children

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Amy Acton works with Humana’s Innovation Center for Crumpleitup.com. Amy is an avid blogger and loves to write about children’s health issues and pet ownership concerns. A project manager by trade, writer by passion, she currently lives in Louisville, KY with her toy poodle Champagne. Her life’s philosophy is ‘wag more, bark less’.

The transition from summer to school can be stressful. The thought of experiencing a new school, new classmates, new teachers, new classes, new schedule, etc. all in one day could give anyone an emotional meltdown. It is perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or scared on the first day of school. I have compiled some back to school survival tips to make the transition less stressful.

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Tab Forgac serves as vice president of Child Nutrition and Fitness for the National Dairy Council. Forgac is a Registered Dietitian, a Licensed Dietitian, and a School Nutrition Specialist. She has served in numerous leadership positions within the American Dietetic Association and its affiliates and helped lead the development and evolution of the School Nutrition Association Foundation.

While news of the childhood obesity crisis is not new, it continues to trouble me as a nutritionist and mother of two daughters that we have not been able to curb this epidemic that now affects more than one in three children in the United States. However, I do believe we can turn the tide on childhood obesity, and that the nation’s schools play an important role in doing so.

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Chef Ann Cooper, also known as the Renegade Lunch Lady, has she’s made it her life’s mission to reform the way our children eat, and are fed, at school. Which is why we’re thrilled she’s a part of this special series. At ChefAnn.com, they say “She works to transform cafeterias into culinary classrooms for students — one school lunch at a time.”

Yesterday, Chef Ann spoke about the National School Lunch Program Needing a Makeover. Her commentary continues now.

As for my team and I, we’d like to be spending all of our time and money feeding children delicious healthy food and educating them on where their food comes from and how it’s produced. To make this happen, the NSLP truly needs a makeover!

I believe that the following guidelines, if put into place, would help us focus on feeding children “real,” healthy and delicious food.

• Make meals, both breakfast and lunch, a system where every child is fed every day. This would alleviate the need for free and reduced applications and tracking.
  

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Kimberly Seals Allers is the author of The Mocha Manual series of books, editor in chief of Mocha Manual, the fastest growing online destination for Black moms and a noted expert on issues related to mothers of color. Her first book, The Mocha Manual to a Fabulous Pregnancy, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and sparked her popular maternity tee shirt line. The series also includes The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion—How to Find and Grow Your “Side Hustle” in any Economy and The Mocha Manual to Military Life—A Savvy Guide for Girlfriends, Wives and Female Service members. An award winning journalist, Kimberly is a former writer at Fortune and senior editor at Essence. A divorcing mom of two, Kimberly lives in Long Island with her children.

Summer is all about running free and breaking rules. Anytime is playtime. Bye bye bedtimes. Lazy lounging days rule. And ice cream runs replace treadmill runs. It’s easy to lose your routine. That’s not always a bad thing.

For example, summertime turned my morning run on the treadmill into a group activity and a spectator sport. For weeks, my two beautiful children stood there watching me, asking every 30 seconds, “is it thirty minutes yet?”.

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Even at my age, I can’t help but get the back to school butterflies. I have always loved this time of year. I no longer have a need for fresh packs of pencils, new backpacks or new notebooks, but that doesn’t stop me from wandering down the aisles.

One thing that I don’t miss about back to school are the lunches. That food is still just as terrible as it was 20 years ago. I have a little girl who I mentor, and I’m just shocked every time I walk in to that cafeteria at the trays full of Crustables, corn dogs and football stadium nachos. Thankfully people like Chef Ann and millions of moms across the country are taking steps to ensure our kids are eating more filling, more nutritious foods to power them through their days.

If you are one of those moms responsible for packing school lunches, then consider these easy lunch box swaps this school year.