As another school year rolls around, we find ourselves scampering for new fashions and last-minute school supplies, but we mustn’t forget to make time for planning healthy and humane meals for our children.
Though more and more schools have adopted healthy school lunch programs to combat our nation’s high obesity rate, an epidemic that has been linked to over-consumption of animal-based foods, it’s up to each of us to educate American youth and continue our trend toward healthy, humane eating.
Consider this: Children are more likely to understand their food if they’re involved in the prep work. Assigning small tasks, such as lining up ingredients or packing snack items into small containers, can be a fun and easy way to educate blossoming minds about why eating healthy, sustainable, cruelty-free foods is the best choice for our bodies, the planet, and the animals!
Try tag-teaming on these fun lunch projects:
- Bake veggie pigs in blankets using fat-free Smart Dogs and accidentally vegan Pepperidge Farm puff pasties.
- Whip-up mock chicken salad sandwiches on whole grain sandwich slices with Delight Soy Nuggets, Vegenaise, and diced apples or celery.
- Roll veggie wraps filled with hummus, fresh veggies, Daiya vegan cheese and Tofurky deli slices.
For more lunchtime meal planning ideas, drop by your favorite bookstore and grab one of these bestsellers:
- Vegan Lunch Box, inspired by Jennifer McCann’s blog of the same name, is a fun-for-all-ages vegan recipe book aimed at training kids on the art of meal preparation. Going far beyond your everyday kids cookbook, Vegan Lunch Box encourages youngsters to get in on the action, offering quick-fix lunch ideas, sample lunch and dessert menus and colorful, eye-popping images too cute to resist!
- If you and your family can’t get enough of Vegan Lunch Box, pick-up Jennifer McCann’s follow-up venture, Vegan Lunch Box Around the World! In Around the World, McCann takes vegan foodies on a whirlwind culinary tour around the globe, introducing us to exotic international veg-fare as well as regional American dishes. Complete with allergen information and tips on pleasing picky eaters, we’re not surprised to find Vegan Lunch Box Around the World on so many veg-family’s faves list.
- In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids, author Dana Villamagna dishes-out more than just delicious, kid-friendly recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner – this comprehensive guide also includes valuable nutrition lists and detailed nutritional guidelines for children up to 12 years of age. A parent of three vegan children, Villamagna goes on to share personal tips on raising a vegan household and offers life advice to young vegans growing up in a decidedly non-vegan world.
Armed with dedication and knowledge, you can inspire others to make more compassionate food choices and help bring healthier, more humane food options to children everywhere. Click here to find out how.
