Just because back to school is a busy time of year doesn’t mean your child’s healthy lifestyle can’t make the grade. I recently sat down with Jen Harniman Crangle LSW, owner of the Simple Kitchen, a social worker, certified health coach and mother. She has witnessed firsthand the connection between misbehavior in children and their diets, and teaches families how to make delicious decisions to happier lives.
“Back to school is a very busy time and parents look for shortcuts, which is okay. Unfortunately, the packaged foods they buy for lunches has a lot of sugar, fat, empty carbs and not a lot of nutrition,” said Jen.
Jen recommends picking one day a week to devote to a family meal planning day. Use this day to build a grocery list that features items which can be used for multiple, simple recipes throughout the week. One pot meals, quesadillas, and precooked brown rice for fried rice are some suggestions.
The entire family should be involved in the planning, food shopping and doing the weekly food prep such as cutting up fruits and veggies and grilling chicken. Find meal planning inspiration from these websites: Andrea Beaman, The Simple Kitchen and Weelicious.
Preparing foods in advance makes for a smoother and less stressful week. According to Jen, it’s all about moderation. Her philosophy is 90 percent of the time you eat good and the other 10 percent you live. Parents should talk to their kids about healthy choices when they aren’t hungry and lasting changes should be introduced one-by-one over time. Eating healthy isn’t just up to kids. If they see their parents eating healthy foods, they are more likely to try it themselves. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be scary or a time-consuming battle, it just takes a little planning.
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it provides energy to jump start your day. It is important to have a balanced breakfast including a protein, fruits, vegetables and dairy.
Skip the sugary cereals and serve your kids a piece of quiche, homemade pancakes or waffles, yogurt (unsweetened yogurt and add your vanilla extract or raw honey), fruit smoothies with a hint of veggies (any leftover smoothie can be used for Popsicle) or even make a waffle sandwich with peanut butter and raw honey. (Jen shares a recipe for a quick and easy frittata here.)
Lunch
Kids have a greater chance of eating their meals if they are involved in the process such as if they are given small jobs like breaking up of broccoli. Kids spend a lot of time socializing during lunchtime. Parents tend to over-pack lunches, think about how much kids actually eat during lunch.
“When you look at kids nutrition, you want to look at what they are eating over the week. Kids will not typically overeat, kids will eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. There are a few exceptions to that rule, it would be the kid who is not nourished and typically its the kid that eats a lot of processed foods.” Jen said.
Trade in your juice box for a water, but if you do choose juice, pick a brand that is 100% fruit juice with no sugars added to it.
The classic peanut butter with no sugar added and jelly with real fruit on whole wheat bread always goes well in moderation. In case your kids’ school is peanut-free try sunflower butter, almond butter or soy butter. Carlino’s carries homemade roasted deli meats without nitrates and are 98% fat free. Whole Foods features lunch meats without GMOs or additives.
Chances are if kids enjoyed a meal at dinner (like grilled cheese or mashed potatoes), they will love it at lunch. Cool weather is perfect for soups, chilis and stews, just heat up them up before school and by the time lunch rolls around their thermos will still be warm.
Chester and Delaware Counties has an abundance of pick your own farms. Highland Orchards, Longview Center for Agriculture, Linvilla Orchards and Indian Orchards all yield family fun along with healthy eating. Throw in some cut up fruit and veggies to sweeten your child’s meal. Freeze summer berries and pop them frozen in your kids lunchbox, this is a great way to enjoy berries not in season.
Playing with your food can be a fun way to get your kids to try new foods. Pack dunkable snacks like sunflower or almond butters with pretzels or carrots. Jen suggests corn chips, dried fruits, nuts or raisins in place of sugary snacks. If a snack has more than 15 mg of sugar, look at it as a treat and only pack it occasionally.
When the kids get home from a busy school day, have a plate of fresh veggies or fruits laid out for them. Bringing your kids into the kitchen and asking them to help with dinner prep is a great way to learn about their day.
Dress Up Your Kid’s Lunches
Now that you have tips on what to pack, here are a few local places that sell things to pack it in!
Bag the brown bag this year, visit your local Wegmans for Bento Boxes, which portions lunches perfectly for kids of all ages.
Penwick Design sells everything you could need for back to school lunches and alternatives to the boring bags for the office; Lunchskins (reusable sandwich and snack bags, which are dishwasher safe), resnack it bags, insulated and adorable lunch bags, and Vapur foldable water bottles. Their hours are Monday – Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
