Physical Activity for Any Schedule

It is recommended that individuals get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly, which is about 20 minutes per day. While 20 minutes a day may not seem like much, carving out time for yet another activity is challenging for many families.

One place to start is with daily tasks that are already a part of a normal routine. For example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Other ideas include adding a brisk walk prior to dinner or riding bikes to the ice cream shop on the weekend instead of driving. Simplemost.com provides a great read on the healthy benefits of just walking twenty minutes a day.

As activity increases, parents can consider making walks or bike riding scheduled events. If kids are already participating in organized sports, parents can walk during their own work lunch breaks or during kids' practices. An article by Registered Dietitian, Taylor Wolfram, boasts great ideas on family exercise for all seasons.

The principles and benefits of their work is summarized below. Reviewing the principles can help put other information around this trend into appropriate context. For instance, Ashley Munro Nutrition offers insight into Raising Intuitive Eaters, The Daily Meal takes a stand on diet side effects and The Atlantic covers intuitive eating as a non-diet diet.

Tribole E., Resch E. (1995) Intuitive Eating. New York. St. Martin's Griffin.

Start with the container. Our favorites lunch boxes include OmieBox, Bentgo, Planet Box and this BentoBox. The container is key as it helps ensure variety and balance in the food groups chosen while also assisting with appropriate portioning. For example, Bentgo lunch boxes typically have pictures portraying the varied food groups (e.g., grains, proteins, vegetables and fruits). Tip: Check your local children’s consignment stores for these products as they often sell them brand new. Also, Oliver’s Labels are so useful as they can be run through the dishwasher.

Get the kids involved. Research shows that kids are more apt to eat what they help prepare. This may mean even including them when making the grocery list or shopping. Grab and go snack stations (such as the ones presented by Jamie Sanders of Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom) are useful when it comes to kids helping with lunch assembly.  Getting lunch ready the evening before is ideal. Perhaps instead of helping with dinner, your kiddos can be packing their lunches.

Protein First. Protein is the most important and oftentimes the hardest food group to incorporate into packed lunches. Some of our favorites include edamame beans and thick sliced ham from the deli that we then cube. Once you have the protein, think about what other food groups you’re missing. Using a plate graphic like this one may help.