Keep your kids healthy and entertained over summer
The end of the school year has passed and the beginning of summer is here. That can mean only one thing in most households – the dreaded declaration every parent hates to hear will soon echo throughout every home, “I’m bored!”
Here are some ideas you can use this summer to help your child stay active, healthy, and engaged:
Start planning early. If you’re considering a summer camp for your child, begin researching potential camps in advance. Most summer camps fill up fast. Many of them require the child to have a physical performed by their physician prior to registration. Consider whether your child would do best in a day camp or a sleepaway camp depending on your child’s ability to feel comfortable away from home for a week or more.
Plan some fun arts and crafts. If your child enjoys crafts, plan some fun craft sessions ahead of time. Pinterest, Etsy, Nick Jr, Disney, and even Martha Stewart have creative craft ideas on their websites that you can use to keep your child occupied for hours.
Stay active. Devote time for exercise – take walks together at the park, ride bicycles together, participate in a local 5K race, take swimming or karate lessons, play a game of pick-up basketball together, or join your local youth sports teams.
In a recent article by The American Academy of Pe diatrics, these startling statistics were provided: Only 1 in 3 children are physically active every day.
Less than 50 percent of the time spent in sports practice, games, and physical education class involves moving enough to be considered physical activity.
Children and teens spend more than 7 hours on their phones and other electronic devices, including computers, and watching TV for entertainment purposes.
About 1 out of 3 children in the U.S. is considered obese or overweight.
Overweight teens have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight adults.
Fuel your active lifestyle. Summer’s downtime can lead to consumption of unhealthy snacks. Make sure your child has plenty of healthy snacks to choose from while they are home for the summer. Provide plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables for when they want something to snack on between meals. Rid the pantry of sugary drinks, sodas, and high-calorie juices.
Fresh, local produce is in its prime, making now the perfect time to take part in the farm-to-table movement. Whether you grow it yourself or shop at your local farmers’ market, it’s easy to taste the elevated flavor profile of just-picked fruits and veggies. Make the most of the season with these tips for storing, cooking, and savoring fresh produce.
Smoothies are a delicious, easy way to pack a lot of produce and nutrition into a meal. And if you’re processing the toughest whole foods, like dark, leafy greens, be sure to use a high-powered blender such as the Ascent Series A3500, which offers five program settings, including one for smoothies. A recipe for the “Everything Smoothie,” which incorporates a wide variety of produce found at your farmers’ market, is available at vitamix.com.
Take advantage of tomato season, preparing pasta sauces to enjoy now or freeze for those months when they aren’t readily available from local growers. Try adding red and green bell peppers, and even carrot shavings, to boost the nutritional value of a veggie Bolognese.
Soups make use of veggies now and later. Warm weather calls for cool concoctions like gazpacho or cucumber dill soup. A cabbage soup that combines hearty potatoes, onions and carrots can be made for cool fall nights or stored in your freezer for winter.
Remember that nearly all parts of produce are usable. Vegetables like beets, carrots, kohlrabi and turnips have edible greens that make an excellent addition to morning smoothies or a nutrient-rich stir-fry. Compost any remaining scraps.
Don’t be afraid of bruises or dents. Greens with slightly wilted leaves can be blended with a bit of water and frozen in ice cube trays for future use in soups or smoothies. If you see a great deal on fruit like strawberries or cherries, buy them and combine with sugar and pectin for an easy freezer jam, or dry them out for on-the-go snacks.
Shopping for whole foods at farmers’ markets is an opportunity to help local farmers and explore your culinary interests. The availability of specific fruits and vegetables ebbs and flows; capture each at its peak to enjoy the bounty throughout the year.