Back to School: Sack Lunches That Pack a Healthy Punch
Back-to-School is, well, back. That means it’s time to start planning and packing your children’s lunches, or sending them with lunch money you hope they’ll use on items to fuel them for the rest of the day - sans sugar rushes or high-calorie contents.
With this in mind, our local Whole Foods Market has rounded up some tips and recipes to create lunches packed with nutrients to fuel body and brain. And it's also supporting a fundraiser to get salad bars into central Arkansas schools.
The recipes sound delicious and the cause is noble, so we decided to share it all with you, parents!
Tip No. 1: Serve whole foods. Avoid artificial ingredients and processed foods such as high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats. Opt for fresh, whole foods.
Tip No. 2: Choose healthy fats like nuts and avocado. Avoid hydrogenated oils and fatty foods.
Tip No. 3: Focus on plant-strong foods. Think more veggies, fruits, grains, beans and legumes at every meal.
Perfectly Packed Lunch: A whole wheat tortilla wrap with almond or peanut butter, sliced strawberries and fruit-sweetened jelly; carrot sticks and sugar snap peas; Lemon Treats and a bottle of water.
Simple smart snacks:
Strawberry Almond or Get Your Greens Smoothies
The Great American Salad Bar Project
At least 30 percent of children are overweight and childhood obesity has more than doubled – and some of the blame falls on school cafeterias across the country, where highly processed foods are served daily.
In an effort to provide healthier lunch options to students, Whole Foods Market is partnering with Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. “The Renegade Lunch Lady,” to help schools make a change in the Great American Salad Bar Project.
The more money the Little Rock store raises for this cause, the more salad bars will go into our local schools — for every $2,500 raised, one more school gets a salad bar. You can donate online or in store.