September 5, 2025 • 21 mins
Charlie shares tried-and-true strategies for managing school lunches and keeping students well-fed during busy school days. This episode wraps up the back-to-school series with practical advice for parents navigating the daily challenge of packing nutritious meals kids will actually eat.
• Create a lunch strategy before school starts - decide if your child will have school lunch, home lunch, or a hybrid approach
• Use insulated lunch bags with water bottle compartments and containers with locking mechanisms to prevent spills
• Verify your child's lunch time to determine whether to pack hot or cold meals
• Meal prep twice weekly (Sundays and Wednesdays) to ensure variety and freshness
• Avoid heavy meals, stomach-irritating foods, and excessive sugar that can cause energy crashes
• Balance nutrition with proteins, vegetables and moderate carbs for sustained energy
• Consider simple options like chicken wraps, protein-rich hot meals, and healthy snacks for athletes
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the
Gag as Pod.
I am your girl, charlie Shante.
Thank you for joining me onanother episode and, like I
always say, if it's a newepisode then it's a Friday, but
if you're not listening to thison a Friday, welcome anyway.
I thank you for being here andif you have not already, please
(00:21):
make sure you are liking andsubscribing and turn on that
notification button in yourfavorite podcast and that where
you listen to this at, so thatevery time a new episode is
dropped you are one of the firstto know.
It'll automatically be on yourphone.
So when you get up on Fridayand you're on your way to work
or dropping the kids off atschool, then it will be there
and all you got to do is hitplay.
(00:42):
Please make sure you'resubscribing and turning on that
notification bell on YouTube aswell.
Like I always say, go ahead andgrab your drink, grab your food
or whatever it is you do whenyou listen to this so we can
jump right in.
We're going to go ahead and endoff our back to school series.
We're going to talk aboutschool lunches or the lack
thereof.
(01:02):
You know it's hard to believethat summer's already over.
Kids are starting back schoolnext week or they may have
started this week, but one ofthe biggest things outside of
clothes supplies, I think it'sfood, and it's very pivotal
because our kids are at schoolfor a good portion of the day,
(01:29):
so you want to make sure thatthey're eating, they're not
hungry, they're hydrated.
So I've come up with a few tipsand tricks and things that I do
to ensure that new face hasgood food.
You know school lunch versus ahome lunch and things as such.
So one thing I just thought ofwhen I opened this was if your
kid has food allergies.
This may not pertain to you.
(01:50):
New Face does have allergy, butwe can work around it for the
most.
I wouldn't say allergy, most ofour sensitivity, but not one of
the more common sensitivity, sowe tend to work around it.
You know your child.
These are just tips and tricksthat I use.
So first thing I would say iscreate a strategy for your
(02:10):
child's lunch Now, whether thisbe your child is going to be
what I call a hybrid lunch, ormeans they're going to get
school lunch a few days out theweek, or they're going to take
their lunch a few days out ofthe week.
Come up with a strategy so thatyou know, so that when you're in
it's the next morning andyou're trying to get your kids
ready for school or the nightbefore, you're not trying to
(02:30):
figure out okay, what is my kidgoing to eat?
You know if they're going totake a home lunch like what do
we have?
Or are we just going to have todefault to a school lunch?
Try to come up with a strategy.
I promise you it will prevent alot, a lot of stress, a lot of
(02:54):
unwanted stress and hurrying andthen things being forgotten.
So make sure you come up with astrategy.
About a week or two beforeschool, I always ask New Face
hey, what kind of things are youthinking this year?
Are you thinking you know this?
Are you thinking this?
Are you thinking that?
Or what is your meal prepping?
Or what is your idea of lunchis going to look like this year?
And this year he has chosenmore of a I wouldn't call it
(03:17):
hybrid so much.
It's more of supplemental,because he takes his lunch every
day, but if he's a littlehungry or some other days, he
will get a school lunch, but heonly gets certain items because
he's a very picky eater.
You all know that he is anathlete and he is a swimmer as
well, so he burns a lot ofcalories and the boy is always
(03:39):
hungry.
And I'm like how, bro, how areyou always hungry?
You always eating.
That's neither here nor there.
I also say determine whetheryour child is going to have a
warm lunch or a cold lunch.
This is important because ifit's a warm lunch, you know
there's a certain way that youhave to do things, and if
(04:01):
there's a cold lunch, there'sanother kind of way that you
have to do things.
I'm trying not to get ahead ofmyself.
I'm trying to stick to thescript here, but you know, as
with the mom brain, it can gofrom here, there and everywhere.
So I'm trying to keep on track.
The next bullet point I want totalk about is a lunch bag or
lunch box.
(04:21):
Now, with this, there are amillions of options, a millions
of varieties out there.
I always opt for one that isinsulated, because no matter
what type of lunch your childhas, it will help to keep it
either warm or to keep it cooler, like I said, just depending on
what it is.
(04:42):
And I always make sure that thewater bottle hat the water
bottle.
I always make sure the lunchboxor whatever he takes his lunch
and has a water bottlecompartment.
Most schools have refillablewater stations and so I always
make sure that he has a slot toput his water bottle in for when
he goes to school so he doesn'tjust have to carry it around in
(05:04):
his hand.
Another alternate would be Iknow they do sell like water
bottle carriers that you can getat your local store.
You can get them online thatyou can put the water bottle in
whatever is best for your child,whatever is convenient.
You know, cause I always sayyou want to reduce the amount of
stuff that your child carriesso that that's not weight on
their back, it's not weight ontheir shoulder, it's not tiring
(05:27):
their arms out from them havingto carry stuff, and it also
reduces the risk of them losingan item because they don't have
a lot of stuff to carry.
Number three I think this oneis a very important one Use
containers that use a lockingmechanism so that whatever you
(05:51):
put in there it does not spill.
I know that when you go and youdo your shopping they have many,
many, many of containers onsale, but not all containers
have like a locking mechanism.
They just have a standardtraditional lid, which means
that if you put that in achild's backpack and they happen
(06:12):
to start swinging it while theywalk into the bus, stop.
All their food is going to beeverywhere, it's going to get on
everything and it's just goingto create for a mess, and so you
want to try to prevent that.
I found that most of thecontainers that have the lock-in
mechanism are going to be yourglass containers.
They fit on there, they have alittle rubber ring around them
(06:35):
and then they also have asnapping mechanism that snaps
them to the container, whichhelps prevent leaks and spills.
New Face is very rough and toughwith his lunch bag.
I had to find something becauseI got tired of coming home with
food in the bag everywhere andhappened to clean out the bag.
So I was like you know what thestuff that I use to take to
(06:58):
work?
I'm just going to get you someof these containers, because I
know these are tried and true,so if it works for me, I know
that it's going to work for youas well.
There are new containers thatoffer many hours of warming.
I've started to see more kindof self-warming, kind of like
bento boxes type of things, andI think these are very good,
(07:21):
very well.
I don't personally have any, soI cannot tell you what the lid
situation is on them, but Iwould say, if you're going to
get your child one of those, Iwould err on the side of caution
to make sure that it doesn'toverheat or it doesn't burn them
.
Make sure it has a lockingmechanism for their lids so that
(07:41):
they don't have any spills, youknow, because what's warm food
if it's spilled everywhere inthe bag?
You know it kind of becomesuneatable then when it's all
over everything.
And vice versa, if your childis going to have a cold lunch,
ensure that you have the properamount of ice packs to go with
whatever they're eating.
Now, I've seen a lot of lunchbags come with an ice pack, but
(08:02):
it's a little, very small, thinones.
A lot of lunch bags come withan ice pack, but it's a little,
very small thin ones.
But if you go to, like, thesporting section of a store, you
can buy the thicker ones whichare going to be able to keep the
food cooler for longer.
The thin ones are good, butI've noticed that even if, once
you put them in, you take themout of the freezer and you put
(08:23):
them in the bag.
They're only going to lastmaybe about an hour, maybe about
an hour and a half, and that istruly not long enough to keep
your child's food cold.
I feel like I missed one, ordid I move it down?
I moved it down on my list, soI'll go ahead and where to go.
(08:47):
So, piggybacking on the use ofcontainers and whether they need
to be warm or cold, verify thetime that your child goes to
lunch.
This is going to help youdecide if your child should have
a warm lunch or if your childshould have a cool lunch.
Most elementary, I believe,they go to lunch around 1045,
between 1045 and 12, and theystart school around 745 or
(09:09):
something as such.
I feel like with this timeperiod, this can go either way.
Your child can either have ahot lunch or a cold lunch.
Most ice packs and most heatedcontainers guarantee for warm, I
believe up to six to eighthours.
In ice packs maybe 12 hours,just depending on the brand.
So I don't go with a specificbrand, so please do not quote me
(09:32):
on this.
Make sure that you do yourresearch and you do your due
diligence.
Don't say, charlie said thatthis is supposed to have.
No, I didn't say that, I said amajority.
So make sure that you decidethat this is my number one key,
my absolute stress reliever,headache reliever of all things
(09:56):
lunch for school.
Meal prep is key.
I know, I know you're probablylike Charlie, I don't even have
time right now.
So where am I going to find thetime to meal prep?
Well, I thought that same thing, but I was like you know what?
It doesn't really take thatlong because what I do is I sit
down on my tablet and I decidewhat what are we going to have
(10:21):
for the week?
And once you determine whatyou're going to have for the
week, then it's a little biteasier to meal prep.
My meal prep days are Sundayand Wednesday, and for this I do
this, because it allows me todo different food items and then
different fresh fruits andvegetables, so that he's not
eating the same redundant thingover and over and over and he
(10:41):
doesn't get bored and be morelikely not to eat it or more
than likely to trade it away orwhatever you have you.
I like to keep him engaged withhis food.
I pack his food particularly acertain way because he's an
athlete, but I like to switch itup, like I said.
So he has the fresher food.
He doesn't have food that'sbeen refrigerated for four days
(11:01):
and then Friday it's like oh,it's the same thing.
It doesn't have a good qualityfrom when it was first prepared
up until the day that he eats it.
All right, so determine healthyyet simple meals.
Remember, your kids are atschool all day and they're more
(11:23):
than likely going to eatbreakfast either at home or when
they get to school.
I know where I live.
They have a grant which allowsall kids to eat breakfast for
free.
Make sure you check whereveryou live to see if this is an
option.
It's very helpful to make surethat kids start their day off
with a good meal and they're notstarting off hungry.
(11:44):
And since most of them havebreakfast already, I would say
base your lunches off of whatthey have for breakfast, because
one thing you want to avoid isyou want to avoid heavy meals,
because you don't want yourchild sleepy and tired at school
.
Yes, you want them to be full.
Sleepy and tired at school, yes, you want them to be full, but
you don't want them to be toofull Because, remember,
(12:16):
breakfast and lunch, typicallyat a school, is only about four,
no more than five hours apart.
Unless there's a certaincircumstance where there's
testing or something like that,it may be a little throw it off.
So they can only build up somuch hunger within that four to
five hour period.
So make sure you're not packingmeals that are super heavy
stuff that once they eat it theywant a nap.
(12:40):
Ok, I don't pack things that cansend new face to the bathroom.
So I try not to pack thingsthat are going to upset his
stomach to where he's going tohave to go either pee a lot or
he's going to have to go numbertwo a lot or something like that
that can mess up his stomach inany shape, form or fashion.
I try to avoid things that aregoing to make him gassy any of
(13:04):
the nine.
So I always say be cautious ofwhat you put in your child's
lunchbox, because if they're notfeeling well, they get a tummy
ache, then you have to come getthem.
They're spending time at thenurse's office or they're
spending time in the bathroombecause their stomach does not
feel okay.
I also avoid packing junk foodsuch as fruit snacks, candy and
(13:26):
soda.
I don't let New Face pack thesethings because for one, they're
not good.
He gets that sugar or yourchild gets that sugar and then
they're going to have a middaycrash.
You start falling asleep inclass, things like that, and
it's just not good for them.
Overall, I'm very strict whenit comes to sugary drinks.
So New Face rarely gets todrink soda.
(13:47):
The only time I typically lethim drink soda is after a swim
meet, and so that's only abouttwo to three times a month.
Other than that it is water,but he does or I'm not saying
I'm not going to say he does buthe is allowed to have chocolate
milk after swim practicebecause it's a great, it helps
(14:08):
give them back what is depleted.
So he does from time to timedrink chocolate milk after swim
practices just to help him getthat protein and those carbs
quickly back into his body.
(14:28):
Like I said, he drinks waterwith all of his meals.
He probably drinks juice in themorning.
No, he doesn't, he drinks teain the morning.
But when he gets to school heprobably does sneak juice or
whatever.
I do put money on his littlelunch account that way, if he
wants to buy him a little snackor something, I do allow that.
I'm not one of those parentslike you're not gonna have this,
I do, but we do things inmoderation, okay.
(14:50):
So some of the examples let memake sure I'm going through all
my stuff I have, okay.
So my last bullet point isgoing to be examples of some
meals that I do for New Face forbreakfast, lunch and for snacks
(15:12):
on the side.
I do know that some schools,because of the school day, they
do allow kids to have snacks,but this is more so in
elementary versus middle schooland high school they do allow
snacks.
So I have some suggestions forthat as well.
For breakfast, new Face normallydoes waffles.
Lately he's been on his proteinwaffle cake and it's chocolate,
(15:35):
and I don't have a problem withthat because he swims for an
hour and a half, two hours eachday and on the weekends it can
be upwards of three hours.
So it's not doing him any harm.
It's actually a good way forhim to get his protein in.
And then we sometimes make itwith water, sometimes we make it
with milk, just to give himthat other extra boost of
(15:55):
protein.
I don't know why my words arenot together today To compliment
the waffles some of the thingsthat he has in the morning he
drinks black tea and sometimeshe'll put a little flavor in it,
a little raspberry flavor inthere he has apple slices,
turkey bacon or turkey sausage.
That's pretty much because.
(16:16):
So you have your proteins, youhave your veggies and it's not a
lot of sugar contained withinthat breakfast.
So that makes me really, reallyhappy.
Some days when I'm flexible andI'm working from home and you
know, if I have time, I wake upon time, or before he goes to
the bus, I do allow him to havedonuts, but that is very rare.
(16:37):
That is maybe once or twice amonth that he does that.
I do do it on testing days,just as kind of like, you know,
like a little pick me up to lethim know that he got it and he's
going to do good.
I do it.
Or like when school starts back, like school has already
started.
Here for a lot of places schoolhas not started, but here's
(16:59):
school has started already, andso he did get donuts on the
first day of school and hisdragon fruit refresher Lunch
ideas.
And keep in mind, all of theseideas that I'm giving you are me
in conjunction with New Face.
They're not solely my ideas.
These are more for New Face'sideas.
So for lunch he gets a chickenwrap and so, like, a chicken
wrap can consist of a tortilla,chicken, lettuce, tomato.
(17:22):
He's not one to do dressings orsauces or anything like that,
so he has a very dry chickenwrap and this is good, because
he doesn't eat lunch.
He goes to school at 8.30 and hedoesn't eat lunch until 12.15.
So I could put an ice pack inthere and it keeps his wrap cool
.
This is something that does nothave to be warmed up.
(17:42):
If he wants a warm meal, we'lldo something like Cajun sausage,
rice, broccoli, cauliflower,whatever vegetable he picks
green beans, cabbage, whatevervegetable that he picks.
And for snacks, what henormally does is on his way home
from school on the bus, he hasa granola bar or he packs extra
(18:07):
fruit and veggies with him,because by the time he gets off
the bus, he comes home, hechanges and it's time to go to
swim.
He gets out of school at 3.50,swim starts at 4.30.
So while he's on the bus, onthe way home, he's getting a
little bit of something in hisbody, so that he's not sluggish
and he's not tired at practice.
(18:29):
All right.
So those are all of my tips andtricks that I have for you guys
.
All right, so those are all mytips and tricks that I have for
you guys when it comes to schoollunches.
If you feel like I forgotsomething, let me know.
I want to know how you guys doyour kids lunch.
Do you take your kids lunchevery day or do you have them do
a hybrid?
Tell me what best works bestfor you and your family,
especially especially if you'rea family of multiples.
(18:51):
I'm only doing this for one, soI really don't know what that
multiples is about, because evenwhen New Face and Marco Polo
were both in school at the sametime, marco Polo either for
school lunch or something assuch we stayed closer to the
school so he would come home forlunch.
Whatever worked for him.
So this is different for me.
So give me some more ideas thatyou guys have as far as it
(19:15):
comes to school lunches For thisweek.
My last but not least, my songlyric of the week is going to be
India, irie, a Beautiful Day.
I love, love, love this songand it just makes me happy.
It gets me going If I'm havinga sluggish morning.
It gets me going in the morningand I'm in there singing,
(19:35):
carrying Oki and things likethat in the car.
Now, if you have not already,please make sure you like, share
and subscribe.
Make sure you're hitting thatnotification bell so that you
are alerted every time a newvideo drops.
So if you have listened to thisonly, please make sure you go
over to YouTube to see it inperson and would really like to
(20:00):
see you over there.
Make sure you are following uson Instagram, at thegagispod,
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there's clips on there every dayso that you can get an insight
into what is coming up for thenew week leading up to the new
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And also I'm going to startdoing some giveaways over there.
So make sure you're followingso that you can win, because if
(20:22):
you ain't following, you can'twin.
I am your girl, charlie Shantae.
This is the gag is pot.
Bye, guys.
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the
Gag as Pod.
I am your girl, charlie Shante.
Thank you for joining me onanother episode and, like I
always say, if it's a newepisode then it's a Friday, but
if you're not listening to thison a Friday, welcome anyway.
I thank you for being here andif you have not already, please
(00:21):
make sure you are liking andsubscribing and turn on that
notification button in yourfavorite podcast and that where
you listen to this at, so thatevery time a new episode is
dropped you are one of the firstto know.
It'll automatically be on yourphone.
So when you get up on Fridayand you're on your way to work
or dropping the kids off atschool, then it will be there
and all you got to do is hitplay.
(00:42):
Please make sure you'resubscribing and turning on that
notification bell on YouTube aswell.
Like I always say, go ahead andgrab your drink, grab your food
or whatever it is you do whenyou listen to this so we can
jump right in.
We're going to go ahead and endoff our back to school series.
We're going to talk aboutschool lunches or the lack
thereof.
(01:02):
You know it's hard to believethat summer's already over.
Kids are starting back schoolnext week or they may have
started this week, but one ofthe biggest things outside of
clothes supplies, I think it'sfood, and it's very pivotal
because our kids are at schoolfor a good portion of the day,
(01:29):
so you want to make sure thatthey're eating, they're not
hungry, they're hydrated.
So I've come up with a few tipsand tricks and things that I do
to ensure that new face hasgood food.
You know school lunch versus ahome lunch and things as such.
So one thing I just thought ofwhen I opened this was if your
kid has food allergies.
This may not pertain to you.
(01:50):
New Face does have allergy, butwe can work around it for the
most.
I wouldn't say allergy, most ofour sensitivity, but not one of
the more common sensitivity, sowe tend to work around it.
You know your child.
These are just tips and tricksthat I use.
So first thing I would say iscreate a strategy for your
(02:10):
child's lunch Now, whether thisbe your child is going to be
what I call a hybrid lunch, ormeans they're going to get
school lunch a few days out theweek, or they're going to take
their lunch a few days out ofthe week.
Come up with a strategy so thatyou know, so that when you're in
it's the next morning andyou're trying to get your kids
ready for school or the nightbefore, you're not trying to
(02:30):
figure out okay, what is my kidgoing to eat?
You know if they're going totake a home lunch like what do
we have?
Or are we just going to have todefault to a school lunch?
Try to come up with a strategy.
I promise you it will prevent alot, a lot of stress, a lot of
(02:54):
unwanted stress and hurrying andthen things being forgotten.
So make sure you come up with astrategy.
About a week or two beforeschool, I always ask New Face
hey, what kind of things are youthinking this year?
Are you thinking you know this?
Are you thinking this?
Are you thinking that?
Or what is your meal prepping?
Or what is your idea of lunchis going to look like this year?
And this year he has chosenmore of a I wouldn't call it
(03:17):
hybrid so much.
It's more of supplemental,because he takes his lunch every
day, but if he's a littlehungry or some other days, he
will get a school lunch, but heonly gets certain items because
he's a very picky eater.
You all know that he is anathlete and he is a swimmer as
well, so he burns a lot ofcalories and the boy is always
(03:39):
hungry.
And I'm like how, bro, how areyou always hungry?
You always eating.
That's neither here nor there.
I also say determine whetheryour child is going to have a
warm lunch or a cold lunch.
This is important because ifit's a warm lunch, you know
there's a certain way that youhave to do things, and if
(04:01):
there's a cold lunch, there'sanother kind of way that you
have to do things.
I'm trying not to get ahead ofmyself.
I'm trying to stick to thescript here, but you know, as
with the mom brain, it can gofrom here, there and everywhere.
So I'm trying to keep on track.
The next bullet point I want totalk about is a lunch bag or
lunch box.
(04:21):
Now, with this, there are amillions of options, a millions
of varieties out there.
I always opt for one that isinsulated, because no matter
what type of lunch your childhas, it will help to keep it
either warm or to keep it cooler, like I said, just depending on
what it is.
(04:42):
And I always make sure that thewater bottle hat the water
bottle.
I always make sure the lunchboxor whatever he takes his lunch
and has a water bottlecompartment.
Most schools have refillablewater stations and so I always
make sure that he has a slot toput his water bottle in for when
he goes to school so he doesn'tjust have to carry it around in
(05:04):
his hand.
Another alternate would be Iknow they do sell like water
bottle carriers that you can getat your local store.
You can get them online thatyou can put the water bottle in
whatever is best for your child,whatever is convenient.
You know, cause I always sayyou want to reduce the amount of
stuff that your child carriesso that that's not weight on
their back, it's not weight ontheir shoulder, it's not tiring
(05:27):
their arms out from them havingto carry stuff, and it also
reduces the risk of them losingan item because they don't have
a lot of stuff to carry.
Number three I think this oneis a very important one Use
containers that use a lockingmechanism so that whatever you
(05:51):
put in there it does not spill.
I know that when you go and youdo your shopping they have many,
many, many of containers onsale, but not all containers
have like a locking mechanism.
They just have a standardtraditional lid, which means
that if you put that in achild's backpack and they happen
(06:12):
to start swinging it while theywalk into the bus, stop.
All their food is going to beeverywhere, it's going to get on
everything and it's just goingto create for a mess, and so you
want to try to prevent that.
I found that most of thecontainers that have the lock-in
mechanism are going to be yourglass containers.
They fit on there, they have alittle rubber ring around them
(06:35):
and then they also have asnapping mechanism that snaps
them to the container, whichhelps prevent leaks and spills.
New Face is very rough and toughwith his lunch bag.
I had to find something becauseI got tired of coming home with
food in the bag everywhere andhappened to clean out the bag.
So I was like you know what thestuff that I use to take to
(06:58):
work?
I'm just going to get you someof these containers, because I
know these are tried and true,so if it works for me, I know
that it's going to work for youas well.
There are new containers thatoffer many hours of warming.
I've started to see more kindof self-warming, kind of like
bento boxes type of things, andI think these are very good,
(07:21):
very well.
I don't personally have any, soI cannot tell you what the lid
situation is on them, but Iwould say, if you're going to
get your child one of those, Iwould err on the side of caution
to make sure that it doesn'toverheat or it doesn't burn them
.
Make sure it has a lockingmechanism for their lids so that
(07:41):
they don't have any spills, youknow, because what's warm food
if it's spilled everywhere inthe bag?
You know it kind of becomesuneatable then when it's all
over everything.
And vice versa, if your childis going to have a cold lunch,
ensure that you have the properamount of ice packs to go with
whatever they're eating.
Now, I've seen a lot of lunchbags come with an ice pack, but
(08:02):
it's a little, very small, thinones.
A lot of lunch bags come withan ice pack, but it's a little,
very small thin ones.
But if you go to, like, thesporting section of a store, you
can buy the thicker ones whichare going to be able to keep the
food cooler for longer.
The thin ones are good, butI've noticed that even if, once
you put them in, you take themout of the freezer and you put
(08:23):
them in the bag.
They're only going to lastmaybe about an hour, maybe about
an hour and a half, and that istruly not long enough to keep
your child's food cold.
I feel like I missed one, ordid I move it down?
I moved it down on my list, soI'll go ahead and where to go.
(08:47):
So, piggybacking on the use ofcontainers and whether they need
to be warm or cold, verify thetime that your child goes to
lunch.
This is going to help youdecide if your child should have
a warm lunch or if your childshould have a cool lunch.
Most elementary, I believe,they go to lunch around 1045,
between 1045 and 12, and theystart school around 745 or
(09:09):
something as such.
I feel like with this timeperiod, this can go either way.
Your child can either have ahot lunch or a cold lunch.
Most ice packs and most heatedcontainers guarantee for warm, I
believe up to six to eighthours.
In ice packs maybe 12 hours,just depending on the brand.
So I don't go with a specificbrand, so please do not quote me
(09:32):
on this.
Make sure that you do yourresearch and you do your due
diligence.
Don't say, charlie said thatthis is supposed to have.
No, I didn't say that, I said amajority.
So make sure that you decidethat this is my number one key,
my absolute stress reliever,headache reliever of all things
(09:56):
lunch for school.
Meal prep is key.
I know, I know you're probablylike Charlie, I don't even have
time right now.
So where am I going to find thetime to meal prep?
Well, I thought that same thing, but I was like you know what?
It doesn't really take thatlong because what I do is I sit
down on my tablet and I decidewhat what are we going to have
(10:21):
for the week?
And once you determine whatyou're going to have for the
week, then it's a little biteasier to meal prep.
My meal prep days are Sundayand Wednesday, and for this I do
this, because it allows me todo different food items and then
different fresh fruits andvegetables, so that he's not
eating the same redundant thingover and over and over and he
(10:41):
doesn't get bored and be morelikely not to eat it or more
than likely to trade it away orwhatever you have you.
I like to keep him engaged withhis food.
I pack his food particularly acertain way because he's an
athlete, but I like to switch itup, like I said.
So he has the fresher food.
He doesn't have food that'sbeen refrigerated for four days
(11:01):
and then Friday it's like oh,it's the same thing.
It doesn't have a good qualityfrom when it was first prepared
up until the day that he eats it.
All right, so determine healthyyet simple meals.
Remember, your kids are atschool all day and they're more
(11:23):
than likely going to eatbreakfast either at home or when
they get to school.
I know where I live.
They have a grant which allowsall kids to eat breakfast for
free.
Make sure you check whereveryou live to see if this is an
option.
It's very helpful to make surethat kids start their day off
with a good meal and they're notstarting off hungry.
(11:44):
And since most of them havebreakfast already, I would say
base your lunches off of whatthey have for breakfast, because
one thing you want to avoid isyou want to avoid heavy meals,
because you don't want yourchild sleepy and tired at school
.
Yes, you want them to be full.
Sleepy and tired at school, yes, you want them to be full, but
you don't want them to be toofull Because, remember,
(12:16):
breakfast and lunch, typicallyat a school, is only about four,
no more than five hours apart.
Unless there's a certaincircumstance where there's
testing or something like that,it may be a little throw it off.
So they can only build up somuch hunger within that four to
five hour period.
So make sure you're not packingmeals that are super heavy
stuff that once they eat it theywant a nap.
(12:40):
Ok, I don't pack things that cansend new face to the bathroom.
So I try not to pack thingsthat are going to upset his
stomach to where he's going tohave to go either pee a lot or
he's going to have to go numbertwo a lot or something like that
that can mess up his stomach inany shape, form or fashion.
I try to avoid things that aregoing to make him gassy any of
(13:04):
the nine.
So I always say be cautious ofwhat you put in your child's
lunchbox, because if they're notfeeling well, they get a tummy
ache, then you have to come getthem.
They're spending time at thenurse's office or they're
spending time in the bathroombecause their stomach does not
feel okay.
I also avoid packing junk foodsuch as fruit snacks, candy and
(13:26):
soda.
I don't let New Face pack thesethings because for one, they're
not good.
He gets that sugar or yourchild gets that sugar and then
they're going to have a middaycrash.
You start falling asleep inclass, things like that, and
it's just not good for them.
Overall, I'm very strict whenit comes to sugary drinks.
So New Face rarely gets todrink soda.
(13:47):
The only time I typically lethim drink soda is after a swim
meet, and so that's only abouttwo to three times a month.
Other than that it is water,but he does or I'm not saying
I'm not going to say he does buthe is allowed to have chocolate
milk after swim practicebecause it's a great, it helps
(14:08):
give them back what is depleted.
So he does from time to timedrink chocolate milk after swim
practices just to help him getthat protein and those carbs
quickly back into his body.
(14:28):
Like I said, he drinks waterwith all of his meals.
He probably drinks juice in themorning.
No, he doesn't, he drinks teain the morning.
But when he gets to school heprobably does sneak juice or
whatever.
I do put money on his littlelunch account that way, if he
wants to buy him a little snackor something, I do allow that.
I'm not one of those parentslike you're not gonna have this,
I do, but we do things inmoderation, okay.
(14:50):
So some of the examples let memake sure I'm going through all
my stuff I have, okay.
So my last bullet point isgoing to be examples of some
meals that I do for New Face forbreakfast, lunch and for snacks
(15:12):
on the side.
I do know that some schools,because of the school day, they
do allow kids to have snacks,but this is more so in
elementary versus middle schooland high school they do allow
snacks.
So I have some suggestions forthat as well.
For breakfast, new Face normallydoes waffles.
Lately he's been on his proteinwaffle cake and it's chocolate,
(15:35):
and I don't have a problem withthat because he swims for an
hour and a half, two hours eachday and on the weekends it can
be upwards of three hours.
So it's not doing him any harm.
It's actually a good way forhim to get his protein in.
And then we sometimes make itwith water, sometimes we make it
with milk, just to give himthat other extra boost of
(15:55):
protein.
I don't know why my words arenot together today To compliment
the waffles some of the thingsthat he has in the morning he
drinks black tea and sometimeshe'll put a little flavor in it,
a little raspberry flavor inthere he has apple slices,
turkey bacon or turkey sausage.
That's pretty much because.
(16:16):
So you have your proteins, youhave your veggies and it's not a
lot of sugar contained withinthat breakfast.
So that makes me really, reallyhappy.
Some days when I'm flexible andI'm working from home and you
know, if I have time, I wake upon time, or before he goes to
the bus, I do allow him to havedonuts, but that is very rare.
(16:37):
That is maybe once or twice amonth that he does that.
I do do it on testing days,just as kind of like, you know,
like a little pick me up to lethim know that he got it and he's
going to do good.
I do it.
Or like when school starts back, like school has already
started.
Here for a lot of places schoolhas not started, but here's
(16:59):
school has started already, andso he did get donuts on the
first day of school and hisdragon fruit refresher Lunch
ideas.
And keep in mind, all of theseideas that I'm giving you are me
in conjunction with New Face.
They're not solely my ideas.
These are more for New Face'sideas.
So for lunch he gets a chickenwrap and so, like, a chicken
wrap can consist of a tortilla,chicken, lettuce, tomato.
(17:22):
He's not one to do dressings orsauces or anything like that,
so he has a very dry chickenwrap and this is good, because
he doesn't eat lunch.
He goes to school at 8.30 and hedoesn't eat lunch until 12.15.
So I could put an ice pack inthere and it keeps his wrap cool
.
This is something that does nothave to be warmed up.
(17:42):
If he wants a warm meal, we'lldo something like Cajun sausage,
rice, broccoli, cauliflower,whatever vegetable he picks
green beans, cabbage, whatevervegetable that he picks.
And for snacks, what henormally does is on his way home
from school on the bus, he hasa granola bar or he packs extra
(18:07):
fruit and veggies with him,because by the time he gets off
the bus, he comes home, hechanges and it's time to go to
swim.
He gets out of school at 3.50,swim starts at 4.30.
So while he's on the bus, onthe way home, he's getting a
little bit of something in hisbody, so that he's not sluggish
and he's not tired at practice.
(18:29):
All right.
So those are all of my tips andtricks that I have for you guys
.
All right, so those are all mytips and tricks that I have for
you guys when it comes to schoollunches.
If you feel like I forgotsomething, let me know.
I want to know how you guys doyour kids lunch.
Do you take your kids lunchevery day or do you have them do
a hybrid?
Tell me what best works bestfor you and your family,
especially especially if you'rea family of multiples.
(18:51):
I'm only doing this for one, soI really don't know what that
multiples is about, because evenwhen New Face and Marco Polo
were both in school at the sametime, marco Polo either for
school lunch or something assuch we stayed closer to the
school so he would come home forlunch.
Whatever worked for him.
So this is different for me.
So give me some more ideas thatyou guys have as far as it
(19:15):
comes to school lunches For thisweek.
My last but not least, my songlyric of the week is going to be
India, irie, a Beautiful Day.
I love, love, love this songand it just makes me happy.
It gets me going If I'm havinga sluggish morning.
It gets me going in the morningand I'm in there singing,
(19:35):
carrying Oki and things likethat in the car.
Now, if you have not already,please make sure you like, share
and subscribe.
Make sure you're hitting thatnotification bell so that you
are alerted every time a newvideo drops.
So if you have listened to thisonly, please make sure you go
over to YouTube to see it inperson and would really like to
(20:00):
see you over there.
Make sure you are following uson Instagram, at thegagispod,
because I'm going to startputting some stuff on there
there's clips on there every dayso that you can get an insight
into what is coming up for thenew week leading up to the new
episode.
And also I'm going to startdoing some giveaways over there.
So make sure you're followingso that you can win, because if
(20:22):
you ain't following, you can'twin.
I am your girl, charlie Shantae.
This is the gag is pot.
Bye, guys.
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