Back to School Lunch

School is upon us!  And since all health-conscious grannies are busy giving unwanted advice I am putting in my two cents worth.  There is one thing more important than school supplies:  School food!

 If you are worried that your child will not have enough healthy food options at school, send a lunch to school with them. We ancients lived in the era where packing a lunch was not considered cool!  Plus, we also had the dilemma of knowing that we could pack a great lunch for our kids only to have it thrown in the trash or send an assortment of packaged foods that we knew the kids would eat, but which were loaded with salt, sugar and empty calories.   

You can do better than we did.  Packing a healthy lunch day after day is not easy but it is do-able.   Make sure you include your children in the planning and preparing of their own lunches. That will help a lot.   

Now, here's your big challenge:  Avoid sandwiches and processed, packaged foods.  OK, wait!  Before you say anything, do not despair!  I am going to give you some great alternatives.  Kids love a variety of foods, especially finger foods so start with that.

Sliced fruits, carrot and celery sticks, tree nuts (no peanuts), little tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, or cheese sticks.  Add to that, black bean hummus (see my previous blog post), home-flavored organic, commercial plain yogurt or goat yogurt, pre-cooked organic, free-range meat slices/patties, or homemade muffins (see previous blog post), or leftovers in an insulated food jar like the ones shown here: 
http://by148w.bay148.mail.live.com/default.aspx?rru=inbox#n=1847087659&rru=inbox&fid=1&fav=1&mid=d1067fd0-ec4c-11e1-a9c6-00215ad96bc4&fv=1

Don't be tempted to send boxed juices.  If you doubt it, check out the following:  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-larrowe-bergersen/why-fruit-juice-emisntem_b_677830.html )   

And don't buy into the Dairy Council-promoted myth that says kids need milk.   http://milkmyths.org.uk/health-nutrition/don%E2%80%99t-children-need-milk-calcium

Have a great school year, my little invisible friends!