Here’s a thoughtful way to bring a healthy spirit to the holiday season: Invite kids to discover holiday food traditions from around the world.

Trying festive foods from other cultures that feel similar to familiar favorites can make the season even more joyful as they experience shared traditions across the globe.

For example, in Germany, Lebkuchen—a soft, spiced gingerbread made with honey, nuts, and warm spices—offers familiar flavors with a unique twist. Filipino Bibingka is like a fluffy pancake, made with rice flour and coconut milk, perfect for a holiday treat. And in Britain, Yorkshire Puddings—simple to make and similar to popovers—are light, fluffy breads perfect for soaking up gravy or filling with holiday flavors.

Helping kids explore new flavors and connect to different cultures shows them that “different” can be delicious!

At Kiddos we’re passionate about introducing kids to the places around the world where different foods come from! That’s why we’ve created our Passport to the World companion program, which we recently launched at the schools we serve. Exposing kids to different countries and their food traditions can ignite a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world beyond their plate, and maybe even inspire them to try a new dish—or dream of visiting a new place one day.

​​By: Michelle Moses

Teachers recognize the challenge of keeping students energized and focused throughout the day. They work tirelessly to create engaging lessons and make classrooms vibrant places to learn. Imagine if they could simply snap their fingers to keep students focused all day—it would be a game-changer! While there’s no magic wand, there is an effortless way to boost focus and energy—and it might surprise you.

Eating Lunch to Power Focus
Kids are full of energy, but that energy needs fuel—especially for learning in the afternoon. One of the best ways to help them stay focused? Making sure students actually eat their school lunch. Providing healthy and nutritious lunches we wish our kids would eat is great, but lunch at school is often the one meal where close adult supervision is missing. To ensure kids eat at school, wouldn’t it be ideal to have plenty of options, including healthy and nutritious ones, they look forward to eating? When lunch is something students are excited about, they’re more likely to eat, which is crucial to keep their energy and focus strong all afternoon.

What’s on the Menu Matters
What we hope will happen and what really happens in the lunchroom can be two different things. Students tend to shy away from traditional school lunches, which often come with only one or two options, prepared in advance, frozen, and reheated. With limited choices, students may even grow tired of packed lunches from home, leading to uneaten food. While schools and parents may be offering healthy or nutritious options, how nutritious is a lunch if it’s not eaten?

At Kiddos, we’ve reimagined school lunch service by offering something for every taste and preference, every day, with access to fresh, wholesome options. Our lunches are freshly prepared each morning using high-quality ingredients, giving kids a huge daily menu of choices they love and parents trust—even when they’re not there to supervise. With Kiddos, you can be confident that lunch is something kids look forward to and that fuels them for the rest of their day.

When more kids enjoy their lunch at school, the positive effects are clear. That energy from a satisfying, delicious lunch makes a real difference, transforming the afternoon in classrooms for students and teachers alike. 

By: Michael Baruch

The lunchroom can be a place of social anxiety for many students. Not having someone to eat lunch with or being bullied in the lunchroom unfortunately still happens. Many schools have developed bullying programs, but other solutions which ensure kids aren't eating alone, are coming from students themselves.

One example comes from Sherman Oaks, California. A student created an app so bullied kids never have to eat alone.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/09/15/494074992/teen-creates-app-so-bullied-kids-never-have-to-eat-alone

Another example is from a high school in Florida, where students there started a club called We Dine Together to ensure their fellow classmates have some company at lunch time.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/high-school-students-start-club-to-make-sure-no-one-sits-alone-at-lunch_us_58c6cdb6e4b0ed71826e51b8

Junk food or not junk food, healthy or not healthy, those are the questions. What is the true definition of "Junk Food" or "Healthy Food?" Everyone has their own definition of what they think is healthy. For some that may be low carb, for others, perhaps paleo or vegetarian. Each family has their own unique tastes and preferences and respecting that by offering dozens of options that satisfy each child's changing tastes and each parents unique preference, with access to healthy lunches every day, is important to us.

Would you consider a pizza, with house made dough, sauce from crushed tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, oregano, and low fat skim mozzarella cheese "Junk Food?" How about freshly made sandwiches, salads, pasta sauce, yogurt parfaits, and more for a school lunch?

As the owner of a restaurant based school lunch company, from time to time I hear a parent refer to the food on our menu as "junk food" because it comes from a restaurant. We partner with restaurants that use fresh and wholesome ingredients, cooked to order. Catered lunch companies continue to rely on frozen and canned ingredients made days in advance, because unlike restaurants who have retail business in the door all day and night, caterers aren't able to go through the food quickly enough. In addition, caterers are not generally in and around the area of your school, so the food needs to be cooked days in advance, frozen and reheated.

I have previously written about making sure our kids eat a balanced diet containing lean protein, fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Ideally, that is the goal, but here's the wrinkle, it doesn't matter what we pack or order our kids for lunch, they will only eat what they like, what they are used to eating and what tastes good to them. I often hear parents say, well at least if there were broccoli or fresh fruit in front of them, they are more likely to eat it then if it wasn't there. My question is... Is that the risk you want to take? Making sure our kids eat their lunch,so they're able to focus and concentrate for the balance of the school day is key. Food for thought.

The holidays are just around the corner already! With the advent of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah, comes the added pressure of trying to make healthy choices for yourself and your family. The Washington Post wrote a great article to give ideas of how to make healthy family meals for yourself and, more importantly, your children during this year's holiday season. 

One of the greatest pieces of advice is to get your children involved in the entire process of planning, shopping and then making your holiday meals. You can start by looking together through menu books and websites to pick out ideas for side dishes that your kids give their approval for. Then, continue the journey by taking these ideas to the grocery store and giving options on veggies and fruits for your side dishes. You can even go as far as having your little ones help out in the kitchen while actually making some of your meals so the kids feel fully immersed in the holiday cooking tradition and will feel proud that they got to help out this year. 

This is a spectacular idea because when kids feel like they are contributing and making choices in this process they are more inclined to want to also eat the foods that you will make. Plus, if these are healthy foods, you will not only build confidence in them but also help to cultivate healthy choice making skills throughout their life.  As an added bonus, you are making wonderful memories with your kids that they will carry with them. It sounds like this season could be a win-win for all! Have a happy and healthy holidays everyone!

Kelly Fragassi

To Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/tips-to-get-your-kids-through-the-holidays-graciously-and-gratefully/2014/11/11/65899c74-639d-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html

Just this past week, we at Kiddos school lunches have added PLUMS to the roster of fruit sides that come standard with most every Kiddos meal. Some of the feedback we have gotten was that "the children were confused as to what plums are". Aside from that being a very endearing piece of feedback, we decided to also take that seriously and look up some information about plums to share with you. We encourage all to read up and try a few as plums are only in season for the fall!

Fun Facts:
Plums are in the same family as nectarines and peaches!
Plums are also related to almonds
The dried version of a plum is called a prune or a 'dried plum'
Plums are packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin K
Plums also help with weight loss!
There are over 2,000 varities of plums in existence today

Please read more in depth information about Plums in this article:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=35

Green tea has many health benefits; ones that are especially important during the hot temperatures and long days of summertime. Aside from being full of antioxidents, green tea helps to reduce risks of such things as heart attacks and strokes, which you are at a higher risk of during the summer. So, drink iced green tea instead of pop to stay hydrated and add some extra protection for your health! To read more about iced green tea and other smart nutrition options to try during the summer break, go to:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/10-foods-for-summer-nutrition.htm#page=0

Did you know that eating foods high in potassium can counteract the effects of higher sodium content in your food? By adding veggies like swiss chard, kale, and romaine lettuce to your sandwich or having a side of fruit with your meal can balance out deli meats that are high in sodium, which helps keep your blood pressure down and your belly happy! Read more about potassium at this site:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=90&tname=nutrient

Here are some fun facts about bananas from the website http://www.thebananapolice.com

• The scientific name for banana is musa sapientum, which means “fruit of the wise men.”
• Bananas float in water, as do apples and watermelons.
• Hawaii is the only place in the U.S. where bananas are grown commercially, although at one time they were also grown in southern California and Florida. The overwhelming majority of the bananas Americans eat come from countries in Latin America and South America, including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, and Guatemala.
• The type of banana you see in the supermarket is called a Cavendish banana. The preferred variety was originally the Gros Michel, which essentially became extinct by 1960, thanks to a fungus called Panama disease.
• Some cultures (most notably Japan) use the fiber in the banana plant to make fabric and sometimes even paper.
• The fastest marathon ever run by a competitor dressed as a fruit was 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds—recorded at the Barcelona Marathon on March 6, 2011. The runner was Patrick Wightman from the United Kingdom, who dressed as a banana.
  
• The Banana Club Museum, located on Highway 111 in Mecca, Calif. (just south of Palm Springs), houses the world’s largest collection devoted to any one fruit. It contains more than 17,000 banana items, most of which have been donated by members. (To join the club, visit www.bananaclub.com.)