Is Your Lunch Safe?

++  Home-made school lunches are poisoning children!  That was the headline recently, just in time for the start of a new school year.  The gist of the article is that "brown-bag" lunches aren't always safe to eat, because of food-borne illness.  The bacteria that cause most of this kind of sickness grow very fast at or near body-temperature.  They grow fairly fast at temperatures of 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit.  Growth is much slower at more extreme temperatures, making the risk of illness also lower.  Most lunches sent to school with children doesn't stay below 40 degrees until lunch time.  

  Ways to avoid illness fall into 2 categories:
1 - Keep cold foods cold, and keep hot foods hot.  If you are using a thermos, chill it before putting cold food in it, or warm it (fill with hot water for a little while) before putting in hot foods.  If you are using an insulated lunch carrier, be sure there is enough ice to last all morning.  Some food items can be frozen and will thaw by lunchtime.  Advise children to try to avoid putting a cold lunch somewhere warm - in the sunshine, near equipment that gets warm when it is turned on, etc.
2 - Pack foods that are less temperature-sensitive.  Fresh or canned fruits and vegetables are usually okay, as are most kinds of bread products.  High-protein foods and their by-products (e g. gravy) are the worst trouble-causers.  Soft cheeses go bad quickly, and most kinds of meat also should be avoided  A few kinds of processed cheeses and lunch meats (cold cuts) are likely to be safe (they are mostly filler), and so are some kinds of hard cheese - read the labels.  Peanut butter is another stand-by. 

  As a rule of thumb, if you would normally store it in the refrigerator at home, if it is found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, or if the label says to refrigerate after opening, it's not a good thing to pack in your children's lunch. Don't let the lunch you pack poison children!

About the Model (Kids notice how adults react)

++  I've heard stories from my friends who teach Head Start that some of those preschoolers are already aware of weight control - to the extent that some children won't eat foods their mothers avoid because they are "fattening."  As if we don't have enough young people overly preoccupied with appearance, let alone eating disorders!
  I also know a dietitian who reported this conversation (and liked the adult's response).  A girl about 5 or 6 years old saw a model on a magazine cover in a store check-out line and asked the adult friend with her if she thought the model was beautiful.  The adult replied that she doesn't know.  True beauty comes from being kind and compassionate instead of cruel or selfish; and she doesn't know the model, so how can she guess?  Something to think about. . .

Family Time (family meals)

  August is Family Meals Month.   Celebrate it!

  ++There are many studies showing benefits to children of eating meals regularly with everyone in the household.  It's a great bonding time for the family.  Children are also watching adults; and older children can discuss ideas with them, even ones as simple as, "How was your day?"  Or, better yet, "Please share one good thing happened to you today, or you saw happen to someone else."  The sense of belonging fostered by this helps gives kids the resiliency to resist peer pressure regarding things like drug use or slacking off on studying.  They are also absorbing your ideas on what a balanced meal should include, how to practice good manners, etc.  They may appear to resist, but they will always have this to fall back on.

  It is tempting to say that you can't do this because cooking the meal takes too much time, because everyone is heading off in a different direction at a different time, etc.  If you make it an iron-clad rule that everyone eats together (with TV and phones turned off) at 6 pm on Wed. - or whatever works for you - they will learn to accept it, and eventually to look forward to it.  Naturally, it helps to start when they are young.  And, of course, you don't have to stop at just one meal per week. 

  The meal can be simple; even carry-out will do in a pinch.  The kids can help prepare the meal - and learn valuable skills in the process.  Just remember that they won't be experts right away.  Preschoolers can tear lettuce for a salad and set the table.  Grade-schoolers can, with supervision, slice fruit or soft vegetables, microwave vegetables, make macaroni/cheese from a kit, make garlic toast (which an adult takes out of the broiler or off the grill), etc.  Most teens can prepare a whole meal if they've gradually been given the chance to learn how.  I could do it before I started high school - but, I had the advantage of a mom who loved to cook and enjoyed having her kids in the kitchen with her.  Younger children will love doing "grown-up stuff" with you.  Older kids may complain to you, but will enjoy having bragging rights among their friends.

  What are you waiting for?  Celebrate Family Meals Month!