THE SENSORY MADE SIMPLE PODCAST

Transcript

Hello, welcome back to episode number 38 of the Food Explorers Podcast.

Back to School is officially in full effect over here in South Florida.

And we are definitely starting to embrace the fall season.

I don't know about you, but I am always ready to start fall a bit early.

I am not the biggest fan of summer because I much prefer cold over the heat.

So I am all about getting excited for the magic of winter and fall.

I know many of you up north may not be as excited about this because it gets super cold.

But for us, winter is our most enjoyable season weather-wise.

For all my parents here, I'm sure you are excited to get some time back during your day.

All right, so today's episode is all about packing school lunches.

This is episode number three in our back to school series.

If you haven't listened to the first two episodes in this series, I recommend you pause this one and go back.

There is so much great information in those.

They are episodes number 36 and 37 of the Food Explorers Podcast, which brings me back to today.

School lunch ideas for picky eaters and kids with feeding difficulties.

If you're new to me, I did want to talk about this term, picky eater for a second.

It's not my favorite term.

I think it connotates that a child is choosing to be difficult when in fact the majority of the time, there's something going on in a child's body that is making eating challenging.

Unfortunately, that is the search term on Google, which is why it is in the title here, to help more parents find and locate the information they need.

Back to school can be particularly triggering for parents of children with feeding challenges.

You may feel like you have a hard time getting them to eat at home, let alone sending them with a lunch in a box that will be sitting for hours.

But I'm here to tell you, there are options.

There are foods that do better in lunch boxes and simple tweaks you can make to help them be better set up for success at school.

Let's stop for a second and really delve into why school lunches can be hard for some children.

Number one, it's a different environment.

School can be overwhelming for kids, especially children who have sensory avoidance tendencies, meaning they get easily overwhelmed by sound, light, touch, etc.

A busy cafeteria or even a class eating the classroom together may be challenging for this child.

There's so much going on and it can make focusing on food challenging.

Number two, the texture and taste of foods can change when they sit in a lunch box for a prolonged period of time.

I think this is probably the one that is the most impactful for children.

Food is usually the best texture and taste when we eat it right after making it.

But when it sits in a container on ice for hours, it starts to sweat, get a little soggy, and the color may even change.

For example, think of an apple.

When you cut it, it's initially really crunchy.

But if you leave it chopped and put it in the fridge, you take it out and it's brown, the color has changed and it even tastes a little different.

For most of us, we may not love it, but can still eat it.

But for a child who has very strong food and sensory preferences, this can lead to a total refusal to eat the food, which means they may not eat at school, be hungry and crabby, and have a hard time learning.

Number three, fine motor skills.

Something we often don't think about when packing lunches is the actual packaging that we use.

Children with sensory processing challenges often have difficulty with fine motor skills.

These are the tiny muscles that move in the hand.

This can make opening packages very challenging.

And if your child can't open a package, they can't eat the food, especially if they're embarrassed to ask for help.

This happens more than you think.

And number four, different people presenting foods with different rules.

Honestly, this is going to depend on the grade.

With older kids, there's not as many food rules, but with younger kids, there is a lot of influence from the teachers and cafeteria staff on how to eat.

While you may not use pressure in your house, the staff may be pressuring your child to eat vegetables first or certain types of foods.

This can lead them to feel stressed and upset at mealtime.

On the other hand, it's not entirely uncommon that a child eats better at school.

I hear from parents all the time who are confused as to why their child hardly eats at home, but is eating vegetables and proteins and different types of new foods at school.

Let's talk about why this can be.

Number one, role modeling.

One of the really cool things about eating at school is that all of your friends are doing it.

In our modern society, many families don't get the opportunity to sit down with their family and eat meals.

Instead, we serve children their food alone, often in front of the TV, and the adults eat later.

But role modeling is one of the most impactful ways to help kids eat new foods.

Because they watch you enjoy a food, they see that it's safe, and it can help them become more curious and open to that food as well.

Number two, less pressure.

Sometimes kids are more open to eat at school because there is no one pressuring them to do so.

As we talked about a second ago, at some schools, kids feel more pressure due to the rules.

But other times, kids are left to eat what they choose.

Because there is less pressure, kids may feel more open to exploring and eating versus at home with us because we are constantly staring at them or trying to make them take a bite.

Number three, boundaries and rules.

Sometimes boundaries and rules can be beneficial to eating.

For example, if all kids are expected to remain at the lunch table until the period is over, children may be more prone to eating versus at home when they get up and run around.

An example of this is that at school, you get a chance to eat your lunch and snacks at a scheduled time.

And if you don't, you're going to be hungry.

Often at home, schedules are more flexible and kids tend to graze or eat smaller amounts.

At school, they know if they miss this scheduled time to eat, they are going to be hungry.

Now that we've talked about why school lunches can be both challenging and helpful for eating, let's talk about strategies that can help promote eating at school.

Number one, always pack a safe food.

It can be really tempting to try and pack only what you want your child to eat in hopes that if they're hungry enough, they'll eat whatever they have.

Unfortunately, this isn't usually a useful strategy.

Most of the time, children will protect their body if something doesn't feel good for it, and the discomfort of hunger won't outweigh a food that they're not ready to eat.

Instead, a more useful strategy is to pack 2-3 safe foods that your child will predictably eat and help them feel full.

Of course, I always love also including a small amount of a new or more challenging food as well.

2.

Involve them in choosing their lunchbox.

Choosing a lunchbox is exciting, and being excited about opening their lunchbox is the first start.

Research has even shown that kids are more likely to eat a food that contains their favorite characters on the wrapper.

So hopefully, we can carry this over to their lunchbox too.

3.

Use multiple containers or divided lunchboxes.

I'm personally a big fan of a Planet Box, and I say personally because I use a Planet Box to pack my lunch.

What I really enjoy about this is that it's divided containers within one lunchbox.

This way, my foods don't co-mingle and touch.

This can be really helpful for kids with feeding challenges who worry that food will be tainted if they touch, or if the texture is changed by touching another food.

For example, strawberries may make goldfish more soggy.

4.

Let your child know what's in their lunchbox that day.

Predictability is key when it comes to children with feeding challenges.

I love the idea of either having your child help you pack lunch and place the containers, or showing them the lunch the night before so they know what to expect.

You can also have them choose one or two items to put in the lunchbox and help get them excited.

5.

Easy to open containers.

As we discussed earlier, make sure that your child is able to open their containers independently.

If not, make sure to discuss with the teacher and request assistance.

6.

Look up lunchbox hacks.

It's amazing what people have tried and come up with to help the texture of foods stay the same while sitting in a lunchbox.

For example, I recently tried a chicken nugget hack where you add a paper towel to the container to help it stay crunchier.

While it wasn't 100%, the chicken nugget was significantly crunchier than when it was placed in the container alone.

I just started a lunchbox series at Dr.

Sam Goldman on Instagram, so if you're not following me yet, I recommend you head over so you can test out some lunchbox hacks with me.

And number seven, discuss sensory needs with your teacher.

If your child struggles to eat in the current environment, make sure to bring this up to school.

Often schools are able to make accommodations like allowing a child to go to lunch a bit earlier and eat in quiet, or sitting at a specific table that helps them feel more comfortable.

Tune in to your child sensory needs and consider what would promote a better eating experience for them.

But even with these strategies, I know that you may be at a shortage of ideas for exactly what to pack for lunch, especially since you may have forgotten after being off for a summer.

When it comes to meals, I like to think of the big three categories to pack.

These categories are one protein, one fruit or veggie, and one carbohydrate.

I also like to have in my mind to pack something with fat to help keep their bellies full throughout the day.

In addition, my goal is always to have at least two safe foods.

First, let's talk about foods that we commonly think about packing for lunch, but get stuck on.

As we go through this list, remember, your child might not be eating these foods yet, but this is a fantastic time to start introducing new foods at home and practicing them, so we can build up to adding these foods to the lunchbox.

Sandwiches.

So when most parents think about packing lunch, sandwiches are the ones that come up first.

The parents just wish they could pack, but maybe their child goes to a nut-free school, and PB&J isn't allowed.

And that's the only type of sandwich your child eats.

Then what?

We forget that there are so many types of sandwiches, and I really suggest you think outside the box here.

For example, some sandwiches we don't think of include cheese sandwiches, sun butter sandwiches, or even if your child doesn't like sun butter, you can also try granola butter.

Granola butter is awesome.

I keep it in my house all the time because we love it so much.

Nutella sandwiches, cream cheese sandwiches, turkey or deli meat sandwiches, avocado sandwiches.

This is pretty much avocado toast, but placed between two pieces of bread.

Jam sandwiches, there's even now chia jam available in whole foods that will add in some protein.

Egg salad sandwiches and tuna sandwiches.

As you can see, there's a lot of options for sandwiches.

We just need to think outside the box a bit.

Now, do all of these sandwiches contain all the nutrition you're hoping for?

Probably not, but there are options, and they are a great way to start working your way towards more nutrient-dense alternatives.

Plus, we can also start working on changing the breads to more whole grain options, to be a little more filling, and contain a bit more protein.

On the other hand, maybe your child will only eat one type of sandwich, and they want that exact sandwich every single day.

That's great that you found something they will eat.

However, when a child will only eat the same food prepared the same way every single day, we do worry that one day they'll get bored of it and stop eating it entirely.

In those cases, I love to find ways to create variety with the one sandwich a child will eat.

But here's the thing.

If you're multitasking, come back to me here, because this is important.

We don't want to mess with a child's primary source of nutrition.

If the sandwich is where your child is getting the most nutrition, we don't want to mess with that, because sometimes when we change up a food, a child can lose it.

In this case, you may want to start by trying to add another sandwich alongside the one that they love, so they still feel safe that their sandwich is unchanged.

Some ideas for creating variety within sandwiches is offering your child a food cutter to cut the sandwich into fun shapes.

I like to start here because often when we change the shape ourselves, kids don't recognize or trust that it is the same sandwich.

From here, I like to work on cutting it different ways.

For example, one day in triangles, one day a circle, and one day four squares.

Rolling it up and cutting it like sushi or pinwheels?

Try toasting it versus leaving it untoasted.

Using a wrap instead of bread?

Or using lavash?

Again, be very careful with this.

If your child predictably eats a food every single day and we change it up, we don't want them to lose it.

So I would personally start by offering it alongside their favorite one and showing them that it's the same thing.

Okay, let's move on to another category, pasta.

Pasta is one of those foods that tends to stay well in a lunchbox, and you have so much variety you can offer here.

For example, you can send pasta with red sauce, pasta with meatballs, pasta with butter, pasta with white sauce, pasta with parmesan cheese, pasta with nut-free pesto, pasta with olive oil and garlic, pasta a la vodka, pasta with spicy sauce, bolognese, or macaroni and cheese.

And from here, you have so many options to change the shape of the pasta.

Changing the shape of the pasta is one of my absolute favorite ways to help kids embrace variety.

One day you can send shells, another day you can send macaroni, and on a third day you can send spaghetti.

This helps keep the brain interested and decreases the chance of dropping foods.

On the other hand, maybe your child isn't eating these typical lunch foods yet.

Another option is creating your own type of bento box, where we offer little bits of different foods.

Let's talk about some options that keep well in lunch boxes.

Proteins.

You can try rolled up deli meat, fresh edamame, be aware this can be a choking hazard for certain kids, dried edamame.

These can be hard to chew and a choking hazard, so make sure this is safe for your child.

Waffles with protein, pancakes with protein, cut up hot dogs, pepperoni, jerky sticks, again, assess for safety due to choking hazards.

Hippies, these are chickpea puffs that have some protein in them.

Chicken chips, soups with protein, cooked tofu, cooked or crunchy chickpeas.

These can also be a choking hazard, so assess for safety.

Hummus, granola bars with protein, cereal with protein, Kodiak graham crackers, cheese, specifically.

I love string cheese and those baby bell cheeses because they keep really well.

Yogurt or yogurt pouches, hard-boiled or scrambled eggs, sausage links or patties, oatmeal, and milk.

How about fruits and veggies?

You can try freeze-dried fruits and veggies.

These can be a choking hazard, so be mindful.

Dried fruits.

These can definitely be a choking hazard because they're so chewy, so be careful with them.

If your child can eat whole fruits, kids may be more open to eating them in those forms.

Frozen fruits, so they de-thaw through the day.

Vegetable chips from the bulk section, shredded carrots, raw veggies if your child can eat them, bare naked gummies, apple sauce, fruit and veggie pouches like once upon a farm, fruit cups, hash browns, or smoothies.

You can freeze these the night before and then let them defrost.

And try those lunchbox hacks I mentioned earlier.

For example, there is a hack for washing berries in vinegar so they keep better.

For carbohydrates, most of the time, kids don't seem to have as much difficulty with these, but here are some options to try.

Graham crackers, different types of rice, different types of pasta, different types of rolls or bread, waffles, pancakes, french fries, cereal, and more.

Again, think outside the box here.

I hope this gives you a starting point and some ideas to consider as we head back into this new school year.

Keep your eyes open and make sure you're signed up for my email list because I'm working on a new resource for school lunches.

If you are part of the Food Explorers membership, this will be available to you for free.

Otherwise, you can purchase it separately.

Thanks again for joining me for another episode of our Back to School series.

I'd love to know what you thought about this episode.

Find me at Dr.

Sam Goldman and send me a DM to let me know if you loved it or if you were hoping for more.

I hope you'll join me back here next week where we'll continue our Back to School series and talking all about handwriting.

Talk soon.