Saturday, April 16, 2011

Eco, Healthy Meal Planning (For the Busy Family)

"These days parents and kids are on the go constantly. Parents have jobs; kids have school, extracurricular activities, sports, etc. There seems to be little time to spend together, and even less time preparing healthy snacks and meals for everyone.

Whether you work a full time job or you are a stay at home parent, there are ways to fit in healthy meals and snacks for the kids. By following a pattern of 5 steps, this will help take some of the burden off you, will be healthier and more interesting for the kids, and more sustainable for the earth.

***This is mostly planning for kid’s lunches during the week but you can also incorporate breakfast and dinner planning into it if you like. ****

Step 1. At the beginning of the week, write out a menu for the week or next two weeks, whichever you prefer. If you have already experimented with certain healthy lunches that your kids liked then add them to the menu. If you feel that you don't have enough ideas then find some more lunch recipes. Planning out what the kids will eat over the next two weeks keeps their meals interesting and spread out so they don't get tired of it like they would if they were eating peanut butter and jelly each day.

Step 2. Tin lunch boxes should never go out of style! I don't know why you don't see them much these days but not only are they durable and reusable, you can put ice packs in them to keep their lunch cool. Also "Klean Kanteens" are an eco friendly brand that makes stainless steel water bottles that are safe for the kids and the earth. Get your kids use to drinking water at an early age so that they don't expect soda or other drinks with every meal.

Step 3. The night before chop up veggies and fruit (maybe from your garden) for snacks and use little Tupperware which you can reuse. You can also fill them with nuts such as cashews or almonds and homemade granola.

Step 4. The main course of a child's lunch doesn't always have to be a sandwich. In fact, if you are also incorporating healthy dinner planning, leftovers make a great lunch-save you a lot of time too! Healthy lasagnas, salads, potato dishes, the sky is literally the limit. All you have to do is put it in a Tupperware and into the lunch box.

Step 5. When the kids come home, the first place they normally go to is the kitchen looking for snacks. To give them something nutritious and satisfying until dinner you can make some real quick smoothies (something you can just throw in like berries and bananas) using fruits, vegetables, protein powder, (and supplements if you are trying to get more nutrients into yours kids).

I'm not saying that a new regime like this starts out easy. But if you do follow a healthy eating plan and cut out what is harmful, the whole family will feel better, calmer, do better in school, work, and it will eventually be easier on all of you."

My next one will be about common bug’s kids get and how to treat them with certain foods and nutrients :-)

Emily

If you would love to read more of Emily's wonderful content please visit her Blog Today!
http://emilygiuffre.com/


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