Baon Ideas: What To Pack For Light Lunch/Snacks

In two days, my little girl is going to start a fresh adventure as a grade schooler. We're all set. I managed to get everything done at crunch time. Books all covered, bag's packed and ready, school uniform waiting to be pressed, organized her drawers and sorted everything out (socks, undies, hankies and towels). Am I excited? Or am I excited? Can you tell? Haha.

I'm all set...except for the menu plan for her snacks and light lunch. We just learned a few days ago that her school schedule overlaps lunch break and now that school day is getting nearer I'm starting to panic (only in my head. i'm still smiling from ear to ear as I write this).

Thank God, I came across another blogger mom's post about baon ideas (thanks Mrs. C!) and I had a light bulb moment. Some days, the pack rat in me comes handy indeed. I dug up some of Maia's old menus when she still was enrolled in a "nutrition program" in school. I'm partly wishing they still offer that in grade school because that would really save me from the headache of planning menus week in and week out. I guess the good thing about this is I don't have to crack my head thinking about the household menu as well. The challenge here is for me to come up with a sustainable way to plan this (or maybe find a way to delegate the task to Ate Inday without me having to closely monitor).

For now, I will rely on the ones listed on the little girl's previous nutrition program menus. What's good about it is, they sent us copies of the menus and it was good for one quarter. At least I am safe for the next 8 weeks or so. And I know that they have been tested and proven since the kid hardly went home with left overs then.

Also I have a couple of the little girl's favorites that I've shared here and they will probably going to see their way into our weekly menus more frequently from now on. Unless, I find a way to convince the preschool canteen to still offer the nutrition program to the little miss at least for this year.

Calcium for Active Toddlers

When Maia turned one, her Pedia suggested that we start training her to cut down on her milk intake. From her usual 20-24 oz daily formula feeding, it was suggested that we start feeding her only 8-16 oz per day.

It would not have been that challenging if she took her milk directly from me. But there were just certain unavoidable events in our lives that didn't permit us to do that, even if we really, really wanted to.

As I too have been reading several articles on the cons of formula feeding I did not object to the doctor's advice. I was even more determined to do it since I too have been targeting of weaning Maia off formula milk by the time she's 18 months old. Yes, milk is a good source of calcium. But there are other sources of calcium out there. We just need to have the conviction to use them instead of cow's milk.

Dra. Chen also suggested that we use rice milk. But they are quite expensive and to date, I only found them at Healthy Options which isn't very convenient for me. I can make my own, but I don't trust myself enough to make a palatable version of the commercially available one.

The best option for me still, is to cut down on the formula and improve Maia's daily meals instead.

For toddlers 1 to 3 years old, the daily calcium requirement is 500 milligrams mg. As a guide, I made this list of calcium rich foods from babycenter.com:

• 1/4 cup raw tofu, prepared with calcium sulfate: 217 mg (The calcium content of tofu varies, depending on how it's processed. Check the label.)
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt: 207 mg
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses: 200 mg
• 1/2 cup low-fat fruit yogurt: 122 to 192 mg
• 1/2 cup calcium-fortified orange juice: 133 to 250 mg
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese: 167 mg
• 1/2 cup milk: 150 mg
• 1/2 cup chocolate milk: 144 mg
• 1/2 ounce Swiss cheese: 112 mg
• 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt, soft serve: 102 mg
• 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese: 102 mg
• 1 slice calcium-fortified bread: 100 mg
• 1/2 ounce mozzarella: 91 mg
• 1/2 slice cheese pizza (fast food chain): 91 mg
• 1/4 cup collard greens: 89 mg
• 1/4 cup homemade pudding (from mix or scratch): 76 mg
• 1 tablespoon tahini (sesame seed butter): 64 mg
• 1/4 cup turnip greens: 62 mg
• 1 ounce canned pink salmon, solids with bone: 61 mg
• 1/4 cup cooked spinach: 60 mg
• 1/2 cup ready-to-eat cereal, calcium fortified: 51 mg
• 1/2 cup soy beverage, calcium fortified: 40 to 250 mg

In time, I'm hoping to be able to come up with a more comprehensive list and a weekly menu perhaps. It's a long way to go, but learning how much of this and that do toddlers her age need is definitely a start. I'm just happy too that the baby seems to be picking up now that milk isn't the only thing that would fill her tummy up.

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Best sources of Magnesium

The best sources of magnesium Nuts and legumes are some of the best sources of magnesium. Some magnesium-rich foods to try: 1 ounce dry roasted cashews: 75 mg 1 ounce dry roasted peanuts: 50 mg 1 tablespoon almond butter: 48 mg 1 tablespoon cashew butter: 41 mg 1/4 cup cooked soybeans: 37 mg 1/4 cup cooked spinach: 37 mg 1 ounce halibut: 30 mg 1/2 cup fortified instant oatmeal, prepared with water: 27 mg 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter: 25 mg 1 slice whole wheat bread: 25 mg 1/4 cup raisins: 25 mg 4 ounces ready-to-eat chocolate pudding: 24 mg 1/4 cup black-eyed peas: 22 mg 1/2 cup plain skim-milk yogurt: 22 mg 1/2 cup bran flakes: 26 mg 1/4 cup vegetarian baked beans: 20 mg 1/4 cup long-grain brown rice: 20 mg 1/4 cup lentils: 17 mg 1/4 cup pureed avocado: 17 mg 1/4 cup kidney or pinto beans: 17 mg 1/2 cup chocolate milk: 16 mg 1/2 medium banana: 15 mg 1/2 cup milk (low-fat or nonfat): 13.5 mg 1 teaspoon wheat bran: 7 mg 1 teaspoon wheat germ: 5 mg

Meal planning

Calcium: Builds strong bones and teeth, promotes healthy nerve and muscle function, helps blood clot, and helps the body convert food into energy. Essential fatty acids (EFAs): Help build cells, regulate the nervous system, strengthen the cardiovascular system, build immunity, and help the body absorb nutrients. Necessary for healthy brain function and vision. Iron: Important for making hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying red pigment in blood, and myoglobin, a pigment that stores oxygen in muscles. Lack of iron can cause anemia, which can result in fatigue, weakness, and irritability. Magnesium: Keeps bones strong and the heart rhythm steady, supports the immune system, and helps maintain muscle and nerve function. Potassium: Works with sodium to control the body's water balance, which helps maintain blood pressure. Assists with muscle function and heart rhythm and, in later years, may reduce the risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis. Vitamin A: Plays an important role in vision and bone growth; helps protect the body from infections; promotes the health and growth of cells and tissues in the body, including the hair, nails, and skin. Vitamin C: Helps form and repair red blood cells, bones, and tissues; helps keep your child's gums healthy and strengthens blood vessels, minimizing bruising; assists with healing, boosts the immune system, and keeps infections at bay. Also helps the body absorb iron from iron-rich foods. Vitamin D: Helps the body absorb minerals like calcium and builds strong teeth and bones. Essential for reaching growth potential and peak bone mass. Also functions as a hormone with roles in immune system health, insulin production, and regulation of cell growth. Vitamin E: Limits the production of free radicals, which can damage cells. Important for immunity, DNA repair, and other metabolic processes. Zinc: Needed by more than 70 enzymes that aid digestion and metabolism, and essential for growth.