This post was contributed by Laura Rayburn for YoNaturals Organic and Natural Vending Business based in San Diego, California.

Perhaps your mother always told you that starting your day off with a good breakfast is the key to a great day. And she was right. The value of a nutritious morning meal can not be understated. Some research even points to a link between skipped breakfasts and elevated cholesterol levels and a lesser sensitivity to insulin. This is in addition to the general impact on one’s daily caloric intake since people who skip breakfast also tend to eat more calories throughout the day.

What foods should be included in a nutritious breakfast then? Whole grain cereals are a great place to start, especially if lowering your cholesterol is a primary concern. In fact, whole grain cereals stand out as a good breakfast food no matter what your health concern is. The other good news is that it’s also quick to prepare for those of us who find ourselves in a rush to get out the door in the morning.

Dr. Hamid R. Farshchi, a researcher at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, has delved deeper into this question of breakfast eating to figure out what kind of impact a skipped breakfast meal can have on an individual, and he began by first assembling a study group of 10 young and normal-weight women. One group was instructed to eat bran flakes with low-fat milk for breakfast, whereas the second group was asked to skip breakfast and eat the bran flakes around noon instead. Both groups were allowed two meals, two snacks, and one cookie during the rest of the day.

At the end of this short study, Dr. Farshchi’s team gave the women milkshakes in order to measure their metabolic responses. After taking blood samples and comparing those samples to samples taken earlier, the researchers noted that the women who had been skipping breakfast for the past two weeks had higher levels of cholesterol and a poorer response to insulin after ingesting the milkshake.

The women in the breakfast-free group also reported generally higher calorie intakes during the study, and although they showed no sign of a change in body weight, this may be attributable to the length of the study. Dr. Farschi noted that a longer study would need to be undertaken to determine the relationship between skipping breakfast and gaining weight.

One of the most interesting things about this study was that the timing of the meals seemed to have a large impact on the women’s metabolic rate and her cholesterol levels, as both groups ate the same things, just at different times of day. With this knowledge in hand, it becomes evident even to non-scientific types that eating a good breakfast is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So eat up, to your health. Cheers from YoNaturals!

There are many ideas available to parents to make their child’s lunch box healthier. Instead of parents giving their child money to buy food at the cafeteria it is more sensible for parents to fill the child’s lunch box with delicious and nutritious foods. YoNaturals would like to offer some healthy lunch box tips for you and your family.

To provide the most nutrition, parents should be certain to include foods from at least three or four food groups. And in a typical week, they should give them a variety of foods. Some of the nutritious foods than can be included are low-fat yogurt, whole-grain crackers, hummus, sandwiches made with whole-grain bread, lean meats, crisp lettuce, light mayonnaise and they can be topped off with other vegetables such as sliced tomatoes or alfalfa sprouts.

It is also a good idea for parents to involve their child in the making of their lunches as well. This will make it more likely that the child will eat what they put in their lunch box. Parents should be there to guide them through the process and make certain that whole grains, proteins and produce are included in the lunches. But worst case scenario, if you forget to pack your children a healthy snack, make sure there’s a YoNaturals vending machine nearby, lest they fall prey to the junk food vendors.

The following are some healthy ideas to include in a child’s lunch box:

• Breads and crackers that are whole-grain 

• Natural peanut butter

• Tuna fish packed in water

• Sliced raw vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and celery

• Fresh fruits such as berries, apples, peaches and bananas

• Fresh 100% juices such as apple, orange or grape

• Water 

• Herbal teas with a bit of honey

Most kids enjoy foods that are not so healthy and it is best to try to get them to try healthier versions of their old favorites such as:

• Natural potato chips or tortilla chips that are baked

• Trail mixes

• Raisins or dates

• small boxes of unsweetened cereals that are whole-grain 

• Nuts such as almonds, pecans, pine nuts or soy nuts

• Sunflower or pumpkin seeds  

There are ways to add variety too, peanut butter on a bagel makes a great lunch as well as chicken salad and whole grain crackers or sliced turkey pita bread sandwiches.

It is recommend that all dairy products should be low-fat including milk, yogurt and cheeses. Proteins should be lean as well such as turkey, roast beef, chicken and lean ham are great choices.

In short an ideal healthy lunch is a sandwich on whole wheat that contains lean meats such as tuna fish or turkey, a fruit, a vegetable and milk or 100% juice.

There are other ways to spice tuna or chicken salad by adding shredded carrots or chopped celery. Chopped grapes with diced chicken and light mayonnaise is also a tasty and healthy lunch idea. The standby favorite peanut butter sandwich can be sliced up with sliced apples or banana.

These are a just a few delicious and nutritious lunch ideas. The following are a few healthy snack ideas for the lunch box:

• Hummus and raw vegetables

• Cottage cheese and raw vegetables

• Pretzels with peanut butter

• Celery with peanut butter

• Low-fat muffins

• Energy bars

Healthy lunches should contain a variety of foods. Breads can include bagels, wraps, rolls or pita bread and all should be multi grain or whole wheat.

Meals should be easy to eat such as fruits and vegetables being cut into pieces for example apple’s cut into wedges, watermelon cut into cubes, kiwi slices oranges peeled and cut into quarters or celery or carrots cut into strips.

There are many other possibilities; parents must be creative to keep children interested in eating healthy lunches. We hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of YoNaturals Healthy Lunch Box Tips!
Author: Lisa Arnold