100 HAWAII PARENT May/June 2024 Bonus points: packing a healthy lunch for your child with lots of fruit and veggies will allow you to have some control over what he or she is eating at school. Schoolprovided lunches and snacks can be loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol, refined sugars, flours, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. By making smart shopping decisions and setting aside time to prepare homemade lunches, you can help your child to stay healthy and give him or her the energy and focus needed to succeed in school. Get your keiki to help you make their nutritious lunches for extra credit! Here are some simple and healthy ideas to stock your pantry and prep those lunch boxes with plant-based choices the little ones will love. • Lots of fresh fruit washed, cut, and It’s a fact that keiki need lots of fresh produce for normal growth and healthy brain development. A good rule of thumb is to include at least one fruit or veggie with every meal and snack. Don’t forget the importance of a great teacher! You are your child’s first teacher; what they see you eating will form their own ideas about how to eat, so be a good role model and fill your plate with a rainbow of veggies, whole grains, and beans. Score an A+ this school year and give a plant-based way of eating a try for your ohana, even just for one day or one meal a week. Increase your meatless eating days as you get the hang of it. Making sure your keiki are eating nutritious plant-based foods as much as possible is a great way to boost their health and immunity, too. Part of the adventure of adopting a healthy vegetarian diet is finding new foods to love. “A good rule of thumb is to include at least one fruit or veggie with every meal and snack.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==