Be Healthy and Skip School Lunch
By Kimberly Carlson
As parents and children start getting back into the swing of things, simple things like getting up earlier or finding enough hours in the day to work, cook meals, clean house and read to your children at night become more taxing. I get it. I’m right there with you: my eldest is in middle school this fall (gulp), and my youngest is in fifth grade. You start finding ways to cut corners (every day is a hat-day, right?) and your kids are sluggish the first few weeks of school until their circadian-school rhythms get back on track.
One thing I highly recommend you cut out of your routine may surprise you: school lunches. I know it’s tempting to just fork over the money and call it good, but your short-term time saver could have long-term detrimental effects. Trust me. I know schools are doing the best they can given the circumstances under which they operate, and they are making strides to improve, but it may not be enough. Not yet.
Processed Foods = Less
Dr. Keith Kantor serves on the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Committee, is the author of What Matters, and holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. He cautions us that “kids who skip lunch or eat a processed hot lunch at school are setting themselves up for failure.” He goes on to explain that children who regularly eat a processed school lunch, eat empty calorie snacks, or skip lunch entirely, are affecting their ability to concentrate in school.
“Even when children are presented with healthier alternatives in schools, time and time again they will choose the unhealthy option anyway” says Dr. Kantor. His book, What Matters emphasizes how to fix our health care crisis in America. His new book, The Green Box League of Nutritious Justice, slated to hit the shelves in September, focuses specifically on teaching children the importance of good nutrition – while having fun doing it. Dr. Kantor stresses the importance of not only teaching children about good nutrition, but creating positive, healthy habits for their lifetime.
Brown Bagging It
Not only do I have more nutritional control over my children by having them bring a lunch from home, but I’m also seeing how much they actually eat – rather than having them dump those canned green beans down the garbage can because let’s face it, no child eats the government-mandated veggie-like substance put in front of them next to their chicken nuggets (and don’t get me started on those)!
The best back-to-school purchase I made last year was a bento box. My daughter thought she was the coolest kid in the lunchroom. Each little box was just waiting for her to fill it with her choice of fruit, veggies and a protein. Sometimes she went ‘exotic’ and put sushi in it, and sometimes she kept it simple with a sandwich. Either way, it became a ‘thing’ at our house. “What should we put in my bento box tomorrow, mom?” was a regularly posed question.
Teens: Too Late?
My son, however, has already educated me on how it’s not cool to bring a sack lunch from home when you’re in middle school or high school. Many schools offer unhealthy vending machine temptations in addition to the traditional school lunch. It’s super easy to just fork over a couple of bucks and say “get something out of the machine today, okay?” If, however, you put the power of their lunches in their own hands, they might just go along. Plus, you save money and time by having them pack their own lunches and teaching them good nutrition.
Dr. Kantor recognizes this conundrum. “Teens are at a higher risk for gaining unwanted body fat and metabolic issues because they have more freedom and are exposed to unhealthy fast food options or sugary coffee shop drinks.” He urges parents to make life-long healthy habits, rather than short term diets or fads. “Teach your child proper nutrition and then practice it.”
Vending for the Future
“There is no way I could break my son away from the ease and convenience of the vending machines at school,” says Margaret, mother of four teens and one tween in Portland, Oregon. “It has become part of his daily routine, good or bad.” She hates to admit that, but has waved the white flag of defeat with her eldest.
Fortunately for her, all hope is not lost. Jim and Mary Palmer, owners of Utah Healthy Vending in Park City, are trying to fill the current vending machine nutritional void. “We are trying to make healthy food more convenient than junk food” says Mary Palmer. “We vend food with natural ingredients that limit trans-fat, MSG, artificial colors and flavors.” They prefer to sell items such as dried fruit, Pirate’s Booty and organic milk.
“Many schools are trying to make healthier choices, but it’s hard to refuse a soda machine when that company opted to purchase them a new running track with the purchase of a new five-year contract.” Palmer is hoping new legislation will help children get healthier, too. “Some schools initiate a lock-down policy where certain junk foods cannot be purchased during the lunch hour,” says Palmer. This only pushes many kids to skip lunch altogether.
Changes in School
As of July 2013, new federal regulations will require schools to only offer snacks that limit sugars, caffeine, trans-fats and excessive calories. It’s never too early – or too late – to emphasize healthy eating. Bringing a lunch to school is the norm around here, and this year’s bento box is ‘even cooler’ than last year’s. Even my middle-schooler has found a way to make it ‘okay’ to bring a lunch: he found a black and silver thermos he can fill with his favorite soups and hot meals (read: grown up meals). I’ve also dedicated an entire pantry shelf to his lunches – he may pick from a variety of healthy options off that shelf every morning. I have seaweed, nuts, fruit, homemade banana flaxseed muffins and more just waiting for him to grab. He also knows what is and isn’t acceptable from the fridge (like yogurt is great, while soda is not).
These small changes to your morning routine will have a big, positive impact. Your kids will come to anticipate what’s in their lunchbox, while you’ll be nourishing their bodies and their hearts with little bento-filled reminders that you are taking great care of them – even when you’re not sitting next to them.
Kimberly Carlson, from Portland, Oregon, is a mother of two bento-box loving kids who are proud to say they’ve never eaten school lunch and say the best part about it is having more time to enjoy recess!
Dr. Keith Kantor puts it simply: “What would you rather spend your money and time on, proper nutrition and prep time or doctors and medicine?” Here are his guidelines for a nutritious lunch for school:
1. Include: a lean protein, a healthy fiber, a serving of fruit and a serving of veggies.
2. Provide water rather than sugary soda or juices.
3. Don’t add a separate starch/carbohydrate.
4. Avoid processed foods.
5. Avoid additives, dyes, sugars and salt.
For more ideas and nutritional information, visit his site, drkeithkantor.com.