Spring—Time for a garden, time for a picnic!
by Patty McManus-Huber, Nash’s Organic Produce
Originally published in Peninsula Families Today, an advertising supplement produced by Peninsula Daily News and & Sequim Gazette
Children’s bodies grow using the food they eat as building blocks. That’s why it’s important to avoid food that contains fungicides, pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals. Your local farmers markets are great places to purchase healthy, fresh, organic fruits and veggies that taste delicious. Involving children in shopping the market with you and meeting the people who grow the food makes them more inclined to eat fresh food, too.
Now is also the perfect time of year to start a small garden with your children! Let them help choose the veggie seeds or plant starts, and show them or learn together how to plant them and what they need to grow. Putting a seed in the ground, waiting patiently for it to germinate and watching it grow is as close to magic as you can get. It also teaches patience and a closeness to nature that modern children rarely experience, and creates memories that can last a lifetime.
If you live in an apartment, try lettuces or strawberry plants grown in pots on a patio. You can also rent a space in your local community garden (two in Sequim and two in Port Angeles) so your children can see what other people are growing. Imagine their thrill pulling up carrots that they planted themselves and taking them home to show other family members and have for dinner!
Picnic Time!
Eating outside is so different from the ordinary places kids associate with meal time, such as the dinner table or school cafeteria. Parents can use outside eating adventures to encourage outdoor physical activity and healthy eating.
- Let your kids help you pack the picnic basket. If they have made some selections on their own, they are more likely to eat them once you open the basket and spread out the goodies. Keep in mind, if you don’t have junk food in the house, it won’t end up in the basket! Be sure to bring a tablecloth or blanket to spread on the ground. It adds to the festive atmosphere and keeps dirt and grass from getting into your food.
- Bring a cooler along with juices and water so everyone stays hydrated.
- If your kids hesitate to eat cut-up vegetables, bring some dips, like ranch dressing, hummus, salsa, and yogurt-based dressings.
- Include some healthy desserts. How about whole grain muffins baked with grated zucchini or chopped apples?
- Have fun with shapes! Julia Buggy, mother to Amara (left) and Rayna, made this delightful “flower garden” with a flower cookie cutter using sliced fresh and cooked beets, rutabaga and cucumber for leaves, broccoli sprouts for grass, leek strips for stems, and fresh herbs with seasonings and yogurt for one dip and hummus for the other. Apple slices can also be used as flower petals, and grapes can become little bugs in the garden that climb the flower stems to pop into the mouth!
- The fun also extends to make-believe. Turn lightly steamed and cooled broccoli florets into tiny trees and your child can be the giant or T-Rex that gobbles them up!
- Keep phrases like “it’s good for you” to a minimum and instead, tell children that healthy foods help them grow big and strong, like the adults who seem to be in control of their lives. Prove it to them by eating the veggies yourself. This goes for every meal, not just picnics.
- Use the leftover parts of the veggies from the cookie cutter for a stir-fry or veggie juice. Add an apple to the veggie juice, put some in fun little glasses and share it with your children. They are more likely to drink fresh juices if they see their parents enjoying them.
Spring is the time for new beginnings. Enjoy all it has to offer with your children.