I met Lisa Leake at BlogHer Food and I was intrigued by her blog 100 Days of Real Food. She expressed interest in writing a guest blog post and I thought it would be a great fit. Read on…
When we were first transitioning from “normal food” to “real food” I lost sleep over what I would feed my family if I could no longer rely on Goldfish, white bread, flavored yogurt, and fruit snacks. But after a year of avoiding all highly processed foods this new way of life has finally become our new normal. And while we initially cut out processed food because we thought it was the right thing to do we couldn’t help but be convinced after watching this transition “cure” our daughter’s asthma and constipation among many other unexpected and positive changes to our health.
Since the topic of Mrs. Q’s blog is school lunch I want to share some of the “real food” lunches I’ve been packing for my kindergartner this year. We are in the public school system and, like Mrs. Q, have been appalled at some of the things the “buyers” are eating. At the same time though, it is by no means easy or convenient to come up with portable, nutritious, and creative lunches every night that also abide by our school’s “nut-free” policy. But, since the health of our daughter is of course a top priority I do my best with the task at hand. Since the school year is coming to a close these lunch examples could also be considered for the office, picnics, or long summer days at the pool. If you have any additional “real food” lunch suggestions please share them in the comments below!
• Frozen smoothie pop, dried fruit trail mix, homemade whole-wheat easy cheese crackers, strawberries, and apples
• Hummus sandwich on whole-wheat bread, oranges, and bell peppers with tzatziki dipping sauce
• Homemade whole-wheat pizza lunchables with cantaloupe
• Hummus and cheese on homemade whole-wheat tortilla, strip of local bacon, strawberries and mango, and Kettle brand “baked” potato chips (made from real potatoes)
• Frozen smoothie pop, grapes, whole-grain brown rice crackers, and egg salad
• Sunflower butter and peach jelly (all fruit spread) on whole-wheat bread, whole-grain brown rice cake, mango, and plain yogurt mixed with frozen berries and a little honey