Week One Recap

The first full week of school is in the books! We had minimal homework but I can see that changing in the coming weeks. My son was excited to finally be able to find the section of the library with the Guinness Book of World Records and brought one home for the week. He’s found old friends on the playground and the bus, a couple in his class, and is starting some new friendships. His teacher is extremely communicative which I love, and he only forgot his homework folder once (Sigh. Yes. Week one. Already forgot.) 

This week, we definitely got into a groove. Peanut butter sandwich, grapes and strawberries, carrots with ranch. We will mix it up next week, but I’m still happy he’s not taking packages chips, crackers etc and eating mostly whole food. 

I did have money in his lunch account for “just in case” days as well as milk for his lunch. I didn’t  want to destroy our work by sending him with the sugary fruit drinks, and they can’t take their water bottles to lunch from what I understand. Each week they send an email with your balance after the prior week’s spending, and his is the exact same as what I put in there! When I asked, he said he hasn’t been getting milk. So he’s not had anything to drink with lunch, but he brings home mini water bottles from snack. I think those will fit in his lunch bag (his water bottle is mammoth and stays in the classroom from what I understand) so I will look for those or a smaller reusable bottle that fits. I feel terrible not realizing this before, but at least it was only week one and not later!

So tell me, how did your first week go?

Day 4

We’ve fallen into a steady rhythm here already. Bananas for snack each day, and again peanut butter sandwich with grapes and carrots. In years past, when I would buy packaged snacks, I would take whatever was requested and buy in bulk, thinking I’d take care of long spurts at a time. Not only were those packaged snacks unhealthy, but usually after a week or two he’d be sick of whatever it was, even if it was a variety pack of said snack. So, while the monotony of said lunch doesn’t make it very interesting here, I will tell you I am riding this wave out till he’s ready to try something else. I know white bread isn’t doing anything for him, but I am happy he is consuming most all the fruits and veggies I am packing, and since starting school seems to be making healthier choices at home for the most part.

Day 3 Healthy Lunch & Cell Phone Antics

I’m a few days late on this and unfortunately have no pictures because of the fun Friday we had. Typically I wake up, roll out of bed and workout. Afterwards comes a shower then I drink my first cup of coffee while the kids are still asleep. While doing that, I catch up on social media, emails, and basically just mess around on my phone until it’s time to wake them up.

Friday, I’m taking my first sip of that beautiful go-go juice and scrolling through to the app I wanted when windows started opening. Apps opening and closing on their own and then, to my absolute horror, my phone app opened and dialed my father in law... at 5:30 am. Luckily he’s up at this hour, luckily it didn’t start dialing old bosses in different time zones, but it was still terrifying to watch my phone possessed.

I can only assume from the crack in the screen created when my son dropped my phone playing Fortnite outside on the patio somehow created the demon-like possession of my phone, and I was forced to head to my local store to get a new one. I like to keep phones like I keep cars, and that is as long as humanly possible, so I reluctantly trudged in on my lunch break to finish the task. And I. Love. It. The camera is so much better, it’s sleeker, and I’ve upgraded from a 6s all the way to the X. Big stuff.

To lunch: we had a peanut butter sandwich, grapes & strawberries with some carrots and ranch. It was only day 3 and I’m seeing a trend with the PB... so we will have to start looking for other options as the year progresses. I am happy to report, though, he ate all his veggies and fruits, so I’ll count that as a win.

The first (half) week of school in the books, and no homework yet assigned we had a great weekend just bumming it around the house. I meal prepped my lunches for the whole week, and came up with a couple ideas of things to mix in instead of the peanut butter sandwich. More to come as we continue our 100 day challenge!!!

Day 2 Healthy Lunch Challenge

Yesterday in the books and here's some thoughts from JP on his lunch:

Grapes, carrots and BBQ sauce all good, chicken was OK (judging by ratio of chicken to BBQ sauce left, he drowned those puppies in it). Mom made mental note we will avoid chicken as main course for lunch going forward, but not above incorporating it into lunches.

For today, we went with grapes mixed with blueberries and strawberries and carrots again, as well as a PB sandwich per his request. I’ve tried the whole grain breads with him previously, and he ends up scraping all the peanut butter off and eating only that, then requiring mass clean-up afterwards. I mean, mass clean up, I don’t know how he gets it everywhere but he does. At the risk of getting a call for a change of clothes mid-day, I decided to stick with white bread and although I know it’s not in my “healthy” category, we will continue to experiment at home until we find something his taste buds enjoy.

Also, the lunchbox held up well and BBQ sauce stayed where it was meant to. I did put the box in his zip-up lunch bag with a handle from last year so it was easier to transport, as this one doesn’t seem to have a handle.  I do like the portioned off areas, but had to finesse the sandwich in, so I can see potential to revert back to ziploc bags at some point in this journey!

All in all, the first day of 2nd grade was a success. In addition to eating a good lunch, he had some old friends in his class and made a few new ones, and really liked his teacher! How was your first day back to school? Leave a note in the comments!

The Day Has Arrived! Day 1 Healthy Lunch Challenge!

Summer, it's been fun.  We've had some real good times, we've had a lot of giggles, memories, and there were just a lot of bugs.  Really, THE BUGS!  I digress. We've met the teacher, dropped off school supplies, had our last day off all together, and now it's time for the big 2nd grade.  And 100 days of healthy lunches.

I tested our new lunchbox some yesterday, because it has this center hole for sauces. I was thinking BBQ, Ranch, Hummus, etc.  I tried BBQ since it's a mid range consistency of the three, and poured it about full, then closed the lunch box and shook it as much as I could, imagining it was bouncing around my kid's backpack on the bus, through the school, thrown around and tumbled. If it was dryer safe, I probably would have tried that.  When I opened it, a little bit had gotten on the top side, but nothing had spilled over into the other compartments.  We were solid.

I was going to grill out chicken, but I was feeling a little under the weather, and it poured here the night before last night so the humidity was outrageous. I had to mow, anyway, and after that I was pretty much done outside, so I seasoned the chicken with some olive oil, sea salt & pepper and popped it in the oven.  I made enough for his lunch today, our lunch yesterday and possibly some quesadillas tomorrow.  I've got a plan in my mind for each week, don't get me wrong. However, some days I'll be making adjustments depending on....LIFE.  Because life happens, right?

So. Chicken cooked, he requested it cut into "strips" with BBQ sauce. I added in some carrots & grapes and VOILA! Healthy Lunch #1 is in the books.  I'm excited to get off work, get home & see how the first day of school went, and how my lunch stood the taste test!

Introduction to the “Whys” for my 100 Day Challenge

Hi, I’m Donna and I’m a recovering junk food addict! Yes I mean Oreos and chips and all those things we typically think of when it comes to junk food. There’s a couple things folks don’t think of when they hear junk food, and I’m recovering from them as well, steering away from processed food and working towards a whole food diet.

I’m still learning something new everyday on how to eat healthier, and hope to be a life long learner of nutrition. I’ve been making healthier choices in my diet & making sure those choices I’m now making are visible to my kids as well as adjustments in their meals. It can be as simple as antibiotic free chicken (which I’m told by my 7 year old tastes better, and I would have to agree). It can be a process like switching from pre-packaged snacks to making your own ahead of time for the week, knowing exactly what ingredients go into it. Making the kids part of the process not only means you are engaging with your kids, but they learn, too, the “whys” behind the foods I’ve learned so much about through the program I’m doing.

It’s a process and I will tell you it won’t happen overnight, but every great journey has to start somewhere. Here’s a couple things I’ve found that help us out:

Engage them in meal prep: Little hands that can’t use knives yet can help clean veggies, mix salads, put your chopped up goodies in containers. It’s giving them a chance to be part of the process of healthy living as well as an opportunity to “taste test” things they might not ordinarily try. This is how we found out my w year old daughter LOVES red cabbage, something I wouldn’t have even thought to introduce to her on a dinner plate. 

We also recently tried our own granola. We all enjoy it but I don’t enjoy reading the ingredient label on packaged granola from the store. I’ll give you a guess. It starts with an S and ends with UGAR.  Making it at home means you control what goes into & what you want your kids eating. We’ve also made it fun; my kids pick what goes in and, for some ingredients, how much.  It’s trial and error, Mamas and Dads! Much like parenting, it doesn’t always turn out as expected so give it a couple tries and see what works for your family! I’ve included a base recipe at the bottom of this post.

 If you live in an area with grocery pickup and don’t already- TRY IT! This saves so much time and headache, especially during the school year, and I plan meals better this way as I can add to my cart at home as I decide what we are eating for the week.

Along with that, it makes it easier to compare prices and ingredients. Everyone says eating healthier is more expensive.  I can’t get behind that for several reasons, and one I’ll mention here is the packaging nightmare that comes with shopping in stores. I can buy a big ole tub of plain store brand Greek yogurt that I can create different things with peanut butter or blueberries or bananas etc for less than a package of 8 individual servings chocked full of added sugars because they have paw patrol or a Disney Princess on the package and my 2 year old is begging for them then eats half and throws it away.  (.11 an ounce compared to .82 an ounce, not including fruit, PB etc in this example) if you have the option to keep the kid out of the store, do it! Also, you can read the ingredients online for most of these services, saving you from the frustration and added time doing so in the store. 

With my 7 year old, as I’m learning to read ingredients and not the packaging “low fat” “no added sugars” stuff, he can too. As I learn he learns and we practice his reading skills especially as we get into the “oses” we are learning to say no to. You might say your kid is too young or doesn’t care, whatever. Yeah my son tells me it’s boring sometimes. But these ears are still listening, when I hear him tell me he decided to eat a piece of fruit instead of cookies because it’s healthier.  

Be. Strong. This is the everyday-push- play -bit of advice and the one that requires the most dedication. If you cave, they cave. You are their biggest role model and little ears and eyes see and hear so much than we realize right? Now, let me be clear here, I’m not advocating taking a box of hohos into the closet after the kids go to bed here, I’m saying be consistent and resolute with your nutrition not only for yourself but your kids as well. If you wake up everyday with that mindset to push play on your goals, be it nutrition & fitness or any other goals in your life, your kids are going to see that example you are setting and you’re not only going to make a huge impact in your own life in those daily victories, but your children’s as well.