I can’t believe back to school time is upon us again. My oldest son Ben will be a senior in Kindergarten and this is his first year going full days so I am in for the long haul – lunch, morning & afternoon snack.
I have to make sure I step up to the plate (so to speak!) as I asked Ben what he was looking forward to the most about going back to school and I was waiting for him to say friends, or learning new things but no, he said ‘snack’. He definitely takes after me, my passion for food began at a very early age too!
So I have been working very hard lately coming up with a variety of healthy lunch and snack recipes, I have been on Facebook, Pinterest, Google and have come up with a nice selection and will share one of my favourite recipes at the end of the blog.
As a Nutritionist and a Mom I am always thinking how I can give my kids healthy and tasty food. I focus on balancing the meals and snacks with lean proteins (meat, fish, eggs), complex carbohydrates (whole grain bread or wraps, pasta, brown rice, quinoa, fruits and veggies) and healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds). I try to stay away from processed foods as much as I can as they are laden with sugar, sodium, artificial colours, flavours and chemicals. Instead I focus more on the whole food, this way I know they will stay full, focused and not become tired & irritable from a sugar crash.
I know the key will be keeping Ben interested so along with sending sandwiches, wraps & salads I have bought a thermos so he can take pasta, fried rice and chili leftovers and his favourite mac & cheese – yes even in the home of a Nutritionist! I’ll let you in on a secret, there is a great company called Annies http://www.annieshomegrown.ca/, they do a packaged version made with real cheese and no artificial colours or flavours and they are GMO free!
For snacks I will be sending mini muffins, granola bars, applesauce, greek yogurt (higher in protein and nutrients) with berries, hummus and veggies and granola or dried fruit and his favourite whole grain cereal and of course raw fruits and veggies.
I try to involve Ben in choosing what he wants to eat, I find that when kids have a say in what’s on their plate or lunchbox, there’s a better chance that they’ll eat it all.
As I promised earlier, here is one of my favourite and most simple recipes taken from a great website www.weelicious.com
Banana Dog Bites (Serves 4)
- 2 bananas, peeled
- ¼ cup peanut butter, divided (you could also use almond or sunflower seed butter)
- 2 whole grain tortillas
Place one tortilla on a flat surface and spread 2 tbsp of peanut butter on the tortilla to evenly coat. Place one banana near the edge of the tortilla and roll it up. Slice into ½ inch rounds and serve. Enjoy!
Yours in health,
Melanie Grime RHN
WOW! Weight Loss Practitioner
Tel: 519-939-9373
Email: melanieg@wowweightloss.ca
Email: melanie@adamsapplenutrition.ca
Website: www.wowweightloss.ca/orangeville
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdamsAppleNutrition
Melanie Grime is a holistic nutritionist and WOW! Weight Loss Practitioner serving the Orangeville, Dufferin, Wellington, and Caledon areas. She treats everyone as an individual with their own specific needs and helps clients suffering from health issues by looking for the root cause of symptoms and working with them to reach their health, weight loss and nutrition goals.