A cool website sent to me!

epicurious.com great kid snack options!

Challenge #2

We're going to save you money, how exciting is that?! 1 Capri Sun pouch can be sucked down in 2.3 seconds, ingesting 110 calories and 30g of sugar (that's like 2.5 TABLESPOONS!) according to my favorite website, www.calorieking.com. So what can we do about this, you may ask? I will tell you! Take any pitcher in your cabinet (one you may have sugary juices in, dump that out) and put any frozen fruit in the bottom. 1/2 a cup should do you just fine! Then fill the container (4 quarts, I'm assuming) and then pour from there into reusable water bottles. Now you are green and your kids have slashed their calories and sugars! Yeah Mom!

Any moms out there with Comcast? Did you know there are a lot of kids workouts and yoga on Demand! How exciting is that? My 11 year old and I do it before bed (with the 2 year old climbing through the poses and everything!) and the lengthening in her muscles helps with growth and development. I run with friends and one brought her daughter last night. It was great because at a track they can run their own pace with out getting left behind. And I'll have you know they love competition, so race the straights, walk the curves!

Good luck and happy packing!

Challenge 1

Baby steps and we'll get there! Make it your goal to put only one packaged item in your kid"s lunch each day this first week. I always say, if you have to open a package, there is probably a better choice. So what does that leave you with? A sandwich, piece of fruit, packaged item (granola bar :), storebought cookies :( Chips :( pretzles :) ) One option that may make you look like the world's coolest mom is on Saturday or Sunday you could make up a bunch of "healthified" oatmeal cookies. I just use half the butter the recipe calls for and no white sugar. What it asks for in white sugar, use applesauce and as a way to give it an extra ump to get your kids though the day, throw 1 scoop of protein powder in there and they'll never know! The more "candy" (raisins, craisens, dried anything really) you put in the cookie the more they'll love it! Just so you know, they will cook up smaller, so throw two or three in their lunch feeling good that you have given them fuel for their hard day! And even if they aren't loading up on sugar, for some reason it is important to kids that their friends see their mom packs them cookies. It's weird, but whatever! There are a lot of great ideas out there, but I want this to be a successful mission and one with great rewards along the way! You will see your kids have more energy, trimmer waistlines and all around feel better when they eat whole, real food that energize and strengthen their bodies. So take the first challenge and eliminate all but one packaged item from their lunch!

Getting Started

We're all examining the list of what they need, sharpened pencils (cause how frustrating to start the year with unsharpened pencils!), erasers (lets be honest, we all make mistakes), colored pencil, crayons (there is fun to be had as well!) and paper, lots of paper. If you have a daughter like mine, who is going into sixth grade (double gulp!) and needed a real backpack, not a tinkerbell backpack with her name embroidered on it like in second grade, but a real Jansport, lifetime guaranteed $50 backpack (which I only paid $40, cause that's how I roll!) then you have a lot to prepare for. I wouldn't trade her places for a million dollars. Junior high is looming and it's all downhill. Even if you are sweet and darling and precious (as they all are, created in His image) there are some girls out there that may not be feeling as loved as they are and take it out on everyone else. I was the target as a child and my heart breaks that so is my daughter. I spent years trying to help her see it differently. Maybe they didn't mean it that way, or maybe they were having a bad day, in the end, they were kind of nasty and why would you want to be their friend anyway? Back to my point, Junior High Stinks, bad, like the baby's diaper. Add to that the prevalence of obesity in out children and you have my new mission in life. Childhood obesity and what to do about it. I challenge any mom to get on board with me and take back the lunchbox, Dora or peace signs, transformers or camo. These are our children that we love and cherish and we need to educate ourselves on how to fuel their best possible day! This blog will certainly not be sponsored by Doritos or Capri Sun, but in the end, I Hope that we can all bring a better future and a better health to our children! I plan to post a healthy option to your child's lunchbox that will help them maintain their health and energy at the "job" (School)