We’ve mentioned the (USA) Healthy School Meals Act of 2010 in previous posts. This act would provide more school children with healthier, plant-based meal options, and thanks to your support, Congress is on the verge of voting for a new Child Nutrition Act that could finally give kids the food they need.

A recent House bill, H.R. 5504, incorporates provisions of the Healthy School Meals Act and includes an innovative pilot program to introduce more plant-based foods into the school lunch program. The House bill would also provide more funding for farm-to-school programs, nutrition education and wellness promotion activities.

This superior House bill may be rejected for a much weaker Senate version that would make it harder for children to access healthy, plant-based foods.

As Congress prepares to vote, we must take swift action and continue our support of healthier school meals and plant-based options. The House bill would not only promote better eating habits and increased wellness for our kids, but it could also help reduce the devastating effects of animal agriculture on farm animals and the environment.

Please contact key leaders in the House today and urge them to take a stand on child nutrition by passing the House bill, H.R. 5504, and rejecting the Senate’s weaker bill, S. 3307.

Thanks to Farm Sanctuary for the simple summary and easy contact page.

Stay involved in your child’s physical education classes at school.

Ask about the frequency of classes, the length of classes, the activities, class size and curriculum. Ask about the teacher’s philosophy concerning children’s fitness.

While you’re at it, ask about recess – frequency and length, and what kids are able to do during that time.

If possible, offer to help coach an activity you’re good at. Remember – if you’re not moving, your kids won’t move either.

It’s a sad world we live in when the President proclaims National Childhood Obesity Month. What can we do to help fight childhood obesity?

We don’t all have kids, but we probably all know kids – nieces and nephews, grandkids, neighbor kids, our friends’ kids. And it does take a village to raise healthy, happy kids – so let’s all do our part to create the healthy village where childhood obesity can’t exist.

• Turn off the television, unplug the video games and computers, and power off the phones. Give the kids a ball and send them out to play.
• Encourage community funding for parks, sports leagues/teams, playgrounds, etc.
• Serve at least 4 servings of vegetables to your kids each day.
• Serve at least 2 servings of fruits to your kids each day.
• Ban soda from your home. When your kids are somewhere else, have an agreement that they drink one full bottle of water for every non-water beverage.
• Request daily physical education and recess for elementary and middle school students.
• Request that all soda machines be removed from schools. Make your schools soda-free.
• Volunteer as a youth sports coach or playground supervisor.
• Replace all “white” foods – white flour, sugar, rice and pasta – with whole-grain and less refined products.
• Use bicycles, skateboards, inline skates, or just walk for transportation.
• Try a new whole food every week (grain, legume, vegetable, fruit, nut, seed).
• Get kids involved in meal preparation.

Do you have other ideas? Share!

Most schools are now in session, and the kids have reviewed bus safety and carpool lane rules about a million times. If you’re a parent, you’ve seen the rules, too, and maybe signed off on them.

But if you don’t have kids, take a minute to google your state and community laws about driving near a school bus. Those flashing yellow and red lights mean things. The stop arm is important. Kids usually cross the street in front of the bus, but not always. Buses stop for railroad crossings and sometimes in other odd places. We get used to driving without giving it our full attention – but a school bus should have our full attention.

Kids in crosswalks and their crossing guards also need our full attention. Walking to and from school is great exercise for kids. Check our walking school bus post for a way to make walking work for your kids.

And if you’re driving carpool, and doing the drop-off and pick-up, know where you’re supposed to be – and where you’re not supposed to be.

Keep the kids safe on their way to and from school.

Kid-friendly food sometimes needs a kid-friendly name. This is one way to give your kids vegetables in foods they love. Did you know that most kids react to vegetables the way their parents do? Or, the way one of their parents does? If the adults in the house express a positive attitude about veggies, and veggies are always present at mealtime and snack time, then kids won’t freak out about them. They’re just – normal.

Make all the pancakes and freeze any you don’t eat right away. Separate them with waxed paper or parchment paper squares, and put them in a freezer-weight zipper bag. Freeze flat.

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Rainbow Pancakes
Blue * Serves 6

egg replacer for 1 egg (Ener-G Egg Replacer recommended)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup soy milk (or other milk sub)
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot
olive oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and water according to directions. Whisk in flours and baking powder. Then whisk in milk, and stir in vegetables. Let stand 20 minutes.

Pour a small amount of olive oil (about the size of a quarter) in a large skillet. Wipe the oil around with a paper towel, so the pan is evenly coated. Set the paper towel aside to use again. Heat the pan over medium heat. Pour batter from a measuring cup or small pitcher onto pan to make pancakes of desired size. When bubbles form and pop on top and the pancakes get dry around the edges, turn over with spatula. Continue cooking until just golden on both sides. Wipe out the pan with the oiled paper towel before pouring in batter for the next pancakes.

Serve with pure maple syrup, unsweetened soy yogurt, or cinnamon applesauce.

Challenge yourself – and your family – this weekend. Try a new food as a family activity. Part of the activity is the conversation. Teachers report that students are quick to have opinions, but not always able to support them with reasons. You can practice discussion skills as well as manners while you try something new.

1. Stop at your local Farmer’s Market.
2. Find something you haven’t tried before – a new fruit, vegetable, grain, legume, herb or spice. Some kind of food (but not prepared food – no cookies!).
3. Ask the farmer how they prepare it or use it in their cooking.
4. Check your cookbooks for other ideas.
5. Try it! Make sure everyone has at least a taste.
6. Talk about the new food. Do you like the color? Texture? Flavor? Would you like to prepare it differently? What would you like to serve it with? Would it be fun at breakfast? (No “yuck” or “ewww” answers allowed!) Encourage discussion and supported opinions.
7. Get excited about next week’s food adventure.

Reacquaint yourself with something that kept you fit in your childhood: a jump rope, hula hoop, pair of roller-skates, frisbee, unicycle, basketball, skateboard, stilts, inline skates.

Go easy at first if you’re a tad past your prime. It’s embarrassing for a middle-aged person to be waiting in an emergency room holding a pogo stick.

If you have kids, get them acquainted with these activities. They’re way more fun than video games.

Remember the “good old days” when we all walked to school? Okay, maybe we took the bus – but our parents and grandparents probably walked to school. And it didn’t hurt them to get that exercise every day.

So – if your kids live within a mile of their school, why not have them walk?

Now, we know it’s a different world. There’s a lot more traffic, and there are definitely dangers out there we don’t want our kids anywhere near. But what about a group walk? With adult chaperones (you see where this might be going for you, right?)?

In a town we know, the Walking School Bus is a very successful community fitness program. Retired folks have taken on most of the escorting, getting to know the kids in their neighborhood, and allowing the kids to get to know some of “those old people” who live nearby. The not-a-bus starts at the farthest point from the school where adults wait for the first kids to gather. As they walk toward the school, and past more homes, other kids join in. It’s kind of like a neighborhood carpool – without the car.

There’s safety in numbers. There are adults present to manage intersections. There’s community building. And there’s fitness. (And a way to get the wiggles out each morning and afternoon!)

Today we have a couple of recipes to perk up your brown bag lunches. These are kid-friendly (you know your kid best, so adapt the recipes to fit!) ways to get some extra fruits and veggies into them during the day.

Check these blog posts for more ideas!
Brown bag it * basics, leftovers, salads
Brown bag it * sandwiches

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Apple Carrot Salad
Green * Serves 4

1 apple, cored and grated
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup currants (call them baby raisins if your kid doesn’t think she likes new things – or sub raisins)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (skip it if you don’t have a real lemon)
1-1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (skip it if your kid doesn’t like the flavor… or try less at first)
1/4 cup walnuts, soaked 6-8 hours, chopped (if you didn’t get them soaked, don’t panic; use them anyway)
1 Tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut (skip it if your kid doesn’t like coconut)

Combine apple, carrots currants, orange juice, lemon zest, and ginger the night before. Stir in walnuts and coconut in the morning, just before packing lunches.

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Easy Fat-free 3-Bean Salad
Blue * Serves 8

1 pound fresh green beans, cut in 1″ pieces, steamed until tender & cooled
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar (from the Asian foods section of your grocery store)

Combine all ingredients in a sealed plastic container and shake well. Let sit in fridge overnight, gets better with age, up to 10 days in the fridge.

Note: If you make steamed green beans for dinner, just make an extra pound for this recipe. Add the other ingredients after dinner, and you’ll have a great salad ready for brown bag lunches in the morning!

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Three-Ingredient Cookies
Yellow * Makes 18 cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup Sucanat®
Egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg (or substitute 1 egg)

Mix it up – spoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 7-10 minutes.

Optional: Add some Tropical Source chocolate chips.

While you’re out shopping for school supplies, pick up a few things to make packing lunches easier. We’re big fans of reducing waste, so our recommendations are mostly reusable – that means your kids will have to bring them home, so you can wash them out for the next day. Bonus? You get to see what they didn’t eat, and make adjustments to ensure they’re getting enough good, healthy food for their day.

• Lunch bag * We like reusable lunch bags, especially the insulated kind. You can get a “squishy” insulated lunch bag for a reasonable price. An old-fashioned lunchbox can be fun, too, with favorite characters on the side. Or go upscale, and look for a bento-style lunch box. We had a friend who re-used dog food bags for lunch bags (he washed them out, don’t worry) until they kind of fell apart, which took months. Perhaps you have an old purse that would make a great lunch bag?
• Cold pack * Our favorite cold packs are the blue ice blocks, a bit larger than a deck of cards. One of those in an insulated (squishy) lunch bag will keep cold food cold for 4-5 hours. They’re made in other sizes and shapes, too, and they’re all pretty reasonably priced. Of course, a frozen water bottle (be sure to pour off the first inch before freezing!) also works well – and your child can drink the water, too.
• Thermos * Because there are days that we like warm food, we like to have a small, wide-mouth thermos – something that holds about 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) works pretty well.
• Silverware * We reuse plasticware (the heavier stuff goes through the dishwasher just fine), but you may want to look for something more sturdy. Purchase an inexpensive set of silverware at a discount store, or if your kids like adventure, get camping silverware.
• Containers * The inexpensive plastic containers can work really well for brown bag lunches – they can be reused for a long time, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If they don’t come home some day, you’re not out a lot of money. There are some other containers with built in cooling packs that we like, too. We’re not big fans of the plastic bag; there’s so much waste with that method. Think creatively to avoid the waste.
• Napkins * Our favorite napkins are colorful bandanas from the dollar store. We like that they wash well, and they’re easy to replace.