by Heather Ferber | Sep 21, 2019 | Back to School, Busy Mom Kitchen Tips, Eating for Energy, General Health, Nutrition, Peds Health |
Children all over the US have a week or more of classes under their belts, parents are appreciating the return to structured days, but some parents are already beginning to stress about packing lunches. No need to panic! Packing healthy, delicious school lunches can simple and enjoyable with a few tips from Heather Ferber of Better Health By Heather.
- Get the right supplies – a festive lunch box goes a long way in making healthy school lunches a lot of fun. Planet Box and UKonserve are two of my favorite brands that make high quality, durable, ecofriendly modular food containers that are easy to transport and clean.
- Plan ahead – Take a few minutes every week or two to map our favorite ideas and make sure the ingredients are stocked in your fridge. Map it out on paper, write or print it out, and hang in the kitchen. All you need is a list of 15 lunch options and that gives you three weeks of ideas that you can rotate for months!
- Fat/Fiber/Protein – Each meal should incorporate these three nutritional components to help balance your child’s blood sugars and help them stay focused, energized and satiated until the school bell rings around 3pm.
- Maximize Dinner Leftovers – Bust out of the sandwich rut by using your dinner leftovers and popping them into wraps or over rice. Think about creating a “bowl” concept with a protein, a few veggies and your child’s favorite carb (i.e. brown rice, potatoes, or corn)
- Make It Fun! – Get your children involved in the preparation and creative process. Engage them with vibrant colors, fun shapes, and silly lunch box love notes. The time you spend together in the kitchen is perfect for chatting, listening to music and evening practicing a few dance moves.
Simple, Delicious & Nutritious Lunch Ideas:
- Wraps
- Burritos/Bowls
- Quesadillas
- Cheese/meat/cracker/veggie tray
- Soups
Healthier Packaged Snacks:
- KIND Bars & Lara Bars
- Organic jerky
- Wholly Guacamole & non GMO corn chips
- Seven Seeds Greek Almond Spread & Veggies
- Organic Valley cheese sticks & cauliflower cheese chips (From the Ground Up)
- Wild Planet Tuna packets
- Made in Nature Supersnacks
- Quinoa quick meal (Kitchen & Love)
- Jicama chips
- Mama Chia Pods
- Nut Butter packets
- Popcorn
BHBH School Lunch Favorites:
- Chicken salad in sprouted or spelt wraps
- BLTA – bacon, lettuce/spinach, tomato, avocado wraps
- Egg, bean, cheese & veggies burritos (pre-make and freeze)
- Chicken/brown rice/broccoli bowl
- Salmon/quinoa/celery/onion bowl
- White bean chili
- Dinner leftovers!
Make your children simple, healthy school lunches!
by Heather Ferber | Aug 25, 2017 | Back to School, Busy Mom Kitchen Tips, Eating for Energy, General Health, Nutrition, Peds Health |
Between school supply shopping and last minute summer adventures, it’s also time to think about back to school lunches.
They don’t need to be complicated and pinterest worthy – just simple, delicious and nutritious.
I popped into Fox 6 Real MKE earlier this week to put a healthier spin on two lunch favorites – chicken salad and burritos!
Easy Chicken Salad Wraps
Serves 2
1 cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
2 whole wheat or sprouted wraps (or lettuce wraps)
1 cup brown rice, already cooked
1/3 cucumber, cut in matchsticks
¼ cup red onion, chopped
½ avocado, sliced
fresh lime
¼ cheese, optional
In a mid size pan, over medium heat, sauté chicken breast in teaspoon of olive oil with the taco seasoning until blended. Set out wrap and layer it with chicken, rice, cucumber, onion, and avocado. Add a spritz of fresh lime and cheese if desired. Roll up wrap. Enjoy!
Two middle schooler’s and a fourth grader! WOWZA! Where did the summer go?!
Easy Chicken Mason Jar Burrito Bowl
Serves 2 – Use 16 ounce mason jars
½ cup salsa
½ cup black beans
½ cup corn
1 cup cooked brown rice
fresh lime
cilantro
¼ cup red onion, chopped
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
½ cup tomatoes, chopped
½ avocado, chopped
½ cup spinach
Divide ingredients between two 16 ounce (pint size) mason jars. Layer ingredients as listed: salsa, black beans, corn, rice, fresh lime juice, cilantro, onion, chicken, tomatoes, avocado, and spinach. Put lid on jar and place in fridge. When ready to eat, pour into a bowl, mix and enjoy!
Good luck to all the mama’s out there that are sending their babies back to school this week and next. I LOVE summer and it’s always tough to see this special time with my kiddos come to an end. But I’m also grateful for some time to focus on myself and my own personal health and wellness goals.
Coming soon! The details regarding my next fall detox program (all new recipes!) as well as my first 28 day, Whole New You program.
Heather Ferber is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, AADP who helps busy moms get fresh, focused and energized. She is a detox specialist helping women to rebuild gut health, balance hormones and thrive. She enjoys empowering moms to take back their health and feed their families better with simple, everyday advice and suggestions that can be easily integrated into today’s modern family’s hectic lives. You can find her on Fox 6 Real MKE once a month, speaking and teaching classes in the community, cooking in her kitchen for family and friends, playing her piano to relax, or out running with the family dog.
by Heather Ferber | Aug 6, 2017 | Cancer Prevention, Detoxification, Eating for Energy, G.I. System, General Health, Immune System, Nutrition, Peds Health |
Your genes can unlock a new era of personalized medicine that will help you evolve into a healthier, happier life.
Whether you’ve taken a genetic test or plan to, these experts will teach you the best practices for using this information to alter your lifestyle, guide treatment and create better health!
I took a genetic test over 7 years ago and my only regret was not doing one much sooner! I’m planning to do another one to gain even more personalized DNA information.
More and more clients are coming to me to help with interpretation of their DNA test results. So, I’m sharing this excellent and informative upcoming summit information with all of you!
Register for The Interpreting Your Genetics Summit: REGISTER HERE
WHY ATTEND?
Your host, James Maskell, has gathered world-renowned leaders from genetics, genomics and functional medicine. These pioneering experts are on the front lines interpreting data to create improved health in patients around the globe. It’s time to join the movement to know who you are, and use that information to improve your health!
Register for FREE now HERE
OR, you can own all of the expert talks to watch at your own pace (plus, your purchase helps to create more of these valuable health talks!)
PURCHASE ALL TALKS HERE
The Interpreting Your Genetics Summit will teach you about:
*** Your predisposition for diseases and how to minimize manifestation.
***Genetic health traits your children are likely to inherit.
***Whether your medications and supplements are right for you.
***How to unlock previously unsolved health challenges.
***And more!
The Interpreting Your Genetics Summit is online and free from August 21-28, 2017!
I’ll see you online at this educational summit!
Heather
Heather Ferber is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, AADP who helps busy moms get fresh, focused and energized. She is a detox specialist helping women to rebuild gut health, balance hormones and thrive. She enjoys empowering moms to take back their health and feed their families better with simple, everyday advice and suggestions that can be easily integrated into today’s modern family’s hectic lives. You can find her on Fox 6 Real MKE once a month, speaking and teaching classes in the community, cooking in her kitchen for family and friends, playing her piano to relax, or out running with the family dog.
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by Heather Ferber | Aug 4, 2017 | Busy Mom Kitchen Tips, Eating for Energy, General Health, Nutrition, Peds Health, Recipes, Weight Management |
Popped over to the Fox 6 Real MKE Studios the other day to make a few homemade summer salads and dressings. You can watch my segment here.
Store bought salad dressings are often loaded with unhealthy fats, hidden sugars, undesirable soy products and way too many calories.
And store bought clean eating/healthier dressings can carry a hefty price tag of $5-$7 or more for a small bottle or jar. YIKES!
So why not learn to make your own?! Make it healthier for you and your family and lighter on your grocery store budget.
You definitely won’t miss the bad fats, excess sugar and unwanted calories.
Summer Fresh Chicken Salad
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded/chopped
1 cup roasted corn
½ cup tomatoes, chopped
½ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
½ jalapeno, seeded and chopped (optional)
½ avocado, sliced (optional)
Mix first 6-7 ingredients in a bowl. Top with sliced avocado if desired. Drizzle with the Simple Summer Lime Salad Dressing.
Simple Summer Lime Salad Dressing
2 limes, freshly juiced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon stoneground mustard
1 teaspoon honey
sea salt, pepper to taste
Put the freshly squeezed lime juice in a mason jar. Add the olive oil, mustard, and honey. Put lid on jar and shake well until emulsified. Add sea salt and pepper to reach desired taste. Store in glass mason jar in fridge for up to 5 days.
Summer Salad
3 handfuls mixed greens
1/3 cup fresh peas
¼ cup radishes, sliced
½ medium carrot, shaved
Put greens on plate. Layer on the peas, radishes and carrots. Drizzle with Yogurt Ranch Dressing.
Yogurt Ranch Dressing
¾ cup yogurt
¼ cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
½ – 1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ – 1 teaspoon onion powder
splash of celery salt (or sea salt) and pepper
splash of lemon juice to thin if desired
Put all ingredients in glass jar. Shake until well blended. Add in splash of celery salt and lemon juice if desired.
Sundried Tomato Quinoa Salad
1 cup already cooked quinoa
¼ cup feta cheese
¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup scallions
¼ sunflower seeds
4 large basil leaves, chopped
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Drizzle with the Simple Vinegar & Oil Dressing.
Simple Vinegar & Oil Dressing
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ fresh lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt and vinegar to taste
Heather Ferber is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, AADP who helps busy moms get fresh, focused and energized. She is a detox specialist helping women to rebuild gut health, balance hormones and thrive. She enjoys empowering moms to take back their health and feed their families better with simple, everyday advice and suggestions that can be easily integrated into today’s modern family’s hectic lives. You can find her on Fox 6 Real MKE once a month, speaking and teaching classes in the community, cooking in her kitchen for family and friends, playing her piano to relax, or out running with the family dog.
by Heather Ferber | Jun 30, 2017 | Blending, Busy Mom Kitchen Tips, Eating for Energy, General Health, Nutrition, Peds Health |
The chaos of summer has the potential to rock even the best of the healthy kitchen routines, including my own. But I’ve learned that doesn’t have to be the case!
Once again it comes down to having a plan in place to know what’s available for breakfast on the run during our busiest summer mornings as we prep for tennis, camp, play dates, adventures and more.
Today I’m sharing a few of our family favorites that add sanity to our crazy summer life and allow us to remain in our clean eating zone.
Here are the top 5 whole foods morning meals that my kiddos enjoy during the summer:
- Organic or Nondairy yougurt with toppings – our current favorite yogurts are Stoneyfield Organics, Siggi’s plain/vanilla, Kite Hill plain/unsweetened vanilla, and So Delicious plain/unsweetened vanilla. Assorted toppings include chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, almond slivers, walnut pieces, fresh berries, dried fruit, cacao nibs, and granola. Store your topping favorites in glass jars in the pantry so you can quickly lay out an “assembly line of toppings” if needed.
- Sprouted toast with nut butter and low sugar jam – our current favorite sprouted breads are Angelic Bakehouse rye, 7 grain and cinnamon raisin. For nut butter I look for organic brands on sale or non-GMO brands where both have “nuts” as the only ingredient. We also enjoy the no-sugar-added sunbutter blends.
- Qi’a or homemade oatmeal mixed blends with toppings such as cinnamon, cardamom, nuts, seeds, and berries. We’ve tried to invent our own version of Qi’a but have not perfected it yet so I try to buy boxes when they are on sale.
- Eggs – fried, scrambled, poached, hardboiled and they easily mix with your favorite veggies. You can even prep egg burritos in advance and freeze them for future. Check out my Fox 6 Real MKE segment where I shared my egg and veggie burrito recipe!
- Smoothies – get creative with your fat/fiber/protein combination and that will keep you running strong for extended periods of time.
All of these are easy to prep , put in paper bowl or on a paper plate or in a large cup to take on the road if needed.
A couple of my other personal favorites include my Energy Quinoa Bowl and Quinoa-Berry Breakfast Bowl – both those recipes will be included in my upcoming 28 Day NEW WHOLE YOU program which will launch in July.
Heather Ferber is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, AADP who helps busy moms get fresh, focused and energized. She is a detox specialist helping women to rebuild gut health, balance hormones and thrive. She enjoys empowering moms to take back their health and feed their families better with simple, everyday advice and suggestions that can be easily integrated into today’s modern family’s hectic lives. You can find her on Fox 6 Real MKE once a month, speaking and teaching classes in the community, cooking in her kitchen for family and friends, playing her piano to relax, or out running with the family dog.
by Heather Ferber | Mar 15, 2017 | Back to School, Eating for Energy, General Health, Nutrition, Peds Health |
Two of my most frequently asked questions when working with clients are “What do you snack on?” and “What do your kiddos snack on?”
It’s time to write a blog post about snacks! YAY! And I’m going to break it down a bit for you into snacks I love during detox, snacks I love OUT of detox, and snacks my kiddos love. This will give you some great suggestions to try at your house!
DETOX SNACKS -for during detox time
- Smoothies
- Juices
- Small green apple, half green banana, or a cutie topped with sunbutter
- Wholly Guacamole topped with fresh lime juice, garlic and cilantro and plantain chips or Flackers
- Chia Pods – vanilla and blueberry are my fav. You can find at Whole Foods and other healthy grocers
- Coconut/Almond Milk Yogurt – topped with a few berries and hemp seeds
- Veggie crudités – carrots, celery, radish, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers
- Go Raw Sprouted Seeds – lots of flavors and options!
- Go Raw Sprouted Cookies – yes there are cookies for detox!
- Homemade Trail Mix – sunflower/hemp/chia/flax seeds with coconut flakes, goji berries or golden berries with a few pieces of other dried (unsweetened fruits) mixed in or 70% dark chocolate pieces or cacao nibs
- Superseedz – a fantastic mix of flavored pumpkin seeds from salty to savory to sweet
- Dark Chocolate – 70% or above
- Homemade Bone Broth – see my recipe here and watch me make it here
- Energy Orbs/Protein Balls/Whatever you want to call them – there are a million and one different recipes for these types of energy orbs. I always have a few of them included in my detox programs because they are so simple to make and taste delicious. You can usually freeze them too! Detox approved energy orbs would be grain free/dairy free/soy free/nut free/processed anything free and have only fruit sugar to sweeten them.
OTHER MOM SNACKS – out of detox
- Anything listed on the detox list
- Black bean dip with crudités or plantain chips
- Healthier bars – KIND bars (lower sugar ones), Chia Seed bars, or GoRaw bars (higher in sugar though)
- Justin’s Almond Butter packets – throw them on a small piece of fruit. YUM!
- Tanka Bars – apple/orange peel or spicy pepper are cleaner options
- Hail Merry – dark chocolate macaroon bites. Be careful! They are addictive. Even my kiddos like them and they are $$$$$ (I love the vanilla ones too!)
- Raw/Sprouted nuts – my favs are almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, macadamia, and pistachios (never met a nut I didn’t like)
- Dang Toasted Coconut Flakes – chili lime are awesome! Watch out for the sweeter ones – they have a lot of added sugar
- Navitas – coconut chips and superfood bars – wide variety!
- Salsa – with nonGMO corn chips or plantain chips
- KeVita’s! An entire line of sparkling probiotic beverages that are delicious!
KID SNACKS
- EVERYTHING you see LISTED ABOVE…plus….
- Steel cut oats – topped with a hint of honey or fruit
- Organic yogurt – I mostly buy Stoneyfield and Siggi’s (not certified organic)
- Fried egg with slice of sprouted toast – Angelic Bakehouse is our family favorite
- Homemade nachos – organic corn chips with cheese and veggies
- Organic stove popped popcorn with sea salt and nutritional yeast. And yes, sometimes organic butter – YUM!
- Black Bean Brownies – yes! My kiddos love them as they are delicious! Here’s my recipe.
- Homemade muffins and breads. Lots of clean eating recipes out there to try. We enjoy trying recipes from 100 Days of Whole Foods and the 52 New Food Challenge.
- Organic turkey jerky or beef jerky – I’m not so much a fan but my kids do enjoy it.
Please feel free to share some of the favorite snacks at your house! Love to hear what others enjoy!
Heather Ferber is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, AADP who helps busy moms get fresh, focused and energized. She is a detox specialist helping to rebuild gut health, balance hormones and thrive. She enjoys empowering moms to take back their health and feed their families better with simple, everyday advice and suggestions that can be easily integrated into today’s modern family’s hectic lives. You can find her on Fox 6 Real MKE once a month, speaking and teaching classes in the community, cooking in her kitchen for family and friends, playing her piano to relax, or out running with the family dog.
