Rita Smith, Registered Dietitian

Packing up lunches from home is an economical and potentially nutritious way to feed your children when they are at school. It does take some advance planning and preparation to have a good outcome. Let your creative juices flow so that kids are excited about lunchtime.

Rather than a plain PB&J sandwich try almond butter, slivered almonds and craisins on a whole-grain tortilla for a flavor-packed rollup. Cold crunchy cereal with Greek yogurt for protein and berries can become a favorite. Leftovers such as pizza, stew, or spaghetti and meatballs can work well.

Sandwiches don’t always have to rule the roost. Think about a grain bowl with layers of nutritional goodness such as rice or barley, kidney or white beans, fresh cut diced veggies (cukes, tomatoes, peppers) or leftover vegetables like cooked carrots or green beans, grated cheese, hummus and toppings of salsa or favorite salad dressing.

Try a Mediterranean bowl with twirly pasta on the bottom, followed by diced tomatoes and peppers, olives, chunks of artichoke heart, shredded mozzarella cheese and Italian dressing. There are so many flavorful options that can be rounded out with other vegetables, fruits, and beverages.

This is not as exciting BUT Food Safety is important:

Wash out lunch boxes daily (not just at the end of the week or school year)
Include frozen -solid ice packs to keep food well-chilled until lunchtime
Chill food ahead of putting into lunchbox - don't put warm food into the lunchbox

Additional information at

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting the public health

For packed lunches, include 5 components:

Protein: poultry, fish, ham, cheese, nut butters, hummus, legumes and lentils
Starch: whole-grain bread, tortilla, slider buns, bagels, crackers; starchy vegetables
Fruits
Vegetables
Beverage such as milk and water

To make packed lunches happen, PLAN ahead:

Prep food for tomorrow's lunch right after dinner, when you are already in the kitchen.

Use dinner's leftovers to build tomorrow’s lunch - keep that in mind when deciding how much to cook for dinner.

Include a variety of foods from the different food groups: fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables and grains, animal and vegetables protein, dairy.

Many schools are back in session, and that means lunches are being packed. Since lunch should provide one-third of your child’s nutrition for the day from foods that supply protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, what you include is important for their well-being and growth. Buying convenient lunch kits is costly and they are usually full of sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats. I will share tips for feeding your children a nutrient-dense lunch all this week.

There are so many reasons to include potatoes when menu planning as part of Culinary Medicine for health and wellness. White and sweet potatoes are versatile in their use, and a thrifty choice to boot!

Potatoes can stand alone when baked, boiled or mashed but they are great to use with other vegetables.
Cooked white or sweet potatoes can be combined with onions and peppers for a stuffed veggie taco.
Mashed potatoes and cauliflower are a super combo.
Red skin potatoes are delicious in an African peanut stew or a cold potato salad. Leftover mashed potatoes can be made into potato pancakes to serve alongside scrambled eggs for an easy breakfast or supper.
Mashed potatoes add creamy thickness to a vegetable soup when blended well into the broth.

There are great potato recipes at potatogoodness.com/recipes.

Potato Recipes from PotatoGoodness | The Potato Recipe Authority Delicious potato recipes provided by Potatoes USA. Find fast, simple recipes to more advanced potato dishes.

Including potatoes in the diet on a regular basis is an example of selecting foods as part of Culinary Medicine. A medium white or sweet potato contains:
100 calories
2 grams protein
30% vitamin C daily requirement
3 grams fiber
Potassium: 620 mg in white & 440 mg in sweet potato
Sodium: < 20 mg, to help keep blood pressure in good control

Potatoes are a favorite vegetable for Americans. They are an excellent source of many nutrients that are protective of our health:
Vitamin C fortifies our immune system.
Fiber helps lower cholesterol and promotes healthy gut bacteria.
Potassium protects our blood pressure.
Colorful sweet potatoes contain protective antioxidants to reduce inflammation.

A Mediterranean-style plate with a variety of wholesome and nourishing foods would be an approach to Culinary Medicine for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases and illnesses. The meal-time plate would be filled up in this manner:

½ Plate: fruits and vegetables
¼ Plate: starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, peas), legumes and grains
¼ Plate: protein, both animal and vegetable (soy, legumes, lentils, nuts & seeds)

Lifestyle Medicine, which includes Culinary Medicine, focuses on:

Healthful food choices (more plants and less ultra-processed foods
Physical activity
Stress management
Social connections
Good sleep habits (6-8 hours per night)
Avoidance of risky substances/activities such as alcohol and drugs

Over the past few years there has been encouragement from health care professionals to eat well and purposefully to benefit certain health conditions, for example, less sodium for high blood pressure. It has been named Culinary Medicine, with food choices and preparation done in a way to prevent, control, treat or reverse chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes. There are so many factors that impact a person’s selection of foods, including ability to get to a grocery store and financial status, as well as personal factors such as taste buds, cultural preferences, family factors and enjoyment of cooking. But health issues are a factor also, in food choices. More this week about Culinary Medicine!

Great news...

Emergency Food Network now open on Saturdays For the first time in more than 50 years Emergency Food Network is now open on Saturdays.

A few additional tips to ease the discomfort of gastroparesis:

Keep meals small; this helps digestion a lot. It is harder to agitate a packed stomach.

Stay upright after eating; no lying down. Gravity can help move food out of the stomach in a timely fashion.

A short walk after mealtime helps, too.

Avoidance of alcohol, smoking and carbonated beverages is important since they can impair gastric emptying.

Dietary suggestions to ease the discomfort of gastroparesis and help your stomach to thoroughly digest foods include:
Plan for 4-5 small meals with low fiber, low fat foods.
Raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and nuts should be limited!
Lean, tender protein like fish, eggs, poultry, cheese and Greek yogurt are digested more easily. than red meats.
Food should be cooked so that it is fork-tender or easily mashed.
Chew thoroughly to break up the food making it easier for the stomach to finish up the digestion process.

So what works when menu planning for gastroparesis?
Cooked soft vegetables like carrots, squash, beets and greens
Cooked or canned fruits (cooking softens the fruit fibers)
Sourdough or soft oatmeal or white breads, rolls or tortillas
White rice, pasta and potato without the skin
Tender-cooked fish, eggs, and poultry, as well as cheese and Greek yogurt

There are a number of causes of gastroparesis. They may include:

Diabetes with neuropathy of stomach; it is more common in those with poorly controlled glucose.
Neuromuscular diseases such as Parkinson’s disease
Autoimmune diseases
Viral infections
Eating disorders because they can disrupt normal digestion processes
Surgery of the upper intestinal tract: stomach, duodenum, pancreas. Symptoms may show up immediately after surgery or months later
Long term use of certain medications including but not limited to : narcotics, antidepressants, and GLP1-agonists.

Receiving a diagnosis of gastroparesis after a gastric emptying test means treatment will be dietary changes to help the stomach digest food properly, resulting in better absorption of nutrients. With normal digestive function, the stomach expands when you eat, and then the peristaltic waves move the foods around, grinding, and mixing to get foods into smaller pieces. In gastroparesis, these functions are not working, so the food stays in larger pieces and does not move down the digestive tract. Adjustment to your food choices will make it easier for your stomach to work.

August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month. Gastroparesis means stomach (gastro) paralysis (paresis). This digestive disorder is characterized by a stomach that does not completely digest food or move stomach contents in a timely fashion into the small intestines. Food stays in the stomach longer than it should. Gastroparesis is more common in women than men.

Some of the common symptoms of gastroparesis include:
Nausea
Bloating
Abdominal pain
Early fullness or satiety when eating
Heartburn

While mom is nursing she should avoid alcohol, excessive caffeine and high mercury fish (shark, swordfish).

There are certain conditions when a mother should not nurse: HIV positive; active/untreated tuberculosis; use of illegal drugs (co***ne, ma*****na), and when taking certain medications including those for migraines and arthritis.

There is additional information about breastfeeding at the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Home | AAP The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children. Explore our comprehensive resources, evidence-based guidelines, and expert insights on pediatric care. Discover the latest research, educational materials, and advocacy initiatives aimed at prom...

These are the ABCs of Breastfeeding:

Awareness: watch for baby’s hunger signals and nurse when baby is hungry (moving hands; rooting with mouth)
Be patient: breastfeed as long as baby wants to nurse; don't hurry baby
Comfort: relax and be comfortable while nursing; this improves the milk flow

If mom is having difficulties getting the baby to latch or nurse sufficiently, there are wonderful lactation consultants who are specialists in breastfeeding education. They teach breastfeeding techniques that can improve the breastfeeding experience for both mother and baby.

Colostrum is the thick yellowish substance in breast milk that first comes when nursing; this supports baby's immune system. All nutrients that an infant needs for growth and development in the first months of life will be found in breast milk, although a supplemental vitamin D will be suggested shortly after birth. Breast milk naturally provides a safe, clean nourishment, with a good supply of antibodies to protect the infant against common viruses and bacteria.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breastfeeding may lower a mother’s risk for:

High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Ovarian cancer
Breast cancer

The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that infants who breastfeed may have a reduced risk of developing:

Asthma and severe lower respiratory diseases
Type 1 diabetes
Ear infections
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Gastrointestinal infections

August is recognized as National Breastfeeding Month, and the theme for 2024 is Nourish, Sustain, Thrive. The goal of this national recognition is to protect, promote and support the lactation of mothers. Around the world, despite the breastfeeding recommendations from the World Health Organization, fewer than half of infants under the age of six months are exclusively breastfeeding. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby’s life when possible. More this week!

August is recognized as National Breastfeeding Month, and the theme for 2024 is Nourish, Sustain, Thrive. The goal of this national recognition is to protect, promote and support the lactation of mothers. Around the world, despite the breastfeeding recommendations from the World Health Organization, fewer than half of infants under the age of six months are exclusively breastfeeding. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby’s life when possible. More this week.

For road trips, pack up plenty of water (plain or flavored) rather than sweet sodas which can have as much as 12 teaspoons of sugar per can.

Yes, it does take a little extra time to pack up snacks and/or lunch for your car trips, but your health is worth it. Guaranteed to get less sodium, sugar and fat. Bonus - you'll keep a little extra money in the pocketbook also. Thrifty me likes that a lot!🙂

Additional snack ideas for road trips:

Whole-grain mini wraps spread w/ nut butter or hummus
Homemade fruit (blueberry, apple, etc.) or vegetable (pumpkin, zucchini) muffins
Homemade mini oatmeal & raisin cookies

There is always the option to pack up your lunch so that you do not have to stop by fast food restaurants. That is what my husband and I do when we are camping and have a long drive from one campground to another. PB&J on whole grain bread is our easy go-to choice for our car-ride lunch, along with raw veggies and seasonal fresh fruit.

Love the work of the Emergency Food Network!

New Saturday Hours! EFN is now open 4 days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We are so grateful to our volunteers and supporters who made it possible to expand our hours to better serve our community!

Bring-along-snacks for road trips:

Homemade popcorn
Whole-grain pretzels
Whole-grain crackers
Mini rice cakes
Make-your-own snack mix: bran chex, pretzel sticks, nuts, raisins, a few chocolate chips
Mixed nuts & seeds

Here are some make-your-own dip ideas for upcoming car trips. For food safety, store in a cooler with ice packs:

Hummus (chick peas, tahini, garlic and olive oil) with assorted raw veggies
Black bean dip (black beans, onions and salsa) with baked chips
Vanilla Greek yogurt with fruit dippers

Also in the cooler, bring along:

Easy-to-eat fresh fruit such as apples and grapes
Natural applesauce cups
Cut up veggies, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes
Cheese sticks & cubes
Yogurt cups

It’s summertime – vacation time - and in our household that means trips to here and there to see family, friends and new and interesting sights. If your vacation or mini weekend getaways involve car time, then that probably means snack time. Car rides and munchies seem to go together. But if you are like me, you don’t want to spend way-too-much money for snack foods and drinks that carry loads of calories, refined sugar, the unhealthiest fats, and sodium. Snacks should also provide some nutrients such as protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. So, I'll share some bring-your-own snack ideas for your next travels this week.