Healthy School Lunches!

Ahh, memories of the school lunch program. Pizza dripping with tasty oil, tater tots crisp and shelf stable for years, canned pears, iceberg lettuce with slivers of preserved carrots, and good old chocolate milk. Was there really anything better?

YES! So here you have it! Recipes, ideas, and hopefully a bit of inspiration as to WHAT in the WORLD to eat for lunch!

Our home was always a buzz before school. Our kitchen woke up at 5:15 AM every morning as the high school crew (round one) prepared breakfast and lunch.

Sandwiches, wraps, salads, trail mix, and an array of fresh fruits and vegetables get packed into the infamous brown bags and off they ran! With a fresh smoothie, they were out the door.

Round two started at 7:00 AM with only a few people left to feed. Same buzzing routine, and then kitchen duty. Ah, everyone is off with a healthy breakfast and lunch. Two meals down, and one to go!

Why did we subject ourselves to a buzzing kitchen? Because we know from 23+ years of child rearing experience that eating well PAYS OFF! Our children RARELY (emphasis on rarely) got ill when they were school age or caught any virus that travelled through the school ranks. Their bodies are full of living enzymes that just take care of those pesky viruses before they multiply. Stand back, and let YOUR family fight illness with one simple thing…healthy eating!

Health lesson 101. All food needs to be broken down once it is in your body. This requires living enzymes. Minerals are needed to balance the body for breakdown and transportation of nutrients. If your body does not have enzymes and minerals from the food you eat, it will take them from other places in your body LIKE YOUR BONES! There you have it, a HUGE cause of osteoporosis. Acidic eating, smoking, poor air quality, soda drinking, these conditions all make your body work double time. (Milk? Calcium? Calcium is a MINERAL that comes from the earth, which is where the cows get calcium. Leafy greens! Veggies! All loaded with calcium! But that is another newsletter and presentation. FACT: In countries where people do not drink milk there is little to no osteoporosis! Check that with WHO (World Health Organization))

Recap 101 - Something needs to break down that candy bar, salty chips and chocolate covered donut! So the best thing to do is to EAT LIVE FOOD! Live food provides the trillions of cells within your body the living enzymes and minerals they need to function as designed. That’s it! You just passed health lesson 101!

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Recipes:

JAM PACKED LIVING LUNCH FOOD IDEAS:
(We highly recommend organic food, please read "What is Organic Anyway" for explanation)

Sliced Cucumbers Apples, Apples, Apples
Cherry Tomatoes
Sugar Snap Peas
Salads Green Beans
Rainer Cherries
Bing Cherries
Mushrooms
Grapes
Carrots Carrots with OG Dip
Oranges
Clementines
Nectarines Peaches
Celery Radishes
Fruit Salad
Any Berries
Pears
Bananas
Lettuce
Mangos
Kiwi
Sprouts
Raisins
Trail Mix
Dried Fruits
Broccoli
Cauliflower Florets
Olives
Raw Cheese
Fresh Pickles
Boiled Egg
Egg Salad
Soups
Salads (eat lots of salads!)
Raw Sauerkraut
Healthy Cookies
Raw Cookies OG Yogurt
Mini Sweet Peppers
Homemade Granola / Bars

Celery with Peanut Butter and Raisins, Popcorn or “Cheesy” Popcorn (see recipe on back), Peanut Butter and Jelly, Peanut Butter and Lettuce, Peanut Butter and Banana, or Peanut Butter and Honey on Sprouted Wheat or Gluten Free Bread, Sprouted Bagel with fresh tomatoes – yum!

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LIVING SANDWICHES AND WRAPS
Try Sprouted Whole Wheat Breads or Wraps or Healthy Gluten Free Breads with Coconut or Vegenaise Mayo in place of traditional mayonnaise! Include a slice of avocado, hummus, raw cheese, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, sliced red peppers, tomatoes, and sprouts!

Use Romaine or Green Leaf lettuce as the wrap and exclude the bread!

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HUMMUS - The Staple
Using a blender we combine: 15 oz canned or cooked garbanzo beans or black beans rinsed and drained,1 tea Tahini (sesame spread), 1-2 tea lemon or lime juice ½ tsp. salt, 1-2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup water (more or less, it depends on desired consistency) Blend all together and enjoy! This is a very basic recipe. We enjoy adding roasted red bell peppers or sun dried tomatoes as well before blending.

Enjoy! Hummus keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
and kids LOVE it with lettuce, sliced cucumbers and sprouts!

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TRAIL MIX
We use OG nuts and seeds, as they have no preservatives or sprays and have not been radiated. Enjoy mixing up whatever you can find!

Ideas: Walnuts (an absolutely great nut, full of omega 3), pecans,
almonds, peanuts, brazil nuts, cashews, raisins, dried berries, dried
dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (we love dehydrated and
salted pumpkin seeds), pine nuts, dried apricots (Organic are brown,
don’t let them scare you), and dried apples. Store on counter or in
refrigerator! Eat nuts and seeds often during the week!

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NUTTY GRAPE SALAD SPREAD
This is a favorite sandwich spread. I just chop up whatever nuts I
have around, and add them to minced grapes.
Add Chia seeds or sesame seeds and mix with Vegenaise.
This is great on bread or just on a pile of lettuce!

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YUMMY RAW BANANA COOKIES
3 bananas, mashed
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup raisins or dried berries
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup pecans or other nuts, broken into small pieces
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oatmeal, ground in food processor or blender

Mix all ingredients, adding oatmeal last. Roll balls in some coconut
and/ or chia seeds and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate until set!

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“CHEESY” POPCORN
This is a hit! Pop your popcorn. Melt a few tablespoons or more of butter or Tea Seed oil (we sell it, and cannot find it anywhere else in America for some reason)

Add a few tablespoons of NON fortified nutritional yeast and some
salt. Combine well with the butter and mix with popcorn! We use Tea
Seed Oil (NOT tea tree oil..) or coconut oil instead of butter and MAN
is it great!

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GROOVY GRANOLA BARS!
3 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, brazil, peanuts, etc.
Just make sure they are not too large! )
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup dried fruit of your choice (raisins, cranberries, apricots,
blueberries, cherries, coconut, mangos etc)
½ cup toasted or raw pumpkin seeds
(toast raw pumpkin seeds at 350 for 6 minutes)
½ cup flax seed
MIX ABOVE INGREDIENTS
TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL
½ cup rapadura or raw sugar cane
½ cup honey
2 TB OG butter
¾ tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, honey, and butter together in a saucepan. Bring to a
ROLLING boil, reduce heat a little and boil on reduced heat for 5
minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour syrup over dry ingredients and stir to mix well. Spread ½ cup
chia seeds (or sesame seeds) over waxed paper. Press mixture into
a square (works best if you have oil on your fingers!) Let rest, cut and eat!

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And now….the list of items you do NOT want in your lunch box because it feeds your cells
NOTHING healthy!

Pop tarts, white bread, white anything, fruit roll ups (unless YOU make them), gummy worms, spaghetti o’s, lunchables, pre-packaged rice crispy treats, Doritos (trust me, you do not want to know what is really in them), cheese wiz, candy bars, fruit juice boxes (way bad for teeth and stomach lining), fruit loops, cereal bars, or traditional lunch meats. There are dozens of other items for this list, we just wanted to mention a few!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – REALLY YOU ARE!
IF YOU WANT TO BE ALIVE – EAT LIVING FOOD!
IF YOU WANT TO FEEL DEAD – THEN EAT DEAD FOOD!

It really is that simple. Having presented and worked with tens of thousands of people across  the USA, I can assure you that what you eat determines 99% of your health, the health of your organs, your digestive and circulatory systems, and every system of that incredible body! IF you have cancer cells grow, IF you get type II diabetes, IF you get the common cold, IF you catch the flu, IF you have skin conditions, IF you have allergies, the answer starts with your food! And guess what? You control your food! Well, you can if you are an adult….all those children out there are dependent on their caregivers to provide food that builds healthy living bodies – full of nutrients and minerals!

The Challenge: Make a simple change today. Drink 2-4 cups of fresh lemon water each morning and eat more living food than dead food and just wait to see how you feel! YOU CAN

DO IT! FEED THOSE CELLS what they NEED!

To your GREAT and ENERGETIC health! - Karen Urbanek

Karen Urbanek has studied and practiced health and nutrition for over two
decades. Her knowledge is very diverse in most areas of natural healing and
natural health. Having presented to thousands of individuals throughout the
nation at numerous universities, hospitals, doctors’ offices, expos, schools and
businesses, her excitement for health is contagious!