Today we are doing a simple exercise with our kids. Give them 4 food categories: Veggie/Fruit/Good Grain/Good Protein and make a list of the items they like for their lunch in each category. They must pick one thing from each food category every day in their lunch. Make this a goal (it’s okay if you are working towards fulfilling one category). This is a great start to our grocery list for the first week of school. Remember that every kid will be different and have different likes and dislikes. By planning ahead there are no surprises and we will be prepared to fill our children’s tummy with healthy lunches. Kids feel important when you make them a part of this planning – so please ask them! As the school year goes along you can certainly suggest new items into the rotation. Don’t forget about using your leftovers too!
Here’s an example of our list below. Be sure to break foods out into their proper categories. For example, our favorite lunch item is a veggie wrap in a whole wheat tortilla. It covers 3 categories: Veggie (Roasted sweet potatoes, corn & Mama Jess Bien Good 7 Veggie Sauce), Good Grain (Whole wheat tortilla) and Good Protein (Low-fat cheddar cheese & black beans).
After this exercise you will have an idea of what to buy or make (remember to make a big batch now and freeze it…applies to muffins, waffles, pancakes, cookies, quinoa clusters, etc) for the first week of school. Good luck!
eat your veggies!