Get Schooled

Date: September 20, 2006 | Category: Beauty

Back to School is cool except for all of the wasteful, tasteless, toxic stuff that must be purchased for September. Avoid the pitfall of products plus – purchases that function the way they were intended but happen to have additives such as endocrine disruptors (quoting William McDonough). Go PVC-free. Most insulated lunch boxes stink, but Mimi the Sardine puts a fresh spin on brown-bagging it. The colorful cotton, kid-pleasing prints are non-toxic and Oeko-Tex certified. They never utilize chlorine and only use water soluble dyes. They also happen to be extremely durable, water-resistant and easy to clean (my son is embarking upon his 3rd year with the same one).

In the bag, I fill small glass containers by Frigoverre with tasty treats that are high in protein and vitamins, low in fat and free of pesticides. Some of my favorite kid-approved foods are:

ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGGIES

baby carrots
sliced red, orange, yellow, purple or green peppers (switch it up for variety)
peas
grapes
figs
nectarines (cut up)
bananas
strawberries
blueberries
raspberries
raisins
dried mangoes (from the bin)
dried apples (sulfur-free)
dried figs

PROTEIN

Neiman Ranch nitrite-free salami (it is the only meat that my son will eat)
hard-boiled free-range eggs
sliced sheep cheese
St. Benoit yogurt in ceramic carafe (avoid the kind you squeeze, even organic) with honey
organic garbanzo beans
organic almonds, cashews or walnuts (avoid peanuts since so many kids are allergic)
organic pumpkin seeds
organic almond butter and fruit spread sandwich

ORGANIC SNACK NECESSITIES

Late July crackers
Cheddar or Wheat Bunny crackers
Whole Foods 365 or Trader Joe’s Low Fat Blueberry Cereal Bars
trail mix without candy in it

DRINKS

water in an earthlust coated food grade stainless steel container
organic plain or chocolate milk (or soy substitute)
organic juice box

You will need a backpack to hold their 8 books and binders, unless your kid is over 6 and in that case you will need a golf cart:

Set a cool example so your children will re-think about the way they think about design. Athletic-looking backpacks like the Transcesion, Misterio and LA Originals are made from 98% recycled material. Earthpak’s website even tells you how many PET plastic bottles went into making each sack. I’ll drink to that.

HBP4 Organic Hemp Backpack is made from certified organic hemp that is processed without chemicals or pesticides of any kind in Romania.

Yellowport uses reclaimed trucking tarp to roll out a super strong and sort of euro-looking slackpack.

And if your youngsters are already toting around a laptop, get really smart with solar flair:
Voltaic, Clear Blue Hawaii, and  The Juice Bag by Reware are all powered by the earth’s best nuclear reactor – the one that’s 93 million miles away!

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