47 // Worried your little one won’t eat well at school?
Worried your little one won’t eat well at school?
Five ways to set them up for success BEFORE they go back to school.
It is hard to believe that we are gearing up for back to school already! And besides the fact that I would like each of you to be able to take advantage of the sales while items are still in stock, this episode is your friendly PSA to get anything you need for packing lunches ordered and in your hands ASAP!
More specifically, I want you to get these items in your child's hands. Because bento boxes, snack packages, water bottles, etc. can offer both opportunity AND excuses for why our kids do or don't eat well when they go back to school. They are great tools for fueling our kids during the school day, but that begins with them being able to open them and use them to their potential.
So whether this is your child's first time to preschool, they're starting kindergarten and have all the normal nerves, or are returning to class with a fresh lunch set up, tune in to this episode for five things you can do to help them get tactically and practically ready for school.
You can find all my favorite lunch packing products, as mentioned in this episode, here.
Listen to this episode of The Veggies & Virtue Podcast now!
Full Episode Transcription
Please note this a raw transcription. If something doesn’t read correctly, toggle to that timestamp in the show so that you can listen in on what was actually being said!
[00:00:00] Hey there. And on today's episode, we are gonna jump right back. Two talking about back to school. I know that for a lot of us, it feels like it's still in the middle of summer, but at least in my family and at our home in Texas, we are already gearing up for back to school with officially. We just hit the one month until my kids go back, which is wild to think.
[00:00:22] And it, while it's been a super fun summer, it also flies by these last few weeks. And so what I want to talk about today is how we can get your kids back to school, ready, whether they're going to mom's day out for the first time. Whether they're in preschool or entering into kindergarten, or just going back to grade school, the new lunch set.
[00:00:40] I wanna talk about how we can set your kids up for success so that they feel confident come lunchtime, and that you have the peace of mind knowing that they are maximizing the time that they have to eat and be nourished for all the learning. That's ahead, mom, aren't you struggling with how to feed your kids?
[00:00:57] Do you wish that there was a way to help your child try new foods? Do you look at a pantry cluttered with pirate, booty and a fridge full of the same foods every week and wonder how you're gonna get your family's meals off the hot mess express. I know what it feels like to scroll through all the feeding and counts on Instagram and to see a bunch of Fuji foods that my family would never eat.
[00:01:15] And I too have pinned all the healthy recipes with good intentions, but zero execution. I understand as a busy mom of three, that it can feel really unattainable, especially on the days when I'm exhausted. I have a short fuse and I really just want an easy wind and the day win well. That's where these meals made easy episode ideas come from with everyday ingredients that you already have on hand, I give you one meal or snack idea a week that's dietician mom approved and is gonna fit in your family's busy life.
[00:01:45] So get ready to press, add to cart and to make meals and snacks easy again. All right. To start out today's episode, we are going to do something a little bit different, but I'm really excited because back to school season is always the busiest time for me sending out my combination cards to each of you.
[00:02:04] And if you're one of the hundreds of families that already has either the digital set or the physical set, I'm glad that you are already ready to go for back to school with these breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas. But something that I thought would be kind of fun, particularly because these are going to be included in my meal times made easy method.
[00:02:21] But after my course launches, they'll no longer be available for individual purchase. So something I thought would be fun is to give them away each week to those of you who are writing reviews for me. So I would love to do a drawing each week from those who leave reviews for the podcast on apple podcast.
[00:02:40] And just select one of you randomly each week that I could send a digital download of the breakfast, the lunch, and the snap decks too. So if you can scroll down on apple podcast, you type, or you just click the little five star button, you can leave a short review. It takes you literally less than 30 seconds, which is true of very few things in motherhood.
[00:03:00] So it truly, while you're standing there waiting for your child to finish using the restroom or. Something that, you know, you're just feels like a painfully long process, even though it may only be a real minute in real time. If you could just scroll down and leave me that five star review that blesses my business more than you will ever know.
[00:03:18] And so today I wanted to start out with reading another mom's review just as a thank you and a shout out to her. And also just to encourage you that if you leave me a review, will you please take a screenshot of it and tag me over on Instagram. And that way I can collect entries of all of you who are submitting reviews each week, and then you'll be entered in to win the free three decks of my breakfast, lunch, and snack combination cards.
[00:03:45] So that would be a blessing to me. And I would love to bless you in return with sending. Some of these combination cards as a back to school. Thank you. So I'm gonna go ahead and read. Amelia's review that she left on apple podcast, and then we will jump into the episode she shares. I love this podcast. I love how it deals, not only with tips and tricks to change our and our children's view and relationship with food, but it also hits the heart behind it all.
[00:04:09] It's a podcast full of grace, but also challenges my perspective in how I do things. Can't wait for every. So Amelia, I'm gonna try and get in contact with you, but if you beat me to it, make sure to send me a me message on Instagram or email me so that I can get you your free set of combination cards as a thank you for your very sweet review on apple podcast.
[00:04:30] Otherwise jumping into today's episode, I recently just bought my kids lunch boxes and lunch bags and all of those items. And I was thinking it was a really opportune time on the show. To give you guys the reminder to also do so, because if you haven't yet ordered the tools that you're going to need for your child's lunches.
[00:04:51] Now, as often when we start to see the items go on sale, it is also when the items still are in stock, because we all know if we wait until mid August. If your kids, even if your kids don't start until say, maybe September some of these national and international brands are going to be sold out by then.
[00:05:08] And so a lot of companies will have their sales, maybe go through the first week of September or will have these items technically available. But I have learned from personal experience as a, as well as professional recommendations each year that these items go quick. So this is your friendly reminder.
[00:05:23] To put it on your to-do list for this week to make sure that you have secured your child's lunch box, whatever that might be. If you choose to use a bento box or other, if you have any like Thermo items that you want, snack bags, labels tend to not go outta stock as much, but y'all know. I love MAs labels.
[00:05:40] Please make sure to use my coupon code. So you get an added discount on their back to school bundles, but also things like the lunch bag. And so the reason we're gonna get into this today is because once you have ordered or secured your items, some items hopefully have been able to be reusable from year to year.
[00:05:57] I know last year I let my kids kind of do like the novelty lunch bag lunch. Or excuse me, backpack combo. And that was the first year we'd ever kind of gone with just like whatever random one that they wanted at target. And I will say they got ready real quick. And so we are back to the pottery barn, kids bags, and back to the lands end bags.
[00:06:16] This year, we opted for some lands end if you've looked at my lunch packing post, which all link in the show notes here for the episode, if which I should mention right now, if you ever are listening and want to reference an episode, or you're like, I know she said something, but I can't remember what it.
[00:06:31] Rather than scrolling through the audio. Copy of this, know that you can always go to my website, veggies, number two.com/episode/ 47 or whatever episode number it is. So you can always reference the transcript there and the show notes and any of the links that I reference. In case you ever want to access these.
[00:06:50] And especially with back to school, I'm gonna be sharing a lot of links. I'm sure for some of my favorite products, but also some of the past posts that I've done featuring favorite products, tips, tricks, and all of those kinds of things. So know that you can always go to veggies and virtue.com/episode/ 47 or whatever the episode number might be.
[00:07:08] It's just that number typed in. So anyways, going back to that, so. What I was speaking to is the durability of the items. And hopefully you have, whether it be a bento box or a lunch bag, or, you know, the coordinating backpack or whatever it might be, hopefully they last you more than a year. Ideally they should specifically the stainless steel bento boxes have an exceptional shelf life and will last hopefully for longer than your kid can even use.
[00:07:33] And some backpacks and lunch bags. I do find last longer. As I mentioned for us, our personal experience and personal preferences. We love the pottery barn bags and we love the lands and bags. And that's actually what my girls got this year, but Owen's still gonna be using his pottery barn, kids lunch bag and backpack.
[00:07:51] From last year, because what I, my experience has been for my kids in preschool. It lasts them multiple years of preschool. And then even with the wear and tear of daily use in elementary school, the quality of these bags just seems to be much more fit for the task. And so I share links for these, and I also share links to the lunchbox styles from these two companies that fit most of the bento box is that I would recommend, or that I show, or that we have.
[00:08:20] So, if you want those links again, you can just go to veggies and virtue.com/episode/ 47. And that will give you what you need there. But all of this to say, I want to make sure that you have whatever items you're going to be using in your hands before the Sunday, before back to school starts, because depending on the age and the feeding stage of your child, we need to remember that they need some.
[00:08:46] There is so much newness to the back to school experience. Even if they're returning to a school that they already know with friends or teachers that they're familiar with, there's so much excitement in everything that one of the first things to often go in those early days or those first days of going back to school is kids appetite and their focus when it's time to actually eat the food that you've packed for them.
[00:09:10] And so I want to make sure that we look at a few areas that you can be. You can be helping set your kid up for success when it comes to snacks and lunches, some of your kids, I know may just be having snacks at school. Some of them might be having snacks and lunches at daycare or at full day school, depending on what kind of program your child is in.
[00:09:29] And so first and foremost, I want to talk about the lunch box again, in the link that I'll provide. I've shared some of the pros and cons of a lot of the main bento boxes. I am a huge advocate for bento boxes. I love them. I think, from a sustainability stand. There are excellent options. And also from just a promoting more adventurous eating, I think is a great option.
[00:09:51] Next episode, I'm gonna talk about how you can prevent picky eating with lunch packing habits as we get into the back to school. But for the purposes of today, I just want to be equipping you to help equip your kid on how to unzip that lunch box, how to open their veto box, how to eat within the time.
[00:10:07] That's. And ultimately be able to clean up with a full tummy. So what I want you to work on is working on them or helping them open the elements of their lunch. So if you are using a bento box, as I was mentioning, go and look at the pros and the cons for the different bento boxes, because from experience, I can tell you, some of them are trickier to open.
[00:10:28] Than others. And so if you have a two year old, I mean, if you have an eight year old, it may not matter because they probably have the dexterity and the fine motor abilities to open pretty much any of them. But specifically, if you know, your child is younger or your child has some developmental delays that may you know, delay their abilities to do some of these things, or if you know, your child has anxiety around eating.
[00:10:49] Or, you know, will face other challenges with transitioning back to school. You want the feeding experience to be as routine and predictable as possible those first few weeks. So feeding them lunches in their lunchbox for the practice. But also for the confidence building and helping just calm their disposition when it comes time to eat will be really helpful.
[00:11:13] So again, to review, tip number one, make sure you have ordered your supplies. If there's new things that you need for back to school, in terms of lunches and snacks. Number two, we wanna be practicing opening their lunch boxes or Vento boxes. If your child is going to take items that are say in a zip block or a Tupperware or something, that's not kind of.
[00:11:33] Standard bento box. Totally fine. Totally up to your family's personal preference. However, again, you want to begin practicing these items and how they open them. And if you expect them to close them afterwards, if say they don't finish a given item and they're gonna keep it. In their lunch bag. You wanna make sure that they also know how to reseal them so that those goldfish crackers don't end up all over the bottom of their backpack.
[00:11:54] So, third, we wanna talk about packaging because if you're someone who tends to order or, or excuse me, purchase items that are individually packaged, there's going to be more products. For your child to open up in their given lunch. And we don't always think about this, but I've spoken with so many different preschool and early elementary teachers about how helpful it can be as parents in those early.
[00:12:18] To pre-open things. It might be peeling apart, the string cheese container. It might be, you know, just doing a little tear in the bag. So our kids have something that's kind of started for them and they know exactly where to tear, but I would encourage you to think through, as you set up your child with this bento box, also give them the items that you foresee starting to offer them again.
[00:12:40] We'll go into this in a deeper dive in the next episode, but for the purposes of this. I want, we are focusing on fine motor practice skills. We are looking at equipping them with those life skills that they're going to need to eat. So, you know, helping them know how to open a string cheese or whatever type of cheese maybe they have, or put a straw on a jute box or tear a bag of crackers.
[00:13:01] So they're not exploding everywhere, but they're able to do it because every time a teacher has to help a child, God bless those teachers. They're helping so many little. As best they can, but it what's happening is it's slowing down the process of a mealtime experience when they have to help 15 kids open different items or at different elements in their lunchbox.
[00:13:21] And ultimately that time that your child is seated there and waiting for their packaging to be opened is time is time. That's a missed opportunity for them to be eating. And so when kids often already struggle with how to self-pace themselves at a given. And they struggle with knowing how to, you know, eat quote unquote enough to fill, to have their fill before the meal time is over.
[00:13:44] What we want is we want to make sure that we are optimizing each moment of their meal time so that they can eat as much as they feel comfortable doing without unnecessary delays, due to packaging. So. Practice with just some of what the go-to lunches you think your child might be taking those first few days are and get in the habit of kind of seeing which ones do they struggle with, because it might be something as simple as you just send it a different way.
[00:14:07] Or instead of sending like a package of crackers, that's an individually packaged one. You might get to start saving yourself some money because you're using a bento box. You can buy a bigger bag and just pour them directly into the little basin of the bento. Rather than needing to send a package of crackers that is already individually portioned.
[00:14:25] So play around with some of these things and you'll learn a lot in the coming weeks. As you prepare, prepare for back to school about what is the most efficient and effective way for your child to eat lunch at their school and given their age and developmental abilities. The next thing, and the last thing I want to talk about in terms of these.
[00:14:45] Are water bottles, depending on where you live. It stays hot here until almost Christmas. It feels like, but at least into November. And so our kids are definitely refilling their waters during the day. And so you wanna make sure again that this isn't something that your child needs tremendous assistance with.
[00:15:01] Teachers are excellent and offering a hand, but we wanna make sure that your child understands if they do need a refill, that they could exit the classroom. If they're in say elementary school, you know, I'm thinking of kindergarteners, specif. now that they could go out to the water fountain with their water bottle, unscrew the top, refill it and put it back on my three year old.
[00:15:21] He's most precious around here. He does not want to fill his own water bottle for his life. And it's one of the life skills that we're working on. Not because he can't, but because he's just being stubborn and doesn't want to, and he's used to his sisters or myself doing it for. So while he may not need to refill it at school, that is absolutely something I expect him to be able to help with in the morning as we're getting everything packed up and ready to go for school.
[00:15:45] So making sure that your kids know how to open and close their lunch boxes, any packaging or snack items that you might be sending as well as water bottles can be a huge. And last but not least. I just want to speak to the time that we're talking about. If you are going to go ahead and practice with these lunch boxes, go ahead and also practice doing something that's within the time of what your child might have.
[00:16:10] So rather than having it be one that they can go and come back to, and maybe some of the leisurely lunches that they've had this summer, put your child in a situation that it might be a little bit more stimulating. You might be at a park where there's a lot going on around them or a picnic in the backyard.
[00:16:25] Where there's just other new elements that could be distracting them and help pace them through the say, 15, 20, 25 30, depending on how long your child's lunch is at school, help pace them through that process. So they know that one, they don't get to get up if they're already, if they're done before the time is up, but two, they also don't get additional time.
[00:16:46] If they're not done within that. So you can set a timer, but I think then the kids tend to focus on the timer. And like, if you're using a visual timer, like a sand timer, they're watching the sand disappear and that's not really, doesn't really translate to the school time experience. So I think it can be more helpful to have them help you set a timer on your phone.
[00:17:05] So they see, Hey buddy, you're gonna have 20 minutes to eat lunch, so we're gonna help, you know, you can help me set the 20 minute timer on my. and we're gonna enjoy this experience of eating lunch together, but when the timer goes off, it's done and maybe help pace them up. It looks like it's halfway through lunch.
[00:17:20] Oh, looks like we have about five minutes left. Just the way that their teachers are going to help guide them through that and help pace them at their lunch. So they know when it's getting close to the end. I would encourage you to do that, but help them to gauge how much time that's going to be for them.
[00:17:35] If you know, eating within a more structured re routine lunch time over summer, hasn't been something that's been as habitual for your family. So to recap, make sure you have ordered your lunch tools. If you wanna know some of my favorite bentos and lunch bags. Be sure to go to veggies. Number two.com/episode/ 47.
[00:17:54] And you can access the link there that shares a lot of the pros and cons that I think about each of the given products that my family uses, then make sure that you are practicing, opening those lunch boxes. Any packages you plan to send either for snack or within a lunch box and practice filling and refilling water bottles.
[00:18:13] I. And last, make sure that you are practicing within some sort of a timeframe of what your child's lunch may be otherwise. Make sure and go to apple podcasts, scroll down and. Or excuse me, and click, write a review and make sure to screenshot it and tag me on social so that I can enter you in for this week's drawing of combination cards.
[00:18:35] If these meals made easy, ideas are helping you in any way, or this show is encouraging you in the messes. In the meal times of motherhood, I would love to hear about it all you need to do. Scroll down on our apple podcast and tap, write a review. I check each and every one of these and they truly bless me to read.
[00:18:52] And to know how this show is helping shape your family's relationship with food so that I can continue to create content that serves you best. Thank you in advance for taking the time to leave me a review. And I look forward to seeing you back here next time.
