Yes You Can

Pack healthy lunches for you and your kid(s)

Packing healthy lunches for my son has always been a priority. Having been a preschool teacher for so many years and seeing the CRAP these little bodies are getting is so upsetting. EVEN AFTER we have more knowledge about the benefits of a nutritious, well-balanced meal not only for to prevent things like obesity and diabetes, but also the benefits on children's emotional regulation. I have seen it time and time again, the children who eat lunchables, uncrustables and any other completely processed main food, along with a gogurt and cup of peaches doused in high fructose corn syrup are by far the one's with either a social, emotional or hyper activity issue. Not to mention the inability to nap, quiet their bodies and go to the bathroom.

I am no nutritionist, but I have been a teacher for over ten years, studied nutrition and have seen the first hand benefits and side affects of a proper diet. And by the way, I teach in a highly affluent, well-educated population. They have more time, (nannies) more money and more accessibility to the best quality food. There is no excuse.

The only thing that is easier for me than perhaps others, is that I have a particular lunch eater and only one to worry about. He prefers a peanut butter sandwich, yogurt and fruit EVERYDAY. I've tried to pack him other things, but he won't eat it. So instead we give him a great variety for dinner every night, and lunch remains the same. It's filled with protein, calcium, vitamins, fiber, good carbohydrates. So why bother?!?

The lunch goes as follows: 

All natural peanut butter sandwich, TJ's yogurt (there are no additives) and fresh fruit, today it's an orange from Nana's orange tree. Oh, and I also packed him one of our 5 ingredient banana muffins. He knows that whatever he doesn't have time to eat at school, cuz he's a talker, he will have for snack afterwards. 

My lunchbox has:

Romain lettuce to go with my tuna salad, another bowl for soup I have at work, purple carrot sticks, celery for peanut butter, an orange (yep from that tree!)

Did I motivate??!?!