What's in Your Lunch Box? The Link Between Nutrition and Learning

When I am speaking to parents about nutrition for their children, I always ask if their food choices pass two basic tests. The first test I call the “grandmother test”. This means would their grandmother recognize the food they are serving? Is it something simple and wholesome that would have been around when she was a child? If yes, this is likely a good food choice. The second test I call the “chemistry test”. If you purchase pre-packaged snack or lunch foods where the ingredients list requires that you need a PhD in chemistry to understand what is inside, it is again not a good food choice. All of these chemicals are not food and have no nutritional value whatsoever. While the packaged food industry has certainly tried to make packing lunches easier, it doesn’t mean the box of snacks from Costco is the best for our kids!

Here are my top food ideas to consider placing in your child’s lunch box.

RECESS – has to be “grab and go”, right? It’s just too exciting to get out there.
 
Whole fruit:  take advantage of the gorgeous new crop of Okanagan apples, plums or nectarines available at your local fruit stand – no prep required!
Home-Baked goods: make a batch of oatmeal cookies or their favourite muffins, and toss in 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds while you are making them!  They will never taste the difference and you’ve just added fibre and omega-3 brain food. Toss extras in the freezer – they will easily defrost by recess time.  Send them in a reusable snack bag – just be sure to check their pockets at the end of the day!

LUNCH – take advantage of the creative lunch containers available – they promote a waste-free lunch and will save you lots in the long run! Pop in a cool pack when sending yogurt or eggs.

·      The “Classic” Sandwich: with whole grain bread and organic chicken or turkey – the key here is a source of protein which fuels the body and the brain. Whole grains contain B vitamins and minerals while the white gluey breads have little nutritional value and convert to sugar in the body very quickly, causing a spike and then crash in blood sugar.  Organic chicken is a great source of protein and free of chemicals from regular poultry products. For a twist, swap out the bread for a whole grain tortilla wrap.

      Hummus with veggies, whole grain crackers and turkey “roll-ups” – About the 3^rd week back to school, kids get really tired of sandwiches. Try this – the kids love the variety and dipping anything – so this option is packed with protein and a little more interesting.

·      Leftovers – don’t discount that pasta or soup from last night’s dinner. Invest in a great thermos and send them to school with something warm for their tummy (especially in the cool days ahead).

·      Omega 3 eggs – taken hard boiled to school, these pack a protein punch and have the benefit of also having the omega 3 source at a rate over 5 times higher than a regular egg. Eggs have taken a bad rap in the media for cholesterol, but they needn’t be cautioned for children unless there is an allergy on board. A wonderful brain food. Peel them in advance for the little ones!

·      Yogurt – one of the best sources of protein and calcium in addition to that good bacteria known as “probiotic” which aids in healthy digestive and immune systems. Look for Greek yogurt (even higher in protein) and if sending yogurt “tubes”, choose those with no artificial sweeteners or colours.

Also try involving your kids by asking them what they like.  They may just surprise you with some creative, healthy options they have seen at school that you haven’t thought of.

Guest Post: Dr. Cameron McIntyre ND, Naturopathic Doctor 

Tax-Free Back to School Vancouver Shopping Event

Shop our waste-free lunch gear collection tax-free in Vancouver at our Back to School Bash on Labour Day Monday, September 3rd. Join us from 12pm to 4pm for an afternoon of back to school shopping, live music, organic soda sampling – all in the gorgeous relaxed setting of North Vancouver's own Ethical Kitchen (1600 Mackay Avenue, just off Marine Drive near Capilano Mall). Browse the latest lunch gear on the market, both cute and cool, and we'll pay the HST on any purchase you make. Cash only. Hope you can make it – we'd love to see you there!

Dream Lunch Kit Pin to Win Contest

We're excited to launch our first ever Dream Lunch Kit Pin to Win Contest on Pinterest - the virtual pinboard site where you can organize and share all the images and objects you find on the web! Simply create a pinboard on Pinterest featuring your favourite Lavish & Lime waste-free lunch gear products and you'll be in with a chance of winning a $75 Lavish & Lime shop credit towards the purchase of  your dream lunch kit. Pinning is easy. It's fun and if you're lucky, it might just win you a new lunch kit!

            *** This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winner Olena R.! 
                                          View her winning pinterest board. ***

Here's how to enter:

1. Follow us & create a Lunch Kit Pinterest board: follow us on Pinterest and create a pinboard called 'Lavish & Lime Lunch Kit Pin to Win'. Categorize this new board as 'Products'. 

2. Pin your favourite lunch gear items: Pin a minimum of 10 of your favourite eco finds from our waste-free lunch collection to your new board. (After 10, the sky's the limit!) These products can be found either in our Waste-Free Lunch category or on our Pinterest page. Each of our product pages features a 'Pin it' button, so pinning products from our site is easy. Our contest announcement image (posted above) must be included as a pin on your board.

3. Send us your Lunch Kit board: Email the url link for your Lavish & Lime Lunch Kit board to us at brendam@lavishandlime.com and you'll be entered to win a $75 Lavish & Lime shop credit!

If you are not on Pinterest you can request an invitation from us by emailing us via brendam@lavishandlime.com or you can sign up directly yourself at Pinterest.

If you have any questions or would like further information about this contest or Pinterest, please email us at brendam@lavishandlime.com.

Happy pinning!

About this contest (the small print):

• No purchase necessary to enter or to win this contest.
  
• All local, municipal, provincial, state and federal laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited.
  
• The Lavish & Lime 'Dream Lunch Kit' Pin to Win Contest is open to residents of Canada (excepting Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in the province in which they reside by the start of this contest as below and to residents of the United States (excepting Puerto Rico) 18 years and older at the time of entry.
• The contest will start at 12:01 am PST Monday, August 20, 2012  and will end at 11:59 am PST Sunday, September 2, 2012, the contest closing date. Create a 'Lavish & Lime Lunch Kit Pin it to Win' Pinterest board and pin a minimum of 10 Lavish & Lime waste-free lunch gear products to it, including the image announcement for this contest as posted above. Email the url link of this board to brendam@lavishandlime.com within the contest period to qualify for entry to win one (1) Lavish & Lime gift certificate (in the form of a coupon code) worth Seventy-Five Dollars ($75).
• Entrants agree upon submission of their board that Lavish & Lime shall have an unlimited license to reproduce their board, publish the url of their board and use the entrants name and likeness for promotional purposes without any further compensation.
• One (1) winner will be selected from all eligible entries received during the contest period. The winner will receive one (1) Seventy-Five Dollar ($75) Lavish & Lime gift certificate (coupon code) redeemable for merchandise only. Prize must be accepted as awarded and may not be transferred or exchanged. It is not redeemable for cash and is non-refundable.
• The winner will be selected on or about September 3, 2012 from all eligible entries received. Judging will be done by Lavish & Lime and will be based on creativity and composition of board submitted. Winner shall be notified by email on or about September 3, 2012 prior to public announcement of winner's name. If no response is received by the winner within 48 hours another winner may be chosen.

5 Reasons You Should Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

Back to school means back to a routine, back to being extra busy and back to packing lunches. Aside from the daily content question of what to pack, have you given much thought to how you're packing your lunches? A waste-free lunch by definition is one that contains no throwaway packaging or food leftovers. In terms of lunch gear products, re-usability is the number one factor when packing a waste-free lunch. A second factor, critical for your child's health, is non-toxicity and a final factor to consider is durability. If you're going to invest in reusable lunch gear, it makes sense to ensure it's made to last. It also makes sense to encourage your child's input on colours and patterns to encourage them to pack up their re-usables for taking home.

With just a little planning, packing waste-free lunches is easy – and important. Here are five reasons why you should pack a waste-free lunch for school.

1. It's good for the environment. The average student’s lunch generates a total of 30 kg of waste per school year, or an average of 8500 kg (18,700 lbs) of waste per school per year, according to the Recycling Council of Ontario. Waste-free lunches reduce the amount of garbage going into our landfills, including plastic bags that actually never go away. Pack only what you think your child will eat and keep it cold with a freezable lunch bag or eco-friendly ice pack to ensure minimal food waste at the end of the day.
2. It's good for your child's health. Packing lunch into re-usables means your child will most likely end up with a healthier lunch as you'll be avoiding prepackaged and heavily processed foods loaded with sugars and additives. You'll also be able to control the materials your child's food comes into contact with, ie. choosing non-leaching glass or stainless steel food containers over plastics that may contain endocrine disrupting chemicals which affect hormone levels.
3. It's environmental stewardship by example. If your kids see you making the effort to reduce the amount of waste you're packing for them on a daily basis, they'll begin to understand the importance of reducing our footprint on the earth. Then there's the knock-on effect of their friends seeing how little waste they're generating, and so on, and so on.
4. It can save you money. It is estimated that packing a disposable lunch complete with plastic baggies, plastic spoon, juice bag costs $4.02 per day compared to a waste-free lunch packed with reusables at $2.65 per day. That's $20.10 per week versus $13.25 per week and a saving of $1.37 a day or $6.85 a week. Clearly, the cost of a throwaway lunch adds up – and quickly. Waste-free lunches mean buying larger package sizes, even bulk and can actually become money savers for families.
5. It can help you prepare for the inevitable. If your child's school hasn't already introduced a 'waste-free lunch challenge' or 'litterless lunch day', it likely will – and soon. More and more schools are introducing the concept of environmental responsibility to students and lunch waste is an ideal way to demonstrate it.

Tips for packing a waste-free lunch

• Avoid boxes of individually prepackaged snacks and instead buy regular size boxes of cookies, crackers, tubs of yoghurt and simply transfer small amounts into reusable snack containers and pouches. 
• Flexible and reusable fabric snack pouches (with either a zipper or velcro closure) are ideal for recess as they can be rolled up and stored in a pocket when empty.
• In the rush to get out to the playground, juice tetra packs and drinking boxes you think will make it into the recycling box, often don't. Non-leaching, double wall insulated and highly durable BPA-free stainless steel water bottles that can stand up to the occasional knock or fall off a desk are a smart option.
• Don't forget reusable cutlery with your packed lunches – and on hot lunch days too. Otherwise your child will more than likely be provided with a one-use disposable plastic fork or spoon.

Super Easy Cool Berry Snack for Summer

Finally we're enjoying some sunny summer daze in Vancouver and naturally with the sun, comes the warmth – something us west coasters aren't entirely used to! Pretty much by accident, we stumbled across a healthy cool treat to beat the heat and keep the kids happy. It's simple and maybe you've discovered it, but we thought we'd share it: throw some fruit in the freezer. We were worried about our meager crop of fresh homegrown raspberries going off, so put them (along with a few strawberries) in the freezer, in the stainless steel Lunchbots container we picked them in a few days ago. (Stainless steel is great for freezer storage.) This weekend we came across the container and as it was hot, passed them around to the kids. Have you ever popped a frozen raspberry in your mouth? Yum, to say the least. The outer bit melts right away for a zingy raspberry taste while the centre stays frozen for a cool treat. The kids loved them. Try it yourself with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or pretty much any fruit you can lay your hands on and at this time of year, there's plenty to choose from. Enjoy!

Freeze berries for an easy icy treat to help you keep cool in the summer heat.

Kids love these tasty all natural frozen treats.