Processed lunch products….a sign of a busy Fall….not a good thing

 

In my quest to manage an exceptionally hectic schedule this Fall I began
premaking my kids lunches on the weekends.  With three kids in three
different schools and my new very early morning routine I have discovered that
there is less time in 24 hours than there used to be. 
Interesting.

So…Week One and Two…the lunches were premade and packed
up.  You know…the usual…juice boxes, fruit snacks, granola bars,
etc.  In the mornings we simply added the extra items – fruit, sandwich
etc.  It went well and I felt a bit more organized….a bit more in
control….

Weeks Three and Four rolled around and it seems that I got busier.
Much busier… I still made the lunches on the weekend – but I noticed that I
started to add things like prepacked cheese and crackers (not real – but
processed) and the fresher items were left out. 

Then, last week, as I was driving to one of my client's sites, I was
suddenly hit by "guilty parent sydrome" with regard to my kid's
nutrition.  How much real food had they consumed in the last few
weeks?  What was the nutritional content of what they had been
eating?  How much bad fat had they consumed?  Yikes…in that moment
I began to feel really guilty.  Further, when I started to think about
things like global warming, the economy and all that other "stuff"
that we should be considering about the world these days I was feeling even
worse.  Certainly, my kids lunches were not supporting much in terms of the
local economy or local real food.  I was, however, in my own small way
supporting the big box stores and their far off suppliers.

Wow…suffice
to say – when I think about it now I am feeling rather unhealthy.  Over
the years I have picked up a lot of awareness and ideas regarding the
importance of healthy food, community and eating local from my friend and
colleague Rob.  I support so much of
what he talks about – yet here is the thing – the practice of actually doing it
is harder to execute than one would imagine – especially if you are busy.

So
– while I had a moment this weekend – I did some research on the
internet.  I did find some local companies that I am considering
supporting.  I also found some food packaging solutions for lunches that
might help us out.  I have nothing to share yet as I am still in the
research gathering phase — but this does a bit to ease my guilty feelings. 

As I head off to the store this afternoon to do my purchasing for our Sunday
family dinner I think I will visit my local farm market and the butcher –
rather than the big box store.  It is a small step…for today.  Perhaps I will even find some ideas for our lunches next week.