and being happy in school. Our kids are our future and they need the best education that we can provide for them. Therefore, we need to give them the best tools possible and part of that is the proper nutrition and avoiding toxic chemicals and pesticide from their diets and products they use.
Our goal of “Going Green” “Organic” “Eco Friendly” can ensure a brighter future and a better chance to“Live A Healthier & Happier Life”— After all our children are our most precious commodity in our lives.
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Quote for the Day: Knowing is not enough we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do! – Johann Wolfgang
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