Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
Monday is back to school for the divas (and the crowd goes wild!).
This year I have a few tools in my arsenal to make sure their lunchboxes are fitting for Foodie Nation heiresses 😉
Here’s my top five suggestions to make YOUR lunch box a little bit healthier (for you AND the kids!) Where applicable, links are provided in the title to where you can order.
#5: A Bento-style Lunch Box (link is different from box shown, but you can click on the picture if you’re interested in that one)
These things are neat! They allow you to have several different things in one lunch, complete with dipping sauces and it’s instant portion control!
Aren’t these reusable sandwich and snack bags CUTE??? I bought each of the divas a set of these. I have been on a movement the last year or so to make our lunches a bit more eco-friendly. Healthy earth, healthy you, I always say. (Btw they come in all sorts of designs geared toward boys and girls!)
Now if you have older kids (like my 13 year-old) you may get exiled for life into the “silent zone” for packing these, but when my girls were little I used them. My youngest especially battled several bad bouts of separation anxiety in school and these little notes were just the ticket to making her feel better. Mental health is also important in the lunch box!
#2: Plenty of drink sticks or MiO
I used to buy juice boxes until I found out two things. First, that in my kids school there aren’t that many opportunities for them to get water during the day (I can’t be but so crazed about that. Teachers have a lot to accomplish in a day and I am THANKFUL!). Second is that my kids actually PREFER to drink water, even if flavored water. Well…that was the end of the juice boxes! Now I either pack drink sticks (and you can get naturally sweetened ones if you don’t want your little ones consuming artificial sweeteners) or MiO + a bottle of water. That way it’s their choice: plain water or flavored!
#1 – Great snacks
My divas lunch boxes always contain the following: A main dish (sometimes it is a sandwich with whole-grain bread, sometimes a cold salad like tuna, sometimes it’s a green salad and here’s how I keep those fresh for them) + one piece of whole fruit + some sort of indulgence. I also tend to pack them snacks. They have early lunch times and their teachers have embraced that full bellies tend not to be as restless. So I pack good snacks! The girls favorites: veggies with ranch for dipping, a protein bar (I kid you not. They love Quest bars!), an apple or even yogurt. I use these to make sure their yogurt lasts throughout the day.
Like I said, any of these things would serve your kids or YOU well in your healthy lunch endeavors.
Have a suggestion to add? Please leave a comment!
