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As a parent, all I want is for my children to grow up healthy and strong. One of the most effective ways to support their growth and development is through their diet. Whole foods play a crucial role in ensuring that kids receive the nutrients they need to thrive.
Kids who eat homemade food avoid thousands of unnecessary food additives they’d otherwise be exposed to. If your kids are away from home during lunchtime Monday through Friday – that adds up to about 198 lunches a year… or 198 opportunities to get something GOOD in their bodies. Think of all the GMOs, preservatives, artificial flavoring, coloring and other chemicals your children can avoid by packing your own lunch.
I was always skeptical about kids' bad diets and all the time parents complaining about "picky eater syndrome" but never really voiced my opinion until I became a mom of 3 beautiful and healthy kids. Then I understood it's not a children's issue, it's a parent mistake. Feeding processed and highly addictive foods such as cereal, gold fish, hot-dogs, etc... from very young age and then expecting a child to love real food. It's NOT POSSIBLE just like a drug addictive person can't switch from cocaine to regular cigarettes. We all know it's not going to happen. Some processed food is just as addictive as serious drugs.
Benefits of Whole Foods for Children
Better ability of Learning: A diet rich in whole foods can enhance cognitive function and concentration. Nutrient-dense foods like berries, greens, quality meat, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids support brain health and improve memory and learning abilities.
Stronger Immune System: Whole foods are loaded with antioxidants and vitamins that strengthen the immune system.
Healthy Weight Management: Incorporating whole foods into your child’s diet can help maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of childhood obesity or under weight problems.
Stable Energy Levels: Unlike processed foods that can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, whole foods provide steady energy. Plenty of fat and complex carbohydrates from whole grains and the balanced nutrients in whole foods help keep energy levels stable throughout the day.
Better Digestion: The food rich in probiotics, such as fermented veggies, kefir, etc. and fiber in whole foods promotes healthy digestion by feeding beneficial gut bacteria, supporting a healthy gut microbiome.
Healthy teeth. Nutrient-dense food will promote a healthy biofilm in children's mouth, grow strong and cavities free teeth. My oldest almost 10 years old and never had cavities.
Understanding Whole Foods
What are whole foods?
Whole foods are something that has never been processed, or with very minimum impact of human labor such as grains.
Nutrient dense foods can feed with all essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. vs processed foods, which are empty calories after eating them, body still hungry and brain asking for more.
Planning the Perfect Lunch Box for kids
Balancing nutrition: What I mean is first of all including proteins (not highly processed cold cuts), healthy fats (sourdough toast with grass fed butter, good bacon, raw cheese, avocado, etc.), complex carbohydrates (grains, nuts, seeds) and vitamins (vegies, berries, etc.).
Make it colorful: Visually appealing lunch box (cutting veggies fun way), stack them by alternating the foods that brings more color.
Variety: to keep kids interested and excited about their meals, plus it is a must rule to have a healthy digestive system. The more different kinds of soluble and insoluble fibers the better it is.
Watch this quick video how to cut cucumber like a spiral:
Whole Food Lunch Box Ideas
Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box
Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, fermented pickles, etc.
Apple, pear slices, berries, and a small container of Greek yogurt.
Protein-Packed Lunch Box
Egg-muffins, naturally cured salami, prosciutto, grilled chicken, or steak tips, cheeses (good quality cheeses), grass-fed beef sticks.
Greek yogurt with honey and a sprinkle of granola or nuts.
Beans, good quality canned tuna or salmon.
Whole wheat sourdough bread with tahini and raw local honey (I like to sprinkle with a bee pollen too)
Whole Grain Goodness
Leftover grains such as buckwheat, quinoa, rice, pasta, dumplings or slice of lasagna.
Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, granola bar (this one the only one I like)
Dips and Spreads Fun Box
Homemade veggie chips, or blue corn chips with guacamole or hummus.
Sliced bell peppers, celery sticks, and cherry tomatoes.
Tips for packing lunch box Picky Eaters kids
Try to introduce new foods gradually. It's not going to happen right away, but by offering for more than 20 times and eating yourself should help your child to give it to try.
Making food fun with shapes and themes.
Encouraging kids to help with shopping for groceries, teaching your child to read labels and prepping foods in the kitchen and let them choose their favorites.
Show your child the videos how some of the processed foods are made, such as hot-dogs, chicken nuggets, etc.
Another one is here:
The food culture in US for deciding the kids' menu has to be different from the adult menu sitting deeply in most parents' minds.
The decision of what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner was decided a long time ago by government and driven by media still today.
I don't want to scare you, but feeding children a healthy diet in a world today is a war that you have to have a mission to win, unfortunately it's not always the case.
All these fights are worth it to have a healthy child! GOOD LUCK!
Check out my collection of recipes that my children love.
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