Get More Greens in Your Lunch

When I think of cafeteria food, I think of the hair net ladies in my old grade school serving less than appetizing, far from healthy mystery meals, most of which ended up in the trash cans.

Fortunately, due to a more informed public, parental pressure – oh and a child obesity epidemic only a twinkie could be proud of – today’s cafeteria meals are hinting at more balance.

Personally, I pack a daily lunch for my daughter so I know what she’s eating and where it’s been. This opens up a whole new can of worms (I think that’s on the cafeteria menu on Thursdays). Paper bag, lunch box, pvc-free, lead-free, plastic bag, plastic container…? I recognize that panicked feeling from my nightmare when I show up for class only to find there’s an exam. Or is that the dream in which I’m naked in class?

I want to reiterate that we don’t have to go from 0 to 60. Easing into change is perfectly acceptable. Every little bit helps, and change leads to easier change. If you have never considered your child’s daily landfill contribution, then hopefully the next meal gathered will be a bit more green. If you already make make eco-friendly choices, perhaps you’ll share them with a friend, or come up with another brilliant green choice – and share it here.

There’s nothing wrong with a handy zip-lock bag if you can work with your little sprout to ensure it comes home each day so it can be washed and reused. In my home, we have several bags with a healthy shelf life.

Here’s some great info posted by The Green Schools Initiative to help you go to the head of the Eco-sCool class:

It has been estimated that, on average, a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school! There are 9,000 schools in California alone! And did you know that many vinyl lunchboxes have poisonous lead in them at dangerous levels?

Find out how you can pack a healthy, waste-free lunch:

· Waste Free Lunches - gives information about how to pack a waste free lunch and where to get a "laptop lunch box" with reusable containers that neatly fit into a lunch box.
· Reusable Bags - provides many alternatives to help reduce the waste of disposable plastic and paper bags.
· Lead in Lunchboxes - Learn about how to test your child's lunchbox for lead, find alternatives to vinyl lunchboxes, and join the campaign to stop the manufacture of toxic lunchboxes at Center for Environmental Health.
· Healthy Lunches - Get ideas for packing your own healthy lunches from Chef Ann at Lunch Lessons or transform the school lunch offered at your school with this guide at Rethinking School Lunch.

Lead to Believe

What about all of these toy recalls? This is scary stuff. We grew up on brands like Mattel, one of the names we’ve come to trust. They’ve announced three toy recalls in less than two months. Admittedly, they’ve faced the problems head on and tried to spread the word, provided a consumer hotline info, and been open about the problems. Clearly farming out production over seas saves the company money, which saves the consumer money. The problem is that a great deal of control is lost in the process – and other countries don’t have the same standards.

Add to this the fact that many of us are living in older homes, which likely have layers of lead-tainted paint. Personally, my home is over 60 years old with paint induced texture on the walls that read like a tree’s trunk.

No easy solutions… Obviously organic cotton dolls, wooden toys and other natural playthings are healthier choices, as well as toys made in the USA.

And, no matter how natural, non-toxic or organic something is, there are other safety features we must also heed. Here are some stats I just saw, reported by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Toy-related deaths of U.S. children under the age of 15, by category, 1990-2005:
o Riding toys, scooters (78)
o Choking, asphyxiation: balloons (69); balls (47); toy or toy part (45); marbles (5)
o Toy chests (14)
o Strangulation (14)
o Other (20)

It comes down to smart choices, educated choices and balance. In the meantime, there’s the following government website on recalls:

www.recall.gov

Why Me?

Sometimes I just can’t even believe my luck. I feel like I won the jackpot with my daughter. A remarkable being that is wise beyond her years and light years ahead of me at that age (and sometimes at my current age!).

At nearly 7 (we are doing the countdown to the big day) she can light up a room, fill my heart with her kind gestures, and tickle my funny bone until it breaks. She’s a sucker for the underdog and makes an effort to include kids on the fringe, claiming “She such a sweetie” or “He has a big heart.”

When I was pregnant some one told me that my heart would grow so big once I had a baby. It got huge that morning almost 7 years ago, and the amazing thing is that it just keeps growing. A bad day is erased from my memory when I see that little face ~ everything is okay again. Her sunshine smile warms my heart more than the recent heat wave.

I know stressful things, annoying things, traumatic things happen in life – that’s life. We should all remind ourselves to put those issues aside as best we can to make room for the love, make time for our kids.

sCool's in Session

I guess it’s back to school for just about all the kids – and parents. That means new beginnings, new decisions and inevitably, new concerns. If you’re anything like me, you worry about all-things-kid. Since my daughter was born, I believe I’m half crazy (some may suggest more than half :-0 ) with worry about both the absurd and the legitimate.

Where to start? How about with change itself. Sweet little 6-letter word (nothing 4-letter about it) that can cause physical and psychological FREAK OUT! It’s just that we get comfortable with our routines, we love our habitual ways.

I was thinking about all of the changes our kids face each new school year. They start over in so many ways and we encourage them, even expect them to adjust with little difficulty. So how about gettin’ on board with them and learning a new curriculum too! This could be more exciting than your senior prom!

There are so many ways we can make more eco-friendly, organic, natural, green, earth friendly, HEALTHY choices, so let’s just wake up and start. Practice makes perfect ~ or at least that’s what we tell our kids when they are faced with a new challenge. Just start trying and before you know it, we’ll all be making a positive impact -- and setting a great example for our kids.

Here’s a fantastic place to start: Healthy Child Healthy World (“Creating Health Environments for Children"). Tons of information on more topics than you knew you could worry about.

Blaze new trails ~ aim for the green places!