This is the most dreaded part I do as a parent — preparing my children’s lunch for school. I easily run out of ideas and more often than not, just give them money for it. And it does get expensive.

The idea of packing lunch for school is to ensure that your children are eating right and not wasting money buying food that may be overpriced. In some schools, lunch are subsidized, hence it is free. But you can’t be sure about it’s nutritional value as well.

So, doing a little bit of what a friend has suggested, I’ve rounded up the kids and discussed with them what they want to bring to school for lunch. This way, I’d eliminate packing them food they won’t end up eating, which means it will just go to waste. Letting them in on the decision also helps to know the kinds of food they’d love eating. During the discussion, as parents, we can also provide inputs like why having fruits is important or why certain foods are better than the ones they actually like to pack.

Have a checklist handy when you’re discussing, so that this becomes your list for when you do the grocery and cook the meal. It should make it easy for mothers who think of what to cook next, when the kids have already said what they really want to eat.

And aside from food and drinks, make sure to also incorporate taking supplements in you kids’ diet. School can be very demanding and they may need lots of vitamins and minerals just to get through the week.

Obviously, healthy eating, especially during pregnancy, includes a lot more than a list of things to avoid.  When you really only need to add about 300 calories a day for a healthy pregnancy, it matters even more what you actually do put into your body and your baby’s body. 

But for those of who try in whatever small way to eat healthy, we know that it’s not the things we should eat that give us problems, but the things we shouldn’t.  I mean, a chocolate-covered granola bar is healthy, right? 

So, for those who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, here is a list of don’ts for eating during pregnancy.  Some of them might surprise you. 

• Unpasteurized dairy products (milk, cheeses).  I didn’t even know you could get these things unpasteurized these days.

• Raw sea food.  Oysters and raw sushi are on this list.  Though why anyone would eat an oyster is beyong me, and living with two shell-critter eaters has not solved the mystery.  Anyway, these things could have bacteria that can harm you and your baby.

• Fish.  This is more of a “limit yourself” than a strict “don’t.”  But even cooked fish can have unhealthy levels of mercury, which can affect how your baby’s brain develops.  However, a couple of servings of fish a week can give you a good boost of vitamins.

• Alcohol.  Even though my mom was told to drink a Porter a day through her pregnancies, you should avoid all alcohol.  Period.  Don’t mess with this one. 

• Caffeine.  If you’re as lucky as I was, your body won’t want your morning cups of joe (a miracle in my case; I’ve been a faithful coffee drinker since I was 14).  But this also includes teas and sodas, and yes… even chocolate.  This is another brain thing–your baby’s.  Caffeine can cause ADHD and learning disabilities in fetuses.

• Diet drinks.  The ones with aspartame can cause headaches in both you and your wee one.  If you must drink these, choose the ones with splenda or stevia.

Don’t forget to replace all those don’ts with some healthy do’s, like eating more often, eating fruits and vegetables, and drinking plenty of water.