Healthy Lunches

[rbunnymom]

10 Essential Lunch Lessons | WholeFoodsMarket.com



You don’t have to be a kid to benefit from these 10 essential lessons that will guide you in choosing healthier, tastier foods:

1. Choose meat, poultry and dairy products with no added hormones or antibiotics. Read the label carefully, or choose organics to be sure.
2. Fish around for safer, more sustainable seafood. Know the source.Ask about mercury content. When choosing farm raised, look for no added hormones or antibiotics.
3. Trade hydrogenated oils and trans fats for healthier fats, including olives, nuts and nut butters, avocados, seeds, eggs and certain types of fish.
4. Favor fresh fruits and veggies, particularly organics, and eat a rainbow of colors. When you need a shortcut, choose frozen over canned.
5. Skip the artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners. Savor the taste of unadulterated real foods.
6. Lighten up on refined sugar. Satisfy a sweet tooth with fresh or dried fruit or sweeteners like agave, honey, maple syrup, pureed fruit and other natural, unrefined alternatives.
7. Avoid high-fructose corn syrup You may be surprised where you find it, so always check the label.
8. Go for whole grains instead of white flour. You’ll get more fiber, and in many cases more protein and essential vitamins.
9. Say no to genetically modified organisms when you can. The easiest way to avoid them is to choose organic.
10. Nix the nitrates and nitrites added to meats. Whole Foods Market offers meats with no added nitrates or nitrites.

[DoreenGoinGreen]

My kids just love the Oroweat whole grain breads, but is there other favorite brands? Please shame me with a homemade recipe. lol

My other question is satifying a sweet tooth with fresh or dried fruits. Any favorite recipes to jazz up my weekend?

TIA

[alaskajamaica]

the zucchini bread recipe in the breads/muffins category here is to die for. I added carrots and beets and no one knew and I made mini muffins. My toddler loved it and so did my husband and I. I also did not put nuts, but cranberries. You can hide all sorts of great stuff in there- fun stuff to:-)

[alexia598]

Please keep healthy lunch ideas coming. I'm really struggling to feed my picky 5 year-olds. My oldest was only picky about mixed foods so this is driving me crazy. I'll try the zucchini bread for Monday's noon-time picking -- I mean, lunch.

Today I packed turkey tortilla roll-ups, green grapes (they liked 'em last week, but not this week), and corn. Can't get much more kid-friendly, right? Aaargh!

[rbunnymom]

Check out Build a Better Lunchbox

[rbunnymom]

Healthy Lunch Ideas from Annie's

[rbunnymom]

Back to School | Delicious Living helps Parents and Kids with Healthy Eating Habits

Lots of great ideas.

[IFALLSMICHELLE]

I have been sending my son ham and apricot jam sandwiches - he loves them. String cheese, grapes, peanut butter filled pretzels and one chocolate kiss.

He had told me to send more chocolate kisses.

[OHeather]

How about frozen veggies that will thaw a little by lunch time--like petite peas. I don't know what it is about frozen veggies, but DS used to love them when we had a lunch away from home.

Another idea is applesauce with frozen blueberries. I made my own applesauce last year without any sugar. Sometimes DS thinks it's sweet enough, but recently it isn't. If I add some frozen blueberries to it, I don't have to add the sugar...and that makes both of us happy. Adding some cinnamon also gives another variation, with or without blueberries.

Now would be a great time to take your child to an apple orchard. You can make apple chips with or without the skin. I like them both ways, and it's a lot less work to keep the peel on!

[IFALLSMICHELLE]

My husband made banana chips with our food dehydrator and the kids loved them. He got bananas on clearance as they were getting pretty ripe (not brown just very yellow). A cheap and healthy lunch item too. My Dad has tons of apple trees, we will have to do this with apples too.

[rbunnymom]

Check out this site connected with Whole Foods.

The Lunch Box