Top Lunch Box Picks

If packing lunch is on your daily to do list this fall, check out some of my top picks to help build a healthy lunch that you children will actually eat! And stick to Skinny Rule #18: Eat Like a Kid and enjoy these tips for yourself too.

JUICE BOX: CapriSun Super V
These are nutritionally wonderful and what makes them standout is that they are a blend of 100% fruit and vegetable juice! They are 3/4 fruit juice and 1/4 vegetable juice.




JUICE BOX ALTERNATIVE: Horizon Organic Milk Boxes
When your kids are tired of juice, to switch it up, try shelf-stable (no refrigeration needed) milk boxes. Look for lowfat milk like these Horizon Organic milk boxes which are available in chocolate lowfat milk too.


CHOCOLATE MILK BOX: Silk Pure Almond Dark Chocolate Milk
This dark chocolate almond milk is delicious and tastes like a treat while delivering bone building calcium with 50% of daily calcium needs per cup. Although, keep it in the 'treat' category because there still is about 17 grams of sugar per serving.




YOGURT TUBE: Chobani Champions Yogurt Tubes
One major bonus with Chonabi's yogurt tubes is they take children more than a few seconds to slurp down thanks to the thick texture of Greek yogurt. Quick tip: freeze a these, then add then frozen to lunches to double as an ice pack.


PEANUT BUTTER: Justin's Honey Peanut Butter Packs
If you can send peanut butter to your school, these packets are great and perfect to send along with whole-grain crackers for a snack, each packet is a 2 tablespoon serving. Also available in a maple variety.

VEGGIE DIP: Sabra Single Serve Hummus Cups
Hummus is a delicious dip for vegetables and mini single serving cups is convenient!



REUSABLE LUNCH BAGS: LunchSkins
These reusable bags come in snack size, sandwich size and big bags. They hold up wonderful and can be easily washed in the dishwasher. LunchSkins is also offering lunch kits which include ice packs, lunch bag and sandwich/snack bags. Check them out at lunchskins.com



REUSABLE CONTAINERS: Fit & Fresh
The major bonus to these reusable containers (aside from the football theme) is that they have a removable ice pack built into the lid. You simply snap in the frozen ice pack to the container. Check out the Fit & Fresh web site for more details.

Put These Products In Your Cart

Sometimes at the grocery store, you may see new products yet wonder, how do they taste and are they really healthy options? If you are like me and love to try new products, here is a product round up of some tasty (and nutritious) new products out that I discovered this past weekend at the annual Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics conference.

happy family - happy creamies
I tried the Carrot, Mango & Orange flavor, they were so delicious! These snacks are made with 50% vegetables, coconut milk and have no added sugar! Quick tip: Mix these with whole grain cereal for a great on-the-go snack.

Another great product from this company is their happy squeeze line which includes varieties like: coco strawberry (made with coconut milk) and fruit & veggie twist (apple & purple carrot).

Quaker Oatmeal - Real Medleys
What is awesome about these little cups of oatmeal, all you have to do is add water and they have pieces of dried fruit and nuts in them! Plus they are made with whole rolled oats. The type pictured left includes cherries and pistachios. Each serving has 290 calories and 5 grams of fiber.

Other flavors in this line include: peach and almond, apple walnut and summer berry.



Odwalla Smoothies for Kids

These drink boxes are something even your children will be excited about! Each box has the equivalent to a 1/2 cup of fruit and no sugar added. They are available in Strawberry Banana Jungle, Mango Pineapple Island and Grape Berry Prairie flavors and they taste GREAT! They are available in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. When you send these for lunch they are recommended to no be left unrefrigerated for longer than 12 hours and try freezing them first for more of icy texture at lunch time! 

 

Please note: the above products were on display at the conference and I received samples of the products to try, although I do not receive endorsement from any of the above products or brands. 

Some is good, more is not better

Supplement: A substance taken to remedy the deficiencies in a person's diet. When it comes to considering a supplement, think: food first, supplements second. Just as the definition states, a supplement is to make up the difference of what is missing in the from your eating routine. If you're an overall healthy person and eat a variety of foods, you may not need to take a supplement every day.

Before you go to the supplement aisle and get overwhelemed by the claims touted on the bottles and all of the varities, talk with your health care provider and a registered dietitian to understand what is right for YOU. If you are currently taking supplements, take them with you to your appointment for an expert to review them.

When it comes to most things in life, and this holds true for supplements... if some is good, MORE IS NOT BETTER! This goes for vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements.

Let's take selenium for example, it is a trace mineral that is essential for health that can prevent damage to cells and plays a role in the immune system. Deficiency of selenium is RARE in the U.S. What foods provide selenium? Food sources include: Brazil nuts (1 ounce = 544 mcg), Tuna (3 ounces = 68 mcg), Turkey (3 ounces = 27 mcg), Sunflower seeds (1 ounce = 23 mg).

Again, selenium deficiency is RARE. If you are going to take a supplement, ensure doses that do not exceed the tolerable upper level of 400 mcg per day. Click here for more details on what amount is right for you, as with most vitamins and minerals, recommended amounts vary by age (e.g. 9-13 year olds, 280 mcg of selenium is the tolerable upper level).

Why worry? Vitamins and minerals can negatively impact health when taken in excess. With selenium for example: toxicity can develop with symptoms including: vomiting, fatigue, and weight loss and there are reported accidental deaths due to selenium toxicity related to cariac failure. It can also interact with some medications, including Coumadin (Warafin) by increasing its activity and prolonging bleeding time.

Keeping all of this in mind....Before you select a supplement, talk to your health care provider and a registered dietitian to determine what you really need to be supplementing your diet with!


 

Sources:

1. National Institutes of Health, Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Selenium

2. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Data Base. Copyright 1995-2012.