Thank you Edna Families! You have truly made the year much smoother for many of the children and families with nut allergies by attending to Edna's Nut Alert Policy. We do understand this can be a challenge when packing food, so Lisa Barnes has once again (see entries below) created an amazing list of some tasty and healthy food items to quickly make and pack for school, day trips, or anytime on-the-go. These foods do not require much in the way of preparation. They are easy to make and don't need a real recipe - only your imagination and your child's appetite. Lisa has also included some great nut free alternatives such as soy nut butter, and sunflower butter which can be a good source of protein and makes a healthy snack ...read on. If your child is in Kindergarten or 1st Grade, and you are concerned that packing them a lunch with a nut free butter included may be met with skepticism by teachers and aides who are on lunch duty, simply include a note detailing that the butter is nut free. Also with all the children at Edna Maguire, but again...especially with the younger ones, please be sure to remind them of the importance of washing their hands thoroughly with soap and water when they are done eating foods that others may be allergic to. Of course there are many reasons to remind them to wash their hands. We will get into more of this in another entry soon. Thanks for your continued effort in keeping the food you pack for your child nut free. It really makes it a much safer place for the children with severe nut allergies.
Posted by Margaret Schultz on October 25
Getting everyone out the door, dressed, teeth brushed, and lunches packed in time for school(or grandmas or daycare) can be a real challenge. Often times packing a lunch is an afterthought. Some parents reach for easy items that are prepackaged and marketed for children, but these often contain empty calories with little nutrition. Your child will feel better and have more energy and focus during the day when eating nutritious whole foods, rather than processed snacks filled with additives and preservatives. A banana is just as easy to grab as a bag of chips, and it comes in its own compostable wrapper. Lisa Barnes, Edna Parent and owner and author of Petit Appetit has compiled an extremely thoughtful step by step process to creating a healthy and fun lunch We hope you enjoy the helpful suggestions she has put together. Thank you Lisa!
Posted by Margaret Schultz on October 25
![TN_13-09-07_98TT[1].jpg](http://ednamaguire.org/nutrition-and-wellness/TN_13-09-07_98TT%5B1%5D.jpg)
Booooo! If you want to see something SCARY on Halloween, read some of the ingredients on those giant bags of Halloween candy! There you'll see: partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, alkali, chemicals, artificial colorings and more. For those looking for greener, non-candy items to pass out to trick-or-treaters and party guests, here is an abbreviated list of suggestions from Green Halloween www.greenhalloween.com. We know we are catching both parents and teachers alike at the last minute before Halloween Classroom Parties being planned for this upcoming Friday, but please DO check these suggestions out. There's a lot of really fabulous easy ideas that can be implemented very easily even at late stage in the game. We hope you find this useful!
Posted by Margaret Schultz on October 25
