Back to School Lunch Success for Kids with Allergies

Back to school means big transitions and Cindy Gordon with Vegetarianmamma.com is letting us in on how she transitions into lunches away from home for her child with allergies: 

Its that time of year again, when the kids head back to school! For many parents of children with food allergies this time of year also brings many challenges. There are many schools that are beginning to offer alternative lunches such as gluten free options and some allergy free options. But, if your school doesn't offer those choices or you want to insure all your child's allergy needs are met, you will need to pack your child's lunch.

Laptop Lunches provides the perfect canvas to provide a healthy and fun lunch while keeping our food allergy children safe! To get ready for the school year let your child pick out which box he/she will be using. Getting your child involved will help reduce any fears/anxieties they might have about eating at school. Sit down with your child and make a list of his/her favorite foods that might be options to pack in their lunch! Be sure to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins. The bright cheerful colors and fresh delicious food will certainly catch the eyes of all the kids sitting at the lunch table!

Laptop Lunches are complete; the only other item your child needs is a drink. The box is self contained which means your child doesn't have to worry about food laying their on the lunch table; think about the possible cross contamination of an uncleaned table surface. Children can be messy by nature and I always think about the kids that sat at the table before my child and wonder if they ate any allergens. When my child eats from his Laptop Lunch box I don't have to worry about that. The framed box provides structure and order for children during lunch. The children can sit, eat and enjoy their food instead of struggling with multiple bags and containers in their lunch sack.

We not only pack our lunch for school, but we honestly pack our lunches everywhere we go! There are many risks when going out to eat at restaurants, when you have a food allergy. Everyone has their own comfort levels with restaurant procedures regarding food allergies. Its not easy for a family with food allergies to just “pick up some food” while you are out running errands. I always make sure that I have a lunch packed when we head out. If its nice we can have a picnic, tailgate from the back of the car or the kids have been known to have a picnic in the car. I have found with the the box containers the children are actually neater when eating. As a mom, I like the idea of less mess!

The key to lessening your challenges and stresses is being prepared! I have found that letting my child pick their lunch box and helping pick items to go in the lunch box makes for a more peaceful transition into
school lunch times. Having a sturdy self contained lunch box for my child to eat out of helps my fear of allergen exposure at school and in public places.

What steps have you taken to reduce the challenges you face as a parent of a child with food allergies?

Cindy Gordon is the owner and author of Vegetarianmamma.com She blogs about recipes, products and life. Cindy also is a weekly Vegetarian Gluten Free menu planner for BetterBatter.org  Her vegetarian family is learning to navigate through the food allergy world of peanut free, tree free, dairy free and gluten free.

Making Lunches Work

By Marissa Vicario, Marissa’s Well-being and Health (MWAH!)

Eating the same deli salad for lunch day in and day out can get boring and going to the nearest restaurant chain with co-workers can quickly pile on the pounds. Well-portioned lunches that travel well from home to office are well worth the minimal effort they take to prepare and result in a fatter wallet and slimmer waistline. Try some of these ideas for a healthier, more satisfying lunch.

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      Last Night’s Leftovers: Make more than you need and enjoy them the next day.

• Nori Wraps: Nori, the seaweed that is used to make sushi, can be used to wrap any leftovers from the refrigerator. Get creative with your combinations or try this: leftover cooked brown rice, romaine lettuce, sliced avocado, sliced apple, a few basil leaves, some cilantro sprigs and leftover cooked greens like kale.
• Super Salads: Deli salads don’t stand a chance next to homemade mixes that pack organic, high quality ingredients and loads of superfoods. Make your own dressing or keep it simple with lemon juice and olive oil or a splash of balsamic vinegar.
• Homemade Soups: Make soup loaded with beans, grains and veggies ahead of time in a large batch and freeze any excess for a later date.

But just because you’re bringing lunch from home is no excuse to overdo it on the serving size. Use this guide for smart portion control: 

•          Keep meat/poultry/fish to 4 ounce servings - or the size of your palm
•          A serving of whole grains should be the size of your fist, one cup
•          Two ounces of organic cheese is the size of two fingers
•          Fill half your plate with green vegetables and limit second helpings to greens
•          Eat sweets only on occasion and plan ahead

About Marissa Vicario

Marissa Vicario is lover of all things health and wellness and Founder of Marissa's Well-being and Health (MWAH!). As a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Marissa  works with urban professionals who want to lose weight, control their cravings and feel more energized without dieting, deprivation or calorie-counting. Having navigated her way to health while working in the corporate world, Marissa knows how to balance health and wellness with a demanding workload. She regularly lectures on corporate wellness, teaches cooking classes and is a believer in motivating women to kick off their stilettos and break in their stove tops as a first step in adopting a healthier lifestyle and kissing their unhealthy habits goodbye. Marissa blogs on health, wellness, spirituality and self love at www.whereineedtobe.com

The A, B and C’s of Lunch

By: Paula Sirois

It’s happened to everyone – even you. You've finished with lunch and suddenly you’re sleepy – ready for a nap. Eyes start closing, mind stops listening and nap time starts calling. That’s fine and dandy if you’re home and inches away from your bed (with a magically empty ‘to do’ list – as if!). But what if you’re ten years old and in school and in the middle of math class no less? What’s a kid to do?  Well, first off you (the parent), need to know what’s causing this dire need for sleep and then you need to know how to fix it.

According to Dr. Oz’s site (http://www.doctoroz.com/), the University of Nevada School of medicine explains “There may be many reasons you may feel tired after eating lunch. One common reason is that after a meal your blood sugar quickly rises as food is digested.” Basically you eat and your body’s reaction is to jump onto this blood sugar roller coaster.  Heading up the coaster it tells your muscles and fat cells to soak up that extra sugar. You've seen kids (and adults) on a sugar high – lots of energy, quick talking and quick moving.  But what goes up must come down.  So when the coaster is heading down, the sugar is gone, the ride is over and you’re energy is over too.  We all know this phase as the sugar crash.  “Meals with a large amount of simple carbohydrates (sugars and starches) tend to cause this blood sugar rise and fall to a greater extent than meals heavier in proteins or complex carbohydrates.”

Livestrong.com notes “Making time for a healthy lunch can pay off both mentally and physically. Eating in the middle of the day, several hours after breakfast, re-energizes your body…” The site suggests that for kids, lunch is even more important, “Since most kids don't get breakfast or dinner at school and may not have any snacks until they get home, lunch is the only meal they have to power them through the day. According to ChoiceUSA.net, school lunch makes up one third to one half of a child's nutritional intake for an entire day and is essential for helping children succeed in school as well as grow and develop successfully and healthfully.”

Now that you know why it happens and why lunch is important, here’s how to fix it. Packing some ‘stay-awake-and-learn’ lunches is as easy as your A, B’s and C’s:

A is for ‘a little of this, a little of that.’ Kids are notorious finger food eaters. Instead of sending a big thermos of something, consider tiny portions that make it easier to pick up and eat. A little (immunity boosting) yogurt, some (slow-burning source of energy) granola, rolled-up lean turkey (for the protein) and some carrot sticks (for the vision helper Vitamin A) make for a simple, fun and healthy lunch.

B is for Berries: Joy Bauer, a registered dietician suggests memory and brain healthy food choices like blueberries. Blueberries (or really any berries will do) have been shown to reverse memory decline. Not just help with your memory, but also actually reverse any damage. Impressive stuff for a tiny berry, no? Dark, leafy greens like spinach; Swiss chad and kale have a ton of folic acid in them that help with your brain health and memory. Fatty fish like salmon or the plant based alternative, ground flax seed; both offer tons of Omega 3, which boosts your brain. Doubtful your kid will love some salmon at noon, but flax seed is easy to hide. Just sprinkle some on just about anything from a sandwich to a soup to a salad.

C is for colorful: Kids love color, so why not make their lunch a colorful surprise? Red peppers (more Vitamin C than an orange), green apple slices (packed with rich phyto-nutrients, yellow chicken soup (protein and renowned healing powers) and some brown rice (all that great fiber) make for a fun, festive and healthy lunch.

Lunch is an important meal in your day – giving you the energy you need to stay awake and keep going. If you’re looking for some helpful printouts on meal plans and grocery shopping lists, check out First lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move website at http://www.letsmove.gov/eat-healthy which offers a host of tools and ideas to help.

Bon Appetite!

Paula Sirois is a holistic health coach and writer who tries to find the wit and humor in all that stuff that make up our daily lives; the ups and downs, the good and the bad - and all that messy, gooey mess in the middle. She can be found at RockZebra@hotmail.com or www.rockzebracompany.com where the simple (rock) and unexpected (zebra) things are all you need.

Laptop Lunches on Martha Stewart!

Cool lunch packing ideas in the Laptop Lunches Bento Sets will be featured on today's Martha Stewart Show!

Be sure to check it out at 10am on the Hallmark Channel!