Back to school

So its back to school and routine for the majority of us this week, and although its quite stressful to leave the bliss of summer holidays behind, where the only rule was that there were no rules, dinner at 9pm was ok and so was sleeping in till 10.   I think its nice to have routine again, and however stressful and hectic your lives may be, it can be made better by looking after yourself.  I know that when we feel overwhelmed the last thing we think about is eating well, but its truly the most important thing. Never before have we been so busy, our western lives driven by haste and in turn convenience mean that the majority of the population turn to processed quick fixes in order to feed the body. With a little organization, this can be different, your story can read like this ...' the kids lunch boxes were the envy of the school yard, my lunch was amazing and I felt fabulous and nourished after enjoying it'.. All it takes are some simple tools, knowing what it is you are making, having the ingredients on hand, and taking the time to make it. The truth is, it's usually quicker than going to the lunch bar... So what can you do differently this week, what can you have in your lunch that will make you feel amazing?. Organic fresh produce is a great start, and so is increasing the amount of fresh produce. Why not try varying your diet and including new foods, making sure that everyday you and your family eat a rainbow. (that is a variety of different coloured foods). If time is truly against you, nature have the answer, making lunch orders easy by perfectly packing produce in its own delicious skin.  Just grab some carrots, some cucumbers (add a pinch of salt for perfection), grab a couple plums, bag of grapes and a banana...delicious, nutritious and easy.  Nuts for afternoon tea, with some goji berries... These actions, however small will ensure that your life is changed for the better. So what's for lunch? How about some....  Rice paper rolls, made in a flash, the kids will love them, let them fill them with their favourite vegetables.   Avocado Salad, this can be made with whatever you have on had, diced with avocado, and dressed.  Vietnamese Salad, make extra for dinner and take it to work the next day Beetroot and pumpkin salad,roasted the night before, makes a divine lunch.  just be sure to wait to dress it before you eat.  NEED SOME MORE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR KIDS LUNCHBOXES  CLICK HERE  or perhaps make up a big batch of raw or cooked muesli bars,either way delicious, try them for yourself    GET A SMS REMINDER Forget to place your order, register for our SMS reminder service and never miss getting the best organic produce delivered each week. REGISTER HERE    To ensure you receive your delivery, why not ORDER NOW WEEKLY PRODUCE REPORT Organic Iceberg lettuce are sensational at the moment, and perfect for hydration. Organic Pineapples are sweet and delicious and perfectly in season.   Organic Green beans, crispy and sweet in great supply with amazing colour.   Local organic zucchini are in abundance, and an amazing addition to your meals.   Organic continental cucumbers are a great buy at the moment too, grown locally they are a great addition to every meal "The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition” Thomas Edison ORGANIC EMPIRE, LOCAL ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC DELIVERY MELBOURNE,  ORGANIC FOOD MELBOURNE

Just don't tell them its HEALTHY

The lunchbox is always a bone of contention in our household. Wars are waged daily over it, why didn't you eat that? You need to eat that ?... So in desperation, I have needed to become a little more creative in my lunch box culinary ventures, which is always a bit challenging when you wake up 15 mins before the kids need to go to school. Nutrition is the forefront of my food preparation, so not only does the food need to look good, and taste good, but it has to be good. Eating organic is a great start, but not all organic packaged foods are healthy foods. So for me, its most important that my kids get as many fresh real foods into them.


So everyday, the lunchbox is broken up into 4 sections, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and snacks.

VEGETABLES: Lunchboxes are a great opportunity to get kids eating vegetables. Cut them as creative as you can. Stars, suns, flowers, swords, call them what you will, just make sure you dont call them vegetables. Kids love to dip, so add some dip, maybe some hommus, some tzatzki, or pesto. Package in small, kid friendly containers. Try carrots (cut up), corn, raw off the cob (its pirates gold in our house), cucumber, cherry tomatoes, celery etc.

FRUITS: Every child has their favourite fruit, so be sure to include at least one of these daily in their lunch box. If you can, chop these up, make it easier for their little hands to enjoy. I swear fruit always tastes better when someone has cut it up. Make a fruit salad, cut the orange into rounds, apples into stars.

PROTEINS: We always pack a small container of nuts, depending on what we have in the house, we usually do a trail kind of mix, we mix almonds, sunflower seeds, dried fruits, apricots, etc.

CARBOHYDRATES: Some sandwich ideas, call them crazy names:

Far far away felafel's
Cut a pitta in half, spread with cream cheese, hummus and baba ghanouj, add thinly sliced cucumbers and tomato and if you can a falafel.

You are nuts
Spread cashew or almond paste on the inside of a pita. Add fresh sliced pear (dip into some lemon water to prevent browning) or use a sugar free jam.

Orange Nut
Raw Nut butter** and grated carrot.



You get the idea, use the ideas below and make up your own names, that you kids would find funny.

Avocado, bean sprouts and tomato
Baked beans (drained) and grated low fat cheese
Bananas mashed with ricotta cheese
Chopped egg, lettuce
Hummus, sliced tomato and sprouts
Cream cheese, grated carrot and sultanas
Cheese, pineapple and lettuce
Peanut butter and honey
Peanut butter lightly spread, topped with chopped dried fruit (apricots and sultanas)
Tabouli salad, lettuce and fetta cheese


WATER: Sweet hydration, is so important for every body.


I think its paramount to be creative in all your endeavours with kids, allow them to be involved where you can and give them a passion for good food.

Kids love making their own food, so encourage them where you can, a  burrito or a pita pocket they make themselves can be a fun and healthy lunch option. Prepare shredded vegetables, sauce, and let the kids assemble their own lunch at school. You control what goes in it and they choose what they like!
Kids love surprises, so I try to include something that will surprise them in their lunchbox, so that they look forward to opening it. This might be a note on their paper bag, or a 'treat', like some cranberries with raw cashews (sooo good). If these don't appeal to your child, you will know what does.
Make some muffins, some healthy biscuits

Try to mix things up a bit, use different breads (avoiding white breads, where possible), expose them to different flavours, different packaging and hopefully you'll get different results.

**Place nuts of choice in a blender and grind till a butter like consistency is formed

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