HK Magazine - Food

With a new school year just around the corner, lunch boxes will be dusted off and brown bags rummaged out from the back of the cupboards. But how do you ensure that those lunches will be healthy and fun for your little ones?

One great idea from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair is to have your child help decide what lunch will include. Make a chart and let them help plan the week ahead. For every day of the week, one main dish and two side dishes will be included. This will help with grocery shopping and will ensure a lunch that both parent and child can agree on! (For beverages, choose water or juices labeled 100% juice – this will help to avoid refined sweeteners and additives.)

Here are some great ideas to get you started:

Main Dish (1)
Burrito (whole grain or corn tortilla, mashed beans, salsa, etc)
Spaghetti with pasta sauce
Lentil Soup
Chili with corn muffin
Nacho Sandwich (folded tortilla filled with mashed beans, grain, tomatoes and dairy-free cheese)
Homemade Baked Fries with Tempeh Bacon
Avocado, cucumber and hummus sandwich on whole grain or spelt bread
Rice cakes with veggie tofu spread
Hummus and baby carrots or carrot sticks, celery sticks, red pepper slices

Sides (2)
Plum
Pretzels
Nectarine slices
Kiwi slices
Pear
Dates
Strawberries
Soy Yogurt
Berries
Pineapple chunks
Nuts and raisins
Corn
Radishes
Cucumber slices
Sugar snap peas
Red pepper slices
Raisins
Baby pickles or pickle slices
Grapes
Orange Segments
Banana

Alexandra Jamieson, HealthyChefAlex.com
Alex is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor and health supportive chef. Her upcoming cookbook “The Great American Detox Diet” will be published in June, 2005 by Rodale and was inspired by her fiancé Morgan Spurlock’s experience in the award winning documentary Super Size Me. For more information about her health counseling program and cook book, go to www.healthychefalex.com or write to her at alex_jamieson@yahoo.com.