Kids are just getting back into the school groove and you may have noticed that you have started to slack on your intentions to send your child off to school with a healthy and nutritious lunch every day. Maybe the chips were on sale or it was faster to hand your kids lunch money instead of a sack lunch.
So before your well-intentioned efforts of healthy school lunches resemble more and more like your New Year’s resolutions in mid-February, the School Nutrition Association has declared the week of October 12-16 as National School Lunch Week. The organization is dedicated to supporting schools in creating healthy, nutritious and affordable school lunches.
Guest Blogger Terra Wellington is an actress and the author of The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (St. Martin’s Press). In her book, she outlines a Green School Action Blueprint for making greener and healthier changes at your child’s school.
For many years I’ve been concerned about the quality of the school lunches fed to my children.
A charter school was my children’s home away from home for several years, and that school didn’t have a cafeteria, so all kids had to bring a lunch from home – one of the best options for most families if you want to improve your child’s lunch diet.
But now that my children are in the regular public school system, it has brought back lots of childhood cafeteria memories … praying my milk wasn’t sour in second grade, shamelessly wishing for tater tots seven days a week as a fourth grader, and watching friends mop up oil off the top of pizza slices with an extra napkin in high school.
Before the Biggest Loser, Mandi Kramer said she was shy and not entirely happy with her body. Having grown up in a house with a bodybuilding mother, she said her rebellion was leaving the pressures of a perfectly heatlhy family and eating whatever she wanted and dismissing exercise. All of this took its toll, and although Mandi was 263 pounds when she started at the ranch, it still took convincing for her husband to understand why she had to go. Today, she says she’s a stronger, more independent person than she ever was. The new Mandi has a better relationship with her husband, her two young sons, her teammate and sister Aubrey, but most importantly herself.
The young daughters of President-Elect Barack Obama will be eating lunches that are healthy and organic at their new school Sidwell-Friends. The lunch menu should be the envy of school cafeterias nationwide. Not only is the food nutritious, it’s stuff kids will actually eat and enjoy. The Obamas are known for eating a lean diet, so it’s possible the quality of food their daughters would be served during the day played a part in their decision.
Sasha Obama, the younger daughter, attends the lower school, where menu items this week included:
It’s approaching back to school time, so have you though about your child’s (or children’s) lunch? It’s sad to say, but for the most part our school’s cafeteria food is extremely lagging in terms of providing healthy, nutritious meals. Even more upsetting is the fact that little can be done to improve these meals… simply put, it comes down to budgets and money.
I do have good news! Packing your child’s lunch can help guarantee your child is receiving a healthy meal that will help them stay focused and be motivated at school. Same rules apply here for your child as they do for you: limit the amount of processed foods (packaged cookies, chips, etc) you provide, pack water, milk, or 100% juice instead of soda, provide plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, and make sandwiches on whole grain/whole wheat bread.
Make it a group effort; you and your child can make the lunches together as part of your nightly routine before bed. That way your child has a say in the foods he/she will eat, you provide education to why eating a healthy diet is important (and lead by example!). It allows for some extra bonding time, and you are laying the foundation for your child’s health and their future food choices.
Kids are just getting back into the school groove and you may have noticed that you have started to slack on your intentions to send your child off to school with a healthy and nutritious lunch every day. Maybe the chips were on sale or it was faster to hand your kids lunch money instead of a sack lunch.
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I do have good news! Packing your child’s lunch can help guarantee your child is receiving a healthy meal that will help them stay focused and be motivated at school. Same rules apply here for your child as they do for you: limit the amount of processed foods (packaged cookies, chips, etc) you provide, pack water, milk, or 100% juice instead of soda, provide plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, and make sandwiches on whole grain/whole wheat bread.
