Along with summer comes new challenges for parents. One such challenge is making sure that their child’s lunch is a healthy one. Here are some tips for keeping your kid’s tummy full, happy and healthy.
GO CAMPING
Often it is far to easy to eat poorly when staying at home over the summer. Whenever possible, go out overnight camping with your family. This gives you the opportunity to get away from whatever secrete stashes of sugar lye dormant in your home. When a family camps say at Black Mountain Backpack Camp it forces you to stop and plan out meal times ahead of time. This pre-planning can save your lunchtimes from going the way of the drive-thru.
STAY AWAY FROM SODA
I know you’ve heard this one a thousand times but soda and other sugary drinks are not only hard on your kid’s body but worse for their teeth. Sodas sugar-laden syrup begins to erode the surface of your kid’s teeth. This makes cavities much more likely the next time you drop in for your next dental visit. Instead of soda, consider slightly flavored waters or watered down juice.
USE UNPROCESSED FOODS
Pre-packaged foods like chips, Lunchables and other creations pre-wrapped in plastic stuck on a shelf for weeks can be an easy grab. However, these food are often saturated with preservatives and poor carbs. When you are packing your lunches make sure include a good amount of whole unprocessed food such as apple, carrots, and other fruits/veggies high in vitamin C and fiber.
PREPARE LUNCH IN ADVANCE
When you fail to plan you plan to fail. Meal prep can be essential to making your lunchtimes easy to please your family while also keeping everything eating with their health in mind. Try taking an hour on Sunday to premake, freeze and or store meals for easy use. Pinterest is host to a huge variety of meal prep ideas. Here’s a great Pinterest Board that can inspire you to meal prep more often.
Remember that making the right lunch choices this summer is important to your children. It not only keeps them healthy and energized during the break but also help them grow up with strong bodies and strong teeth. Enjoy your summer and I’ll see you for your before school dental cleaning here soon!