Back To School

#1 in a series

Back-to-school shopping is for some a sad reminder of summer’s end being far too near, for others an exciting adventure anticipating new discoveries, and for most a simple necessity. As a parent, when helping your kids find all their school supplies, don’t forget a few important items that will support their health throughout the school year. The first in our series of back to school supplies is the…

Lunch Box Many children buy lunch at school on a regular basis ranging from the once a week pizza purchaser to the daily buyer. Schools today are subjected to federally mandated wellness policies, and many comply by having healthier choices on the menu. This is good, but you can make it better! If you can work packing lunches into your busy schedule, your child’s health will surely benefit.

School lunch programs have created much healthier offerings than in years past by working to eliminate “empty calorie” choices (foods high in calories but low in nutrition)such as sweets, deep fried foods and refined grains. Despite their efforts, many empty calorie foods remain on the lunch menu as there is often a wide margin in how the nutritive value of a food can be determined. And, to rub salt into the wound, many foods on the school lunch menu are very high in sodium, even if they are not considered empty calorie foods.

When shopping for school supplies, grab a lunch box and be determined to pack it as often as possible with truly healthy foods. Pack as many fruits and vegetables as you can. Cheese slices or sticks. Sandwiches on whole grain bread. Low fat and low sodium, whole grain snack crackers or pretzels. Protein rich foods like eggs and dairy products, beans and nuts (deli meats have way too much salt and cured meats carry their own health risks). Read labels on prepared foods; do the nutrients per serving outway the fat and sodium content? For lots of healthy and time-saving lunch box ideas try some of these books. You can also share your own great ideas for quick, healthy lunch box packing ideas.

It’s not always easy on a busy morning to get this done; sometimes a parent is thankful for the school provided meal. However, with the health of your child as your source of motivation, it can be very rewarding to take those few extra minutes on most days and prepare that meal.

I have aslo found that preparing lunches for my children can be a pleasant, secret connection between them and me in the middle of a day when we are not together. I do write notes on their napkins, but even without that, the connection is still there; they know I prepared a meal with them in mind, and they like that. My kids will often report upon pick-up how their lunch was…”Mom, I liked my lunch today,” or, “Mom, too much jelly on my sandwich today.” Either way, it’s a nice connection!