Healthy School Lunch: A Hard Sell to Kids?
Dinner Table / Kids Food / Lunch Box

Healthy School Lunch: A Hard Sell to Kids?

An article came out this week in the Chicago Tribune telling the story of drastic changes made to the Chicago Public Schools’ hot lunch program and the less than stellar response to the changes.  The article entitled, “You can lead kids to broccoli, but you can’t make them eat“, reaffirmed the importance of what we do at Out of the Box Food:  make fresh food palatable to kids.   Now, I am a believer of kids eating real food, not just kid food like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets (even if they are made from scratch or without added chemicals).  But realistically, as this Chicago Tribune article states, we need a middle ground.  A transition.  We have to reach those kids who think they only like macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets.  Since the goal is to get them to actually learn to like fresh, I’d rather see a child tuck into a bowl of fresh macaroni and cheese made with fiber-full macaroni, fresh cheese and milk then have them stare blankly into a bowl of Quinoa and Kale.  At least to begin with.  Let them first learn to like fresh. (more…)

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02/27/2011
New Years Resolution Number One: Eat Apple Pie for Dinner
Dinner Table / Kids Food / Sweet Treats

New Years Resolution Number One: Eat Apple Pie for Dinner

Well, 2011 is officially here and we are now faced with endless possibilities for the upcoming year.  In previous years my New Year’s resolutions had been pretty consistent, but this year they have finally changed.  They used to include, “lose five pounds”, “exercise more” and “fit into those old jeans again”. This year, though I’ll keep my “exercise more” resolution, the purpose and direction of the rest of my resolutions directly follow the path I’ve been taking on this Out of the Box Food journey.  These resolutions won’t necessarily get me to my old “lose five pounds” goal, but they will provide my family and I a healthier way of treating our bodies. (more…)

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01/02/2011
Dinner Table / Kids Food / Lunch Box

MmmmMac & Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What kid (or adult for that matter) doesn’t love macaroni and cheese?  It’s warm, gooey deliciousness screams “comfort food” –  especially on a cold winter day.  But a boxed product we’ve come to know as macaroni and cheese doesn’t even contain “cheese” in the pure sense of the word.  In fact, the word “cheese” is only found on the last line of a long list of ingredients.  So what do we do when our kids only want “the orange macaroni and cheese”?  And what if your kids cringe at the site of…ready…gasp…bread crumbs on top of baked macaroni and cheese?  Is this sounding familiar? (more…)

7 Comments
12/05/2010
Stickin’ with Chicken
Dinner Table / Kids Food / Lunch Box

Stickin’ with Chicken

First, let me begin by thanking you all for the incredible support!  Since our launch less than a week ago we have had over 1600 hits on Out of the Box Food!  What a fabulous testament to the subject matter.  It has been made clear to me how important it is to simply begin the conversation.  Talking about the dangers of processed food is bound to lead us to question ingredients and ultimately pull us out of the processed food rut.

This week I took a reader suggestion and went in search of “better” boxed alternatives for chicken nuggets.  I hit Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s which would inevitably carry better boxed versions, should they exist.  One  hour, two full pages of ingredients and a cramped hand later, I confirmed that in the case of chicken nuggets it is far more economical and healthy to prepare your own; though the Applegate Farms chicken nugget did have fewer ingredients than the others.  See for yourself:

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07/04/2010
Chicken Nuggets: Us vs. Them
Dinner Table / Lunch Box

Chicken Nuggets: Us vs. Them

I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t require chicken nuggets as a part of their diet.  That being said, I opted to make chicken nuggets the flagship recipe for Out of the Box Food.  As a mom, I’ve fallen prey to claims of “all white-meat chicken” and “whole grain” on boxes of cute dinosaur or mouse shaped chicken nuggets.  But it’s what lies beneath those items on the ingredient list that are harmful to our children. In a very short amount of time you can prepare comparable nuggets both in taste and consistency.  After baking them, they can then be easily frozen for those quick weeknight dinner or school lunch box needs.

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23 Comments
05/21/2010