School is Back! Lunch Packing and Mouth Guard Shopping

It’s that time of year again–school, sports, and activities return as well as the need to have a more structured routine, and that includes packing lunches. Creativity in color and texture and owning their choices can help to destress the process.

Variety for the Win

Offering several food groups that include protein, carbs, healthy fats, fresh fruit and veggies will satisfy their hunger plus give them brain power and energy for the day.

Fruits

• A cup of low-sugar applesauce
• Fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
• Grapes
• Banana
• Slices of kiwi
• Peaches
• Apples
• Melons or clementine oranges (they can even peel themselves) 

Vegetables

• Carrot sticks
• Grape tomatoes
• Cucumber slices
• Edamame or celery (possibly stuffed with nut butters or pimento cheese)

Yogurt and Cheeses

• Flavored yogurts low in sugar (like Chobani Champions and Skyr) or plain yogurt adding your own fruit
• String cheese, cubed cheeses, Laughing Cow triangles or Babybel circle cheese

Carbs

• Mini muffins
• Popcorn
• Pirate’s Booty
• Mini rice cakes
• Pita chips
• Cheese quesadillas

Sandwiches, Wraps and Pocket Pitas

• Slices of bread, a bagel, tortilla or pita pocket can all be spread or stuffed with nut butters and low sugar jam, cream cheese, chicken, tuna or egg salad, deli meat and cheese
• A filled tortilla can be rolled and sliced for fun “pinwheel” shapes

For Dipping (veggies, pita chips or tortillas)

• Hummus
• Ranch dressing
• Nut butter 
• Guacamole

Other Ideas

• Trail mix
• Nuts (if no allergy)
• Dehydrated meat sticks
• Mini protein bars (watch the sugar content)
• Rolled string cheese in a slice of meat
• Pasta salad
• Hard boiled eggs
• Kabobs on toothpicks made with chunks of fruit or folded pieces of meat and cubed cheese

Packing Styles

To simplify packing and unpacking for you and your child, a bento box keeps all food in one container, placed within a soft-sided lunch box. Bentos can be made of hard, thick plastic, thin plastic or insulated metal for a non-plastic option. All have three to five compartments, and you can even add a silicone or paper cupcake liner within a larger section to further separate two foods. Another idea is to have several small containers inside a colorfully designed lunch box they choose at the beginning of the school year. Plastic snack bags are a choice as well, although some feel not as environmentally friendly.

Try to include food from various categories for a balanced lunch. Don’t forget to include a bottle of water (some may pack their daily water bottle), or have them buy plain milk at school or send a thermos of milk to keep it cold. Juice boxes and chocolate milk are high in sugar and should be reserved for an occasional special day… Maybe Fruit Juice Friday!

Owning their Lunch

Ideas for including your children in the process:

1. Involve your kids in the prep… Have them help wash the fruits and vegetables. Let them count how many they choose to put into each section of the Bento Box. Maybe help them make their own pita chips once in a while, as kids love to eat something they have made themselves.
2. Give them choices–all healthy, but allow them to feel more in control over what is in their lunch, especially the “picky eaters.” For instance, “would you like cucumber circles or carrot sticks?”
3. When they are old enough, have them prepare and pack their own lunch the night before, having a variety of foods on hand for options. Kids often love a food one day and not like it the next, so if they pack their current favorite foods, the chance of them eating them is much higher.

Now, we totally get that all of this can be lofty goals for a busy household; making animal shapes out of their sandwiches can feel over the top. Some days you might want to go the extra mile, other days you want to toss food in a box and go. These are simply ideas to consider if you are looking for a fresh perspective.

One thing we have personally experienced that seems to make an impression on all ages is putting a little surprise note inside their lunchbox. An “I love you” or “good luck on your test”, a silly knock-knock joke or a simple smiley face drawn on a napkin can lift their spirits in the middle of a long school day. They may not mention it when they get “too cool” (eye roll included), but they will remember it forever!

And a Word About Sports Mouth Guards

As school begins, so do many sports seasons. Mouth guards are an essential piece of sports equipment for the growing population of youth and adolescent sports. Contact sports include football, ice hockey, soccer, basketball, field hockey … yes, there is contact possible in all of these. Additionally, other activities seeing protective benefits are skateboards, scooters, hoverboards, mountain bikes or learning to ride a bike. We see dental injuries regularly when patients opt out of wearing this protective gear since it is not required in every sport.

Benefits of wearing a mouthguard:

1. Tooth trauma–helps absorb some of the force from a blow to the face which can result in a broken or knocked out tooth
2. Soft tissue damage–prevents lips, inner cheeks, gums and tongue from being cut by your teeth chomping down on the tissue
3. Brain protection–lessens the possibility of concussions, possibly leading to brain injuries, as the mouthguard absorbs the shock of a blow to the jaw, softening the impact
4. Braces injuries–prevents damage to the braces themselves or from the braces causing injury to the tissue inside your mouth

Three choices of mouthguards:

1. Stock mouthguard–these can be bought at a sporting goods store or online as a smooth “trough” style, where all teeth rest inside with no individual spaces for each tooth. Inexpensive, however, sometimes a challenge to feel comfortable.
2. “Boil and Bile” style–these are also bought at a sporting goods store or online. It is heated under warm water, and then meant to immediately bite into, to imprint their unique bite/teeth. Reasonable in price and a good choice especially for a child/tween/teen with teeth constantly changing, as they need a new mouthguard frequently.
3. Custom made by your dentist–a digitally scanned image of the patient’s mouth is created and sent to a lab for the mouthguard to be made. The patient returns to have it fit and adjusted by the dentist. This one is a much greater investment and would be typically recommended for someone who has finished braces or has a stable adult bite.

*** Side note–If your child has braces, we would advise consulting with their orthodontist as to which style would best protect their teeth and braces at various stages of treatment.

We know this is a crazy time of year as we reenter the increased pace of school and its activities. Reducing stress starts by choosing a reasonable number of extra activities that work for your child and your family. Then balancing time for family meals, school work and a good night’s sleep for everyone goes a long way toward a healthy life together.

myKidsdds is available to make suggestions or answer any questions you might have as to healthy foods for your child’s lunchbox. It can be quite confusing!  

We can also guide you in choosing a mouthguard that is a match for your child’s age, tooth stage and activities. Our team loves to help you “problem solve” any challenges.