School Lunch Ideas

I have been asked many times to post ideas for kids lunches.   So here ya go!  The first thing I always suggest is purchasing some sort of bento box lunch kit.  We get ours from www.laptoplunches.com .  These type of lunch kits make it super easy to pack a healthy lunch and the fact that they are in a box keeps them from getting all squished!  I also love them because they only have 4 compartments so I am not trying to fill a HUGE bag/box full of stuff! Everyday I try to pack one fruit, one or two veggies, a protein and if there is a spot left then they get a treat.

Vegetables that we find pack easy and stay well in the box until lunch are sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery...basically any vegetable that your kid likes and will eat!  I mainly pack raw veggies but will on occasion pack cooked veggies left over from the past nights dinner.

For fruits we like apple slices, small plums (I say small because they have to fit in the box), clementines (when in season), orange slices, grapefruit slices, diced melon, strawberries, raspberries (but these will get mushy if your kid spins the box around and around on the way into school and then on the way to the lunch room....we learned this the hard way) blueberries, blackberries...again think what types of fruit your child likes and figure out the best way to send it. Such as plums I tend to send whole or they can get mushy, apples sliced and tossed in lemon juice work great, etc.
.
For the main dish/protein we change it up depending on what is on hand.  This is where you can change it up and give variety from day to day.   Our go to items are nitrate free lunch meats, leftover grilled chicken, the occasional organic Applegate Farms chicken tenders (these are pricy so we opt for homemade grilled chicken more often).   Any items leftover from dinner the night before works great too...chicken legs, meatloaf, meatballs and spaghetti are all favorite lunch box leftovers in our house.  In fact as I am typing this my oldest son shouted "save me some of that spaghetti for my lunch tomorrow"!  I do sandwiches sometimes but they get BORING...so we will only do them when there is nothing else around.  Whole grain tortillas work well for wraps with nitrate free meat and lettuce or peanut butter and honey.  My daughter (my oldest child) loves to pack leftover stew, noodles or soup when we have it available. Leftover pizza works well too...yes we sometimes eat pizza!  (thin crust of course)

If there is a spot left after all the healthy foods are in and we have "snacks" on hand I will from time to time pack things like pretzels, crackers, whole black olives, pickles or cheese cubes in one of the compartments.   If we have made cookies or some other sweet treats they will occationally show up as a sweet surprise...but this is rare as they don't "need" that sugar pulsing through their veins while trying to sit still and focus!  The teachers will thank you!  :)  

Think outside the normal "lunch box".  Basically, pack what you know your kids will eat and what they love.

The first year we started packing lunches in the bento boxes Parker was in the first grade.  I had to learn to pack lunches for my fruit and veggie loving kid since he wasn't going to be home each day for lunch.  His teacher would always make a point to go and see what I had packed for him each day.   One day last year I had a teacher stop me and ask if I was a nutritionist.  When I said no...why?  She said she assumed I was based on what all of my kids brought to school in their lunches.  Made me smile!  :0)  I don't do it to impress others I do it to feed my kids bodies and minds the best way I know how...with real food!  :)

Hope this helps!  You can use the same principles when packing grown up lunches too.  One last thing I almost always stick a freezer pack in the top to keep everything nice and chilled...ready for eating!  If the food they are taking that day need to stay warm I will try and pack veggies and fruits that can stand being a bit warm.  My daughter will take her warm stuff in a thermos...and so will Parker occasionally.   But they are used to eating a lot of things like grilled chicken, spaghetti, meatloaf and meatballs straight out of the fridge...so they don't mind them cool in their lunches as well.

Training Has Begun!

Well no backing out now. I officially registered for a 10K running over the Galveston causeway in October. It will give me a bit over the 8 weeks needed to train properly. I am using Hal Higdon's training program which I have used in the past when training for my half marathons. It is a free program so if you are ever training for any kind of distance race I recommend it. I am excited to get back into a hard core training program. I plan to do before and after pictures as well as measurements to track my progress. I don't really have weight to lose just need to tone and tighten back up to where I am my normal fit self. I would also LOVE to find my abs! Today's workout was just a nice brisk walk as I am still pretty sore from Tuesday morning Cross Fit beating! But tomorrow it will be back on the treadmill for a 2 mile run and then some strength training.

I tend to work best if I workout first thing in the morning. I am a morning person by nature. Not that it is always easy peeling myself out of my cozy bed. I sometimes have to have a pep talk with myself. It usually goes something like this..."will you feel better about yourself if you sleep for an extra hour or if you get up and go workout?" And the answer is always..."better if I get up and workout". I know this because it is still hard to peel out of bed an hour later and then I feel bad for not getting my workout in. If you are a night person and prefer to workout at night then by all means do that. The time of day you exercise is not important it is getting it done that is important.

I will end with this thought, which is another early morning pep talk I have had with myself: If you want something different you have to do something different.

What am I getting myself into?

Hi there!  Wow!  I can't believe that I am actually doing this.  I have thought about starting a blog for a while now.  In fact I have had friends telling me to do it for years.  So here I go!  My goal has always been to help other moms become fit mammas with fit kids.  By writing this blog I am in hopes to inspire and motivate others as well as myself.   Let me start off by telling you a bit about myself.   I am a mom of three beautiful blue eyed children and the wife to a wonderful blue eyed man (I have green eyes in case you were curious).  I was born in raised in a small Oklahoma town (Ponca City to be exact) and in our mid twenties we moved from Edmond, OK to the Houston, TX area.  My husband is a chiropractor in Pasadena, TX.  Which is partly why I am as passionate about health as I am.  As of October of last year we both work full time in our clinic.  I was blessed by having the privilege of being a stay at home mom for 13 years but due to several factors it was necessary for me to begin working full time in our clinic last year.  So I feel like I have been in both the at home mom world and the working mom world and can offer advice to both types of mommas.  I have a passion for clean, minimally processed food.   I love trying new recipes and baking on the weekends but try to keep things easy and simple on the weekdays.  I am trying to learn to love running.  In fact I am currently training for a 10K coming up in October of 2011.  I have ran in 3 Houston Half Marathons over the past few years...but still do not love running.  When it comes to fitness I have done it all from P90X to Cross Fit. 

With this blog I hope to share recipes, cooking and exercise tips as well as advise for feeding your entire family whole and healthy foods.  Well I think that is about it for my first post.  I tend to get a bit wordy when I am up on my soap box...but that is what a blog is all about right?  Thanks for stopping by.  Stop by regularly and keep me accountable!  :)