Category Archives: All blog posts

For healthy packed lunches – think inside the box

It’s painfully easy to fall into the “Sandwich, Chips and a Cookie” rut when it comes to packing lunches for your school age children…or for yourself! This morning on FOX19 in Cincinnati (Here’s a link to the video clip) I shared some ideas for easy, nutritionally balanced lunches that might not be top of mind during the morning rush!

 

To enable this whole plan there are a few containers you may want to have on hand:

1) a reusable lunchbox

2) a thermos or “hot food container” as they are sometimes called

3) a Bento Box, which is a segmented plastic or metal container modeled after the traditional Japanese lunchbox.

Remember Molly Ringwold’s lunchbox in The Breakfast Club? That was a bento! Pottery Barn Kids makes the one I’ve pictured here, but there are many on the market. If you don’t want to get a Bento Box, you can use small Tupperware (or Gladware) containers inside the lunchbox to keep the different foods separate from one another.

 

When it comes to the food itself, I like to compose a lunch with three elements:

1) a complex (whole grain, high fiber) carbohydrate

2) a source of protein

3) fruits and vegetables

Following that simple formula will open up some lunch ideas you might be overlooking.

 

As inspiration, here are 10 ideas for Healthy Lunches that I shared in a recent Nourish e-newsletter :

1) Whole wheat noodles sprayed with olive oil and dusted with parmesan cheese, edamame in the pods (fun!), sliced apples with cinnamon

2) Whole wheat tortilla with melted cheese rolled up and cut, side of salsa for dipping, jicama sticks, banana

3) Vanilla yogurt with sides of granola, nuts (if allowed), berries, carrot sticks

4) Whole wheat crackers with turkey and cheese, mango slices, salad greens with sliced veggies

5) Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, mixture of nuts and dried fruit, cucumber slices with cherry tomatoes

6) Chicken noodle soup (e.g. Healthy Choice) in a thermos, sugar snap peas, strawberries, greek yogurt

7) Rice, sushi (yes, some kids will eat it and love it!), non-fried spring roll/summer roll, grapes – make sure this one is on ice

8)  Fresh fruit salad (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, pineapple), Cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, graham crackers

9) Quinoa or brown rice pasta with cooked veggies and shredded cheese, a tangerine “cutie”, fresh blueberries and raspberries

10) Leftovers! If you’ve served a healthy dinner, let it do double duty. Heat up a portion of leftovers and put it in a thermos/hot food container. Add a side of fruit and lunch is served.

As for beverages, it’s best to send a small stainless steel water bottle daily – for variety you can add a splash of juice or use sparkling water. Horizon makes shelf-stable organic milk in single serve containers that pack well and an Honest Tea juice bag makes a good treat.

Importantly, while you’re packing lunches for your children, think about what you might pack for yourself using the same ideas. Too many women skip lunch altogether, robbing themselves of much-needed energy for their long afternoon and evening. My final piece of advice? Give yourself a lunch break too!

This entry was posted in All blog posts, Featured on Home Page, Food on by .

Blueberry-Lemon Bread

Since I was touting the benefits of after-school snacks earlier this week, it seems only fitting that I should offer up a suggestion as to what one might serve on such an occasion. While I feel it’s important that snacks usually provide a nutritionally sound mini-meal, sometimes you just want something a little…well…sweeter! For those occasions, here’s an easy and delicious quick bread that I’m sure any child would be happy to find waiting on the table after school. And hey, blueberries are healthy, right?

 

Blueberry-Lemon Bread

Adapted from Real Simple magazine

 

Makes 1 loaf

 

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into thin slices

1 1/2 cups blueberries

grated rind from 1 lemon (preferably organic since you are using the rind)

1 cup milk (skim is fine)

2 eggs beaten

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a 9″x5″ loaf pan by spraying it lightly with cooking spray.

2. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Gently mix in the blueberries and lemon rind. Stir in the milk and eggs until well blended.

4. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

5. Removed loaf from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

This entry was posted in All blog posts, Featured on Home Page, Food, Recipes on by .

The Lifetime Value of an After School Snack

My mom was the master of the after-school snack. When I think back to my early years of school, I have incredibly vivid memories of getting off the bus and making the short walk to our house with her, hand-in-hand, where she’d have the table set with a special set of dishes and something delicious to munch on as we talked about my day. In my memory, we used those dishes only for after school snacks, but in reality they were probably a set of dessert dishes she used for entertaining!

I don’t know if we used the special dishes every single day or not. Some afternoons, we probably just ate on a napkin at the counter. I don’t know if we even had a snack every day or not; there must have been days when we were running off to do errands or she had something else to do at 3PM. But what I know for sure is that we sat down for a chat and a bite to eat often enough, that after a lifetime of after-school moments, it feels like something we did every single day. It was a ritual.

That kitchen table was a place where I learned that my stories mattered. I learned to process what had happened in my day by talking about it. I learned that accomplishments were even more exciting and hurts weren’t quite as painful once shared, and that fears that overwhelmed me lost their power once we hashed them out together. The snacks were always delicious, but what was most important was having the chance to sort through the highs and lows of my day with the fixed attention of an adult who loved me.

I’ve been thinking about that ritual lately because my oldest starts first grade today and this is her first year of being in school all day. Her childhood will be a little different than mine. For one thing, I work longer hours than my mom did, and as another, her afternoons quickly become packed with playdates and after-school activities. It may not be realistic for us both to sit down for a snack with special dishes every day (though you can bet I’ll do that as often as I can!).

What is realistic is for me to carve out time every single day to hear about her day. It may be not happen until an hour or two (or three) after school ends; it may even take place over the phone.  But she will feel for that little piece of time,  that she has center stage in the fast-paced play that is our life . She’ll learn that someone is always there to help her sort through the events of her day. And she will know that her stories matter.

This entry was posted in All blog posts, Featured on Home Page, Food, Lifestyle on by .