Fueling for School: Balancing Nutrition And A New School Year

Written By: Tracy Pritchard (MS, CNS, LDN)

For most of us the new school year is right around the corner; or, depending on your location, you are already back to school. Instead of packing the pool bag with towels and snacks, it’s time to start thinking about schedules that may include school, sports, appointments and a variety of other commitments. Often times meal planning and preparation is reserved for dinnertime (which can be challenging itself!), but what about breakfast and lunch? And what about dinners when schedules are packed full of sports and other activities? 

We know many kids say they “aren’t hungry” early in the mornings or claim they just “don’t have time” for breakfast. School mornings are often rushed leaving kids to grab a bowl of cold cereal if any food at all! A majority of cereals are full of added sugars and don’t provide the fuel and nutrition needed for a full day of learning and activities. Kids need energy and brain power to get through the day. Research has shown that kids who eat breakfast are more like to have better concentration, creativity, and school attendance than those who do not. After skipping breakfast or eating a breakfast that contains as much sugar as a dessert, it’s no wonder some kids feel sluggish or tired and have a hard time focusing. Once at school, students also need to navigate lunch and snacks to stay fueled for the school day. 

Following are some nutritional tips to help your child do their best in school:

Simple – The new school year brings a lot of new things and unknowns. Food should be easy to eat and enjoy. If you like to make things from scratch try making a batch of your own muffins that you can freeze – this is an easy way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and can be incorporated into a meal or snack. Examples include carrot, zucchini, banana, or pumpkin muffins. To keep the preparatory work from becoming monotonous, there are several shortcuts you will want to consider. These shortcuts may include options such as: frozen (protein) toaster waffles, boxed protein shakes or drinkable yogurts, precooked/peeled hardboiled eggs, and pre-cut fruit. Allocating just 5-10 minutes in the morning for a quick breakfast can set a student up for the rest of the day.  

Variety – A balanced meal contains some protein, carbohydrates/fiber, and fat. Kids may enjoy a rotation of snacks in the form of fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, and different proteins (animal proteins, beans/legumes, cheese, or yogurt). Try a mix and match option for your kids. First, setup a lunchbox station in the pantry and one in the refrigerator or freezer for perishable items. Then have your kids choose one thing from each category to create their own lunchbox. The categories might look like this:

1. Fruit, 

2. Veggie, 

3. Protein (meats, cheese, nut butter, yogurt), 

4. Grain (bread, pasta, rice, whole grain cracker) 

In addition to the variety found in those categories, variety may also be found in sandwiches. Just the different choices of bread can provide enough variety to keep this option an enduring food choice. Try different rolls, pita bread, flat bread/wraps, bagels, whole grain English muffins, or corn tortillas. Next consider varying the fillings which may include nut butter (look for natural versions where the ingredients are nuts and salt or just nuts), cheese (try different types and combinations), tuna, egg, bean spreads such as hummus, or some grated carrot, lettuce, and avocado. When packing for the school day, consider foods that are still appealing after several hours of storage in a lunch box.

Meal Prep - You do not need to spend a lot of time each day making lunches, rather choose one day to prep for the week. Use this time to wash and chop vegetables, portion dips, batch cook some chicken or eggs, etc. Then have your kids choose one thing from each category to create their own lunchbox. 

Leftovers – When planning dinners for the week, consider making extra so they can be used for lunches the next day. Too often kids skip lunch or consume ultra-processed foods that lack nutrients and call it “lunch”.  If you bake chicken for dinner one day, you can use it to make a chicken wrap for lunch the next day. 

Snacks – Packing nutritious snacks may help make busy schedules more manageable. Pick snacks that provide long-lasting energy over ultra-processed foods full of sugar and/or food colorings. Snacks may include whole fruits, string cheese, store- bought or homemade trail mix.  Some students bring a snack for a designated time during the school day, while others may also need extra snacks if they go straight to afterschool sports or activities. 

Feedback – When your kids come home ask them what worked well and what didn’t work well. Sometimes there is a taste/texture preference, other times kids may have trouble with packaging or consuming foods during the allotted time. For example, you may find that your child is more likely to eat an apple if it is sliced, but a whole apple always comes back untouched. Some foods may be too “messy” to deal with at school, while others foods are easy to pack. Prepare for some trial and error especially when trying new things. 

Drinks – Be sure to pack a water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the day. Consider using a water bottle your child is excited to use during the day. Some kids prefer water bottles with straws, while other kids may be more concerned about a water bottle that fits well in their backpack and is easy for them to refill on their own. 

Right when it seems like you have a handle on breakfast and lunch with all the tips provided, we also need to have a plan for dinners, too! Try to map out your meals for the week ahead. This requires looking at the activity schedule and being realistic about meals needed for the week. Some days may require “quick dinners” like chicken and rice or perhaps eating out. It may be easier to find a meal prep pattern and do some cooking over the weekend to relieve stress during the week. This would require time set aside to choose recipes, make a grocery list, pick a time to go shopping, and time to actually make and store the meals for the week. You can always use some time-saving hacks and choose recipes that save both time and energy in the kitchen by picking recipes with minimal ingredients, hands-off cooking methods (crockpot or sheet pan baking), and easy clean up. 

Now’s the time to consider which of these things you can incorporate into your routine. Remember to get your family involved as much as possible in the planning and preparation.

Helpful Habits: The Back to School Edition

By Jennifer Voorhaar, LCSW-C

Let me start by saying, if school has already started for you, and you’re already in the thick of back to school transitions….keep reading. Really! Keep reading. It is never too late to change things up, try something new or create a healthy habit.

Now that you’re still reading, I’ll next say….well done! You survived summer. Your kiddos are back to school, and you did it! For those of us (myself included) who still have children at home living their best summer life, hold on my friend, they're going back soon! In all seriousness, I truly love summer. I enjoy having my kids home and hearing them hanging out with each other (teen boys) as well as friends and family who visit. I enjoy the ease (and the quiet) of the mornings and the chaos of summer sports in the evenings. I really, REALLY enjoy not having to monitor homework!

But, here we are just a few days away from the start of the new school year. What I offer to you today are a few tricks, tips and ideas to help make mornings smoother, homework less stressful, and meals more enjoyable. Try them all, or try a few but I ask that you at least try one. When one works, try another and maybe... just maybe… you’ll try them all.

We want our kiddos to be smart about their choices and with their healthy habits so I’m going to break this down with an easy way to remember things… S-M-A-R-T.

S – Start Small – there is no need to go from summer ease to rigid school schedules. So, start small. Maybe you start with a slight adjustment with bedtimes which aids in the adjustment of wake up times. Start small. We’re not going from free range teens to 5 am risers. Ease back in over the next week or so. If your kids have already started school, and the bedtime and wake times are set, choose another place to start small. Maybe you chose to plan one meal a week rather than the whole week’s worth. Because here’s the deal… small things add up to larger things, and eventually you’ll have a week’s worth (if that’s the change you chose!)

M – Make it manageable – You’ve started small so hopefully it is manageable, right? Yes. But, another great way to make things manageable is the Habit Stack. This is my most favorite idea of habits. Habit stacking is when you pair two habits at once just like the old saying “two birds with one stone.” So, maybe you listen to an audible while you drive because you just don’t have time to sit down and read. Or, maybe you meal plan and make the grocery list at the same time. Maybe you drink water before making your coffee so you’re hydrating and enjoying your cup of joe. Maybe you take a walk while on the phone with a friend or better yet, invite that friend to walk with you. You get the idea. Two healthy habits done at the same time… saves time.

A – Always give yourself grace. If you make a meal plan and the week falls apart, and you don’t follow the meal plan… give grace. We’ve all had great ideas for a dinner and by mid day we remember the meat is still in the freezer. It’s ok! If you set a routine and it doesn’t happen one day, then do it tomorrow. Give yourself grace. It is ok to forget. It is ok to just not have time. But, try again tomorrow.

R – wRite it down. Ok, a little play on the letter there but you get the idea. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study and found that people who write things down are 42% more likely to achieve their goals. Grab a notebook, an agenda, calendar, or use your phone and write it down. Plan out your day. For example, here’s what a day written down for me might look like on a school day:

5:15 am – wake up and get ready to work out

530-615am – work out (wake boys if not already awake)

615-630am – ready my bible and have coffee

630-6:55am – boys ready, prep my food for the day

6:55-7:10am – boys to bus

7:10am-7:45am – get ready

7:45- leave (yes, I write down what time I want to leave so I have my plan together)

8:30 – this is where the work schedules come in (and that’s a different list)

I sit down the night before and plan the next day so I know what time I need to get up and I know what my morning will look like. But, I give myself grace if it doesn’t look exactly like this. Sometimes, I’m drinking coffee and listening to a faith podcast in the car instead of sitting down in my favorite spot. But, it’s still getting done and I’m successful.

T – Totally Celebrate the wins! That’s right. Celebrate and honor your hard work to get into back to school/fall routines. A celebration looks different for everyone, but embrace it. Maybe it means Frozen Pizza Fridays (yes, that’s a thing in my house most weeks) because we’ve worked hard all week and it’s time to slow down. Or maybe it’s Sleep in Saturdays (if fall sports allow) or maybe it’s a just a delicious beverage on the porch enjoying the cooler weather.

There you are…SMARTy pants! Leave us a comment below to let us know how it goes!

The Purpose Behind the Pursuit of Health and Wellness Goals

Written By: Tracy Pritchard (MS, CNS, LDN)

Does anyone else feel bombarded with social media posts and billboards about weight loss programs and workout routines? While this seems especially prevalent around the New Year, weight loss and fitness programs are ubiquitous. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation going around with the newest fad diets, the latest “superfood” (or toxic food!), that it can be downright confusing and frustrating to know what to do. Keep in mind that fad diets are a marketing tool and can be a dangerous message. Rather than looking for a ‘diet’ that significantly alters nutrition intake, consider steps to implementing a nutritious diet that supports a healthy lifestyle. I have been known to say that my approach to health and wellness is not dieting it is “lifestyling”. 

In a world of instant gratification, it is not uncommon for someone to jump into a weight loss program and become quickly discouraged when the scale is not reflective of their sacrifices and hard work. Many of us are chasing a short-term solution instead of sustainable habit changes that will contribute to long term improvements in health and wellness. It is easy to caught in a cycle of short-term fixes that don’t last leading to feelings of failure instead of a holistic approach to improving one’s overall health and well-being. It is more important to pursue progress than perfection when taking steps to improving your health. Like many things in life long term consistency triumphs over short term intensity. Too often with health and wellness we feel that we need to be “all in” when in fact good is not the enemy of perfect. 

It is important to understand our own individual “why” involved in making lifestyle changes. We all have different reasons that keep us focused on our goals. Some examples may include some or all of the following:

*Increase energy levels

*Sleep better

*Improve mood

*Longevity

*Play with kids and grandkids

*Reduce stress

*Clothes fit better

*Improved physical health

*Being a good example to kids and grandkids

When pursuing health goals and milestones, what if we considered weight loss as a positive side effect of making changes rather than the main focus? If the number on the scale is the main measurement or feedback for your efforts, you may find it does not keep you motivated to continue. The scale has no idea that you have been building more muscle, eating more vegetables, or getting more steps in each day. There are many other meaningful ways to measure health improvements that do not require a scale. These are known as non-scale victories (NSV) and may range from improved energy levels to being able to wear a pair of pants from several years back. These victories may be related to physical change but also consistent behavior change. For example if you have made healthy changes to your diet and exercise routine, blood work from your Doctor may indicate improvements in your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In addition, when you start making small changes over time you will typically find that you feel better leading to greater confidence in making additional changes without putting undue pressure on yourself based on the scale alone. Remember that the scale is one number – a moment in time – but certainly does not reflect your journey to a healthier life or tell the whole story of your progress. Perhaps you set a goal to run or walk a 5k and followed a couch to 5k program that led you to accomplish your goal. Regardless of the data on the scale, it is important to recognize and celebrate this non-scale victory to support your self-esteem and relationship with food and exercise. You may have an added benefit of new sources of social support if you decided to pursue this goal with others. If you enjoy rewards for your achievements, be sure to reward yourself with some new running gear or a sports massage! 

How can you use non-scale victories to motivate you? You may notice improvements that are not related to weight but are related to a healthy lifestyle. Each time you are able to walk a little further than last time, you wake up feeling more rested, or find yourself in a better mood, you will know that your efforts are paying off. You may need to pay attention to changes in your daily life to observe subtle changes – sometimes you get additional benefits you didn’t realize were connected. For example, if you start exercising on a regular basis or meeting your daily water goals you will likely feel better. This may lead to better self-confidence and overall satisfaction.

It may be helpful to keep a journal to keep track of your achievements and observations no matter how big or small. What is something in your health journey – big or small -  that you can take time to reflect on and celebrate? Take a moment to notice the inner and outer changes you have made; consider it an investment and stay the course!