What to send to school if your child's school lunch program serves only standard American junk?
For the past decade, my wife and I have been actively working with local schools to beneficially alter their food services. We have routinely been shocked by the offerings and the average parents benign neglect of nutrition for their children. From Frito pie to mystery meat on a stick, the servings would likely be rejected by most animals as inedible. As time has passed, an awakening to health through food is occurring all around. Where we used to beg to speak to a school has now turned into being asked to speak and consult. This change is heartening.
What are some good food lunch choices for kids these days.
In our home we have a standard list of Mrs. Magryta approved lunch options that my kids can choose from. They range from soups to sandwiches and cut veges.
Our kids often take the following:
Lunch:
Salmon with mayonnaise and crackers (staple once a week)
Chili
Soup - lentil, chicken noodle, minestrone, split pea
Pesto pasta, quinoa or brown rice
Sliced meat - salami, chicken, steak - great cold
Chicken salad sandwich
Meat roll ups - sliced meat and lettuce rolled in a tortilla
Hummus and veges
Trader Joe's chicken nuggets
Peanut or sun butter sandwich
Beans sautéed in oil and spices, usually garbanzo
Leftovers that they liked the night before - spaghetti with meatballs, etc...
Snacks:
Apple sauce
Fruit in water or cut up or frozen
Cut up veges, especially red peppers and carrots (a family favorite)
Seaweed snacks
Various organic chips - non GMO potato, corn, rice
Popcorn
Low added sugar bars
Dark chocolate
Nuts or sunflower seeds
All forms of cut veges and fruit
If you have no intolerances to dairy, add Greek yogurt, kefir and high quality cheeses to the snack list.
Keeping it whole food based and tasteful is the key.
We avoid the processed packaged foods (other than chips) entirely.