Feeding Your Family When Everyone’s Everywhere: Back-to-School Meals Made Simple

Hey team, welcome back. Oh my goodness. It's September 1st. How do you feel? Do you, feel maxed out already? It is September first? Me too. Cause last week I was walking into swim tryouts with two of my daughters.

And then I as walking alongside an older lady with. one kid in the stroller who was just passed out and then another kid and she was saying, oh man, I'm sorry, she's asleep, we're gonna have to make it through.

I was like, you know, this week is like that. And she said, yep, dad is at a soccer match with another kids and mom is back to school night. So, ya know I am on swim tryout duty and it was hilarious.

Like last week and this wake are just so much extra, not even grandma is pulled in it's bananas and thank goodness my mom is here visiting too and we were doing the same kind of thing and.

We also started homeschool this week yesterday was our first day and so last week I was making the schedule and getting it together and I. Was really excited to do that I love that.

I loved future casting and organizing a space last year at this time I shattered my leg and I didn't get to do that for our homeschool. So anyway, I'm just really into routines and lists and getting our schedule together.

And a big part of that friends is how then do I also get three nourishing meals into my child plus snacks and the steaks for For everyone listening is higher because we're contending with this issue.

We're working, actively working to resolve this medical issue, so we really need to be on point with the stuff. And then now, I mean, even now we are past this, but it's still top of mind.

So today I want to talk about exactly that about feeding your family well when your Family is never in one place because I've learned that quick and nutrient dense Feel like opposites and they don't have to be especially once you start thinking in terms of power foods the small additions that pack a disproportionate amount of nutrition into your food that your kids are already eating and if you follow the link in the show notes friends, you'll find the download for even more meals and snacks that fit within our eczema healing framework.

And they're all different than what we talk about today. So let's get into it. So friends, I felt inspired to record this this week because there's zero brand width.

There is no extra, right? And work doesn't slow down. And then you have zero decision-making capacity. I just still feel my brain is going like clunk, cluck, like click, click.

It just feels clunky just getting back into the rhythm. of school and all the other things like your calendar goes from a lot of white space, which was really refreshing to see to this color coded craziness.

And we're here for it. We're ready. That's what September is for. It's amazing. But you can't cook more during this time. So the goal of this week obviously isn't to cook.

More that's setting ourselves up for failure. it's not going to happen. You can make all of the dream lists you want and then you'll feel inadequate when you don't at all reach it.

So my goal is to help you guys decide less and then boost more. Prep once, assemble fast, and quietly upgrade the nutrient density of what you're already making all week long.

because your kids still need breakfast, lunch, and dinner and two snacks. Like, oh my goodness, that feels like so much when you're putting it all together in the morning if you are like not coming home for the rest of the day.

But you can do it. You can, you do, it you, can. No matter what your situation is, I promise. So let's go category by category. First up is breakfast and oh, my, goodness.

I've been making lemon chia pudding and it's amazing and you could make it the night before. Or you can batch four days at once, just canned coconut milk, chia seeds, lemon juice, and honey.

And it's amazing. You put it in jars, into the fridge, or you're done. I just put in one big Pyrex in the refrigerator, we scoop out of that, you are done and it is filling.

It adds omega-3s and is really, really yummy. Number two, which is a really good during this time of year, especially when it becomes more and more fall-like, is sweet potato toast.

hear me out. This is so much better. Such an upgrade from avocado toast which is just bread with avocado on it, which isn't going to work for our sweet little lexema friends right now, right?

So just slice a thin piece of sweet potato, put it in the toaster just like you would toast. You can cover it with ghee and sun butter and berries or banana, whatever you want.

And it's got that natural sweetness that kids like and it is warming. It's so, so good. And then always the smoothies, the smoothie packs. It's such an amazing Sunday prep move if you have the bandwidth for that.

And if don't, put it in the blender the night before and then that lets the frozen fruit thaw overnight in a fridge or on the counter depending on how cold it is there.

But that's the way, man. I love just putting frozen organic fruit, some sort of green, and the prebiotic tea, I just brew that at night and let that cool.

So then I pour it in as the liquid. Any sort of supplements that need to go in there, you can put in some collagen. And here is where I put one of my favorite superfoods, spirulina.

It's a blue-green algae. One of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. High in protein, iron, antioxidants, and all in just a teaspoon. And it has a strong flavor on its own, but when you blend it in a smoothie, you don't notice it except for the color.

So don' use too much. I've gone overboard and then it tastes like, tastes, like algae. Just make sure you do one serving, whatever it says on the bottle.

Perfect Supplements has my new favorite one right now, I cannot get fresh spirulina anywhere, But Perfect supplements has powdered, a really good powdered one and you can see the link where to buy that down in the show notes as well.

But it's just one of those quiet additions that does a lot of heavy lifting without adding a lock to your morning. Okay, lunch. School lunches are something else, school and daycare lunch is because when you're packing to travel, right?

That adds a whole other element. It makes the leftovers from last night a little bit harder to carry. And we know that deli meats aren't in for this season and that's okay.

You can do something inventive and amazing like rice paper rolls and kudos to you if you're able to do that in the morning like hats off to and that's incredible, but if You're looking for something with a low failure rate that the kids will actually eat then We've been into these brown rice tortilla wraps.

They're from food for life you can find them in most freezer sections in Most stores and You know, it has safflower oil in it. It's not like the number one best, best food ever.

But as far as a wrap goes, that's pretty good. And you can put in chicken or steak, lettuce, guac. I mean, all rolled up in a brown tortilla. If you cook extra protein at dinner, this is a two-minute lunch in the morning.

Which I'm all about. Coconut lime rice bowls is also a hit. Like you can cook rice with some coconut milk and portion it out with Some veggies, some Coconut aminos.

You can make this really really yummy and you Can put anything you want in there. That can work really Really well for your kids and for you and your spouse at work.

And I also like, you know, anytime that our kids won't eat the dinner that we have, then it is their option to eat hummus and veggies instead, like carrots.

You can make this like humus and veggie bento box. you can even add in rice crackers. And that is a lunch, not a snack. If you get those bento boxes and then portion it all out, because it's hard to pack that kind of stuff as a snacks.

I totally get that. But I love this. It's like a real lunch. And you should know for ultimate digestion rate, we're not pairing animal proteins and legumes.

So hummus gets to be the star of that meal. And I want to talk about sprouts for a second because they're one of those power foods that people totally overlook.

But sprouting actually increases the bioavailability of nutrients and seeds and legumes, and they just make them easier to digest and absorb. So that little handful on top of the humus isn't just a garnish.

I like to blend it in because if you just put it on the top, my kids are going to take that right off. If you blend in, they don't have a lot of choice.

Also, I think it really adds to the taste. I really like it. And it's just doing real digestive and nutritional work. So those are three really good options.

For dinner, I mean, sheet pan, chicken and roasted veggies, one pan. Minimal cleanup. Use the, if you care, parchment paper. and it sets you up for tomorrow's wraps.

I mean, there's just no way to lose on that. You can also do a coconut milk-based stew or veggie broth. The Instapot, man, the way for all the things for the legumes, grains, any sort of soup.

it's the best. And you can get creaminess from coconut milk, it doesn't have to be dairy milk or heavy cream. You don't need any thickener, you don' t need that junk to make these sorts of things.

It's just real food. That's all your kids need, that's what they want. If it needs to something fast because they're off to all the activities, then just remind them, remind that this kind of food will help them excel at whatever activity that they are excited about at the moment.

and it'll help them grow, and that will help with compliance. But all this stuff, guys, is so, so good. I mean, this isn't like, we're sliding sardines in front of them, which would also be amazing.

If your kid will eat sardeens, then power to you, do that. Because talk about superfood, that would be Okay, that's okay. And I also wanted to mention a way to super upgrade.

I mean, most dinners, you can add in organ meat powder into it. Perfect Supplements also makes a really good one. You can just put it into burgers, into soups, really anything, as long as you don't overdo it, just like the spirulina.

And it's just an easy, super fast way to get the most incredibly dense nutrition into your family without anyone even knowing that it is there and you not even taking an extra beat to put it in there.

Because organ meats are some of the nutrient dense foods that exist. I mean the B vitamins and the iron and just that real bioavailable nutrition that is really hard to get from anywhere else.

And a powder like the one from Perfect Supplements just lets you start in a scoop into soup or stew while it's cooking. It's no taste or texture change.

Then your family is getting nutrition most kids don't even get close to. So kudos to you. If you've never tried it, this is the season to start. One scoop in the pot and you're done.

For snacks, I've been loving these sun butter balls. You put in some butter, some collagen, a little sorghum flour and honey and you're done. You just roll them up, keep them in the fridge or the freezer and grab and go.

No thinking required. It's the best. Roasted chickpeas is a really good option. That's really crunchy and seasonable. However you like, sweet or savory.

and they hold up really good in a backpack all day. And I also really love roasted chickpeas as a snack. They're crunchy, they're seasonable, however you like, sweet or savory, and the held up well in the backpack too.

So that's the line up friends for when things are extra as they are in this season. Nothing that I just listed requires you to be a different type of parent than you already are.

You're making the food, you're feeding your kids every day and you don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen and none of this is asking you to do that.

It just requires you deciding once on a Sunday or whenever you have 20 minutes and, it's okay. even the night before. If you have five minutes, then you'll have enough time to get this done.

And you just layer in a few power foods along the way. My goodness, this goes such a long way, and those small, quiet upgrades add up to real nutrient density during a season when everyone's just running on complete fumes.

So that's not the way to live. That's how we want to life. Let's give them more. Our kids immune systems are already living on fume. They're exhausted.

Their eating up nutrients like nobody's business because they're battling eczema. We need to give all the help that we can in this department. But even so, life doesn't slow down.

You know it, I know And I hope everything that we talked about today just makes your week the next couple weeks a little bit easier. And if you are in the thick of it, dad at soccer, mom at back to school nights, grandma at swim tryouts, I just hope this gives you a bit of your bandwidth back.

So just pick two from each category, you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. and then let the wheat take care of itself. It's actually empowering just to have a plan and a simple one.

At that, your bodies respond to simple, you respond a symbol, bodies responded simple. Again, I have the link in the show notes for the perfect supplements, spirulina and the organ meat powder.

They have really great collagen that I put inside to the sunflower balls as well. And if you want even more ideas like this, but different ideas, I put together a free download, seven Exima-friendly meals and snacks that kids will actually eat.

And that's also linked down in the show notes. Totally free, grab it whenever you need a little backup on busy or even not so busy weeks when you have a bit more bandwidth, have it in your pocket for that time.

If you make the lemon chia pudding, tag me on Instagram at Exma.kids and I want to see it. Thank you so much for being here today, friends. Yes, you can.

You can do it. I'm rooting for you. And I will talk to you next week. Take care. Thank for helping with my eczema. Love you! Thank you for listening today, friend.

I know healing your child's skin isn't easy, but you're doing it one smart step at a time. If this episode gave you a little hope or a better night's sleep, leave a quick review so more exhausted parents can find eczema kids and finally rest easy too.

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