Learning

Lunchboxes With Love

by Karen Schachter, contributing editor
http://www.dishingwithyourdaughter.com

Have you ever sat down to a home-cooked meal, made with love, and not only enjoyed the taste of the food, but felt the warmth, satisfaction and connection with the people who made the meal? Can you feel the difference between a meal infused with love and care and perhaps that same food that comes in a box or a plastic wrapper?

For me, my Grandma Anna’s roast chicken, noodle pudding and chocolate chip cake elicit that feeling. I can still remember sitting down at her little kitchen table in her tiny Brooklyn apartment, feeling so loved and safe. Were they the most delicious, or even the healthiest foods I had ever eaten? Likely not. But did the very presence of her care and love, infused in the food, restore, heal, and nourish me? Without a doubt.

In our fast paced, fast food world, where nutrition has been broken down into a bunch of grams, calories and nutritional facts; and where food has been squeezed into a box or plastic wrapper that we can grab and eat on the run, we have forgotten the nourishment that comes from slowing down, savoring and infusing love into our meals. Although it can’t be measured by some number or microwaved mindlessly, this nourishment has a powerful ability to soothe and heal.

So I want to make a radical suggestion: Instead of quickly slapping together our kids’ lunches as they go back to school this year, we take a few more moments to intentionally add love into those lunchboxes.

Sound like a silly waste of time?

I know: mornings are tough. With breakfasts to be made and eaten, kids needing to find socks and shoes and papers, and parents trying to get themselves dressed and presentable (all by a ridiculously early hour), making lunches can feel like something we just have to get done quickly in order to get out of the house on time.

But consider this: When your child (no matter what her age) heads off to school, she is ushered into a world of rules and regulations and different (sometimes challenging) personalities, as well as probably an internal pressure to stay seated at the right time, figure out the math problem correctly and please their teacher, among other things.

This takes a lot of brainpower and a lot of emotional power.

The lunch you make (with or without her help) has the ability to affect the course of her day.

Imagine her sitting down to a lovely lunchbox with neat containers, each containing something that has been thoughtfully packed — perhaps lovely colors from some sliced fruits and veggies, some hearty protein to feed her brain for the rest of the day, some crunchy or creamy grains to help her relax, and a sweet something to sweeten her day. Or perhaps some leftovers from the night before, reminding her of the funny joke that was told at dinner; or her favorite food, reminding her that you are thinking of her.

And as she’s opening her container, she notices something else: A short love note from you, reminding her to have a great day, or wishing her good luck on her quiz, or encouraging her about something she’s been nervous about.

With a lunch like this, you have immediately restored a sense of calm to her day and supported her physically and emotionally.

Here are some super-simple ideas that may help you add some love to those lunchboxes and make this sweet idea a reality this school year:

  1. Purchase a lunchbox with little containers to keep lunch neat and organized and easy-to-pack. I love www.laptoplunches.com.
  2. Plan ahead: Think of your child’s favorite foods in addition to what healthy foods you’d like him to be eating. Buy, wash and cut in advance.
  3. Before you pack lunch in the morning, take a deep breath. This will only take a few extra seconds! Consciously think about what you would like your child to feel when she opens up the lunchbox in a few hours. Pack the lunch with this intent in mind. I know this sounds like woo woo, but it works.
  4. Get a pad of sticky notes to keep at the counter where you pack lunch. Scribble a quick, but intentional, note to help your child feel your connection even through the course of a long day.
  5. Prepare yourself (yes, you, busy mama) a lunch with love and intent. Slow down long enough to sit and eat and notice how different that feels than rushing through your day and simply filling your belly.

Have any ideas to add more love and nourishment into your child’s lunchbox? We would love to hear!