What’s in Your Lunchbox?

First of all – the irony that I am writing a food post on a blog is actually pretty funny. I am not a foodie. I don’t like to cook and I’m not big on baking either.  So, how did I get here? My commitment to raising kids healthier than I was raised began when my oldest daughter was born and became a mission when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 12. Add a hip-hop addicted middle child and a gymnast-turned-Allstar Cheerleader to the mix and I began to look at food and nutrition a whole new way.

I know that by the end of the school year, we’re all a bit lunch-boxed out however, competitive cheerleading has no Off Season. The end of the school year doesn’t mean the end of practices, private lessons, and open gym. Cheerleaders never stop moving and the food they eat is as important to their training and importance as anything else.  As parents of cheerleaders, we know that when the rest of the world hears “cheerleader,” they think of pom-poms and sidelines. In our world, “cheerleader” means high-performing, world-class athletes who push themselves as hard as any other participant in any other sport. We know they need to practice, drink lots of water, stretch out properly, and get enough sleep, but one thing that can be hard running from school to practice, to private lessons – in the car a lot and home late after practice– is making sure that they eat right.

What I have learned with my girls is that preparation is everything but, as a single, working mom, that isn’t easy. One thing that worked for us is bento boxes, both for lunches and snacks. While bento boxes are more expensive than regular lunch boxes, they are specifically designed to keep food from getting squashed or spilling, they are better for the environment than using Ziploc bags, and there is only one thing to wash after every use instead of a lunchbox full of different containers. They also lend themselves to healthier foods – because items like berries, veggie dip, salsa, cheese and crackers, and healthier items stay separate and ready to eat and make lunch look appealing and inviting.   Packing a box for a snack on the way to practice, tumbling, or private lessons not only saves you time and money by removing the need to run through the drive through on the way, but it gives you the opportunity to provide the fuel out athletes need to perform at their best.

Salad with spinach, lettuce, cheese, carrots, and ham; cherries and berries; granola bar; granola; cheese, crackers, and ham; cashews, and eggs. With a refresh of fruit and cheese, this will be enough food for a snack on the way to tumbling.

One of the appeals of this kind of lunch system is that it looks like those pre-packaged, processed lunches that our kids so often ask us to buy. We can create the look of products like Lunchables at home, for a fraction of the price, and filled with healthy foods that will provide the fuel our athletes need.

Here are some high-performance foods that work well in lunchboxes or snack boxes:

• Chips and Salsa: Salsa is high in antioxidants like lycopene and it helps the body absorb vitamin C.
• Cheese and Crackers: whole wheat crackers better than the butter crackers like Ritz. Pair them with any kind of cheese your cheerleader prefers. Not only are they quick and easy but provide complex carbohydrates, calcium, and protein.
• Wraps: these are a great way to get carbs, veggies, protein, calcium (from cheese), and the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants present in whole foods like spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers in one easy to eat package. We like grilled chicken wraps with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cheese, and red peppers. It’s filling, easy, and packed with super foods.
• Rice Cakes: top them with everything from hummus to peanut butter or almond butter. Add fresh fruit on top for vitamin and minerals – bananas and strawberries and peanut butter on a rice cake is delicious.
• Veggies and dip – carrots, cucumbers, peppers, celery, broccoli, and snow peas are some of our favorites to pack with or without dip.
  
• Salads: my kids are salad eaters. Their current favorite is baby spinach and romaine, with grilled chicken, shredded carrots, shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, and hard boiled egg. This gets all kinds of good food in them! I would finish this box off with cheese and crackers, berries, a granola bar, and something sweet like a couple of cookies or chocolate covered blueberries.
  
• Snacks and munchies: it’s so tempting to grab chips or goldfish for something salty to snack on, especially when you are on the go. For a healthy alternative, and a great addition to a snack box with fresh fruits and cheese are nuts and seeds. Almonds, pecans, pistachios, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cashews give the crunch and salt that we get from chips, but also provide high quality fats, potassium, vitamins, and calcium (did you know almonds have as much calcium as milk?!) that our kids really need. Muffins are another great addition to a lunch or snack box. There are some really fantastic super food muffin recipes out there to really pack the nutrients into a snack that also tastes delicious.

Turkey wrap with spinach, lettuce, and cheese; veggies and dip; cherries, blueberries and strawberries; cheese, crackers, and ham; granola bar; granola, and eggs. Enough for lunch and a snack on the way to tumbling.

Picky Eaters:

I know that some kids are just picky eaters, especially some younger ones, and getting them to try rice cakes covered in hummus is just not going to happen. That’s ok. For those kids, I would say your two key words are going to be familiarity and presentation. Oh – and dipping sauce.  

Familiarity and dipping sauces: Start with what they like! If they love peanut butter and jelly on white bread, start with peanut butter and jelly on honey wheat. Give them sweet foods like strawberries, melons, watermelon, and cut apples. Granola bars drizzled or bottom-coated with sweet yogurt or chocolate is a great way to introduce whole grains hidden in something sweet. If they love chicken nuggets, give them grilled chicken with some ketchup or barbecue sauce to dip it in. If they aren’t big fruit eaters, start with something like apples and pears and let them dip them in caramel.  If they aren’t a big fan of raw veggies, start with cucumbers or baby carrots and let them dip them in ranch sauce.

Presentation:

Kids are usually more willing to try something new if we can present it in a way that they will love. Bento box accessories are really affordable and can go a long way towards making healthy lunches more appealing for picky eaters.

• Animal picks and forks:
  These are perfect for tucking into cut fruit or cheese. It’s a great utensil that doesn’t take up much space and who doesn’t love a smiling giraffe peeking out of your strawberries. These aren’t just for little kids, either – my 10 and 12 year olds like them, too. For picky eaters and younger kids, they’re a fun way to introduce new foods.

Flower picks:

These are perfect for creating fruit kabobs – sneak a new one in there amongst the old favourties. A blueberry or raspberry in between some strawberries or apples. These are also great for creating lunch meat rolls – some turkey and cheese for kids who don’t like bread or who are gluten-free. Roll them together and secure with a flower prick. There are also pricks that look like leaves, animals, a set of eyes, or bugs for kids who aren’t into flowers. They work the same way a toothpick would, but these are reusable, and they aren’t sharp.

Vegetable cutters:  

These are great for cutting cheeses, sandwiches, fruit, or meat into fun shapes. I know what you’re thinking – you don’t have time for that.  Honestly, I don’t use them often. My kids need bigger portions now and they aren’t picky eaters. However, if you are trying to entice your kiddo into trying something new, presenting it in the shape of a flower or a heart can go a long way and actually, it doesn’t take that much more time. It’s an inexpensive, easy way to make a new food look interesting.

I hope I’ve been able to offer some ways to help make your life as a parent easier on the go and some suggestions to make lunch and snacks easier and healthier for your athletes. You certainly don’t have to use bento boxes, it’s just what I have found, through trial and error, works best for us and allows me to get the healthiest variety of foods for my kids lunch in the easiest and most fun way.  Also, summer is a great time to try these things out – introduce new, fun snacks. Take things on the go on road trips and to practice; maybe to the pool or the beach so when fall comes around, you’ll have a great repertoire of lunch ideas to start the year off. Wishing you all a healthy and exciting cheer season ahead!

Books with recipes that out family enjoys:

• Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete
• Little Bites by Christine Chitnis and Sarah Waldman (This has vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free recipes)
• Feeding the Young Athlete by Cynthia Lair
• Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak (This is not just for vegetarians)
• The Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brown

Article written by CHEERFIT Mom, Kristin Kessler