Food For Thought Blog: Foods to Fuel Your Brain & Bonus Healthy Lunch Meal Plan for Toddlers-Adult By: Christie Korth

12 Brain Power Foods to Prevent and Treat Inflammation

The following foods are very helpful for building a healthy brain and controlling and treating inflammation in the entire body. It is safe to say that those who have long hauler or would like to prevent a cytokine storm from COVID or other illnesses, should consume these foods as much as possible to ensure the highest functioning brain capacity achievable.

Avocado/ Fish and Fish Oils

Nutrient rich for small stomachs

High in omega 3 fatty acids

Goof fats to fight heart disease

Improves brain function and memory

Boosts nutrients from other vegetables

Lessens the effects of attention deficits

Great for skin health

Blueberries Kidney Beans

Packed with disease fighting antioxidants May benefits asthmatics

Boosts brain power Good Protein Source

Helps improve eyesight Boost memory

Helps improve eyesight

Prevents diabetes, obesity and heart disease

Broccoli Kiwifruit

Prevents stomach problems (kills bad bacteria Healthy breathing

that can cause stomach upset) Repairs cells

Protects eyes and skin from sunlight Keeps eyes healthy

Helps prevent cancer and heart disease

Brown Rice Sweet Potato

Helps with sleep Prevents obesity and diabetes

Prevents constipation Prevents constipation

Eases asthma Helps eye sight

Prevents cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity Great for a sweet tooth

Carrots Tomatoes

Helps eyesight Helps prevent cancer

Boost immunity Eases asthma

Aids healthy lungs Sun protection

Chicken (organic, free range) Quinoa

Great for cell growth and repair Highest protein content of all grains

Boost immunity Good protein source for veg.

Promotes sleep and eases stress Gluten Free/ High B6 content

Helps to regulate hormone stress levels due to High in fiber

Healthy School Lunch 101

You know the drill all too well. Its 6AM, and in less than one hour, the school bus will

be pulling up to the curb to collect your children. Now you are faced with the daunting challenge of dressing, grooming and feeding the kid’s breakfast. The last thing you are thinking about as you scramble the kids out the door is their lunch.

Often times, it is much easier to simply throw a few staples items together, like the dreaded preservative laden Lunchables, rather than making a homemade lunch. It may take some frustration away for you since you know your child will like this commodity for their mid day meal. However, cutting corners like this is not necessarily conductive to health.

Most parents are not aware of the danger s of school lunch food. Seddecco, is a “food” company that supplies our children with school lunch across the country. Seddecco is also the same company that provides food to prison inmates.

Common ingredients found in school lunches include:

• partially hydrogenated oils

• trans and saturated fats

• nitrates

• artificial colors and flavorings

• high sodium

• caffeine

• excess sugar

• high fructose corn syrup

• high calories

• No added MSG look for glutamic acid or glutamate on the ingredients list

• artificial sweeteners

These ingredients should be avoided at all costs, as they are detrimental to our heath and will not give your child the vitamins and minerals they need to learn effectively while in school. Problem is, most schools will NEVER disclose these ingredients are in their foods. As a nutritionist who works with developmentally disabled children, I have called dozens of schools to try and get school lunch ingredients. Surprise, surprise, they won’t budge. Rest assured, this is the primary reason the ingredients are not readily available to us. Most parents would balk at what we are feeding our children if they actually knew what was in their child’s lunchtime hamburger.

Start this school year off new, with some refreshing and fun new lunch ideas that will have the kids excited about eating lunch from home. Here are some fun ideas for all age brackets:

For Preschoolers to Grade 4

Presentation is everything for these munchkins. Some fun ideas that kids love for lunch include:

ü Sandwiches cut into a favorite shape with a cookie cutter. (you can make Almond Butter and Jelly stars, buying making a sandwich and using a star cookie cutter)

ü Roll ups. Kids love finger foods. Try rolling a slice of organic herb turkey around a stick of cheddar cheese with red pepper slices. Serve with Kiwi fruit on the side with whole grain pretzels.

ü Try Experimenting with Dips. Children love to add flavor and fun to their meals with dips. A favorite for my son is carrots sticks with ranch dip. You can now buy the dip with the crudités premade right in the grocery store. Cal-Organic brand is an excellent choice!

For “Tweens” and Teens Grades 5-12

At this age bracket, school lunch is about looking “cool” and great taste. Encouraging a tween or teen to take lunch from home can be a challenge. However, these ideas are designed to make your teen the envy of the school lunch table. Before you know it, your child will come home complaining that fellow classmates are trying to steal their lunch, because it is so tasty.

Here are some ideas:

Monday’s Lunch Grilled Veggie fajita (in a Brown Rice tortilla)

Dried fruit and nut mix or a Lara Bar like Apple Pie Brown rice pudding

Single Serve Soymilk, Rice Milk or Coconut Water

Glutino Pretzels w/ guacamole

Tuesday’s Lunch Organic Avocado mashed with Simply Organic Guacamole Dressing Seasoning w/ Roasted Red Pepper on Enjoy Life bread

Apple Slices with Almond Butter

Organic Cheese String Stick

Sparkling water or juice

Organic Popcorn

Wednesday’s Lunch Tuna and veggies with Mary’s Gone Cracker’s Brown Rice

Crackers

Organic seasonal fruit and veggies (try frozen grapes or bananas)

Brown Rice Pasta Salad

Vita Coco Coconut Water

Lara Bar- Tropical

Thursday’s Lunch Garden vegetable and Rice soup by Amy’s

Celery rib with Cashew butter and Raisins

Baked pita or tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole

Naked or Odwalla fruit smoothie

Organic fruit leather or fruit bars (no sugar added)

Friday’s Lunch Vegetarian or turkey chili

Side Salad with Romaine, Avocados, Scallions, Mozzarella with Thousand Island

Hard Boiled Egg

Bottled Water with lemon and lime

Natural Potato Chips

In the world of nutrition, we follow the 90/10 rule. 90 percent of the time we eat what is healthy and 10 percent of the time we can turn our backs, eat some cookies and still bask in optimum health. So, if you are feeding your child healthy lunches like this the majority of the time, it would be safe to say your child would be just fine eating school lunch on occasion. This works out beautifully and allows Mom a break from her activity packed morning routine once and awhile. Happy lunch packing!