It’s back to school time again!!  Who can believe it?  2020 has been a year full of trying challenges, and while going back to school (virtual or not) mid-pandemic is stressful, what doesn’t need to be is mealtime.

Pandemic or not, school day meals are something that I get asked about a lot as a dentist that’s also a mom.  “What kinds of meals , especially lunches and snacks, can I as a parent prepare that are non-cavity-causing, health-promoting, AND kid-approved, that won’t take me hours to prepare?”

Well, look no further.  In this article, I’ll go through breakfast, lunch, and snacks that are either prepared ahead of time or don’t take long to prepare in the moment, along with any links to recipes if they apply.  I’ll also include some tips on how to empower your kiddos to choose from among the choices you’re providing.

BREAKFAST

What you’re looking for here are things that will be filling, easy to eat, and not high in sugar–for more than just oral health.  Allowing large doses of refined sugared meals prior to school time causes an extremely high spikes in blood sugar, followed by an equally impactful sugar crash a few hours later.  This swing in blood sugar makes concentration very difficult for children, making impulsive or aggressive behavior issues a possibility as well.  Avoid processed sugary cereals, even if they’re labeled as organic, or allow them only sporadically.  I grew up eating Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, and iced strawberry Pop Tarts, but I can tell you that my kids are not, because I now know just how harmful those sugars, dyes, and preservatives can be to their whole bodies—teeth included.

One last thing before dishing on my breakfast suggestions:  I’m ok with using sugar–sparingly.  I prefer using coconut sugar as it has a lower glycemic index, meaning it causes less of a swing in blood sugar.  I’ll use maple syrup or honey as choices as sweeteners, too.  The beauty of me adding the sweeteners is that I get to decide how much to use.  I always go light on the sugar (For four adult servings of oatmeal, for example, I don’t do more than a tablespoon at most.) and rely more on other flavors like vanilla extract or fruit to enhance taste, rather than relying on refined sugar only.

Oatmeal:  This is something I find myself making at least once a week.  I suggest staying away from the packaged single portions.  They tend to have a LOT of additives (like preservatives, dyes, artificial flavoring, and way more sugar than necessary) that are nothing but detrimental to overall physical and mental wellbeing.  Instead, opt for plain, quick-rolled oats in bulk (preferably organic).  The best part about this is you can change up what flavors you eat every day, and easily add fruit to jazz it up.

Note: Prepare your oatmeal according to package directions.  You can use cow’s milk, or if you’re lactose intolerant or plant-based, you can use a dairy alternative.  I personally prefer oat milk over any other.  Or, you can simply use water. 

Some flavor options:

• Apple cinnamon—dice up apple and add it in with your oatmeal, some cinnamon and some brown sugar (again, go easy on the sugar)

• Cinnamon and vanilla—ground cinnamon and vanilla extract

• Pumpkin pie

• Vanilla almond— vanilla and almond extracts, coupled with either maple syrup or brown sugar.  I love throwing berries on top for an added boost of anti-oxidants.

• Peanut butter honey or chocolate—add a tablespoon of peanut butter to plain oatmeal, along with local raw honey to boost protein and immunity, or chocolate chips for a special treat.

Throw on some nuts or pumpkin seeds for an added crunch!

Nutritional benefits: 

• Oatmeal is a good source of fiber.
• Cinnamon is an amazing anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory.  Plus, it can lower blood sugar.
• Pumpkin is a good source of Vit A
• Pumpkin seeds are high in protein and beta-carotene, as well as anti-oxidants, and are a great source of magnesium, which is essential to bone health.
• Peanut butter is high in protein
• Maple syrup is a great source of manganese, zinc, iron, and some calcium.  A word of caution here: it is also high in sugar, so be judicious with use. Make sure you’re using REAL maple syrup and NOT maple flavored syrup, which can contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and the like.

Muffins:  I love using bananas that have gone too ripe for my taste in breads and muffins.  While these recipes do contain sugar, the benefit of making my own is that I can cut the amount of sugar when making.  I can also add or substitute things as needed to tailor to my diet, which is leaning towards being more plant-based these days.  And, there’re no dyes or preservatives! Another key to these being a success?  Making them ahead of time (think the night before) so they’re ready to (optionally heat) and eat in the AM.

Here are some links to our family’s faves:

• Pumpkin muffins:  I cut the sugar in this by 1/4 a cup, used coconut sugar instead of refined sugar, and flax egg in lieu of actual egg to make them vegan.  They taste amazing!!!

• Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread: I love this recipe, though I avoid cooking sprays like the plague (you guessed it–there’s stuff in there you don’t wanna eat, and aerosolized sprays are terrible for our planet). Instead, you can butter or oil your pan by hand. I love this brand of nonstick bakeware for things like brownies, muffins, cookies, you name it–because things just slide right off, no oiling or spraying required.

• Banana Bread: I cut the sugar in this, too!

• Toddler muffins: These are great because of the added veggies—we use grated about 1/2 of a zucchini or squash instead of the jar of baby food squash the recipe calls for and it’s awesome.

Fresh fruit, drizzled with a honey-lime dressing

Greek yogurt and honey, sometimes with granola on top, and chopped fruit/berries

Hard-boiled eggs

Scrambled eggs (I puree spinach in them sometimes and call them “Grinchy eggs.”  My kids loved that as toddlers, and still do even now.)

Tofu scramble—since choosing to be more plant-based, we’ve been making scrambled eggs less and using tofu more.  There are lots of recipes out there, but we’ve found that for one pack of extra firm tofu, we use about 3T nutritional yeast (a good source of vitamins B12), and kala namak, or black salt, which gives it that sulfuric, egg-y taste, along with regular salt, and ground cumin. We add finely diced onions, garlic, mushrooms, sweet peppers, and spinach in ours for a boost of veggies…and I’ll throw in some turmeric and black pepper for a nice anti-oxidant boost.   The good thing about this dish is that you can make this ahead of time to reheat in the morning, or store leftovers to eat later.  We make “quesadillas” with this using the tofu, avocado, and salsa and it tastes so good. Or, you can make them using real cheese (grated from blocks and not pre-shredded to avoid the anti-caking agents) and it tastes so yummy!

Pancakes:  I like this recipe.  It’s not vegan, though you can certainly substitute, but it is still made from scratch—so no preservatives or additives.  It’s our favorite Sunday-morning recipe, and like oatmeal, you can flavor it with lemon or almond extract, or pumpkin, or add in blueberries!  Plus, you can store the leftover batter for busy Monday mornings! You can find tons of vegan versions, too! We are always trying new ones.

Fruit and Chocolate Bowl

LUNCH/SIDES/SNACKS

Popcorn:  It takes just a short while to make popcorn from kernels.  I used to buy the microwave kind, but then learned how much artificial or unnecessary junk is in them.  I thought making it from kernels was hard, but in reality, it takes about as long as the microwave, and I find that it is harder to burn!

Paired with broccoli, carrot sticks, sweet/bell peppers, celery, or pita chips:

• Guacamole

• Hummus: Here’s a link to my kids’ fave, but you can make it sans beets, or flavor it with rosemary and Parmesan, or avocado…the possibilities are endless

• Lemon Tahini Dressing:  I make this vegan by subbing 1/3c plain  cashews soaked in hot water instead of yogurt. P.S.: This salad is a HIT at my house. It’s so easy and yummy.

NOTE: The key to making these dips/dressings easy is to make them ahead of time.  I highly suggest making these from scratch—it tastes so much better, is cheaper, and is better for the planet since you’re not using single-use plastic containers!

To pair with peanut butter:

• Apples

• Bananas

• Celery (ants on a log—raisins or a FEW chocolate chips)

• Pretzels

Peanut Butter and Banana Pizzas:  Take a whole-grain pita, spread some PB and top with sliced banana, cut into wedges and BOOM! A delicious snack any time!

Banana Oat Cookies: This is one I want to try. 3 really ripe bananas, 1/3c coconut oil, 2c rolled oats, 1/2c mini chocolate chips, 1 tsp vanilla extract. Roll into small balls once mashed/combined and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Various nuts

Variety of cheeses

Sliced pears with ricotta cheese, drizzled with honey

Hard-boiled eggs

NOTE: You can combine a few sides together for a well-rounded lunch.  Example:  Guac with veggies, pretzels, and some cubed cheese or fruit is so easy to put in little containers the night before to send to school in the AM!

“HOW DO I MAKE THIS EASIER?” A FEW TIPS FOR TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF MEAL PACKING

Prep as much as you can ahead of time—wash and chop things like carrots or grapes when you bring them home from the store or even the night before.

Make more dinner so that you can use them for lunch/snack leftovers.  We do this with things like hummus.  If you’re schooling from home, you’ve got the added benefit of being able to reheat things, so dinner leftovers for lunch is a very real possibility.

Meal plan.  I can’t say it enough, but I’ll say it again.  MEAL PLAN.  Knowing what you’re going to eat and when not only makes grocery shopping easier, but it makes it easier to know what things you can prep ahead of time.  Plus, kids can have a say in what’s on the menu, so they’re less likely to fight it come meal time.  Taking regularly scheduled time weekly (like Sunday afternoons) to plan for the whole week is a HUGE time saver in the long-run.

IF YOUR KIDS ARE USED TO EATING MORE PROCESSED/PREPACKAGED FOODS…

Here are some tips to get them to learn to love these better alternatives:

• Start with ONE snack/meal change.  Changing up too much too fast will lead to immediate and unending resistance.  

• Start by making things sweeter than you’d like ideally, and gradually titrate down over time, making the change in sweetness less noticeable (if your kids are used to really sugary breakfasts).

• Spend time talking to them about the importance of reading labels, understanding ingredients, and the importance of why which foods give which benefits.  Do this when you have BOTH time AND patience to teach, AND when you feel they are in a state of being able to receive these discussions.  Trying to tell them why guacamole is good for them when he’s throwing a fit that it’s green is NOT going to work out well.

• Get them involved in prepping.  When we bring food home, we immediately wash/chop certain veggies, like celery, carrots, grapes, and berries.  (We store berries in the fridge in these crates.  Read why here.) Why?  Roping them into the kitchen is a great way to spend time together, teaching great life skills.  I find that my kids are always happier eating things they’ve had a hand in prepping.  Plus, it’s a great way to build responsibility and hand-eye coordination, work on following step-by-step directions….the list is long.

• Let them pick which snacks/sides/meals they feel like eating, even if it means asking ahead of time.  It’s hard to fight what’s served to you when you’re the one who said you’d eat it.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT LUNCHBOX/AFTER SCHOOL DRINKS:

Juices and energy drinks like Gatorade are full of cavity-causing sugars and harmful processed ingredients like dyes.  There is NO reason your child should sip on anything other than water (no milk, either) throughout the day.  With regard to mealtime, anything other than water or plain milk should be a rarity.  This is because the added sugars in milk or other drinks can cause cavities, but less so when taken with food as there is some buffering of the pH level of the saliva when food is added to the mix.

Whew!!! That was a LOT to cover in ONE blog post. Hopefully, though, this will be a great reference for you to come back to or share with your mom tribe! As always, I send you peace and light, and I welcome comments or questions! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more mindful insights on all aspects of modern life!