EcoParent Magazine: Back to School in Green Guide 2015

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The EcoParent Better Choices Guide to Going...

Back to School in

GREEN We’re sharing t ips on healthier lunches, better back-to-school shopping and even some great new reasons to walk to school. Whether you’re an eco-expert or, well, a li tt le green (sorry…) – we’ve got you covered!

Pack that lunch like you mean it! your healthiest school lunch yet!

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by meredi th deasley,, the resourceful mother he choices you make concerning what you feed your child can affect every single area of their lives. It can affect how they feel, how much energy, strength and brain power they have, how they look and whether they will age with vitality or not. By implementing some of these ideas, your child will have their best school year yet!

Proteins and Starches

A child needs five protein sources a day to help them grow properly. Having a protein and a starch every two to three hours regulates their blood sugar. When their blood sugar is stable, children will usually be in a good mood, can concentrate for long periods of time and will remain energetic. Ensure your child has one healthy protein source (e.g. organic turkey bacon, boiled egg, yogurt, goat cheese or legumes such as beans, chickpeas, lentils or green peas) and a starch (e.g. spelt/kamut/rice bagel, bread or crackers) for their main course in each lunch. They also need one or two other protein sources for snacks.

TIP:

Use a vacuum flask in your child’s lunch to increase the variety of foods you serve them. Try chili, chicken noodle soup, pasta with chicken sausage or shepherd’s pie. Any of these ideas can be leftovers from your family‘s dinner the night before.

Frui ts and Vegetables

A child needs 5-8 fruits and/or vegetables a day. Ideally, their lunch would contain one or two pieces of fruit and three vegetables.

Giving them a container of organic raspberries, blueberries and blackberries provides them with an array of colours, representing a variety of vitamins and minerals, and is appealing for them to look at! Rather than giving them the usual carrots and celery, children often enjoy more unique ideas such as snow peas, broccoli stems, raw sweet potato, green beans or orange, red and yellow peppers.

Providing garlic or onion hummus to dip the vegetables in is another way to ensure your child receives enough protein.

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G R E E N luncht ime

y Good Fats

Children need 2-3 good fats daily for their brains to grow to full capacity. Examples include avocado, fish, olives, nuts and seeds and fish or flax oil. Packing some tuna mixed with healthy mayonnaise on some rice crackers, guacamole with organic red tortilla chips or some sunflower seeds with organic dark chocolate chips are some ways in which to incorporate good fats into their lunches. At least one tasty, nutritious snack of this kind is required in every lunch!

Port ion Sizes

Many parents think that their children don’t eat enough. One serving is the size of your child’s palm without the fingers. That includes a serving of protein, fruits or vegetables. Imagine going to a restaurant and being served a steak the size of your palm. You might feel as though you had been ripped off! But really that is all we need of any particular type of food at any one sitting.

Water

Every child needs filtered water in their lunch. In terms of the amount required, a four year old needs four 8-ounce cups of water each day and an eight year old needs eight 8-ounce cups of water daily. Water is vital for energizing and de-stressing your child and it eliminates the waste from their bodies. It is crucial that your child choose the water bottle that they enjoy drinking from the most!

Some Thoughts on Junk Food

Now, some of you might ask why treats have not been included in these recommended lunch ideas. Healthy chocolate chips, apple sauce, dried mango or blueberries do excite many children, depending on the foods they are used to. Children don’t need to live in a bubble but putting junk food in their lunches is not doing them any favours. It’s better to save the sugar and chemical-laden junk food for the weekend, when they are not required to concentrate on learning – chemicals are the biggest culprit for Attention Deficit Disorder.

Love

Remember to hug your child when you hand them their lunch and send them off to school. Occasionally tuck loving notes or pictures that will bring a smile to their faces into their lunch bags. It’s amazing the comfort that small efforts bring to our little ones…and to the bigger ones in our lives too. When we feel loved, well, that is absolutely the greatest nutrition we could possibly receive. y

Take a closer look at the staples... not all tuna is created equal!

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s ubiquitous as a sandwich filling can be, tuna can also be a healthy and eco-friendly child’s lunch, or

choice for your downright scary.

Greenpeace Canada has regularly published a tuna ratings guide designed to help you put cleaner, greener (not literally) tuna in your lunchbox. We’ve used their handy-dandy new Tuna Ratings App to find out what brands are best based on tuna type, fishing method and green promise. Each of these three categories is given a colour rating: green=better choice; yellow=work-inprogress; red=bad option.

TIP:

Skipjack tuna is the species at the least amount of risk, making it a more responsible choice. Avoid yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye and tongol.

TIP:

When it comes to commercial fishing “FAD” doesn’t mean something that’s trendy. Rather, it stands for “fish aggregating devices”. A fishing aid used to attract larger numbers of fish, a FAD attracts more than just tuna and is considered particularly damaging when combined with purse seine nets. Look for tuna that is pole & line caught, troll or handline caught, or marked as FAD-free.

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Remember: Some brands are responsible for the best tuna as well as the worst, depending upon which of their products you choose.

READ LABELS CAREFULLY.

Brand and Variety

Tuna Fishing Green Type Method Promise

Ocean’s pole & line skipjack/ light tuna

P

P

P

Wild Planet pole & line skipjack/ light tuna

P

P

P

Safeway FAD-free skipjack/ light tuna

P

P

P

Raincoast troll-caught albacore/ white tuna

P

P

P

Western Family seawise, pole & line or seawise FAD-free light tuna

P

P

P

President’s Choice MSC, trollcaught albacore

P

P

P

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nut & seed butters – how they stack up

NUTRITION FACTS, HIGHLIGHTS AND BENEFITS (PER 32G/2T BSP)

Almond Butter

200kcal, 7g protein, 16g fat, 7g carbohydrates Potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc & vitamin E • Important source of antioxidant flavonoids

by holist ic nutri t ionist shavone doherty, BA, RNCP, ROHP

Cashew Butter

200kcal, 6g protein, 14g fat, 10g carbohydrates Copper, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc & biotin • Contains heart healthy monounsaturated fats • Stable fat

Friendly Fats

Essential fatty acids (EFAs for short) are lipids that the body cannot synthesize itself and we must get from food. EFAs have to be supplied to the body every day because they are a core building material needed for your body to function. EFAs make up the phospholipid layer of all cell membranes, which is considered the brain of the cell. If the membrane is the command centre of the cell, it must be supplied with proper fuel to promote cellular communication. EFAs manufacture all hormones and regulate the nervous system, which affects mood, emotion and nerve impulses.

Unfortunately, fat-phobia has created rampant EFA deficiencies.

As the science bears out, you no longer need to fear healthy fats. The start of the school year is a great time to increase EFAs in the diet and support your child’s mind, memory, and mood.

Sunf lower Butter

200kcal, 6g protein, 20g fat, 5g carbohydrates Vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, B1, B5, B6, phosphorus, iron & folic acid • Supplies more vitamin E than any other oil • Accelerates wound healing • High in arginine which regulates immune & hormone function • Cheaper than most nut butters

Sesame Butter (Tahini)

200kcal, 7g protein, 16g fat, 7g carbohydrates Calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, B1, B2, protein (especially methionine and tryptophan) • Amino acid profile is similar to soy and peanut • Aids in digestion, stimulating blood circulation and nervous system • Sesamin, a type of fibre, protects the liver from oxidation & increases vitamin E production • Exceptionally resistant to rancidity

Bulk Butters: Cheaper Yes, Quali ty Less

Nuts and seeds have high fat contents and will go rancid quickly.

Bulk butter bins are cheaper but the trade-off is lower quality oil. This occurs when containers are left exposed to the air, and oxygenation breaks down the molecular structures of fat. For this reason alone, I recommend buying airtight and sealed jars that have not been stored in direct sunlight. As a general rule, refrigerate all nut butters after they are first opened.

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Peanut Butter

here are very few downsides to nut or seed butters! Some, such as almond butter, are more expensive than others so offsetting the price by bulk-buying may work for you if you don’t buy a lot at once, thus reducing the rancidity problem. Cashew butter is a bit high in carbohydrates but, like any butters, moderation is key!

As with any processed foods, nut nutrients are impacted when the whole version is transformed into butter – the loss of the hull reduces the calcium content, however if you buy organic and/or raw, you will still benefit from the many virtues that remain.

There are many delicious nut butters available in the marketplace today. The following guide highlights a selection of nut and seed butters and their nutritional benefits. This will clear up much confusion when you are inundated with product information on your next grocery shop. y

200kcal, 6g protein, 17g fat, 6g carbohydrates Magnesium, tocopherols, biotin, folic acid, B1, B3, phosphorus & manganese • High in protein • Stable fat • High in antioxidant resveratrol

Toasted Soy Butter

200kcal, 7g protein, 15g fat, 8g carbohydrates Iron, calcium, phosphorus, B1, B2, B6 & folic acid • Comparable to animal protein in amount • leading brand is GMO free

Homemade Toasted Sunflower Butter 6 cups raw sunf lower seeds & 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt 1.

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Bake sunflower seeds at 350F for 20 minutes until lightly golden Transfer to a food processor and blend for 20 minutes Occasionally check the mixture and scrape down the sides

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EcoParent Magazine’s Back to School in Green Guide

As the seeds release their natural oils it will start to become creamy Process to your desired creaminess, add a pinch of salt and enjoy Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator Fall 2015

Label for school & daycare!

Buy online or at local retailers!

Label the essentials with our BPA-free, waterproof labels!

Dishwasher safe

Microwave safe

Ecofriendly

Waterproof

emilypress.com 1- 866-742- 0777

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Litterless Lunch Round-Up If your school doesn’t already require that all lunches be garbagefree, why not lead the pack and save both waste and money by going li tterless? Wi th the help of our pals – the li tterless lunch experts at Fenigo, who provided most of our test samples – we tried a ton of gear in order to bring you some of our favouri tes! (BT W - none of these are paid – they’re really our faves) Funkins – cloth napkins - Fun & pract ical, these not only cut back on paper waste but are a great way to add a personal touch to lunches.

Your child is sure to have their fave – we part icularly like the hilarious sushi print (not pictured here, obviously)! Made in Canada.

100% cotton. myfunkins.com

Green’s Your Colour – insulated container – Stands out because i ts wide mouth makes i t easier for li tt le people to eat from. We also found that the lid is t ight enough to stay on, but not so t ight that li tt le hands can’t open i t. Canadian owned, BPA, phthalate and PVC free. greensyourcolour.com

Emily Press – reusable labels – A great way to make sure you don’t lose all your awesome li tterless gear… but don’t end up wi th wornoff old st ickers gumming up your stuff ei ther! Canadian owned and super cute. emilypress.com

Onyx – two-level bento and cooler pack – Double walled, all stainless bento that will keep foods hot or cold for hours – and so sharp looking that mum & dad may keep i t for themselves! The ice pack is designed to f i t right in wi th food; i t’s small, food grade stainless and f illed wi th dist illed water. Canadian owned. onyxcontainers.com

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Innobaby – all-in-one tray – Stainless tray wi th BPA, phthalate, PVC and lead-free leak resistant lid, this is a great way to make taking lunch fun for li tt le ones.

Keeps food i tems totally separate – much to the relief of picky eaters! A US momfounded and run company. innobaby.com Lunchbots – divided box – Their all stainless trio is perfect for li tt le kids who might prefer small port ions of several things in their lunches … especially if they don’t like different foods to touch. Designed in the US and responsibly made in Asia, these are intended for dry foods only. lunchbots.com

Abeego – natural wrap – Made in Canada of hemp, cotton, beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil, simply shape i t to f i t using the warmth of your hands. Wash in cold water and mild soap to reuse for years. While i t isn’t leak-proof like plast ic wrap – we love i t because i t isn’t plast ic wrap! abeego.com

S’well – drinking bott les – Now there are A LOT of bott les out there, so what makes this one stand out? Well… they’re double walled stainless steel so drinks stay cold; they’re toxinfree and lightweight for wee ones; they have small openings, making them more manageable for li tt le mouths; they won’t leak even if left upside down in backpacks… and S’well works wi th Unicef to help provide clean water to kids. swellbott le.com

SoYoung – lunch box & cooler pack – The coolest retro-inspired designs you’ll f ind, printed on quick drying linen. Not just cute but pract ical too, these come wi th leak proof insulated interiors that are removable for easy cleaning – and trust us – ours has had to contend wi th more than a few messes! Try the sweat-free (for real!) ice pack to go wi th. Non-toxic and designed in Canada. soyoung.ca

Colibri – sandwich and snack bags – Designed and made in Mani toba, these are super high-quali ty wi th gorgeous, playful prints and lead and nickel free zippers. Water resistant nylon lining is FDA approved as food-safe. colibricanada.com Fall 2015

Most of these EcoParent Picks are available at www.fenigo.com EcoParent Magazine’s Back to School in Green Guide

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G R E E N supplies

Great Green School Supplies Fall is an except ionally busy t ime of year when you have kids and, let’s face i t, f inding eco-friendly school supplies can feel like a challenge. To lighten the load on your schedule, we’ve saved you the research t ime and listed some of our top picks!

R3VOLVED – Made ent irely of recycled materials, this great new Canadian line is available at Walmart. They offer a fully stocked pencil case to save you t ime! r3volved.com

Terracycle – Collectors and up-cyclers of all kinds of waste, we love their backpacks. terracycle.ca

EcoJot – Ancient Forest Friendly paper products who’s GIVE Program delivers notebooks and pens to children in need.

Canadian made and widely available for purchase at stores including Chapters. ecojot.com

Onyx & Green – Designed in Canada and made of most ly recycled and natural materials. Many i tems to choose from. onyxandgreen.com We love UNICOIN! Together wi th their parents, children can upload a drawing on unicoins.org, showing what they dream of becoming when they grow up. Then they exchange i t for a Unicoin, to support every child’s right to early childhood development, care and pre-primary educat ion. The H&M Conscious Foundat ion matches each Unicoin wi th one notebook and pencil. The material is being distributed to children around the world by UNICEF.

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G R E E N fashion

Better Back-to-School Fashion Shopping for back-to-school clothes was probably our favouri te event of the year when we were li tt le – how about you? Well, here are some ways to make that indulgence more sustainable.

Choose to Re-Use! Check out these great online children’s resale bout iques…

MiniTrade .ca

Invest in Quality Canadian! Support ing these amazing eco-friendly Canadian designers is a good thing in so many ways! Gorgeous, ethical fashions that are so well-made, they’re sure to be handme-downs.

Mini Mioche minimioche.com

Oui Me ouime.ca

Boskė Kids boskekids.com

Redfish Kids redf ishkids.com

Buy the Best of the Bigger Brands! Let’s face i t - we’re busy parents, and somet imes we just need to make i t happen - FAST! Good thing some of the big guns are doing their parts!

Me to We Style – An extension of Free the Children, Me to We Style is domest ically produced wi th all eco-friendly fabrics. Not only do they donate half of all prof i ts to their sister chari ty, they plant a tree in Kenya for every piece of apparel they sell. A full lookbook is available on their websi te. metowestyle.com Fall 2015

H&M – You might not know this, but H&M is widely considered one of the world’s most ethical companies. This September, H&M will introduce new denim styles made using recycled cotton from text iles collected in the Garment Collect ing ini t iat ive in H&M stores. The pieces for men, women and kids, are the latest steps toward H&M’s goal of creat ing a closed loop for fashion, and will be available in all stores worldwide.

Check out about.hm.com/sustainabili ty to learn more about their ini t iat ives.

BOGS – Top quali ty boots are not opt ional in Canadian weather, and any parent who has invested in these for their kid will tell you i t was worth i t. BOGS act ively supports numerous outdoor educat ion programs and urban farming ini t iat ives… oh, and you won’t be throwing these away at the end of the season – these boots are built to become handme-downs. bogsfootwear.ca

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Happy Back-to-School Season!

GO LITTER-LESS!

WATER BOTTLES EVERYTHING FOR A LITTER-LESS LUNCH COTTON NAPKINS #LUNCHWITHOUTWASTE BANANA GUARDS CHOPSTICKS GLASS, STAINLESS STEEL & SILICONE STRAWS SNACK & SANDWICH BAGS ICE PACKS UTENSILS LUNCH CONTAINERS BENTO BOXES HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS FUN LUNCHBOX ACCESSORIES LUNCH BAGS COFFEE MUGS FOOD STORAGE CONTESTS CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

VISIT FENIGO.COM FOR IDEAS

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Green Games on the GO by jacob rodenburg Does your child know the characters of a cartoon better than the names of the trees and plants in the schoolyard?

Can she navigate her way through a computer game more conf ident ly than she can through a nearby wood? How familiar is he wi th the living natural communi ty around him – the sounds of backyard birds, the surrounding grove of trees or the wet land by the edge of the road? Are we becoming, as environmental philosopher Neil Evernden suggests, “natural aliens” in our own backyard?

During weekends, after school and even at recess, let’s encourage our children to put away the screens and get outside. If we value outdoor t ime, so will they. Here are some green act ivi t ies for the trip to or from school, and some nature-based games for recess or after-school.

T IP: If you can, try walking, biking or even sledding to school! If you live too far for these opt ions to work, try parking the car part-way, or gett ing off transi t a stop or two early, and walking the rest of the way.

Activities for the Walk to School 15-06-22

• Make a rainbow leaf collection going from the lightest colour of leaves you can find to the darkest and everything in between.

5:36 AM • Count how many different bird calls you can identify.

• Get a book about native trees and plants and see what you can see on your route.

• Try the “oldie but goodie” of looking for pictures in the clouds.

• See if you can spot any bees or butterflies on your way.

Crafts to Make Make an acorn whist le

We know that oaks produce acorns each year. What is less known is that every 5 or 6 years, red and white oaks produce a massive number of acorns – as many as 10 times the number of nuts as in a typical year! Called a “mast” year, scientists believe that this abundance helps to ensure that at least some of the acorns will grow into trees. Is this a mast year? Visit your local park or nearby forest and look around. Find an oak tree (the leaves are deeply lobed). Hunt for an acorn and remove the cap.

Take the cap and place your thumbs over the hollow in a v-shape . Blow over your knuckles. Shift your thumbs around until you hear a sharp, clear whistle. Watch out for incoming dogs!

Make a spore print

Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi. They are one of the few plant organisms that don’t directly require the sun’s energy to grow.

Instead, they absorb the nutrients they need through special roots called mycelium. When it is time to reproduce, a mushroom sprouts up. Gills from under the head of the mushroom expel thousands of tiny spores. Some of these will eventually drift down onto moist soil and a new generation of mushrooms will become established. Collect several different types and place them in a basket. When you are at home or in the classroom, gently remove the stalk so just the head remains. Place

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G R E E N commut ing

the mushroom heads on a piece of paper (gill side down!). Experiment using dark and light paper (dark spores show up nicely on lighter paper and vice versa). Place a glass over each mushroom head. Leave for a few days. Remove the glass and carefully lift the mushroom straight up.

On your paper will be a beautiful and delicate spore print. Each species of mushroom leaves a print that has a distinctive pattern and colour.

Hang up your mushroom art and enjoy! You can also cultivate your own mushrooms with the spores! (to the internet, folks!)

Games To Play Fox Stalk

Vulpes vulpes, light on their feet and, oh, such smooth hunters!

Vulpes vulpes is the Latin name for the red fox. Here is a game to show how foxes hunt. You’ll need a group of people and a fairly large open space for this game.

Foxes are direct register walkers. They carefully place one foot in front of the other and the soft and hairy pads beneath their feet make virtually no noise. A fox’s front paw is slightly larger than their back paw and when they’ve placed their front foot down, the back foot registers in that exact same spot. Practice walking like a fox. Be smooth, be careful but mostly, be quiet!

Select two volunteers and seat them about 5 meters apart. Make sure their eyes are closed or that they are blindfolded. Can the foxes sneak between these spotters? Every time a volunteer hears a noise, they need point to exactly where the noise is coming from. If they are pointing directly at a fox, that fox needs to hunker down and stay put.

Can the foxes successfully stalk between the volunteers without being heard? It is harder than you might think!

Morning Glory School

Snake Sli ther

Pre-school to Class 8

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Education for the whole child, infusing BC curriculum with the holistic philosophy of Waldorf Education Registration accepted throughout the school year, please call to arrange a classroom visit or school tour

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Much maligned, snakes are an important part of many of our ecosystems. They control rodent and insect populations and scientists have recently discovered that the venom from a number of poisonous snakes can be used to treat various illnesses such as heart disease and stroke, cancer and Parkinson’s.

Since snakes don’t have any legs, they have to find innovative ways to get around. Snakes accomplish this by contracting a series of muscles and using the scales on their belly as “tire treads” to wind forward.

Winding their bodies back and forth, they engage in movement known as lateral undulation.

Snakes deserve our respect. Here is a game to help us appreciate the way they move. For this game, you’ll ideally need a group of 8 or more and one scarf or bandana.

Like a conga line, have children hold onto the person in front of them (not too tightly). You’ll need a head of the snake (the very front person) and the tail (the very back person). Loosely tuck a scarf, a bandana or a ribbon into the back of the tail so that it can be easily removed.

While everyone is hanging on, can the head grab the scarf without the snake collapsing? The tail tries to avoid being caught. What is interesting about this game is that the movements the group spontaneously creates are very similar to those that a real snake would use.

Outdoor experiences help our children connect to the very life systems that support us all. This back-to-school season let’s acquaint our children with nearby green spaces and teach them that a healthy community also means taking care of the health and wellbeing of our natural neighbours. y

250-752-2722 Qualicum Beach, BC www.morninggloryschool.ca