Healthy Winter Living for the Whole Family Part 1: Eating Right

        This winter, don’t let the cold freeze your healthy way of living! There are many simple ways to keep you and your family healthy through this chilly season.

        One of the best ways to save your money and improve your health is through home cooked meals. While going out to eat sometimes seems like the easier option, it is one of the top three causes of the increasing problem

of child obesity. On a snowy winter day when you are stuck indoors, cooking may not seem too bad. It can even be enjoyable if you find ways to get the whole family involved in the process. It is the perfect time to talk about your day and bond as a family overall. Here are some examples of meals to consider cooking with your kids:

Meal Choices List 1

Meal Choices List 2

Meal Choices List 3

Busy nights are unavoidable and we all have them sometimes, but that’s what quick and easy recipes are for! There are still many options for you to cook when you are short on time. You can also help yourself out by preparing the meal the night before or the morning of, so you will have less to do in the small time frame before everyone gets hungry for dinner.

        Everyone likes something to snack on when they are stuck inside all day, but there are ways to be smart and healthy about what you choose to eat. If you leave fruit and vegetables within reach, they will seem like the simple choice of snack for your family. It’s possible that you could even get your kids excited about vegetables by teaching them about “the rainbow” that they should be eating every day, which includes the various choices and colors of fruits and vegetables available. Some popular vegetables among children include zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, red peppers, carrots, and celery. There are also many healthy dips that they might enjoy, like ranch, black bean, and hummus.

One enjoyable and healthy snack requires:

-1 can garbanzo beans or chickpeas

-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

-1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon

 Blend these ingredients together until it is smooth and creamy and serve it with fresh cut vegetables immediately.

You can also keep your children healthier through the choices you make at the grocery store. Instead of choosing a juice full of sugar, maybe you can find one that tastes just as good but is 100% juice with no added sugar. It can be hard to say no when your child asks for a treat, but try to give them a healthier option and only say yes to the treat once in a while. If you are able

to find a healthier option that they enjoy eating, you may even see a difference in how often they ask for the treat, meaning you will be forced to say no less often. It also helps if you teach your children which snacks they should ask permission to have, like cookies, and which ones they can take on their own, like fruit and vegetables. Click here to view the 20 best snacks for kids!

Another component of healthy living is being active. Look for tips to stay active this winter in part 2 coming soon!

Halloween Fun At Home

Ghouls, Ghosts, and Goblins OH MY! Halloween season is quickly approaching, and with that in mind, we've come up with spooktacular experiments, crafts, and snack ideas for you and your children to create together!

Homemade green Flubber: You aren't a true mad scientist until you've created your own Flubber. This is a very hands-on experiment that kids will absolutely love and the final product is something that your children won't want to put down for hours! One of the best things about this experiment is that your child is able to play a big role in making the Flubber. While they are conducting this experiment, ask them questions along the way like "What colors are you using?", "How many drops of this did you put in?", or "What does the Flubber feel like?" Asking questions like this will keep your child engaged and thinking about what they're doing. To get more information for this experiment, visit this website. Click here

Magic Puff Paint: Have you ever wanted a painting to come to life right before your eyes? Well, when you create some magic puff paint all your paintings will take on a new life of their own! The directions are very simple and the ingredients include easy to find things like flour, salt,and baking powder. To get the rest of the directions, click on the link to this website. Click here

Make a Ghost Appear: Everyone know the classic volcano experiment where you combine baking soda and vinegar to make the volcano "erupt". Well here is a new and fun twist on that project. This time, you will combine the two ingredients but instead of an eruption, the final product will be a balloon inflating on its own! All you need other than baking soda and vinegar is a water bottle and a balloon. To make this experiment Halloween themed, get a white balloon and draw a spooky face on it while it's deflated. If you are interested in giving this experiment a try, take a look at this website. Click here

What good is Halloween if you can't have some creepily cute decorations around your house? Take a look at some of these simple and fun craft projects that you and your child can make together!

Paper Plate Ghost:
What you'll need
-Paper plates
-Black marker
-White paper
-White streamers or toilet paper
-String
-Tape
-Scissors
Directions
Step 1: Draw a spooky ghost face on the back of your paper plate
Step 2: Cut out some arms for your ghost and then tape them behind the face
Step 3: Rip off strips of toilet paper or streamers and tape them to the on the bottom half of the plate behind the face of the ghost
Step 4: Punch a small hole at the very top of the plate then pull the string through so that you will be able to hang up your ghost.

Foam Cup Spider
What you'll need
-Foam/paper cups
-Acrylic paint
-Pipe cleaners 
Directions
Step 1: Paint your cup with any color  you want your spider to be. Then set it aside to dry
Step 2: Take 4 pipe cleaners and cut them in half. Then bend each pipe cleaner from about a third of the way down. 
Step 3: Paint some details on your spider like spots, fangs, eyes, and a mouth
Step 4: Poke the shorter half of the bent pipe cleaners through the cup. Then bend the bottom of each pipe cleaner so that it creates a little foot.


Glowing Eyes
What you'll need
-Toilet paper/paper towel rolls
-Scissors
-Glow sticks (any color)
Directions
Step 1: Take a toilet paper roll and draw an outline of a pair of spooky eyes.
Step 2: Now, using a pair of scissors, CAREFULLY cut out the shapes that you have drawn on the toilet paper rolls.
Step 3: Crack the glow stick so it starts to glow. Then tape it to the inside of the toilet paper roll.
* You can use these to decorate the trees and bushes outside your house. It makes it look like there are glowing eyes watching you!!! 

Even mad scientists and monsters have to eat. What better way to refuel you and your kids than with a couple of frighteningly delicious snacks!

Witch's Hat Cookies: Who knew that hats could be so tasty? Especially a Witch's hat! This easy to make recipe will provide you with some of the most creative and adorable cookies you've ever seen. One of the best parts about this recipe is that there is no baking required. All you have to do is provide the ingredients and then you can let your child take care of the rest. After making these cookies, you'll wonder why you've never thought of something like this yourself. To find out more about this recipe, click on this link. Click here

Frankenstein Pudding: Frankenstein isn't just a fictional monster, he is also a snack! This recipe is perfect for Halloween parties because not only is it fun to eat, but you also get to draw your own monster on a cup! All you'll need for this recipe is vanilla pudding, green food coloring, clear plastic cups, and Oreos. To find out more about this recipe, click on this link. Click here

Gingerbread Skeleton Men: Gingerbread men aren't just for the holiday season! Whip up some of your own horrifyingly delicious skeleton men! the only difference between skeleton men and gingerbread men is how you decorate them. All you have to do is pick up a package of gingerbread cookie mix and some gingerbread men cookie cutters (if you don't already have some), and a tube of decorating frosting. If this sounds like an idea that you want to try, follow this link to the website. Click here

After giving all of these ideas a try, your house is bound to look like something straight out of a ghost story! You'll have spiders and ghosts infesting your halls, skeletons being served as snacks, and paintings that look like they're about to hop right off the paper! We hope that these ideas will help you and your children have one of the most fun filled Halloween seasons yet. Don't forget to keep checking our blog for new updates and other creative ideas as well!