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Healthy Vegetarian Lunches

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Healthy School Lunches, the Vegetarian Way

This past week my daughter, who will be five in September, started voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK). To make a long story short, the cut-off date to start kindergarten in Florida is September 1st. She misses it by a few weeks, therefore they want her to wait a year to start school. While she is attending this free 15-hour per week program this year, I am also homeschooling her for kindergarten. Like most vegetarian parents, one of my greatest concerns was what would happen come lunch time.

While I make every effort to pack healthy vegetarian lunches for my child, I shutter to think what others may pack for their kids. I spent a couple of years as a substitute teacher in another state and saw all the junk that students not only took to school, but that the school provided for sale to the students (everything from soda to fast food to candy).

When I went for orientation and met with the teacher I explained to her that we are vegetarian, as was noted on the paperwork. She asked me to make a list of things she couldn't have, to which I happily obliged, writing such things as marshmallows (unless the vegan variety), gummy candies, anything with gelatin, meat, etc. I read the paperwork from the school and they stated that lunches should be made up of healthy natural foods, so that pleased me.

One thing that still concerns me, however, is that they look for any reason to have a party and have snacks brought in. There are parties planned for each holiday, as well as every child's birthday. That's a lot of junk food and who knows what else will be brought to holiday parties.

When I picked my child up from her first day I asked her how it went. She said "good." I asked her what she did throughout the day, to which she replied "we ate lunch." I asked her if other kids had meat or junk food. Much to my surprise she had no idea what the other kids had for their lunch. She said everyone ate vegetarian food (which is highly doubtful, but the good news is she never noticed what they had), so it went well that day. But I still fear the parties, especially come Thanksgiving!

There are many healthy vegetarian food options you can pack for your child's lunch that won't take you hours to create. Consider these options:

- Low-fat vegan cream cheese and all-fruit spread whole wheat roll-up

- Hummus on a whole wheat pita

- Natural peanut butter and all-fruit spread on whole wheat

- Veggie burger in a pita

- Natural muffins made with whole grains

- Veggie roll-up on a whole wheat tortilla

- Vegan yogurt and fresh fruit

- Low-fat vegan cheese with wheat crackers

- Natural peanut butter with celery sticks

- Fresh fruits and vegetables

- Low-fat vegetable dip

- Graham crackers

- Whole wheat mini-bagel with low-fat vegan cream cheese

- Dinner leftovers

- Vegan cheese, avocado and sprouts in a whole wheat pita

- Cold pasta salad (whole wheat noodles, low-fat Italian dressing, kidney beans, raisins, chopped carrots)

- Baked chips

- Salad with fruit and a raspberry dressing

- Rice cakes

- Tofu salad sandwich or with crackers, or chick pea or kidney bean salad

- Water, fresh-brewed iced tea (not sweet tea), soy milk

- Homemade trail mix

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine has a new campaign to get healthy school lunches across the country, something we all can benefit from whether homeschooling or not (it is believed that kids who eat better, behave better, and we all benefit from that). They also offer information on how you can get involved in getting healthier lunches in your school cafeteria. I'll let you know how the parties go as I cross that bridge. In the meantime, check out this article on school lunch nutrition, as well as this video for the healthy school lunch campaign:

 

Frozen Vegetarian Meals

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Checking out Frozen Vegan Meals While Traveling

Review of

Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake

While recently on vacation we found ourselves needing something quick to eat that we could prepare in the hotel room that we had just checked into. My husband ran to a local store and came back with something new for us to try. He brought back a couple of the Kashi frozen entrees called the Tuscan Veggie Bake. It looked appetizing in the picture on the box, so we were off to a good start.

The dish is vegan and is labeled as such on the package. It has 700 mg of sodium, which is kind of to be expected from frozen entrees, but the calories and fat are not bad (260 calories and 9 grams of fat). The dish is akin to a vegetable lasagna, which contains yellow squash, eggplant, red onion, and sweet potato, along with noodles and a basil tomato sauce. We both really liked it and would buy it again when wanting a quick dish on the run.

Review of

Kashi Veggie Medley pocket

Another dish that we both like, also from Kashi is the veggie medley pocket bread sandwich. This is a quick lunch option if you need something fast (good to take to work if you don't have time to do a lot of preparation). I usually have one on hand in the freezer that one of us will eat when we want something tasty without spending half an hour preparing something. You may want to sign up for the Kashi newsletter, as they often send out coupons for their products. I'm also a big fan of of their Autumn Harvest and Cinnamon Harvest cereals.

Review of

Amy's Breakfast Burrito

One several occasions my husband and I stop at a store to grab Amy's breakfast burritos when we stay in hotels. They not only taste good, but they are vegan, and are so much better and tastier than trying to find something on the run at area hotels. They cook up quickly and paired with some fruit and a chai, make for a good breakfast that holds us over until lunch.

The Bottom Line

All are good options, especially if you find yourself in a hotel with limited access to good restaurants and items to cook. Before you e-mail me to say that they are not healthy, high in sodium, are processed, etc., let me tell you that I am not saying they are the healthiest options in the world. But I am saying they are convenient, save you money over going out to eat (which most likely wouldn't be any healthier), and are vegan. Having some of these on hand, along with fresh fruits and veggies to pair it with, helps make for a good meal on the road.

"The Face on Your Plate" Review

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Review of "The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food"

 

While on vacation last week I finished reading the book titled "The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food," by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. While I went into the book figuring I probably knew just about everything that was in it, I still wanted to check it out. I like to keep up on books such as this and I usually find a few tidbits of information that I haven't read elsewhere.

I liked Masson's writing style throughout the book. It's very conversational and holds the reader's interest. I did read a few things that were new to me and that I found quite interesting. For starters, on page 101 he writes:

"...Americans consume about 22,000 animals in their lifetime. So, if people engage in Meatless Monday's, they would probably save the lives of over 3,000 animals."

I read that section over several times and then talked about it for several more days. I really found it shocking when it is all put into numbers like this. I think this is such a powerful statement in the book. It made me think of so many things, such as:

• Can people who eat meat really claim to be animal lovers and yet ultimately be responsible for the death of 22,000 of them?
• How great would it be if everyone gave up eating meat at a minimum of one or two days per week (although every day of the week is so much more ideal). So many animals would be saved at this rate.
• I am personally saving so many animals over the years, how cool is that?!
• Wow, 22,000 animals? Wow! That's a lot!

There was one section that I especially appreciated in this book, that I hadn't come across in others of its kind, and that was on denial. He has dedicated a whole chapter on discussing how those eating meat are in denial about the damage and bloodshed they are causing. It's a very good chapter and should not be missed.

"The Face on Your Plate" is a well-researched and well written book, and not to mention that I also love the title. It offers some things that most vegetarians are already aware of, but it also offered some fresh information and a new approach to presenting it. I absolutely believe it is worth reading, whether you are a long-time vegan, vegetarian or are new to the topic. You can check out a video of the author giving a talk about the book here.

While you are at it, check out this short video on Masson explaining why he's a vegan: