Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in houston, TX

Healthy (and fast and easy) lunch ideas for back to school days

August 11, 2009

The other day I was listening to some moms talk about ideas for lunches once school begins again.

That conversation presented two issues for me: (1) fresh ideas for fresh and healthy lunches and (2) fresh ideas for fresh and healthy lunch packing containers.

I do all right when it comes to healthy lunches for my kids. I always send a protein, a dairy, a whole grain, a fruit and a vegetable. The challenge lies in what to send and getting the kids to eat it, especially when they are surrounded by less healthy lunches. That's when it occurred to me that the solution to problem 2 might also help problem 1.

Maybe my husband was right: it's all about the presentation.

fresh ideas for fresh and healthy lunches --striking a healthy balance with the time crunch

Here are my top tips and favorites for easy but healthy lunches that go beyond the standard sandwich fare.

Entrees:

1. Tex-Mex wraps

Mix black beans, corn, tomato (and any other ingredient you might like) and cook until warm. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Each morning, add some to a whole wheat tortilla dn wrap. Your kids -- if they are like mine -- might enjoy soem whole grain rice on the side or in the wrap.

2. Bagel pizzas

Add tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top of mini-bagels and toast until the cheese is melted. Let cool. Once these are cool, you can add them to the lunch or store in the refrigerator.

3. Egg salad pita

Make egg salad (I like to add in zucchini or cucumber for a vegetable) and stuff in a whole grain pita. You can make a big batch of egg salad, and, if storied properly, it should last a few days.

Sides:

1. Fresh steamed green beans

2. Cucumber, tomato and mozzarella salad (with ranch)

3. Carrot sticks and pea pods

4. Yogurt

5. Cottage cheese with a dollop of fruit or jam on top

6. Cheese sticks

Fruit/Dessert

1. Melon ball fruit salad (my kids love cantaloupe and all the better if it is served in fun balls or combined with honey dew or watermelon)

2. Red delicious apples slices and cheddar cheese slices

3.  Mixed grapes

4. Bananas and strawberries

5. A fresh fruit smoothie mixed with yogurt and milk (or kefir) and served in a thermos

fresh ideas for fresh and healthy lunch packing containers

The conversation with fellow moms about back to school lunches segued to how horrible plastic is; it's unhealthy, they said, and bad for the environment. I cringed inside. I think I am a plastic-a-holic. My kids' lunch kits -- the slightly expensive ones from Whole Foods that are made from recycled materials and are supposedly safe and green -- are filled with plastic food containers and utensils. These items frequently don't make it home, so they need to be cheap and easily replaced.I also need things that little fingers can easily open on their own. I've found that many food containers are too challenging for preschoolers to open.

That's when I found bento boxes for kids, and other moms have assured me that kids love the bento boxes.

You can quickly and easily handwash them, and many even come in stainless steel if you want to 100% avoid plastic.

Laptop Lunches was a good resource with quite a few choices, as well as some good bento box lunch ideas.Their site says, "Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. Our sustainable lunch containers--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunchmaking recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. Our lunchboxes, recently featured in both Parents and O Magazine, do not contain phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead."

Although it didn't pop in my search, I checked Ikea anyway. I've gotten good lunch kit items from them (cheaply) in the past, and many of the bento boxes are fairly pricey. Ikea, it turns out, does not specifically offer bento boxes., However, they have some storage containers you could use. Just Bento suggested some Ikea bento items and I found the same on the Ikea site.

There are some stores in Houston that offer bento box supplies.

1. Fit Japanese Household Items

2. Cooking Cute offers a list of suggestions and styles.

going green on a budget: buying fresh, local produce at a farmer's market

April 13, 2009

Earth Day is just 10 days away! So this week I'll continue my series about ways your family can incorporate earth-friendly activities into your lifestyle.

Today, I asked a fantastic lady and lovely friend, Tiffany Tyler, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Central City Co-op, for her best ideas and suggestions about "going green on a budget."

She had some great ideas about how you can eat green and be frugal:

Green doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, a gradual adaptation of a green lifestyle can be both relatively painless and cost-saving. Here are a few ways being green saves you money:

• Buy in season. Most of us have grown up being able to get grapes and apples year round. Our kids love them, and it's easy to put them in the basket every week without thinking about whether it's the best produce for the money that week. Re-learn what seasonality means, and you'll make your produce dollar go further. I learned this year that both my kids love asparagus and sugar snap peas, and it's been cheaper than grapes.

• If you are worried your kids might not like an in-season food, take them to the farmer's market and let them meet the farmer and taste the different fruits and vegetables. Let them meet the egg vendor and see pictures of his chickens. Let the kids ask questions! If they are curious about new food even before they taste it, it makes the eating so much more fun!

• Be positive and encouraging, and be ready to be surprised. From my summer running the market last year, I can tell you from direct observation that your child does model your behavior. If you say, "Well, I don't know...you probably won't like that..." Then they won't, even if it's the sweetest blueberry.  If you say, "Wow. I don't know if you'll like that. You've never had it before. Want to try it together and see what it's like?" Kids will often surprise you. Mine will eat kale, and I learned that by tasting with them. (Hint- Dinosaur Kale is awesome to look at and talk about. Bake it in the oven and call it homemade Veggie Booty.)

• Buy local where you can. This is important for so many reasons. Food that travels less is fresher and in better condition. It tastes better. From a carbon perspective, food that travels less is also significantly greener. Think about how far those Chilean grapes come, and how much fossil fuel it takes to get them here.

  Then think about the blueberries at the local farmer's market this June...that farmer lives in our community. He buys things here. He sends his kids to school here. He employs not only farm labor, but a bookkeeper, an accountant, a mechanic for his truck, and a vet for his farm animals (if he keeps any). Your grocery dollar supports him and a bunch of other people, not a corporate bottom line.

Tiffany had some other great suggestions of things to consider when trying to balance green living and your checkbook:

• Remember that here in Texas, produce from Mexico travels less distance than food from California or Florida. Bananas from Honduras are closer than apples from Washington State. That helps with your carbon footprint.

• Buy only what you will actually consume. That warehouse pack of cantaloupe really looks good, and per melon it's cheap, but it's not cheap if the last melon rots before you can eat it.

• Processed food is convenient, but it's expensive, and it's teaching your kids that food comes in a box, not fresh. And all that packaging isn't Green at all, even if you recycle it.

• Serve smaller portions of meat. Being a vegetarian is the greenest thing to do, but it's not for everyone. And kids know naturally that they don't need as much meat as you might be giving them. Give them lots of veggies and fruit they like at every meal and make the meat an accent. Yes, fresh veggies are expensive, but not as expensive as meat.

• Go organic where you can. It's better for the earth, cutting all those synthetic fertilizers that run off into streams and pesticides that kill butterflies and other beneficial insects. Organics in season, especially at your farmer's market, don't have to be expensive. Organic local fruit in season is cheaper than imported conventional fruit out of season.

So many of us dread grocery store trips with kids because it can be stressful, especially with kids begging for food we don't want to buy. Not to mention, I'm sure we've all had to deal with those tantrums.

But a Farmer's Market is a interesting and entertaining place. You can have an enjoyable and fun---even educational!---time with your kids, experimenting with food and supplying your family with what you need to eat. Buying in season will help you be green, healthy and save money.

Many thanks to Tiffany for her great ideas and tips! Her group manages Green Market, the Farmer's Market at Discovery Green in Downtown Houston on Sundays from noon to 4 pm. 

In conclusion, she said, "We invite you to come see what Green can mean in your life! We also run a co-op storefront in Montrose on Wednesdays featuring both local and nationally distributed organic produce. We are volunteer run (a great way to get involved with your kids!  Come work with us!) to help keep prices as low as possible. Each market day, we donate remainder produce to kitchens supporting Houston's homeless, because we believe that everyone in the community should have access to fresh, organic produce."