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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

CELEBRATING NATIONAL FOOD DAY 2011: ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY LUNCHES





Food Day was celebrated on October 24th! GAP author, Nicole Weaver offered us this great article she wrote, that is a great reminder every day of the year.

CELEBRATING NATIONAL FOOD DAY 2011: ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY LUNCHES BY NICOLE WEAVER

Incorporating healthy eating on a daily basis is not difficult. Most students, because of convenience, usually purchase lunch at school. I have seen firsthand the type of junk that is served at many school cafeterias. I have been teaching for twenty-six years at the middle and high school levels. I would not feed the slop at my school to my worst enemy. The stuff is completely devoid of nutritional value. What can a parent do? Many times kids feel very uncomfortable carrying lunch to school. I bribe my kids by paying them extra allowance if they eat what I make them for lunch.

Now, let us examine what constitutes a healthy brown-bag lunch. Children need to eat a balanced meal for proper brain development. They need to eat protein, carbohydrates, and fruit. I always pack a piece of fruit with a sandwich made of whole wheat bread, cold cuts, lettuce and tomatoes, along with sliced carrots or celery sticks. I only purchase cold cuts that are nitrites and nitrates free and raised without added hormones. Non-organic meats are loaded with deadly chemicals that have been proven to cause cancer. All of my fruits are also organic.

A healthy brown-bag lunch should also include snacks. I buy organic almonds, organic raisins and dried coconut from the health-food store. I mix and put some in a snack bag. VOILA! You have a very healthy snack, which is not laced with a ton of sugar.

How about beverages? I buy organic juices for lunch. Sodas are loaded with too much sugar; too much consumption of sugar is known to deplete your body of vital nutrients. It is shameful the many soda machines that are placed in schools. Many of my students come to class with a sugar buzz. Some even fall asleep before the end of class. I also encourage my children to drink plenty of water. I am not fond of school water fountains, so I buy a polycarbonate water bottle and fill it with filtered water. This bottle is glass-like, non-porous, no plastic or dioxine leaching. The traditional plastic bottle leaks cancer-causing chemicals in the water. The bottle can be kept in a locker or a backpack for easy access.

As parents, we have a duty to make sure our children are well cared for. Healthy minds and bodies start from the inside.

My daughter graduated with top honors from high school and now my sixteen-year-old will be a junior. I will monitoring his eating habits, just as I did my daughter's. He may get some weird looks, but at least he will be in the best of health.

Nicole weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She came to the United States when she was ten years old. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish. She is the author of a children’s trilingual picture book titled ” Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle.” The story is about a Haitian little girl who resided by the beach in Haiti. Her second trilingual children’s picture book will be published by Guardian Angel Publishing. The book titled, ” My sister is my Best Friend ” will be published in 2011.

Visit Nicole online athttp://nicole-weaver.com/


Be prepared for Food Day 2012 by visiting http://foodday.org/!

3 comments:

Magic Carpet of 16x Books said...

Super advice Nicole. Great post too.

* Books for Kids - Manuscript Critiques
http://www.margotfinke.com
Give books this Holiday season!

Donna McDine said...

Nicole:

Terrific article! My girls never buy lunch in school, so it makes it much easier for me to monitor what they eat for lunch. For the most part they are healthy eaters.

Regards,
Donna
Award-winning Children’s Author
Write What Inspires You Blog
The Golden Pathway Story book Blog
Donna M. McDine’s Website
Author PR Services

Nicole weaver said...

Thanks so much Donna & Margot for your nice comments. Cheryl, thanks for taking the time to post my article. I so appreciate it!
Nicole Weaver
http://mysisterismybestfriend.blogspot.com


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