Tree Hugging Family » eco lunch

Cedar Approved Healthy School Lunch Food

Jennifer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:51:41 +0000

My eight year old Cedar is actually a fan of healthy food. Like most kids he likes to splurge, but most of the time he chooses to eat healthy. Example: Yesterday we were at the store and I said, “What should we have for dinner?” Cedar says, “Can we have steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, and organic french fries with ketchup?” I kid you not. This is a kid who’ll ask for sliced red bell peppers and applesauce for breakfast.

Am I just lucky? Maybe. I’ve gone with no force feeding since Cedar was born and he was raised vegetarian. It likely helps that I’m always spouting off about organic benefits too. Who knows though. The downside is that he’s also way picky. While he’ll eat any veggies in sight I have trouble getting him to eat typical kid stuff – PB&Js, mac n cheese, pizza, deli meat sandwiches (because he says NO meat), and so on, so choices for packed lunches are limited. In any case, here are some healthy school lunch picks that Cedar actually approves of.

Healthy foods that can go into reusable baggies or containers that Cedar will actually eat:

Any raw sliced veggie or fruit. You can mix it up by spreading organic peanut butter on celery, or including a low-fat veggie dip too. Sometimes I’ll steam veggies for him, but he has access to a microwave at his school, if your child doesn’t steamed veggies don’t taste as good cold. I also sometimes send frozen berries like blueberries or raspberries – they thaw a little by lunchtime. Cedar likes raw citrus fruit like sliced lemons, which sounds odd, but lots of kids like them and they make a good desert.
Santa Cruz Organic Fruit Sauces or other organic applesauce.
Homemade organic pudding.
Leftover pancakes.
Homemade cornbread or muffins. I add flax to make them healthier and we always use reusable muffin liners.
Smoothies like the Organic Halloween Smoothie – if you have a stay cold container, like the one that comes in some reusable lunch kits you can send a smoothie to school.
Homemade Organic Fruit Snacks – if we don’t have time to make fruit snacks we’ll buy Stretch Island products, which are healthier than other commercial fruit snacks, but the packaging sucks.
Bagel with organic cream cheese. If your child doesn’t like cream cheese try organic jam or a slice of regular cheese.
Pita bread with hummus or PB&J for other kids.
Whole wheat cereals and crackers. Most can be found in bulk.
Granola. Cedar likes the vanilla cherry granola we buy in bulk, but they have lots of types at any grocery bulk section. You can also try trail mix (Cedar won’t eat it, but most kids will).
Cooked noodles or brown rice with veggies.
Cubes of organic cheese.
Almonds or organic soy nuts.
Tortilla and cheese – again, Cedar has a microwave to cook his. Some kids like them cold though. Really you can put lots of stuff on tortillas.
Homemade or organic bought cookies – Cedar won’t eat many sweets but he likes lemon cookies or Newman-O’s which unlike Oreos have zero Partially Hydrogenated Oils and Trans-Fatty Acids

Packaged stuff Cedar likes: I don’t love these items because they’re one, packaged, and two, not as healthy as other whole food type items, but we sometimes keep them on hand…

Organic Just Raspberries – Cedar LOVES these. I don’t see how freeze dried fruits are better than fresh fruit, although they are more portable, but since I won’t buy store bought fruit snacks, and since his school banned high fructose corn syrup, these are a decent alternative. Just Healthy Products also makes just veggies and other just fruits.

Organic Apple Cobbler Cereal Bars

YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers – I HATE the packaging on these. I try to send organic yogurt in reusable containers instead, (I buy a large container) but sometimes Cedar wants these. We wash the tubes and recycle them.

Of course I always send a huge reusable bottle of water.

Later I’ll try to post some other organic and healthy ideas that go beyond what Cedar will eat. Your kids might be willing to try something new.

[image via free pixels]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Back to school the green way!

Jennifer — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:41:20 +0000

School is starting up soon and it’s time to start planning your green school efforts. Tree Hugging Family has covered a lot of school topics here already, but this year I’ll be bringing in some new cool ideas, green school gear, and tips. If you’ve got a specific question about greening your school experience (for you or the kids) this year, this would be a good time to ask. Leave a question in the comments and I’ll try to cover it soon.

That said, before we take off for the 2009-2010 school year, let’s look at some past resources plus a few new ones…

Green school basics:

Green education for the smallest tree huggers:

Green your college experience:

Green school gear:

Green your school lunch:

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Green Product Review: 100% Bamboo Lunch Bag

Jennifer — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:11:10 +0000

Now that fall is quickly coming up on us, you’ll need to find your kids a nice lunch bag or lunch box. Preferably a sustainable option. Today I’ve got a review of one option…

Product: Environmentally-Friendly 100% Bamboo Lunch Bag from New Wave Enviro Products

Basics: 100% Bamboo Lunch Bag; reusable, good for kids or adults.

Cost: $17.79

Eco-perks:

Waste-Free Lunches notes on average one school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That’s about 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school. Reusable lunch sacks cut down on this incredible waste.

Bamboo is one of the more sustainable fabrics available. Bamboo Fabric Store notes, “Bamboo (unlike cotton) takes in five times the volume of greenhouse gasses as an equivalent stand of timber trees and releases 35% more oxygen. It needs no replanting, pesticides or fertilizers, and its roots retain water in the watershed, sustaining riverbanks and reducing water pollution.”

Bamboo is naturally anti-microbial. According to research by Japan Textile Inspection Association, after factoring in processing and fifty washes, bamboo fabrics still retain their anti-fungal, anti-bacterial nature.

What I think:

Product pros…

This lunch sack is sooooooo super soft. It’s really lightweight but large enough to hold plenty of food in containers and even a small water bottle. I like the eco-perks obviously as well. There’s a heavy-weight snap that keeps the lunch sack closed and the handles are perfectly sized for kids. The bag seems well made and can be hand washed with mild soap. I also like that the bottom of the bag opens square and flat, not rounded like a bag.

Product cons…

The handles are too short for adult shoulder wear, but I still think this bag works well for adults, you just need to carry it by the handles. There’s only one color choice (green – shown above). I’m not sure how this bamboo is processed which does make a difference when it comes to sustainability. I’m also unsure if this bamboo is organically grown. Although New Wave Enviro Products notes that this bamboo is grown without chemicals or pesticides, the bag is not certified by Oeko-Tex, Soil Association, SKAL, or KRAV (the best way to know if your bamboo is sustainable). If it is certified it’s not noted anywhere at the website or on the product itself.

I also don’t think that the packaging is made with recycled materials. It comes in a simple cardboard package that is recyclable, yet the packaging notes this nowhere (they should), and they could use recycled content cardboard too.

Overall score:

Three out of five trees. If this bamboo was certified and if the packaging was more eco-friendly I’d have given this bag five trees because it’s handy, large enough for lunch, and anti-bacterial bamboo. However, it looses two points for the above mentioned issues. Still, I’d recommend it as a decent option for a waste-free lunch bag.

UPDATE!!!: After further use, I’m taking off another half point. This lunch sack is not ice pack friendly which seriously limits the food items you can pack. Because it’s cloth, the ice packs get all leaky in here.

Learn more at New Wave Enviro Products or buy it at Atlantis Natural.

See more eco-lunch options…

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Waste-Free School Lunches

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:24:22 +0000

If you’re looking for some information about saving resources on lunch, (think packaging), then a visit to waste-free lunches is a must.

Waste-free lunches covers everything you need to know in order to pack an earth-friendly lunch for your kids. The waste-free lunch website notes that “It’s been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.”

That’s a lot of waste. This site can help you beat the waste.

Ideas covered include:

Cost of a waste-free lunch.
Comparisons between a wasteful vs. not wasteful lunch.
How to start a waste-free lunch program in your own school (although the tips are easily adapted to home lunches for homeschooled kids).
Research on waste in school lunches.
Stories about successes on the waste-free lunch front.
And more.

Visit waste-free lunches and make this the year that your basic lunch efforts make a positive difference for the environment.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in August 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Earth friendly lunch boxes

Jennifer — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:18:30 +0000

Peggy and I think alike. She just posted, Green Your Child’s Lunch, which is actually the direction I was considering this morning. Since she went over some basics, I figured I’d pull out some of the best green lunch boxes to share. Later we’ll look at some healthy organic food choices, and of course other green back to school issues.

Last year we took a look at how to Pack Your Kids An Eco-Lunch and also saw (more recently) a cool idea for making your own Oilcloth Bags.

Both of the above are good choices. When looking for a good green lunch bag, you want materials that are not only earth friendly (if possible) but materiel that can take what your kids hand out. A lunch sack that breaks down after two months is not an eco-smart choice.

It’s also nice to make sure you have plenty of reusable containers on hand for storing food. You can go the plastic baggie route, but it’s more earth friendly to use reusable containers; they’ll last longer. Look for storage solutions that can be recycled as well. Lastly look for lunch storing items that are non-toxic, food safe, and lead-free.

Some ideas include…

[Basura bags - handmade using colorful recycled juice containers]

[Built NY Munchlers Backpacks - Insulated Medium Kids Lunch Bags]

[Lantor: Three-dimensional lenticular aluminum frame lunch box with shoulder strap]

[Built NY’s lunch tote - many color choices]

[10 oz Leak-proof Food Jar]

[Bento Box Set]

[Eco Certified Lunchbug]

Of course there are oodles of other lunch carrying options. No worries, we’ll see more later. In the meantime, if you’re looking for small containers to store food in, within your child’s lunch box, I’d check out the Green Guide’s Safer Containers list. This list can help you to avoid some of those icky chemicals you find in many plastics.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family