The Healthy Lunchbox by Marie McClendon, Cristy Shauck
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Book Reviews of The Healthy Lunchbox
Book Review: Good suggestions
Summary: 4 Stars
This book has a wide range of useful information. I was looking for creative ideas to make taking lunch more fun, and this book was full of them. I also liked that it didn't rely on foods some kids are allergic or intolerant to.Book Review: ADHD child
Summary: 4 Stars
I have an ADHD nephew who won't eat anything but pizza (no sauce), chicken nuggets (no strips), sugary cereal, (no milk) and any thing with sugar or icing. This book has given us ideas to correct his diet.Book Review: A good starting point, but not always so healthy...
Summary: 3 Stars
This was a great book to inspire me as my eldest starts Kindergarten. I want to make his lunch, as school lunches these days are often less than nutritious. The book had lots of good recipe ideas, many I will be trying (some with adjustments), and some great tips for planning and packing lunches.
My reservations are: a pervasive theme in the book is recipes that call for "low-fat" or "fat-free" ingredients, or use "tub margarine, melted", or use strictly egg whites, you get the idea. I do not normally consider those foods healthy for children. Children need healthy fats, and a lack thereof has been shown to cause cravings that are often satiated by the easy to find, terribly unhealthy, trans-fats. Skip the processed fat-free stuff, just use real food. 2% or Whole milk and yogurt are best for kids not battling certain serious health issues. And why use margarine (which often has unhealthy fats and oils), when it needs to be melted into it's oil form anyway? Use real butter, or a healthy oil, such as olive, coconut, canola, etc., depending on the recipe. And why are we keeping egg yolks from our kids? The nutrients in them cannot be replaced elsewhere, and I'm not aware of a trend toward high cholesterol among normal children.
But my biggest concern is the lack of whole grains. Oats are used, and some whole wheat is included, but plain white flour seems to be the dominant player. In one recipe, a lentil tortellini dish, the authors note that because it contains lentils and (plain white) tortelini pasta, it contains complete proteins. Last I checked, complete proteins required a legume and a *whole* grain, except in certain specific cases.
There are many notes for diabetics and those avoiding gluten (which I think is great!), but in a number of cases the adaptations of the recipes are distracting and confusing for those of us not avoiding those items. They do not always explain how to make them if you are NOT avoiding those foods (I mean, we are all avoiding too much sugar, but I am very picky about what sweeteners I'm willing to substitute, usually I just use less, but raw, sugar and my kids are fine with that).
In an effort to make these lunches über-healthy, the authors have missed the mark a bit. To make healthy meals, we all need to use more whole foods, including whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, reduce our intake of processed foods and refined grains, and reduce the sugar overall (which is often increased in foods with low- and no-fats foods to keep the flavor). Think REAL FOOD! A parent who is thoughtful about these issues will figure out the adjustments and substitute accordingly, but I think the authors could have had a discussion about their recommendations for low-fat, sugar substitutes, flour substitutes, etc, etc., early in the book, and kept recipe ingredients to "1c. yogurt", etc. As it is, recipes seem to be written for the diabetic, celiac child, with serious weight issues, which is a bit distracting.
*BOTTOM LINE - Decide what your own child needs to be healthy, and adjust the recipes, please. Be careful of avoiding healthy whole foods! Think REAL FOOD!*
That said, for a mom who couldn't think of much to make beyond PB&J, it has many good ideas for planning and packing lunches and the recipes are a good starting point. Adjust them, and search the web to expand in areas that the book is light on (I would have like more whole-grain salads, among other things).
Book Review: Same old, same old
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't find much new here. If you've read any other lunchbox packing books and have even a little knowledge of nutrition, don't bother with this book.Book Review: Ok
Summary: 3 Stars
It had some good ideas, but not nearly as useful as I thought it would be. I think I used it a few times but now it just sit on my bookshelf.