School year lunch ideas!
A friend with little ones heading off to school recently asked me for some ideas for yummy but healthy options for their lunches. I think many moms have the same thing on their minds these days! Here are some tips that work great for my family when we need to eat on the go:
First some “healthful” hints then some actual lunch ideas… bear in mind the first list while cooking the second list.
-Aim for a “Rainbow a Day” making sure they gets at LEAST one of each color of the rainbow (main colors- red, orange, yellow, green, purple/blue). It’s totally ok if you don’t get each EVERY day- the point is to be conscious of it during the week to be well-rounded.
-If it didn’t live in some capacity (swim, walk, grow out of dirt, fly, etc) don’t eat it. As a habit, try to keep your fridge stocked with only things that were once alive. Also, the healthier the animal, the more beneficial it will be for your family. Look for free-range and pastured poultry and beef.
-If you buy processed foods, aim for foods with FEWER than 10 ingredients (really less than 7 is best unless it’s something like salsa with lots of veggies, etc) and try to buy organic all around if at all possible. Our bodies were not meant to consume such a high amount of chemicals!
-Make meals ahead of time (including school lunches) so you don’t get lazy the day of and end up “cheating”. I’m the WORST at this. I need to get better- it’s hard with such a long hot summer here to even want to cook and turn on the oven… yuck. I need to try to make stuff ahead of time myself!!
-While cooking dinner, make extra of EVERYTHING! For example, if you’re making a pasta dish, make extra pasta and throw it in a bowl in the fridge- plain. You can use this the next day or two for lunches with different sauces or toppings. Same goes for chicken- make more than you need for the meal you’re cooking and use it for sandwiches, etc!
-Make a game of trying a new fruit and vegetable every week until you’ve explored everything in the produce section! Take it a step further and read up on it online- see where it comes from, etc. It’s really fun! Jace now LOVES starfruit and Elle loves something from a cactus that is hot pink inside (I think it’s HORRIBLE!! Hahaha!).
-Actual foods you want to avoid if at all possible: lunch/deli meats (TONS of preservatives and nitrates- NOT good… this includes hot dogs). Also, high sugar cereals, yogurts, and other processed snacks- it will improve everyone’s overall health quickly if you avoid as much sugar as possible… the sugar you/they gets from milk and fruit alone is MORE than enough. Avoid artificial coloring and preservatives as much as possible as well- our bodies just aren’t made to process them and many more people are allergic to them than even realize it. Can cause symptoms anywhere from headaches, zits/rash, soreness to even behavioral/ADHD-type issues, etc.
Ok, on to what you CAN have! Remember while cooking some of these meals to go as healthy as possible with them- whole grain pasta, no salt/sugar added spaghetti sauces and salsas, etc.
Can you send a thermos to school? You can put almost any warm food in there- even non-liquids!
Thermos ideas:
Chili (beans are GREAT! No meat needed!)
Soup (homemade- and if you buy broth, make sure it’s low sodium)
Spaghetti with spiral noodles (easier to eat at school)
Casserole
Any leftovers
Scrambled eggs
Smoothie (cold of course but would still work well in a thermos!)- Just frozen berries, banana, and some milk blended! No need to add extra sugar!
Mini meatloaves or meatballs
Non-thermos ideas:
Quesadillas (with veggies in with the cheese!)
Homemade pizza roll-ups (use tortillas)
Whole grain pancakes (homemade- make a bunch one day and then you can freeze them!)
Homemade chicken/fish nuggets
Salads are always great- get creative with toppings! Splurge for organic dressings- soooo much bad stuff in the regular ones
Sandwiches/Wraps- again, get really creative with fillings!
Veggie pancakes- these are my kids’ new faves! Again, they freeze well so I make them in advance- they’re sooooo good and you can’t taste the veggies! Am posting this recipe to my blog soon!
Pizza- we just made a bruschetta pizza with garlic, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella that is to DIE for!!! Not as messy as regular pizza!
Other foods to pack or have as snacks:
Sunflowers seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Frozen grapes
Almonds (try rolling them in melted dark chocolate and coconut and store them in the fridge for a sweet treat!)
Air-popped organic popcorn (not the microwave stuff- too many oils and preservatives)
Dried fruit (try making your own fruit roll-ups in a dehydrator- SO good- and an easy way to sneak veggies in if you add a veggie puree to the mix!)
Fresh fruit and veggies with dips (will get to dips in a minute)
Healthy cookies (see recipe HERE- YUM!)
Dips/sauces: (use for anything- not just what you’re used to using it for!!!)
Salsa (we use this for EVERYTHING! Even on sandwiches and salads!)
Homemade guacamole (just avocado, lemon or lime juice, garlic, and cilantro)
Hummus (will be posting a great recipe for chocolate hummus soon!!)
Mustard (ALWAYS a healthy alternative to ketchup, mayo, or bbq)
Applesauce (add veggie baby food and cinnamon and they won’t know it’s there- use as a dip for other fruits or veggies too!) or other fruit puree
Get creative and get colorful! Your and your kids health will improve!
And please share any healthful lunch ideas that you have!
Here we go!
“First day of school! First day of school!”
Ok, so I’ve had that line from Finding Nemo in my head for about a month now as I’ve been preparing for Jace’s Pre-K adventures at home! There is just something about this time of year I’ve always loved- seeing school buses, going to football games, buying cheap paper, “bouquets of newly-sharpened pencils” (ok, I’ll end the movie quotes now!)- fall is just fun! (Even if it is still close to 100 degrees where I live!)
But yesterday was Jace’s big day! We tried to start some fun traditions to celebrate the milestone which included: Mom and Dad making placemats for both children (have I mentioned I bought a laminator and LOVE IT!), putting their bags filled with new supplies on their chairs, and going for a special Mommy-and-Jace walk around the neighborhood first thing in the morning.
This is the “Jace, this time look AT the camera AND smile!” face. 5th attempt. Haha!
I’m so humbled that God has led our family to home-educate our children. It’s been an amazing journey that has taken us to a whole new place as a family. You can read more about our decision HERE.
And as it turns out, Jace has decided his action figures will be educated at home as well- with the help of a pop-up book. Love his ingenuity!
Deep breath…
…for a new week.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
Psalm 28:7
Thoughts on the educational system…
…from a High School Valedictorian:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/valedictorian-against-schooling.html
I came across the video of this on YouTube by accident one day and was able to find the transcript. It’s easier and faster to read it than to watch it.
VERY thought-provoking words from such a young lady!
File this one in “Seriously?”
The other night the disposal got jammed and we ended up having to wash dishes in the bath tub. Yes, I bleached it first.
For the record, yours truly fixed the sink later that night thanks to my good friend, Google.
This made up for my troubles.
Let the little children come…
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:14
Jace has been an old-soul kind of boy since the moment he could talk. Very wise and able to comprehend things many years beyond his age. He’s been in love with Jesus since he was first told that He loves him and his love has grown into a desire to follow Him for the rest of his life. We’ve never coached him about taking certain steps of faith at certain points in his life, but rather just simply answer His questions. His love for learning Scripture taught him very early on about what is means to be saved and a many months ago Jace began talking to us about wanting to really make a commitment to live for Jesus. So we’ve been talking about it and in February he prayed on his own that he wanted to live for Jesus and not himself. This may not sound like something the typical 4 year old would pray, but Jace is anything but typical. 
We told him at that time that the next step would be to publicly profess that commitment by being baptized but we told him it was completely up to him when that would happen. At that time, he told us maybe when he was “9 or 5″. But last Sunday, Jace told us at bedtime that he wanted to be baptized. Not sure what to think about a 4 year old making such a big decision, we prayed about it and felt God telling us to “let the little children come to Him and do not hinder them.” We felt that we could potentially damage his relationship with God by forcing him to wait until WE thought it was appropriate.
So Tuesday night, July 20, 2010, Jace was baptized!
We have prayed big prayers for this boy since before he was born and know that God has mighty plans for him. We rejoice in this celebration of new life and ask for your prayers as he continues his journey with Christ!
Quotes from Jace at bedtime following his baptism:
“It’s like a new day!”
“The story of John the Baptist is my favorite. Every time I read it, it’s like new to me.”
“When I am married to my wife and have a son or 2 daughters or a daughter and a son, I’m going to tell him the story of when I was 4 and got bath-tized and didn’t like the water in my face.”
“I want the world to look different!”
What he said…
It’s too noisy…
I’ve decided having a blog is tough work. (I’ll pause for eye-rolling…lol)
My intentions when I started mine were to really just have an on-line journal of sorts. Primarily because I type faster than I write and I’m running out of room to put all of my stacks of real-life journals. I thought it would be a great place to blend in recipes I want to remember or share with friends, post pictures of my children for out-of-town family, etc.
But now I’m finding myself second guessing every word I write, every post at it’s conception. I’ve avoided writing about healthy eating (until some good friends of mine recently asked me advice) in fear of people thinking I’m trying to be “better” than them or shove my way of living down their throats. I’ve been avoiding writing about home education because I am perfectly aware that some who read my blog are not supportive of our decision. I avoid writing about matters on my heart because I will have a post half-written or completely written but sitting as “un-published”, only to find a similar post on others’ blogs. So then I don’t ever publish it so I don’t look like I “copied” them. Sounds juvenile, I know- but it’s why I’ve pretty much stopped reading all of the blogs I used to. And lately I’ve been avoiding writing updates or posting pictures of my children because we have family members who won’t even call to talk to them but state that online updates aren’t good enough.
I feel like I have the voice of every single potential reader in my head with judgments or concerns about our life all being spoken at once. It’s getting too noisy. Whether or not they are even true, it’s become a lot to listen to in my mind. And it leaves me with little to write about! I’ve always struggled with “what will others will think of me if…” but over the past year or two I’ve been doing so much better. But here I am with this horrible way of thinking creeping back in again.
But this year has been about re-NEWing my mind and getting rid of worldly thinking- which is precisely what this is. It’s about being FREE from such things! I’m finding the key to living the beautiful life that God has planned for us (and by beautiful I don’t mean it’s free from all things ugly- it’s just that things become more beautiful when your way of thinking is re-NEWed), is to live out Philipians 4:8…
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Message)
The more we (I) focus on the best, the beautiful, and the praiseworthy (note- all characteristics of God), the less time we have for thoughts to creep in that are the worst, the ugly, and things to curse. Like most things, this is such a journey but it’s a great one.
I just needed a little reminder. Read this with me if you need a reminder too:
I am me. I am who God created me to be. I’m a work in progress and am proud of the progress. I am conscious of the Spirit within me. I let Him guide me. I have passions that are from Him. I am one of His. I am beautiful. It’s ok if people don’t like me or disagree with me. And it’s ok if people don’t take the time to get to know me. It doesn’t de-value any of the above. I find my value in Him… by focusing on Him!
Super healthy cookies? Yes, please!
These are the greatest cookies I think I’ve ever had AND I didn’t feel guilty one bit for eating about half a dozen of them!
First, mix the following:
3 mashed bananas, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 c. olive oil
Now, mix the following in a separate bowl:
2 c. oats, 2/3 c. almond meal (grind almonds in a food processor for instant almond meal!), 1/3 c. coconut, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. baking powder (non-aluminum)
Next, mix both bowls together and blend in 6-7 oz. dark chocolate chips (the darker the better- means less sugar!)
Scoop by the spoonful onto your baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes (keep an eye on the bottoms so they don’t burn).
AH-MAZING!
How He loves us…
It will take your breath away.
I first heard this story several years ago and it tore me up. The song continues to speak to me each time I listen to it and I just thought I’d share the story behind it in case you didn’t know it.
Deep breath…
…for a new week.
“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.”
Luke 6:26 Message
Evidence of a day well-played…
So much on my mind…
So maybe it’s because my husband is out of town for a week on a mission trip with the youth or maybe it’s the fact that a leader of his ministry at our last church posted an amazing montage video to Facebook tonight, but I’m finding my heart to be very heavy tonight. Maybe I shouldn’t write in this state, but I just need some way to get my thoughts sorted.
I feel like I have never been a very good Youth Pastor’s wife.
(I don’t write this for sympathy or for anything really- it’s just something on my mind.)
It’s not because of a lack of example- I had the GREATEST example in my College Ministry’s Pastor’s wife. She was… still is… an amazing woman.
Yet, I’ve found the five years of my marriage to Dan have been anything but accommodating to the lifestyle I envisioned when I became a “Youth Pastor’s wife”. Right off the bat, I had a major reaction to birth control pills I had started which sent me in a downward spiral for several months. I did nothing. I spoke to no one. I was angry. I was drained. I hated everything. The instant I got through that, I became pregnant. My body didn’t find being pregnant a very favorable experience. While it was a healthy one for both myself and baby J, it was exhausting to say the least. When he was born, it was harder than ever to be involved in the ministry very much. Being committed to nursing, I couldn’t leave him overnight for trips and taking him would have been too much for either of us. And before we knew it, baby E was on the way. Same story repeated itself with a long and hard pregnancy, nursing, and now 2 children that were my main responsibility. While I LOVED (and still love… even more in fact) being a mom, I found myself at times jealous of the Youth Pastor’s wives who didn’t have children, whose children were grown, or who had family to help out for late night events/overnight trips. I feel like I missed out on SO much of our students lives and I wondered if I even had an impact on them. I wish I could have gone on week-long mission trips, overnight retreats, late-night bonfires, etc., etc., etc.
My love for our students (past and present) is insurmountable. My prayer is that they knew/know that. I hope that if nothing else, I have at least set an example to them about family life- that you will have to sacrifice for the needs of your children. That is what true love is.
If any of them are reading- especially the students in Ohio that I spent my first 4 years of my marriage to Dan with…as well as the year we dated… I love you guys. My heart breaks that I didn’t get to go on every trip with you, stay up late chatting with you, and be more of an influence in your lives. But I really hope you can see my heart and know why.
Healthy eating
Recently some friends of mine have asked me to share some helpful hints regarding healthy eating- especially for children. I’m quite humbled by this because I definitely don’t have it all figured out! But I have learned quite a bit on my healthy-living quest over the past 5 years or so.
Really, I suppose my journey goes back about 12 years to when an aunt of mine introduced to me to some concepts that were foreign to me at the time- such as not needing to drink milk. Then 5 years ago, upon getting married, I began a deeper dive into the more natural world. The kick-start for me was really due to some health concerns caused by a prescription birth-control pill I was on. It ruined my world (temporarily, thank the Lord!) and had me seeking all kinds of alternatives to drugs (including otc), looking at what was in the foods I was eating ,etc. Starting off, my cupboards were full of your typical white breads, pastas, rice, packaged and processed foods, and my fridge and freezer were loaded with sugared-up yogurts, sodium-laden frozen meals, and foods with ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce. Carbs were a staple of every meal and my “fancy” meals almost always involved a can of soup mixed with chicken and either rice or pasta.
I’m at a point now where I’m comfortable with what my family eats, although I’m continuing my constant journey of learning more and more about healthier ways to prepare grains (and limiting the intake of them altogether), learning how to make my own bread, finding local suppliers for my meat, etc. I’ve had wonderful influences in my life who have taught me so much about the subject at hand that I’m SO grateful.
So now that you know a little bit about my journey, I’d love to share some helpful hints and resources that I’ve come to rely on. When I share them, I’m going to give varying levels of “intensity” so that if you’re just getting started in making little changes, you can easily adapt and then dive in deeper down the road.
Let’s get started!
Deep breath…
…for a new week.
“…you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that and God,… who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
Philippians 4:8-9 Message
