The day before my son's first day of school we headed over to our local Whole Foods Market to check out the "Lunch Line Revolution" going on there. This was a free event open to the public where kids could pack their own lunch for the next day from an awesome salad bar of fresh food choices. I was invited to attend as a blogger.
My son and I love the googgly eyed fruits and veggies that decorate the store! This cute broccoli guy caught our attention!
The kids in attendance received a cardboard box to fill with their choice of salad ingredients. My son is not a huge salad fan, but he likes components of a salad, so he did enjoy picking and choosing his ingredients. His favorites are carrots and cucumbers, but he will eat some spinach leaves. He LOVES broccoli, but isn't sure about eating it raw yet (quite frankly, I prefer it steamed too!) In addtion to his veggie choices, he got to pick out a salad dressing cup, some crackers, a juice box or water and a cup of fresh fruit. This was a fun way to show him how to pack healthy choices in lunch.
Packing school lunches has been one of the more stressful parts of back to school for me. Besides my son being a picky eater, I am picky about what he eats. I was surprised when on tour of the cafe at his school the very nice cafe employee excitedly explained all the choices kids have each day including "Breakfast for Lunch" which includes Trix cereal and yogurt, both with reduced sugar. The less sugar part is great, but both of those items are colored with articficial food dyes, something I try to limit. There was nothing organic on the menu. There are four choices of milk each day: low fat, no fat, chocolate and strawberry. I am stumped as to why flavored, sugared milk is offered daily. Couldn't it be a once a week treat? His school lunch menu is packed with lots of choices of fruits and veggies each day and the kids are required to pick several choices of those with each school lunch. They also offer whole grains for all their bread products, including soft pretzels. While I was very hesitant in having my son buy lunch at school, I have found that it is a great choice on occasion. He likes to buy on days that a chicken option is available and he has even remarked that there are things he might like to try that are beyond his normal choices. I also like that it is encouraging him to be independent and responsible. So it turns out having a healthy lunch each day is easier than I anticipated! I still prefer to pack his lunch, but knowing he has some healthy choices when eating at school is a relief.
A big Thank You to our local Whole Foods for hosting the Lunch Line Revolution which was such a great event that encouraged healthy eating for kids! It was a fun way to help pack the first lunch of the school year!
Disclosure: I was invited to the event as a blogger and received a store gift card and bag of groceries. All opinions shared are honest and my own!
