Need some inspiration with kids school lunches and morning teas?

Are you wanting inspiration as to what to pack for your kids' (big ones too!) lunches and morning teas that are free of grains, sugar and all processed food?

If so, follow me on Twitter or Facebook where I'll be posting frequent captioned photos of what wholefood morning teas and lunches I have packed for my kids on any given day.

Being a time poor mum, I guarantee that these are all super quick and easy to prepare (usually from the day before) and of course nutrient-dense. Due to the strict ban on nuts at both of my kids' schools, all of their mornings teas and lunches are  (somewhat regrettably) sans activated nuts (reserve those for afternoon tea or post dinner snack).

My basic go-to lunch "formula" is:

- assorted raw vegetables plus protein/fat source such as full fat cheese,  pastured deli meats like salami or jamon or ham, left over cook meats like roast chicken or beef strips,  dips such as tzatzki, or hard boiled egg (in nature, animal protein and fats come together in the perfect balance) - left over casseroles or soups (heat in saucepan that morning and throw into kids' thermos containers) - piece of frittata (made in bulk in advance and frozen and thawed out night before on kitchen paper to absorb moisture).

Some morning tea suggestions that are easy for kids to eat are:

- fresh fruit teamed with full fat cheese (avoid fruit by itself and never offer dried fruit which is basically sugar). - full fat yogurt dusted with one or more of cinnamon powder, vanilla powder and/or raw cacao powder - full fat yogurt with added chopped pieces of fresh fruit - hard boiled egg (halved and sprinkled with a little sea salt and paprika) - grated carrots, desiccated coconut, with a squeezed with lemon juice, and dusted with cinnamon powder - goats cheese (eg chevre) drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and Grecian herbs like basil and oregano

I only fill their drink bottles with filtered water with a pinch of sea salt. Never offer juice, energy drinks or soft drinks.

Got a fussy or picker eater? Read my suggestions on how to deal with that in one of my previous posts here.

If you want to know more about the fundamentals of good nutrition and get a better understanding of what foods we are biologically designed and not designed to eat, where to source wholefoods  at affordable prices, and meal planning, consider a one on one personal consultation with me. Find out more here.

If you have any wholefood lunch or morning tea suggestions I'd love to hear them. What are you having for lunch tomorrow?

chocolate coconut whipped cream

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Here's another grain-free sweetener-free dessert that you can whip up in literally minutes. I typically have all of the ingredients that go into it on hand so it’s dead easy to make on the spur of the moment.

I always recommend teaming fruit with quality saturated fats to: (a) slow down the release of the fruit sugars to avoid insulin spikes and crashes; and (b) liberate the fat soluble vitamins and minerals in the fruit so that they can be better absorbed.

Many cultures world wide traditionally team fruit with saturated animal fat and/or protein. For example,  the English serve strawberries with cream, the Italians serve rockmelon with procuitto, and the Cypriots serve watermelon with Halumi cheese (what I grew up on) etc etc. These couplings did not happen by chance or simply because they taste good together. They are the result of  culinary wisdom passed down generation after generation.

So I am often thinking of different saturated fats to serve with fruit. Cheese is quick and easy but for something different and a little more decadent I came up with this concoction.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut cream (I like the Ayam brand as there is no added guar gum which is found in the organic brands. For more information on guar gum see note below)
2 tablespoons thick mud cream (eg Ivyhome brand)
1 tablespoon home made gelatinous beef stock (yes I try to squeeze this super food into everything whenever I can get away with it!)
2 teaspoons raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients together with hand held blender. That's it. Done. As my 4 year old says "easy peasey, japanesey, lemon squeezy!).

Serve with fruit or eat as is for a decadent dessert. Dust with extra cinnamon powder if desired.

I make this recipe without the maple syrup if I serve it with fruit which is sweet enough especially for young children. If eating the whipped cream by itself you might want to add the maple syrup (or some other natural sweeter such as raw honey).

The addition of beef gelatin adds a thick mousse-like texture to the cream (as well as loads of nutrients). I promise that you wont taste the beef at all.  You could omit this if you don’t have beef stock on hand. If your cream mixture is too thick then simply thin with 1 tablespoon of whole milk. If using pouring (runny) cream then you wont need to add milk as it will be thin enough.

Note on Guar Gum:  guar gum is found in many canned organic coconut cream and coconut milk products. Guar gum is primarily the endosperm of guar beans. Beans (and legumes) have a variety of compounds in them that make them difficult to digest, especially for people with digestive problems (source: www.chriskresser.com). There are literally only a couple of canned products that I buy and canned Ayam coconut cream is one of them.

Enjoy!