Archives for September 2018

What’s For Lunch?

September 28, 2018 by Elizabeth Davenport Leave a Comment

Elizabeth, here. I hope you had a chance to read Anna’s recent post about the importance of eliminating diet talk from schools. And did you see our new resource to share with teachers and coaches? It makes it so easy to reach out and share your beliefs about food with anyone who works with your children.

Has everyone settled into the new school year? If you’re anything like me, it’s the time of year you get stuck in the lunch-making-ho-hums. I don’t love packing lunches and get tired of it pretty quickly! As a way to prevent the ho-hums and mix things up a bit, I thought I’d share a few more ideas for quick and easy lunches to add to the LUNCH LIST.

What’s For Lunch?

Leftover Pizza, Clementines and Homemade Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

A teenager or older child would likely need at least two slices of pizza depending on the slice size. (These are actually quite small. I had to cut this piece of pizza in two to fit it in the container). Or add a Greek yogurt or some trail mix to lunch if there’s only one slice per older child. For younger children, make a hole in the top of the clementines to make it easy for littler hands to peel them, or just peel them before putting them in the lunchbox.

I love these Sistema lunch cubes as I mentioned here a few weeks ago. They have plenty of room for a full lunch. And the fact that the container closes between sections means less likelyhood the pizza or cookies will taste like clementines and vice versa.

My youngest loves leftover pizza for lunch! This makes me happy because it’s so easy and it really satisfies her. …

Please Don’t Teach My Kids to Diet: 5 Resources to Give Teachers and Schools

September 12, 2018 by Anna Lutz 14 Comments

It’s that time of year — back to school! The end of summer brings a lot of excitement and anticipation at my house. The last few weeks have been a juggling act with new schools and new schedules. We’ve told a dear nanny goodbye and we’re getting used to new childcare arrangements. I have a child who has started middle school and a very early morning schedule. We have 3 children in 3 schools and in the process of adjusting. I’m back to planning and packing lunches and have been grateful for Elizabeth’s post on school lunch ideas. I find that during this time of year I get overwhelmed with the adjustment to all of the “newness.” I logically tell myself we will be okay and will settle into the new routine. I know, intellectually, if I forget to send in a signed form or miss an appointment, in the process, it won’t be the end of the world. I also know emotions aren’t logical.

Let’s Support Kids’ Natural Abilities

Part of the beginning of the school year is getting to know new teachers, administrators, and coaches. I am so grateful to teachers. I know I don’t have the skills or patience to be a teacher and I always want to support them in making their very difficult job easier. I also know the way I approach food and nutrition in my home is often different from how others do. So, when there is a new educator or caregiver in my kids’ lives, I wonder what’s the best way to handle this potential difference. Because I am a Registered Dietitian that specializes in eating disorders and have the knowledge I do about nutrition eduction and the effect diet …

Our Favorite Lunch Packing Supplies

September 7, 2018 by Elizabeth Davenport 4 Comments

Hi! Elizabeth here with a quick post about our favorite lunch packing supplies. We wanted to share these to make packing lunches a little easier for you, too. And as I mentioned recently, I enjoy seeing everyone’s back-to-school photos and I said I’d share mine. Here they are! The pictures are separate because one of my daughters (14) went back to school last week and my other daughter (11) went back to school this week.

First day of school

Our favorite lunch packing supplies

Since school is back for everyone now, many of you are likely back to packing lunches. Last week I posted 3 quick, easy, back to school lunches Here are the lunch packing essentials that work best for us. They’re good sizes. They aren’t too hard to open – very important for younger children especially. And they don’t leak!

A 10 oz size Thermos works well for to keep food warm or cold for younger children. And a 16 oz size works well for food for older children.

A 12 oz cold beverage container works well for younger children and a 16 oz size works well for older children.

Plastic and glass containers

This Sistema container holds a sandwich and still has plenty of room for other lunch items like cookies, fruit and some chips.

I use these long narrow Rubbermaid lunch containers for items like slices of cheese, grapes, 1/2 an avocado, apples, carrot sticks, crackers and small cookies. The larger, square containers are great for sandwiches. The ice blocks are handy for keeping items cool. I admittedly don’t use the ice blocks very often.

I really like these glass Pyrex storage containers. They’re useful for packing lunch and storing leftovers. I tend to use the small rectangular containers for foods like fruit or chips, or avocado. The larger square containers I use for for salads. I like the larger ones for reheating lunches Chad and I take to work. The small round containers are good for smaller sides like nuts, nut butters, and dried fruits.

My 14 year old told me this evening that the containers I’ve been using for dressing actually leak! And I thought all this time they didn’t. Oops! Caroline and Ellie empty their lunch boxes and rinse out the containers when they get home (with a few reminders). I guess that’s why I didn’t know about the leaks. I’m going to give these Sistema dressing containers a try. Do you have salad dressing containers you’d recommend?

Baggies, straws and utensils

I remember when these reusable baggies first came out. They were a big hit! I will admit, I do use plastic baggies sometimes. There are times when the reusable baggies are all dirty or there’s a field trip and we’re asked to send lunch in disposable containers.

We use paper straws since they’re biodegradable. We also have reusable straws in some of our cold drink containers.

For reusable utensils, I use some old stainless steel flat ware from Ikea, but these Seitsema utensils work well too.

The lunch box

And finally, a good lunch box or bag to pack everything in is a must. I really like neoprene lunch bags because they stretch. It makes packing lunch easier. You won’t have to worry whether or not we have the right size containers.

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