Even I Can't Find a Replacement for Sausage

This morning we woke late so instead of rushing the kids to pack their own lunch I scampered through the kitchen to assemble their meals myself.  Grapes, peanuts, yogurt, roast chicken and cheese sandwiches on bakery bread, a tall water bottle and love.  I consider our selections pretty healthy, but if I look I can see salt, if I scrutinize I can see sugar, if I wonder I can see white flour and processed meat. I was recently approached to answer the question, "What should I pack my kids for lunch?" and I offered an extensive list, but I do realize adding foods together to make lunch can be tricky.

The go-to for lunch is a sandwich.  Peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, and BLT's; a few different food groups represented between two pieces of bread.  To make sure your sandwich isn't a processed mess, read your labels.  The big brand peanut butter adds hydrogenated oils to avoid separation; sugar and salt are also added to the paste.  Instead of getting a relatively good source of protein, you get a good dose of sugar, a nice dent in your sodium requirement and a dose of hydrogenated oil (I will dissect oils tomorrow if you are wondering why this is concerning).

Peanuts are a very nutritious food, so please do not beleive that I am suggesting peanuts or beloved butter is bad for you.  One quarter cup of peanuts have 35% of your daily value of manganese which your body needs in order to: utilize biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline; enhance bone strength; synthesize fatty acids and cholesterol; maintain normal blood sugar levels; promote optimal function of your thyroid gland; maintain nerve health; protect your cells from free-radical damage.  Peanuts also provide tryptophan, folate, copper, protein and vitamin B3.  Peanut butter is a good food choice, but make sure your label reads more like this:

And what about lunch meat?  Is eating salt cured ham a good choice?  What about a football sized chicken breast pumped full with brine to add flavor?  How about salami and other loaf meats and sausages?  I am a sucker for sausage, as are most Wisconsinites, but are they good for me?  Some research says that adding deli meat to your diet keeps portion size low and adds protein to any sandwich, but the reality is, "No."  A natural chicken breast is about 5 ounces, a natural turkey breast is about 9 ounces. If you wish for a roast turkey sandwich, buy a free range bird, roast it with your favorite veggies and herbs, slice it thin and put it on a great piece of bread.  (Honestly though, even I can't find a replacement for sausage;-)  Detour around the deli and head to the butcher in stead.  If you are going to eat meat try for all you're worth to eat the real thing.

It is a simple concept, I know, to eat real food, to drink plenty of water and to give your vitamins their vitamins. But it is difficult to live and practice this simple concept with all of the sugared, salted, brined, enriched, processed foods that are marketed as 'natural', 'healthy' and 'good'.  The best way to know you are getting natural, healthy, good food is to choose the foods without the labels.  After you shop, before you eat, remember to wash your hands.  See you tomorrow~