Packing a Healthy Lunch For Your Kids

Packing a healthy lunch is a pretty simple matter of learning how to balance your nutrition. If you have wondered what kind of foods you should be packing for your kids, this article will be a great help to you. After you have read the article you will better understand the correct ratio of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and which types are the best for your kids' growing bodies.

Macronutrients

Cookie For Kids

Food is generally grouped into 3 major categories, called macronutrients. The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Our bodies need all 3 of these on a daily basis to maintain healthy energy levels and keep ourselves fit. When you pack meals for your kids, you should be aware of these general guidelines: Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for your child's body, providing energy to stay active and alert. You should aim for your lunch to contain 50 - 60% of the total calories in the form of carbs. Fats are important for growing bodies as well, and you should aim to include 25 - 35% of the total calories in the form of fats. Protein is important for repairing muscles and healthy development, and should make up 15 - 25% of your child's daily calories.

Carbohydrates

Despite the recent surge of low carb diet fads, carbohydrates are still a very important and healthy component to a developing child's diet. The main culprit giving carbs a bad name are simple sugars. Found in processed sweets and sodas, these are quickly absorbed by the body and can cause fluctuations in energy levels and lead to long term health problems. The best carbs for your kids are complex carbohydrates, such as starches. These are generally slower to absorb, so they have a lower impact on blood sugar levels. They are also often accompanied by healthy fiber, as they are generally found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Fats

Fats have also been getting a bad rap since the 1980's, but many nutritionists think that we have gone overboard in controlling our fat intake. Fats are actually necessary for proper bodily development, aiding in the absorption of some vitamins and providing the building blocks for many hormones that your body needs. There are bad fats that can cause heart disease and cholesterol problems, and these are the ones that should be minimized when packing a lunch. Try to stay away from saturated fats, which come from animal products such as lard, butter, and cheese. Additionally, trans fats are an extremely unhealthy form of fat that is a result of commercially modifying oils to make them solid at room temperature. You can find trans fats in commercially produced snack foods like cakes and cookies, as well as margarine.

Protein

Make sure you include a good source of lean protein in your kiddo's lunch bag each day. You can go with the standard lunch meats such as turkey or ham, but keep an eye on the sodium levels and other preservatives. Tuna is a very healthy protein option when used in moderation, and if you prefer to avoid meat then legumes can also provide your child with a good source of valuable protein.

As you can see, making sure your packed lunches contain the right mixture of macronutrients is very important to keeping your children healthy. Make sure the majority of their calories come from carbs, a good amount of healthy fats, and enough protein to keep their bodies in good condition. In addition, try to avoid high sodium snacks, preservatives, and pack their sandwiches and snacks in resusable bags instead of plastic.

Packing a Healthy Lunch For Your Kids

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Healthy Recipes for Kids

Healthy recipes for kids have to be quick, flavorful and nutritious. Getting kids to eat vegetables sometimes requires some major negotiation. Finding a way to get vegetables
into the mouths of babes is easy when they are part of a fun meal that they help prepare.

Creating innovative ways to get kids involved in the preparation of meals is the first step in getting them to eat their veggies. Creating a healthy recipes with kids provides two benefits: healthy eating and a quality fun time spent together.

Cookie For Kids

Kids Recipes for Create My Own Soup

Have the children count the carrots and zucchini pieces. Let them spell their names
with the noodles if you have alphabet noodles. You may find other novelty
noodles shapes like cars or animals. You can create a theme for the project.

You can cut star shapes out of the carrot slices and zucchini
(use an aspic cutter) then set aside.

Ingredients:

*1-2 carrots

*1 zucchini

*4 cups low sodium chicken broth

*1/4 cup shaped pasta

*Dash of sage

*3/4 cup chopped, cooked chicken

*Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

*Scrub the carrots and zucchini lightly with a vegetable brush.

*Cut the vegetables into 1/4-inch slices.

*Cut star shapes out of the carrot & zucchini and set them aside.

*In a medium sized pot, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat.

*Add the carrot stars.

*Simmer for about 3-5 minutes until carrots start to become tender.

*Add the pasta, zucchini and chicken.

*Continue cooking the soup for another few minutes.

*Stir occasionally until the pasta is done.

Makes 4 servings.

*Let the kids find their names or count the number of stars in their soup bowl.
The kids will enjoy the adventure and fun, you will feel good knowing they are eating their vegetables.

Color is an important eating trigger for kids. The more color that is introduced into a meal, the more
likely children are to sample the food. The benefit is that foods with vibrant colors are healthy foods like vegetables and fruits. When planning meals with kids, introduce as much color as possible.

Healthy Recipes for Kids

Would you like more Kid-Friendly Recipes? Christine Steendahl – “The Menu Mom” invites you to visit Kid Approved Meals (http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com) to pick up your personal 13 week breakfast and lunch menu designed just for children!

Five Healthy Convenience Store Treats for Your Kids

Many people have traditionally thought of convenience store snacks as sugary, fatty, high in salt, and generally unhealthy. In recent years however, many food companies and convenience store chains have been stocking better, healthier alternatives to junk food.

Today, the convenience store is just as good a place to stock up on healthy snack options as your health food store or specialty grocer. Here are five example of delicious, healthy snacks found on convenience store shelves.

Cookie Recipes For Kids

1) Cereal in a Cup

Cereal isn't just for breakfast time -- it's also a great snack for those times your kids get a hankering for something sweet or crunchy, or both! Just hunt down one of those single-serve cups from the cereal aisle, add some chilled low-fat skim or soy milk, and your kids are good to go for snack just under 200 calories.

2) Single-serve Fruit Portions

Fruit is the perfect snack -- it's full of fiber and vitamins, is extremely portable, and comes in a variety of flavors. Pack your kids a banana, orange slices, or mixed fruit in a cup to provide a boost of healthy nutrients and distract them from fattening snacks chips and cookies.

3) Yoghurt

If your kids are screaming for ice-cream, compromise with them and give them a small cup of yoghurt instead. Get the ones with fruit flavors so that the fruit naturally masks the hint of sourness from the yoghurt. You can also opt ofr Greek yoghurt instead of regular ones, since its consistency is close to soft serve ice cream. You can also use yoghurt as a base for smoothies and milkshakes -- they taste great and are less fattening than whole milk and full- fat ice cream.

4) Trail mix and Mixed Nuts

Snacking is only unhealthy when you overeat, and often this happens because kids (and adults!) are not aware of how much food they put in their mouths. If you can't break out of the habit of having a little too many potato chips just yet, you can at least lower the salt and fat content of your compulsive snacking by replacing them with healthier alternatives. trail mix and mixed nuts provide the same satisfying crunch, but without the unhealthy fats and high sodium content.

5) Organic Juices and Purified Water

Instead of grabbing a soda for the kids, try getting them to drink a bottle of organic, sugar-free fruit juice instead. The high sugar content of soda and artificial juices damage teeth and upset little stomachs, on top of promoting childhood obesity. Better yet, give them a bottle of cold, purified water. Water is not just refreshing, it also cleans out toxins from your body.

The best thing about this list is that all items can be found in your corner convenience store. And if you live in West Virginia, One Stop offers all five and so much more -- just around the corner. With One Stop and this simple list, and you're on your way to a healthier and happier family.

Five Healthy Convenience Store Treats for Your Kids

Can't figure out what to pack in your kids' lunch boxes? Let us help! For better selection, better deals, and better service - better hurry to One Stop!

Healthy Cookie Recipes - Vegan and Gluten Free

Vegan cookies, gluten-free cookies, wheat-free cookies...healthy cookie recipes are easy to make if you are willing to experiment with a few alternative quality ingredients. Agave nectar is the perfect sweetener for such baked treats. Not only because of its superiority to refined sugars, but also for its moisture-retaining qualities.

Healthy Cookie Recipes Can Be Made Without Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Or Milk!

Cookie Recipes

Let's start with a solid base of ground nuts. We can use whatever fits best our personal preferences and budget. Pecans tend to be a bit more expensive than almonds and hazelnuts (filberts), walnuts are often on sale or available at a less expensive regular price. Always buy bulk, and halves and pieces are just fine. No need to get whole nuts since we ground them up anyway.

A good cookie recipe should include some fat. As we want to keep this healthy, nutritious, and acceptable for vegans, let's forget about the butter and choose instead almond, cashew, or peanut butter, or a combination thereof. If you don't like the flavor or price of nut butters, substitute with organic canola oil.

Great, but what about the flour if we want to make gluten-free cookies? The answer is: organic brown rice flour! Works like a charm and is much healthier than white flour.

Next up: which sweetener? As stated above, agave nectar is a great sweetener for baked goods. Similar to honey, it helps retain the moisture in cookies and cakes. It also blends quickly and easily with all other ingredients for a well-mixed batter.

To add flavor to this basic healthy cookie mix, use some vanilla or almond extract, ground cinnamon, crushed anise seeds, and a pinch of salt, of course.

And to add even more nutritional value, consider lightly toasted rolled oats, raisins, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. My goodness...what to do with all that energy?

Why This Is An Easy Healthy Cookie Recipe For Vegan Cookies And Gluten-Free Cookies

We don't really need a recipe for these incredible power morsels of nutrition. It all depends on what we have on hand, or what we like to eat, or what we want to buy. Here is a simple recipe template utilizing the ingredients discussed above:
4 cups ground nuts 1 cup nut butter or 1/2 cup organic canola oil 1 cup organic brown rice flour 3/4 cups agave nectar 1 Tablespoon vanilla or almond extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon crushed anise seeds, cardamom, or other spices 1 teaspoon salt Optional: 1/2 cup each raisins or toasted oats or seeds The individual ingredient quantities don't really matter that much. The template is just a general guide line. Our goal is to mix a batter that holds its shape when divided into cookie-size balls. We might have to add a little water if the mix is too dry and crumbly. Or, we might have to add more brown rice flour to a wet and sloppy batter.

This is the best part: As we are not using raw eggs, we can taste our cookie batter before we bake it off! Add more agave nectar if you like it sweeter, more spices or seeds, until you are happy!

Important points for the baking process!
Place 2-inch balls on a parchment-lined cookie pan and flatten lightly with a fork (similar to making peanut butter cookies, dip the fork in cold water before pressing it on the cookie portions) Use a fairly low oven temperature: 8-10 minutes at 300-325 degrees; agave nectar browns a little faster than sugar, so keep an eye on your cookies and don't let them get too dark on the bottom! Remember, there are no raw eggs in our batter; we won't have to bake it completely through. A lightly "under-baked" interior is wonderful! So, be adventurous and experiment with a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, spices, and whatever you love in your gourmet vegan cookie. As long as you don't burn them black, they will always be good eating. And because they are so healthy and nutritious, they'll be good for you, too!

Healthy Cookie Recipes - Vegan and Gluten Free

Achim Thiemermann shares his unique recipes, funny chef stories and entertaining cooking videos through his culinary blog: http://kitchen.chefkeem.com After many years of experimenting and cooking with agave nectar, Achim Thiemermann aka Chef Keem invites you to visit his new specialty website: http://buyagavenectar.com for recipes, agave info and myths debunked, and his expert recommendations for the purest organic agave nectar online shopping deals.