#19 Eat Your Veggies and Fruits - Farmshare

Local Fresh Vegetables & Fruit

As a young one were you not told to eat your veggies?  And wasn't in-season fruit a special treat?

You may be that much older, but eating right now is just as important as it was back then.  Perhaps even more so in some ways, in that as a Mom you need to be your healthiest to look out for your family




The Benefits of Buying Local and being part of a Farm Share/Box Program

• You are getting fresh in-season produce to feed your family. 
• Because the food is local it is fresh, and guess what?  Fresh = tastier!
• Supporting local farmers means you are supporting the local economy.  What goes around comes around.
• It cuts down on the carbon footprint and reduces the waste materials of packaging.
• Nutritious and Delicious!

For those of you in the Greater Victoria Region you may want to check out Saanich Organics and their Box Delivery Program.  Saanich Organics is committed to providing folks with as much delicious and healthy organic produce as they can.

http://www.saanichorganics.com/

 Need a great read?  Wanna get all the dirt?  Take a look at the following:

 

" New farmers, experienced growers, environmentalists, and fans of natural, organic produce alike will find ground to love in All the Dirt. The new book by Rachel, Heather and Robin of Saanich Organics. " (excerpt from Saanich Organics Website)

 



http://www.saanichorganics.com/?page_id=774

Image courtesy of Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

 

#16 Stuck at Home Sick Tips

When You are all Sickies and stuck at home!

When you and your young children are all sick and stuck at home it can feel like each hour stretches on endlessly - you wiped out and yearning to "sneak" even a two minute lie down, and they, cranky, coughing and getting bored with being inside.  So......what is a Mom to do and not to do?

Here are a few ideas: 

• Do not get out the play dough recipe.  Making Play dough and runny, snotty noses are not a good match, while this might be a no-brainer, I was tempted by the "time factor" to get out the play dough recipe and give it a go.  That is until I saw my son take his hand and swipe it across his runny nose then wipe it all over his sleeve!
• Make smoothies - great for nutrition and fun for the kids to pick out the fruit (wash well).  Our favourite smoothie is made of frozen strawberries, frozen spinach, bananas, yogurt and milk.  The fun part for my kids is taking turns pressing the button to make it WHRRRRRRR.
• My all time standby is taking a whiff of my Vicks Vapour stick - useful and comforting with no sticky mess.
• Bath play time for your little one, no matter what time of day.  My favourite "sickie" bath scent is Life Brand's Hypoallergneic Vapour Bath with eucalptus, menthol, and rosemary.  Run bath, toss in a bunch of bath toys (Infantion Bath Tub Pals are great!) and a bath book, then sit back and watch your little one play away while getting clean and loosening their congestion (and yours too!).  While you are immersed in that steamy bath air imagine that you are really in a tropical paradise.
• Sleep.  Pretty basic tip, isn't it?  But one we Moms have trouble following!  When you finally get your little one(s) in bed, be it nap time or night time, do not, and I repeat - do not, feel compelled to use this time as "me time", or time for any other tasks.  The greatest task at hand for you is getting healthy again, and this means SLEEP!
• Your little one's attention span is going to be even shorter when he or she is not feeling well, so make sure you have some creative ideas on hand and interchange them frequently.  A few ideas:  Simon Says, playing "School" complete with paper and crayons, a favourite cartoon, building towers with cardboard boxes and then knocking them down, reading a book, practicing animal sounds, building a fort with a blanket or chair, or erecting an indoor popup tent and tunnel, have a summer picnic on the living room floor complete with picnic blanket and snacks.   The bottom line: just remember to go with the flow, mix it up, and make sure to include some physical activity (while monitoring your young one's sickieness)!
• Drag yourself to the shower soon after waking up.  I know, this can be so hard when you are so terribly tired and feel out of sorts.  It is easy to put it off, but don't - a shower will get all the bacteria off, and the hot water will refresh you.  Make it a short one if you must (with wee ones we don't often have a choice!). Here is a tip:  Alternate four times of approx. 30 seconds each between hot and cold water - it is very reviving and gets your circulation going.  This is the same premis behind the cold dunk pools at many hot springs resorts.
• Keep warm.  Allow yourself to cozy up in your PJs or favourite sweatpants and puffy sweater - all day!  Often when we are sick we are chilled easily.  The key here is to keep yourself comfortable.
• Nourish yourself. Have lots of soup on hand if your appetite is diminshed or your throat is simply too soar to eat.  DO NOT eat tomato soup if the latter, its acidity may irrate your throat.  I especially love butternut squash, chicken noodle, cream of mushroom, or sweet potatoe soup when I'm not feeling well, and the kids love these soups too especially if I throw in a few "wormies" (egg noodles).

Do you have any suggestions for when you and your little ones are sick? 



Image courtesy of  David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net