Making Lunch? Make it Nutritious! Make it Waste-free!
Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring
(reprinted from laptoplunches.com)
If you’re like us, you start the school year with enthusiastic
plans to send your kids to school with lunches that are nutritious,
affordable, and easy to make. You promise that you’ll
plan ahead. You’ll put more effort into it. You’ll
cut out the junk. But somehow mid-year finds us settled once
again into our old lunch-making routine, frustrated and in
search of fresh ideas. But do not despair…making fresh
lunches may not be as difficult as you think. Try some of
these ideas:
• Pack lunches the night before and store them in the refrigerator
overnight.
• Maximize leftovers. Prepare extra servings at dinnertime
for the next day’s lunches. Pack the leftovers in lunchboxes
in the evening when you’re doing your regular dinner clean
up.
• Elicit the help of your children. Teach them how to make
nutritious, waste-free lunches. Even a small child can help put
carrots into a container or fill a water bottle. As they grow, give
them more responsibility.
• Keep fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other nutritious
foods on hand.
• Keep nuts (for older children) and dried fruit on hand for
emergencies.
• Buy from bulk bins to reduce your costs. (Read ingredient
labels carefully!)
• Make sure you have a set of containers that your child likes
and can open easily.
• Write your child’s name on all containers before they
leave the house.
What to Pack
o Fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure your child eats at least
2-3 servings of dark green, red, and orange vegetables daily. Purchase
organic locally grown produce whenever possible. Fresh fruits and
vegetables provide fiber and a variety of vitamins & minerals
and help reduce the risk of diabetes, constipation, and some types
of cancer; and they can lower blood cholesterol. And, people who
eat high-fiber foods are less likely to overeat.
o Whole-grain breads, crackers, bagels, muffins, pita, lavash,
tortillas, rice, pasta, and cereal instead of white varieties. Whole-grains
provide vitamins and minerals, fiber, and protein.
o Beans, nuts, and whole grains for protein instead of meat, eggs,
and whole-milk dairy products. They contain more fiber, less fat,
and fewer preservatives. Avoid the milk and meat from animals that
have been treated with hormones and antibiotics.
o Water instead of juice, fruit-flavored drinks, fruit punch, or
soda. Water is what our bodies need. When children fill up on sugary
drinks, they may not have room for more nutritious choices, and
sodas deplete the body of much needed calcium.
o Limit fats, especially hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated
oils.
o Limit sweets. In addition to the increased risk of obesity, excess
sugar consumption is thought to depress immunity. It has been linked
to diabetes and heart disease and may increase the risk of cancer.
Sugar consumption can also increase the incidence of tooth decay.
o Limit sodium. Sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure
and stroke.These may sound like big changes, but taking one
step at a time makes it manageable. After all, children who
eat well tend to have lower obesity rates and are less likely
to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease—and
they tend to concentrate better in school!
More information
on packing nutritious lunches and tips for picky eaters.
Make your lunches waste-free!
Families across North America have started packing waste-free
lunches. Here’s what you can do to reduce your lunch
waste:
PACK FOOD IN REUSABLE CONTAINERS—Avoid plastic bags,
plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and prepackaged foods whenever possible.
o Using a sturdy container will prevent "squishing."
o With a resealable container, children can save uneaten food for.
Most single-serve packaging cannot be resealed, so the uneaten food
(along with the packaging) ends up in the trash.
o When your child brings home the leftovers, you know what’s
been eaten and what’s been tossed. With disposable packaging,
the lunchbox may come home empty, but much of the food has been
thrown away.
o Purchasing lunch foods in larger containers instead of single-serve
packages costs less. Buy yogurt and applesauce in larger containers
and spoon it into a smaller container for lunch. Buy quality bulk
bin items, including fresh-ground peanut butter, nuts, dried fruits,
and granola.
o Consider purchasing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share
or shop at the farmers’ market. Visit www.localharvest.org
to find a CSA or farmers’ market near you.
o Cut up fruits and vegetables. That way children can eat some
and save the rest for later. It’s hard to take two bites out
of an apple during snack time and save the rest for lunch. It’s
easier to eat a wedge or two and then reseal the container for later.
USE A REFILLABLE DRINK BOTTLE
o Juice pouches and some juice boxes are not recyclable, so consider
packing water in refillable bottle.
o Juice boxes, pouches, and cans cannot be resealed, so much of
the drink ends up in the trash. Packing water in a refillable bottle
is far more economical and allows your child to rehydrate throughout
the day.
o And there’s a bonus: water spills are easy to clean up—at
home, at school, in the car, and in your child’s lunchbox.
USE A CLOTH NAPKIN INSTEAD OF PAPER
PACK REUSABLE UTENSILS INSTEAD OF DISPOSABLES
Pack reusables whenever possible. If you can’t for some reason,
recyclables are the next best thing. If you pack recyclables, let
your children know so they will remember to put them in the appropriate
recycle bin.
Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring, two Santa Cruz County moms,
are co-authors of The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide: Fresh
Ideas for Packing Wholesome, Earth-friendly Lunches Your Kids
Will Love. Together they created the Laptop
Lunch System, a set of compartmentalized food containers,
utensils and a water bottle that sit neatly inside a stylish
insulated carrying case. For more information on healthy lunches
and to order a Laptop Lunch System, click here.
For more information on packing waste-free lunches, visit
www.wastefreelunches.org.
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Use the information provided on this site as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. It is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific illness.