Children’s Lunches ~ Raising Healthy Monkeys

Jenn Pike ~ The Simplicity Project:

What does a healthy balanced lunch look like?

You want to ensure your children have at least 2 snacks and a complete lunch, plus 500ml of water each and everyday they head off to school. If they do before or after school care then you will need to adjust that accordingly.

How their food can improve their mood and cognitive behavior, increase their attention span and decrease classroom disruptions

Skipping meals, especially breakfast, cause a drop in our blood sugar leading to low energy, mood swings, crankiness, nausea, upset stomach and temper tantrums galore!  This will lead to the inability to focus in class, to complete tasks and will definitely have them craving sweets throughout the day. You will also notice that they are less cooperative, are not listening well and may become physically or verbally engaged in the classroom. AKA hitting and biting like Mike Tyson:-)

Why keeping your child’s blood sugar balanced is so vital & how to properly food combine.

Think of yourself the last time you were starving and had too much on your to-do list with small kids asking you a million questions, errands to run and task to accomplish with zero fuel in your tank. Were you happy, chipper and super patient? OR…were you a ‘hangry’ crazy person on wheels spinning out of control?

Now just think of your little ones feeling like this and they have absolutely NO SENSE of keeping it together and pretending like all is well, especially in public!

How much water should your child be consuming in a day?

Children between the ages of 4-8 should be having 1-1.5 liters daily

Children between the ages of 9-12 should be having 2 liters daily

Try adding in fresh lemon or lime, organic frozen berries, even cucumber slices or easy Emergen C packages of powdered Vitamin C it will flavor their water and have them drinking more of it!

Become A ‘Label Warrior’ 

 Toss It. Maybe Burn It!

• Pop, diet pop, crystal light, flavored water, Gatorade, Powerade, diet or lite juice anything that says aspartame, spends, sucralose or artificial sweeteners added.
• Everything white: white bread, white pasta, white rice, white flour, white sugar and white table salt.
• All sugars and foods containing sugars: cookies, puddings, jello, candy, ice cream etc.
  • Hydrogenated oils, MSG, anything hydrolyzed or autolysed.
  • Dairy. It’s filling you with phlegm and creating so much inflammation in your body. This is where the majority or ear infections, sinus issues, yeast, Candida, eczema, asthma, psoriasis and bowel/stomach issues come form. Let it go! No cow’s milk, cow cheese, be careful with your ingredients and how many of them say whey protein or casein added (dairy by-products). Don’t freak out you will be having cheese, but it will be goat cheese and your milk will come from alternative choices.
  • Gluten. Begin to cut down on so many starches and pre-packaged convenience foods that contain too much gluten.
  • Reduce your meat intake down to 2 times per week for red meat, 2 times per week for chicken or fish, have zero pork, ribs, chicken wings etc. and make sure what you do choose is organic or you at least know where it is from and how it was raised.
  • Creating a budget savvy weekly meal plan for you & your family

You need to sit down and have a weekly family chat, let each person choose one dish and Mom or Dad does the rest. Know the nights you need quick and easy and the ones you can prep a new recipe. Use our flyers to price match, know what is in season, on sale and only buy based off your meal plan. If you go without a plan or even worse when you are hungry your bill will be way higher then it needs to be. NEVER shop hungry!!!

Do you have the gear, accessories and appliances for lunchbox success?

Having the right tools can make a world of difference for back school success. For lunchboxes invest in a Laptop Lunch Box (Chapters), Go Green Box or PlanetBox (www.theninetyninthmonkey.com) these are your top lunch boxes to choose from. Stainless Steel and BPA free hard plastic water bottle are good school choices but at home stainless steel or glass is best.

Your best resources for fresh ideas, tips and recipes are all within your laptop, ipad or phone. Liking specific groups or people on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and great blogs which you will find through google searching as well as simply being a part of these resources listed above.

The best part…they will cost you NOTHING!

Learn more and see Jenn live on Breakfast Television

http://www.bttoronto.ca/videos/2634485051001/

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