Did life just get a lot busier? This time of year is always packed with activities, busy schedules, fast meals, and plenty of germs!
Want to know how to support your child’s immunity going into the school year?
Want to know how to make a quick healthy meal for your child?
Step 1
Consider adding a daily multivitamin to boost your child’s immune defenses.
A multivitamin like Xymogen’s ActivNutrients chewable tablets or Drucker Labs IntraKid. Both contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C and zinc.
** IntraKID is available on https://store.druckerlabs.com/pages/intrakid
** ActivNutrients is available on Wholescripts.com
Step 2
Plan ahead when making grocery lists.
We suggest meal prepping as much as possible. If this means making a large pan of chicken, pot of rice, 2 sheets of roasted vegetables your little ones like, whatever it takes to get through the week!
Incorporating protein, carbs, fats, and fiber can be made simple.
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with cheese, 1 slice toast, grapes
Full Fat Greek yogurt with granola, mixed berries
High protein frozen waffles, 2 Applegate turkey sausage, mandarin orange
Lunch:
Sandwich – Turkey/chicken, whole grain bread, cheese or avocado, side carrots or grapes
Wrap – Rotisserie chicken wrap, ranch or Caesar dressing, cheese, lettuce, side strawberries
Pasta – Whole grain with protein, marinara or pesto sauce, add chopped veggies or blend into sauce, topped with shaved parmesan cheese, side raspberries
Aim to include two colors in your child’s lunch! This may be in the sides. Examples – carrots, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, tomato on their sandwich, a side of cherry tomatoes, an apple, orange, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc.
Dinner:
Protein – Beef, chicken, lamb, shrimp, fish, beans, edamame, chickpeas, tofu
Grains – Quinoa, rice (brown, wild, white), barley, corn, buckwheat
Vegetables – Salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, squash, white potatoes, cabbage, kale, turnips, brussels sprouts, rutabagas, etc.
If your child really wants chicken tenders and potatoes for dinner, how can you add in some color for added phytonutrients? Think a fruit smoothie with a handful of spinach, a cup of berries, sliced carrots or cucumbers. Even with picky eaters, we can always introduce new foods. Consistent exposure to various colors, textures, and fibers is the only way children begin liking new foods.
Whole Food Healthy Snack Ideas:
- Veggies and hummus
- Celery and peanut butter
- Apple with peanut/almond butter
- Fruit with cheese stick
- Fruit with Archer mini beef stick
- Chomps Turkey or Beef stick
- Seed Crackers with hummus, avocado, or nut butter
The less processed foods, the better. The less ingredients the better. If you have an item in your fridge or cupboard that has many ingredients that are hard to pronounce, best to toss it out. Finding the right brands matters as eating clean ingredients supports your child’s gut microbiome, focus, brain, energy, mood, and overall inflammation throughout their body.
A Few Brands We Recommend:
- Apple Gate Farms or Realgood Foods Co, for deli meat, hot dogs, chicken tenders
- Organic Valley or Horizon for dairy products
- Archer or Chomps grass fed beef and turkey sticks
- Cascadian Farms, Purely Elizabeth, or Nature’s Path for granola and cereal
- Nature’s Garden – variety of nut and seed mixes
- Maranatha peanut, almond, and coconut butters
- Bare organic apple chips
- Harvest Snaps snap pea crisps
- Terra Real vegetable chips
- Mary’s Gone Crackers or Ella’s Flats seed crackers
- Pasta brands – Banza chickpea pasta, Goodles, Barilla protein pasta
Various Snack/Protein Bars for Your Child:
- Cascadian Farms
- Once Upon a Farm
- Clif Kid Zbar
- Nature’s Bakery
- Kind Healthy Grains Bar
- Dave’s Killer Brand Snack Bars
- Autumn’s Gold Bars
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