New Seasons Market


Pantry Makeover: Back-to-School Lunches
Extreme Pantry Makeover winner Ann wanted quick weekday dinner ideas while Clara was looking for back-to-school lunch ideas. Take a look at what we found and then check out our Lunch Box Favorites Shopping List. - Christi Reed, New Seasons Market Nutritionist

Nutrition Talk: Back-to-School Lunches

Healthful eating habits begin in childhood, so it is never too early to teach your kids about making good food choices. The American Obesity Association now reports that about a third of all children are overweight and about 15 percent are obese. As a consequence of expanding child waistlines, medical professionals are treating children for health conditions, such as high cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, which previously were only common in adults.

With enthusiasm and encouragement from role models at home children can learn healthful eating habits that will last a lifetime.

A great kid’s lunch should be nutrient-dense, meaning the food chosen for the lunchbox will contain fiber-rich carbohydrates, healthy fat, lean protein, vitamins and minerals, and water. Nutrient-dense foods include colorful vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds, whole grains and beans and a few other foods that you might not think of as being “kid-friendly” such as sea vegetables and sardines. Give them a try. You never know, your child might love them!

Tips to Create Healthier Kids Lunches

• Use less sugar. This includes white sugar, brown sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. Also limit soda and fruit juice (yes, even 100% fruit juice) as they are high in simple sugars.

• Choose healthy carbohydrates from whole grains, beans, vegetables and whole fruit. Limit white flour and choose whole grain options whenever possible.

• Eliminate partially-hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats. Trans fats are found in shortening, some peanut butters, crackers, shelf-stable baked goods and cookies, margarine and many pancake mixes. Check the ingredient list for "partially hydrogenated" oils of any kind.

• Avoid artificial colors and preservatives. These are found in processed and packaged foods, and in some processed meats.

• Challenge your kids to see how many different colors of fruit and vegetables they can eat in one day. “Eating the colors of the rainbow”, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple in the form of fruit and veggies encourages kids to try new foods and will also supply them with a great dose of nutrients.

• Maintain balance by offering your child a variety of healthful foods and include at least a few that you know he or she will eat. When including higher fat foods such as cheese, limit portions if necessary.

Shopping Tips:
• Look for bread that contains at least 3 grams of fiber per slice. Check the nutrition facts for fiber content.

• Look for nitrate-free and hormone-free lunchmeats, and hormone-free or organic dairy products like yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk.

• Choose natural nut butters that contain just ground nuts and maybe a little salt.

• Choose fruit preserves that are fruit juice sweetened instead of those sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

• Look for yogurts that are sweetened with fruit juice instead of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

Choose organic produce when possible to help avoid pesticides in your diet. According to the Environmental Working Group, the 12 most pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables are:

Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Pears
Cherries
Red Raspberries
Grapes (imported)
Spinach
Celery
Potatoes
Sweet Bell Peppers

It's time to build a better lunchbox. A healthy lunch box will have five main components:

A whole grain food
A lean protein
A whole fruit (not fruit juice, fruit snacks, or fruit rolls)
A vegetable
A low-sugar beverage such as water. You can pack liquids in kid-friendly containers such as Sigg or Klean Kanteen.
Love

Nutrient-dense lunch ingredients:

Whole Grain Foods: whole wheat or sprouted grain bread, whole grain crackers, whole wheat or sprouted grain tortillas, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, rolled oats, low sugar granola.

Protein Foods: Hummus, bean dip, deli turkey, fruit juice sweetened yogurt, string cheese, cottage cheese, cheese cubes, peanut butter, almond butter, beans and rice, leftover roast chicken or meat loaf, chunk lite tuna, egg salad or a hard cooked egg.

Fruit: Orange slices, mango chunks, grapes, frozen blueberries (a good stir-in for plain yogurt), apples, pears, cherries, melon, peaches, nectarines, plums, small bananas, pineapple chunks and kiwi slices.

Vegetables: Snap peas, bell pepper strips, fennel chips, carrot sticks, yam or sweet potato oven fries, broccoli trees (steam then chill), cauliflower (steam then chill), celery, cherry or grape tomatoes, radishes, corn on the cob, lightly salted edamame (soy beans, find them in the freezer) in the pod.

Healthy fats: Walnuts, mixed nuts (raw, not "roasted" from a can- these are usually fried in oil), almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, avocado, olives, coconut and organic butter to name a few.

Mix and Match Lunch Box and Sandwich Planner

Breads/Grains	Spreads	Vegetables	Protein Foods
100% whole wheat bread	Mayonnaise	Cucumbers	Sliced deli meats like turkey or roast beef
Whole grain cooked pastas	Mustard	Peppers strips	Wild Salmon
Whole wheat sourdough bread	Organic cream cheese	Lettuce ribbons	Tuna salad
Sprouted grain bread	Avocado	Baby Spinach	Tofu pate
Whole or Sprouted grain tortillas	Hummus	Tomatoes	Bean dip
Quinoa	Guacamole	Red onion	Hummus
Whole Wheat Pita Pockets	Pesto	Shredded carrot	Baked tofu
Whole grain crackers	Olive tapenade	Mixed Greens	Egg salad
Polenta	Vinaigrette dressing	Shredded cabbage	Ham
Sprouted grain English muffins	Sun dried tomato spread	Sweet onion	Nut butter
Rye Crackers	Miso Mayo	Jicama	Sardines
Rice Crackers	Cranberry sauce	Pickles	Falafel
Gluten-free brown rice bread	Horseradish	Olives	Cheese
Gluten-free brown rice tortillas	Olive oil	Celery	Tempeh

Lunch Time Favorites
Get your kids in the kitchen and lead them in the right direction when making food choices for their lunch box. It doesn’t have to be difficult to give your children a healthful lunch that they can participate in creating. Our lunch ideas are full of flavor and fun, crunch and kick, and require only a little help from an adult.

Jicama, Carrot and Cucumber Sticks With Lime and Chili Powder: Slice jicama, carrots and cucumber into sticks, sprinkle lightly with chili powder and throw it all in a baggie with a wedge of lime to squeeze on later.

Whole Wheat Pita Wedges with Hummus: Slice one whole wheat pita round into 4 to 8 wedges and store in a zip-top bag. Spoon about 1/3 cup of your child’s favorite hummus into a small portable container for dipping in the lunch room.

Fruit Kabobs: Spear cubes of cheese, rolled up deli turkey, grapes, strawberries, melon chunks, or apple and pear chunks (soak for a minute in a little lemon water to prevent browning) on bamboo skewers.

Hummus Dippers: Send hummus with carrot chips, fennel chips and bell pepper strips for a fun way to get some vegetables.

Cinna-nutty Apple Dippers: Mix peanut butter with a little plain low-fat yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon served with apple or pear slices to dip.

Ants on a Log: Smear celery sticks with natural peanut butter or almond butter and put raisin ants on top.

Crunch-factor Yogurt: Send an 8 ounce cup of low sugar, fruit juice sweetened, or plain low fat yogurt in the lunch box. In a zip-top bag combine some low sugar granola, nuts, and sunflower seeds to stir into the yogurt at lunch time. Add some frozen organic blueberries for a boost of antioxidants.

Just in Quesadillas: Make this ahead of time. Warm a whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla with cheese and low fat refried black beans in the middle. Wrap with foil and refrigerate until lunch time.

Crunch and Dip – Use veggie chips, such as carrots or cucumbers cut on the diagonal, corn chips or rice crackers to dip hummus, guacamole or salsa. Add sliced cheese or seasoned tofu for a little protein to balance out this lunch option.

What About Snacks and Dessert?

It is always fun to reach into your lunchbox and find a special treat, like something sweet, or a few favorite stickers or a funny note from mom or dad. Here are a few ideas for snacks and treats that lean toward the healthier side. To balance out sweet foods, make sure they are combined with protein and fat. (For example add a handful of pumpkin seeds to your bag of whole grain pretzels or slather almond butter on sweet, crunch apples.)

Whole fresh fruit – the best choice (wash and slice ahead of time and it is more likely to get eaten)
Whole grain cookies
Apple sauce sprinkled with “make-your-own” trail mix
Yogurt topped with sliced fruit and almonds
Fruit leather with sunflower seeds
Granola bars- look for low-sugar varieties
Fig cookies
Dried coconut (can be mixed into yogurt or trail mix)
Popcorn and toasted pumpkin seeds
Nut and seed mixes – kids enjoy making their own trail mix from a variety of choices that can be found on the bulk foods aisle
Olives and sliced cheese
Pretzels and tamari almonds

When choosing snack foods, steer clear of those containing artificial colors and flavors, trans fats and high fructose corn syrup.

Most of all, have fun. Involve your child in the process of shopping for and preparing school lunches, so that he or she develops confidence in making healthful food choices.

References:

Family Effort Needed to Rein in Childhood Obesity, Reuters Health Information August 2007Medline Plus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_53241.html