Our family is heading back to school soon. Whether you homeschool or your children attend the local elementary, here are tips our family of eight live by to welcome back wellness, not overwhelm.
Sleep Schedules
Sleep is essential. WE LOVE SLEEP. As school approaches, we start adjusting our sleep and wake schedules. Summertime naturally brings longer nights, but when early mornings become mandatory, early to bed is a non-negotiable. Healthwise - adjusting your circadian rhythm before school starts keeps your cortisol levels down. High cortisol levels (especially in women - no fair) can lead to retained belly fat, more dramatic blood sugar spikes, and even make the blood sugar levels of foods you normally eat higher! No, thank you. We’ll take the nightcap.
Savory Breakfast
People always ask how we can feed our small army. Here’s what’s in it for Isaac and I when we make a nourishing breakfast. We noticed our kids behaved better, had fewer cravings, and had better days when they left with a satisfying savory breakfast. A full tummy learns better, experiences fewer cravings throughout the day due to more even blood sugar, AND experiences less neurological dysregulation. Our children can be more resilient to everyday stressors, and we can feel confident knowing they are well nourished when we start the day savory and protein-heavy.
Here are our 4 favorite breakfasts:
- Bone broth egg bites
- Breakfast hash with tallow
- Sardines on sourdough (surprisingly, kids love sardines!)
- Chicken soup (yes, for breakfast!)
Immune Resilience
Cut the sugar. Want to keep that immune system functioning well? Say no to heavily processed sugary snacks. Sugar cuts the immune system’s function by 50% for 5 hours. Most of us, unfortunately, can snack on something sweet as often as every 2 hours, meaning our immune system is never operating at full strength. Especially with the start of school, we say no to sugar and always make sure to “clothe” our carb-heavy snacks (pairing them with fat and/or protein!).
Here are some of our favorite kids snacks that don’t contain added sugar:
- Fresh fruit with beef sticks
- Fruit and cheese or nuts
- Unsweetened full-fat yogurt with granola
- Homemade ranch with fresh veggies
- Veggies and hummus
- Homemade gelatin gummies with fruit juice
Strategic Support
Consider supplementing with cod liver oil and elderberry syrup. While cutting sugar is essential, our immune systems can still use support when adjusting to being around more people!
Prepare the immune system with the RDI of vitamins A and D with cod-liver oil. I prefer to take vitamins A and D together, and always prefer a food source to an individualized supplement. If you have a vitamin D supplement that is working for you, great! Watch if you are craving vitamin A-rich foods (think orange foods like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and pumpkin). Prolonged high doses of vitamin D alone can deplete your vitamin A reserves.
Elderberry syrup is a great support to the immune system. Taking even low doses (½ tsp - 1tsp) regularly can help to significantly boost immune function.
One dinner, together a week
While it may seem like a low bar, being intentional to eat at a minimum of one dinner together as a family each week is good for your soul and your family’s culture. Keeping a sense of community as a family is so important to our emotional well-being. We all have busy schedules. Slowing down to enjoy a meal together nourishes our bodies and our souls and even helps to cultivate kindness in the home.
Wellness starts with simple, intentional choices made daily around the table, at bedtime, and in the kitchen. Here’s to savoring the season ahead with calm, confidence, and care.
Want a little support? Our Back to Wellness Bundle was made for you! 13 jars of kid-friendly FOND, plus a free recipe eBook.
