Tuesday, February 26, 2013

We are what we eat


After school snack idea, home made hummus on wholemeal crackers with carrot sticks and fresh orange juice.


We all want happy, healthy kids, right?

So why do so many school canteens around Australia sell junk food?

Why are lunch boxes still being filled with unhealthy food?

Why is there little or no education in public schools regarding nutrition, cooking and health?

Why is the 'Healthy Canteens' guide line, just a guide line?

Why is more than 80% of Australia's population going to be obese by 2025?

There is something seriously wrong with the way we are all eating.

Wouldn't you think that schools would consider nutrition as important as reading, writing and maths.

Why are schools and parents blind to the fact that they are cursing their children to years of ill health, eating disorders, obesity, yoyo dieting, even a shortened life span.

And it is not that hard to make healthy lunches. But it gets harder and harder to convince a child to make healthy choices the older they get.

Our aim is to make schools a place where children learn about health and wellbeing.

We are two mums from Inner West Melbourne on a mission.

We are not health professionals. As well as being mothers we both  run small businesses during the day, so we know how busy life can get. We just see a problem, a ticking time bomb, and think we can help.

We will post healthy lunch box ideas and updates on our mission to get the healthy eating message into our school.



Healthy lunch box idea 1
Tin of plain tuna mixed with raw veggies and a tub of organic stove popped corn
a piece of fruit and a healthy treat. 


Healthy lunch box idea 2
Left over rice mixed with raw veggies  and a squeeze of lemon juice, a couple of pieces of fruit and a healthy treat. 


Healthy lunch box idea 3
Raw veggies and fresh herbs mixed with left over pasta, fruit and somehow a couple of chocolate cookies snuck in.


Healthy lunch box idea 4
Wholemeal crackers with Vegemite, organic yogurt, fresh fruit, whole carrot and some sultanas.

Non of these lunches take more than 5 minutes to make. I'm sure most kids would be happy to eat this, but it is hard when their friends are eating hot dogs, chips and strawberry milk.


 We would hate to see our canteen close down. It should be a place where children can learn about money, shopping, making taste choices, nutrition and even cooking. 

So let your kids decide what they want in their lunch box and lunch orders, lets just not give them any unhealthy options. It is as easy as that.

And feel free to leave a comment. We would love to hear your stories, advice or even share your lunch box ideas and school canteen experiences.