(ARA) - With every new school year comes the opportunity to start fresh, and beginning on a healthy note can help students succeed throughout the year.
Unfortunately, with bus schedules, homework, sports practices and other extracurricular activities to facilitate, parents have less time to focus on their children's nutrition. For the sake of convenience, many will resort to providing sugary cereals, fatty fast-food and empty-calorie snacks. These options are enabling childhood obesity and related health problems to rise at an alarming rate, and a number of national campaigns, such as Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign, have brought improving children's nutrition to the forefront of the American health discussion. With a few tips, parents can find quick and easy solutions for healthy meals and snacks that their kids will enjoy throughout the school year.
Easy fruit smoothies
Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day, but the rush to find book bags, get dressed and catch the school bus leaves little time to prepare a fresh homemade breakfast each morning. But you can avoid resorting to sugar-laden toaster pastries, cereals and other pre-packaged items and just as easily give your child a healthy start to the day. A whole fruit smoothie is a sweet way to give your children a boost of nutrients to help them stay focused and energized. Simply toss a combination of ice, fruits and even veggies into a Vitamix machine, and you can create an on-the-go power breakfast in seconds. These mighty blending machines are able to actually pulverize entire whole fruits and vegetables - stems, seeds and all - giving your child the full nutritional value of the produce. Vitamix offers hundreds of tasty, nutrient-dense recipes on its website and cookbooks, so your child is sure to find one he or she loves.
Sandwiches for a week
Although it may seem easier to hand your child lunch money, many children and young teens don't know how to make the best nutritional choices on their own. For those mornings when even making a simple sandwich seems too time-consuming, a little preparation can make a huge difference. When you do have some extra time, whether on a Sunday evening or after the kids go to bed, make a dozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wrap them in individual plastic bags, and stick them in the freezer. They'll remain fresh, and you can toss them right into the lunch boxes. By the time lunch rolls around, the sandwiches will be defrosted and ready to eat. You might even use cookie cutters to create fun but healthy bite-size sandwiches that will thaw by lunchtime.
Salads: not only summer
Some of the staples of summer cookouts can be saving graces for parents during the school year. There are endless combinations of salads that can be refrigerated and easily scooped into small containers for portable lunches or snacks. Cut up a variety of your child's favorite fruits, sprinkle on some lemon juice to preserve, and refrigerate in a plastic storage container for a quick, healthy lunch side or after-school snack. Pasta salads can also be great options for the busy family - if you make a few healthy adjustments. Use whole grain pasta, plenty of crunchy vegetables and low-fat dressings and herbs for a healthy alternative to traditional high-fat recipes. You can also add lean protein such as tuna, chicken or tofu to make the salad more substantial. Refrigerate in a large plastic container, and you've got another quick and convenient solution for lunches and on-the-go snacks.
Happy trails
Kids need fuel to get through the school day, but sugar-packed snacks that are lacking in other nutrients won't provide the lasting energy they need. To help your child avoid an afternoon crash and also concentrate throughout the day, homemade trail mix is an easy, customizable solution. Traditional mixes usually include cereal, nuts and dried fruit, but you can easily adapt any recipe to best fit your kids' tastes. For a tropical twist, add dried pineapple, banana and mango. To satisfy a sweet tooth, yogurt-covered raisins are a healthy alternative to chocolate pieces. And for that child who can't get enough crunch, throw in some granola bites for a protein- and fiber-rich kick. Letting young kids help choose the ingredients and mix up the combination will create extra excitement and show them that healthy choices can taste great.
With a little preparation, you can help your child start off the school year right and maintain a balanced diet despite your hectic schedules. These and other healthy tips will help students - and their parents - have a fun, productive school year.
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