OK, part three. Put your seat-belts on.So in Part One I talked a little bit about the crap that I ate at lunch when I was a school boy. Part Two featured the crap that my son eats for lunch in 2010. Fantastic stuff. Neither one of us enjoyed simple nutrition at lunch time. No kidding.
Today I want to tell you how our kids CAN eat a healthy supportive meal at lunch time. It’s really pretty simple. Does it really matter… uhhhhh YEAH!!
Kids are fatter today than 5 – 10 – 20 – whatever, years ago. Is this fact open for argument?
Is it because of school lunches? Even I am not naive enough to believe that is the sole or even the main cause. I do, however, think that it matters and that it is a factor.
Let’s look at two ways that can help our kids to eat a lunch that enriches and nourishes their bodies.
Brown bag it. OK, you don’t send your kid with a brown bad anymore. Technology allows for more efficient lunch packing. They sell lunch boxes at Wal-mart and Target. You can get a simple ice pack there as well.
OK, so what do you put in their new shiny lunch box?
Drink: Water. NO THEY DO NOT NEED JUICE OR SODA OR MILK. Please. They need water to live. End of story.
Snacks: Fruit is AWESOME! Lots of energy and nutrients! An apple perhaps; or a banana. (If you send a banana make sure it is protected. Banana and ice packs do not go well together!!) Also you should include some veggies. What kid would not like a sliced up cucumber or green pepper in his lunch box? Fantastic! A few handfuls of nuts it GREAT as well! Good protein and fats to keep the energy up!
Lunch: Tupperware rules. Leftovers with brown rice, veggies and some meat will help them to have energy for the rest of the day! How about a salad with some beans? Mmmm. A sandwich is acceptable at long as it doesn’t involve mayo or white bread. A turkey sandwich with mustard, tomatoes and lettuce is a good option. Tasty and nutritious!
Dessert: NO DESSERT NEEDED! HA! We want to be nutritious not destructive!
Notices there are no pretzels or potato chips or pasties or candy? No soda! No juice! No white bread! No micro wave! Support their bodies with healthy food!
See Nick's Full article here
Simon says: -
Nick has described our strategy of packing the boys off to school with their lunch everyday. Only water to drink, fruit, veggies (although they don't thank us for this one) and all good wholesome food.
If they eat it all then they get a smiley face on the smiley face chart at home and a little treat - no we're not perfect, we still resort to bribery.
And no the boys don't yet throw the good stuff away as they still believe that we watch their every move with our "magic eyes" haha.
Of course that won't last and we will have our challenges but we've started well and most importantly we've started creating habits that we hope the boys will stick with for the rest of their lives.
3 comments:
I agree with you, all kids should be given the diet of "bread and water". hahaha
B
KUDOS to you man! If only we could get all parents on board w/ the brown bag it program. Really.. the schools want to save money on food? Eliminate hot lunch. All kids bring lunch to school... I know not everyone would make these types of choices, but then the ones of us that do would not have to 'compete' w/ the hot lunch.
It starts at home ... awesome job!
Not quite bread and water Bryan but good to see you're on the programme.
Thanks Laura. In fact our boys go to an International School in KL, Malaysia and believe it or not the biggest challenge we have is our boys coming home and asking why they can't have cookies and cake in their lunch bags like all the other kids...Expats are supposed to be fairly smart aaren't they??? Apparently not it would seem and you only have to look at the parents to see that diet in not a high priority!!! SHOCKING.
Post a Comment