Tips For a Healthy Back to School

Fresh notebooks, new pencils, sharp crayons, clean backpacks and … germs. With the bittersweet anticipation of a new school year comes the inevitable exposure to a whole new host of germs, often leading to your child getting sick within days of the new school year.

Luckily, feeding your children healthy real foods is your first line of defense. We’ve created kid-approved balanced meal and snack ideas to keep your kids’ immune systems strong for the beginning of the school year.

Breakfast

Try this Strawberry Basil Smoothie. It contains all the right nutrients in the right amounts to get their school day off to a great start. It includes berries for a burst of vitamin C, plus kids love the bright color it makes!

Lunch

Baked Chicken legs with cut up raw veggies and a to-go container of guacamole. Colorful veggies are packed with vitamin C. Plus meat is rich in zinc, a mineral essential for our immune system.

Dinner

Beef Stir-fry served over ½ cup rice or quinoa. Bell peppers and broccoli are some of the highest sources of vitamin C! This recipe tastes like restaurant quality without the damaging oils and MSG often used in restaurants.

After School Snacks

Oftentimes we think of snacks as prepackaged goodies with colorful packaging and cartoon characters. However, real food snacks are what will keep kids feeling their best and keep their immune systems strong throughout the year. A favorite snack tip from our dieticians is to have a platter filled with options, then let them choose from the platter. To cover all the nutrient bases, include a variety of veggies, fruits, fats, and proteins. Here are some examples of our go-tos:

●      Veggies: carrots, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, jicama sticks

●      Fruits: apples, clementines, bananas, pears, berries, plums, grapes

●      Fats: pepitas, sunflower seeds, olives, nuts, nut butters

●      Proteins: turkey or beef sticks, deli meat, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, summer sausage

Want more ideas for kids meals? Check out these articles on Nutritional Weight & Wellness. 

Supplement Support

The above examples for meals and snacks will provide your child with the proper nutrients to keep their immune systems going strong! But we know that realistically children don’t finish all of their meals, which is where supplements help to fill the gaps.

To kick the year off right, we’ve rounded up three supplements that pass the kid-friendly test and will keep them feeling their best.

NutriKey Liposomal C
Liposomal C is an advanced liquid nutritional supplement which delivers pure, easily-absorbed vitamin C into our cells. Skip the orange juice which is full of sugar and take a teaspoon of this liquid gold instead.

New! D3 Liquid
D3 Liquid is a water-soluble micellized droplet form of Vitamin D that provides a highly absorbable form of Vitamin D3. The liquid dropper makes it easy to tailor the dose for kids!

IMU Max
Perfect for children in daycare or kids heading back to school, Imu-Max is a delicious berry- flavored liquid formula designed to strengthen antioxidant reserves, support the immune system in warding off illness and keep inflammation in check (inflammation is at the heart of most illnesses).

Want to learn more during this critical time of year for kids? Nutritional Weight & Wellness has an online class called Healthy Foods to Build Happy, Focus Kids.