67: Healthy School Lunch Ideas with Andrea Daigle

School lunches are often a challenge for many parents, especially those who want their children to eat healthy, balanced meals. On today's episode of the Soaring Child Podcast, Andrea Daigle, one of our regular guests, joins the show to share tips and tricks to make it easier for parents to provide healthy school lunches to their children.  Andrea Daigle is a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner with a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping families support their children with ADHD using natural strategies.  If you'd like some healthy school lunch ideas, make sure and tune in to this episode!    Key Takeaways: [3:55] The first step to getting the school on board with dietary changes  [7:07] Why it's so much better to send a school lunch than to eat in the school cafeteria  [7:36] Ideas of what to put in the lunch box [9:46] Quesadilla recipe with Mango-Cabbage Slaw [12:13] Elements for a balanced lunch box  [13:26] Strategies to get kids to eat the food in their lunch boxes [16:06] Additional ideas for lunch boxes  [18:44] How to avoid buying school lunches  [21:03] Important mindset shifts for parents   Memorable Moments: "One of my least favorite mom duties is packing a school lunch." "You really want to build a relationship with the teacher and with the school when it comes to managing the whole cafeteria." "The best place to start is by talking to the teacher. Let her know about the changes your family is going through and let her know that you really need her help to stay on track." "A simple conversation with the right people can make a world of difference." "You're going to get so much more nutrition from that lunch that you're sending than anything that comes off of a cafeteria tray in most places." "When you start to pay attention to what you're eating, you start to notice all of these places where you can make some really good changes." "Lunch doesn't always have to be a sandwich. It can actually be tacos or pasta, overnight oats, or things like that." "The best thing I think that anybody can do is to make a list or a chart of all the different food groups..so your proteins, your vegetables, your fruits, and grains, and add all of your favorite things to that chart so that you have a list to always go back and refer to. And you can build your lunch off of that list." "My number one tip for this is to get the kids involved." "Not only does the planning make this process easier, but my child is happy." "I could not let ME be the reason my son was not getting better."   How to Connect with Andrea Daigle Free call: https://bit.ly/3X5ZVvT   Dana Kay Resources: Website: https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADHDThriveInstitute/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adhd-thrive-institute/mycompany/  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/adhdthriveinstitute/  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute    International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/  Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass – https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl   ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program – https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/