Written by: Lauren Lax Move over Cheetohs and Fruit Roll-ups! “Kid food” and school lunches are getting a makeover with these updated (healthy, gut-friendly and brain-friendly) spins on some of our old childhood favorite food “classics.” Below is all-you (and the kids) need to survive School Lunches with a “Wired to Eat” approach—eating foods you and your kids were intended to thrive upon—no added sugar, additives or hydrogenated oils included.
“KID-FOOD” IS A BUNCH OF CROCKGrowing up, what did you like to pack in your lunchbox for school? Every year, I always had a new kick.
Oh, sigh. The good ol’ days… As a kid of the Processed Food Generation, I somehow lived to tell about it (although, I KNOW my gut health in future years suffered tremendously). And, chances are, if you have kids (or you eat like a kid yourself), they are somehow living to tell about eating these “kid classic” foods and snacks too. Unfortunately, in a society where 80% of the foods on grocery store shelves are Man-Made-Food-Like-Products, we’ve raised our kids (and ourselves) to believe that kids ONLY eat “kid food.” We tell them (and ourselves) that kids are “picky,” and we’ve trained them (and ourselves) to believe that anything outside of the packaged, processed or sugar-filled version of a food is “yucky.” In order to get them to eat anything “real” (an apple, broccoli, chicken, sweet potato), we have to dress it up in a sugar-filled peanut butter, fake cheese sauce, breaded coating or ketchup. And we wonder WHY…
Is there something in the water? Our brains and bodies eat what our mouths eat. While Goldfish, Gushers and Lunchables are definitely tasty “kid-friendly” foods, we are no longer living in the 80’s and 90’s—when processed foods were way cool. Knowledge is power, and today, we have the knowledge (and awareness) that what we eat (and what our kids eat) matters for our brain health (1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940716/ , 2 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626) gut health (1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2016-11-08-common-food-additives-linked-to-bowel-cancer/, 2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303825/) and quality of life overall. HEALTHY EATING DEFINEDMaybe you DO recognize that “food matters” and you are onboard for feeding your kids “healthy food”—however…pop question: What IS healthy food anyway? Is it whole grains? Organic boxed mac and cheese? Sugar-free pudding and Jell-O? 100% real fruit juice? Low-fat cheese? Or is it something else…. A comparison between the Standard American Diet to the original human diet—real food (before processed foods and Twinkies happened), reveals two completely different versions of health. On the left, we have: Standard American Diet On the right, we have: Original Human Diet If “health” is being the most optimized version of a human being we can be (brain health and gut health included), you cannot go wrong with real food. “BUT MY KID WON’T EAT REAL FOOD!” Never say never… KID-FRIENDLY LUNCHESThe good news? “Healthier” foods don’t have to equal cardboard rice cakes, dry salads or grainy wheat bread. Your kids (and you) CAN have your cake and eat it too with 105 Kid-Tasted-and-Approved Healthy Lunch Ideas (Real Food Included).The best part? You (and your kids) get to choose your adventure! The following Real-Food School Lunch Cheat Sheet included categories with each of the food groups that make up a “balanced” meal—proteins, healthy fats, carbs (namely veggies and fruits) and of course, some healthy treats. All you (and the kids) have to do? Simply choose your adventure—mixing and matching different options at lunch time for TONS of flavor and variety for the year ahead! Here’s to real food, healthy brains and loved guts. All you need?
(Bonus: You may, just may, notice a difference in your own kiddo’s behavior, demeanor and health the more you feed him or her real food options).
KID-FRIENDLY LUNCHESCHOOSE YOUR ADVENTUREPick and choose one option from each group. (Or see Meal Combo Ideas below for inspiration on how to put together a mean, lean lunch that puts the Hot Pockets to shame) PROTEINS
VEGGIES
FRUITS
via Blogger 105 Kid-Tasted-and-Approved Healthy School Lunch Ideas- (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo Options Included)
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Leo Douglas
Leo Douglas spends most of his time at the fitness gym where he trains young individuals to live a healthy lifestyle and achieve the shape they want. He believes in the saying that, "one's desire to change must be greater than his desire to stay the same." |