by Michelle Hagel ND
Planning ahead can make back to school lunches not seem so time consuming and dreadful. Meal prepping and making large meals so that leftovers can be an easy option.
Healthy Lifestyle Calgary
Breakfast
The most important meal of the day, so important it should never be missed and make it count! Consider that your body has been fasting for the last 12 hours it is ready to receive all the nutrition that a healthy breakfast has to offer. This meal also sets you up for the day, very important with kids because a high sugary breakfast cereal can cause that big sugar rush and crash early on, making learning nearly impossible. I know mornings can be busy so why not prep the night before. My favourite are smoothies, you can hide anything in a smoothie including the green veggies that can be difficult to fit into kid’s diet and they taste great. Include a good source of protein and fats, avocado, chia, hemp or flax seeds, nuts, coconut oil and you’ve created a nutritionally loaded jump start to the day. Oatmeal with some added coconut oil, berries, protein powder, turmeric and cinnamon can offer a great easy option to make the night before.
Lunches
Heading into the fall season there is nothing like cooked stews, soups and chilli to keep us warm, satisfied and incorporate a bunch of vegetables. Make a big batch on Sunday or one night during the week. Crockpots are another great option, cooking a big batch of chili lime chicken to have on salads, or taco shells (corn if following a gluten free diet), topped with homemade salsa and guacamole. Crockpots are great to cook overnight or while you are work, and maintain all the nutrition of the vegetables and proteins. It is fresh fruit and vegetable season so if you have a garden or if you don’t check out all the local fresh produce available at grocery stores or farmer’s markets. There is nothing like fresh produce to convert a non-vegetable lover. Mixing with hummus, guacamole and other healthy dips can also be a great way to enjoy, as a snack of dinner side. A new favourite are vegetable noodle makers with avocado pesto sauce, use vegetables to make your favourite pasta dish. Lastly don’t forget nuts and seeds can provide convenient, delicious healthy fats.
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