Head over to the giveaway page for Crest products.

A few nights ago for Pack meeting, my husband acquired about 20,  #10 cans from the cannery and had the boys make stilts.  Erica, in all her jealousy really wanted to recreate the activity at home.  Except we didn’t have any more #10 cans.  So creatively, she put together a plan. 

She began by announcing everyone needed to help her eat 2 cans of peaches so she could rinse out the cans and use them.  She had Wade punch holes in the side with one of those sharp can opener puncture thingy’s.  Then she threaded some nylon rope through.

What you could do next: Have a race!  (we couldn’t cause we only had one set).  My kids in just a matter of  a few days completely wear these down.  The entire can has collapsed and folded in on itself.  But they sure had fun while they lasted!

Later today, an opportunity provided by Crest. I’m interviewing Olympic speed skater, JR Celski.  My kids had a few questions about his healthy habits.  But I need more!  Any of you have questions I could ask him?

Carrot fingers! My kids liked these! They’ll take anything dipped in ranch.  Halloween has never been more delicious.

My sister is working on some big design changes for Super Healthy Kids.  Its so exciting, I can’t wait till its done.  Until then, I am praying all you who read in google reader DO NOT visit my site until its done!  Being half done, its a bit… what’s the word… difficult to navigate.  Wait for the invitation to see the new site, and you won’t be sorry!

TUESDAY: Whole Grains

My very earliest and youngest memory is of my mom’s butterfly sandwiches.  She would have us stand at the black door and yell at the top of our lungs,

“AHOY BUTTERFLIES, AHOY BUTTERFLIES”

And as we would yell, the butterflies would fly into our house and land on our lunch plate.  After my mom had time to “prepare” the butterflies, she would call to us and let us know we were successful in bringing the butterflies in.  Then we would feast upon them and relish in our success.

We love sandwiches for lunch at our house.  Here is what we like:

• Peanut butter and jelly
• Veggie sandwiches (lettuce, tomato, and sprouts)
• Peanut butter and honey

And we love to use different breads:

• Oat bran bread
• Whole Wheat bread
• Whole wheat pita bread
• Whole Wheat mini bagels
• Leftover dinner rolls

Other lunch ideas

Wednesday: Beans, seeds, nuts Techinically, Edamame.  But calling them poppers was so much more appealing to picky eaters.  Ever since Cathy posted about how her PICKY, non vegetable loving son loved edamame, I’ve been meaning to try it. Not even really for my kids, but for myself.

So, finally I bought the huge bag in the frozen section of the grocery store. It came with 12 individual bags of frozen edamame (or baby soybeans).  You simply take one bag out, pop it into the microwave for 3 minutes and its done. At first I ate the whole thing. I figure the entire food always has more nutrients than the pieces inside.  I felt like it was kind of bitter, and tough to chew.  Then I read the bag:

CAUTION: Pods are not edible!

Too late. Then my kids started to gather.  Part of my strategy includes refusing to let them try such wonderful and grown up foods.  Then they start to wonder what is so great about it, at which point I give in and let them try “Just a tiny bit” telling them I wanted it all for myself.  I showed them how to pop the bean out of the pod (the bag had directions for this) and pop it into their mouths.  They had a great time doing it! They loved the taste.  Flip flopper actually said:

“Can you put some of these in my lunch tomorrow?  I want my friends to try them too!”

You don’t have to ask me twice, of course I put some in her lunch.

A bonus, 1 1/2 cups of edamame contains 8 grams of protein!  Fabulous protein source.

FRIDAY: Exercise

As you know, I love hiking.  Living in Utah has made it possible for us to explore many different mountains and canyons, all with a unique beauty only found here.  This is so true about Southern Utah!  I am in awe every time I go there and am amazed at the majestic scenes.  For those familiar with the area, we hiked in Snow Canyon, somewhere in Leeds, and then Zion’s National Park.

Hiking with kids is somewhat of a learned talent.  They get tired easily, cranky, bored, etc.  There are ways to keep it interesting and to keep them going.  Here are some things we have tried:

• Keep hikes short!  You don’t have to take them to the TOP of the mountain to have fun.  The shortest hikes are sometimes the best.
• Bring food and water.  Take many rest stops and offer them a snack or a drink.
• Play games.  Twenty questions or trivia games are easy on a trail.
• Respect their fears.  The flip flopper is afraid of heights.  This was not good considering the boys had their heart set on a pretty difficult hike.  But we obliged. (And frankly I was glad. My 6 year old is giving me a heart attack with his fearlessness).
• Stop to talk about wildlife. We found dozens of lizards.  Every time we would stop to observe and watch.
• Have an exciting destination. We love hikes that end at a waterfall or a pool (The Emerald Pools at Zion’s are gorgeous).
• Don’t rush.  Use the time to really connect with your kids. Nothing else is competing for their attention like tv or video games.  Talk to them and enjoy this time you have them to yourself.
• Bring their friends.  My kids LOVE it when we invite their friends along.  Once when we invited the flip-floppers friend, she had mentioned she never had been hiking! I was glad we were able to help her experience something so fabulous.
• Have your kids repeat the safety rule:  If you are lost, STAY PUT!
• Plan your hikes ahead of time. We have the book, Best Hikes with Children Utah to help us plan the hikes ahead of time.

Getting your kids outside can be easy when there is so much of nature to observe.   Any advice you have to make hiking fun for kids?

Related POsts:

Hiking, Biking and More

A Kids Hike

TUESDAY: Whole Grains

Who needs fatty old cupcakes, when you can have delicious, light, whole wheat-carrot muffins!  I love these muffins because it both incorporates whole grains AND vegetables!  The pureed carrots in this muffin gives it the perfect flavor.  Here is proof healthy food can be as much fun as a regular old cupcake!

Gourmet Mom linked to these adorable leprechans you can print.  It looks like these little leprechans are digging for GOLD!!
 

Be careful with the little guys, but my kids know there could be money or gold anywhere or in anything on St. Patricks day. Especially if there is evidence of leprechan feet, close by.
Have fun today.

Tip of the day: Having fun while you and your kids are active.

Remember when you didn’t have to register and pay to play soccer. Your kids would leave first thing in the morning, and you wouldn’t see them till they were called in for dinner.  Clearly times have changed, but there are still so many ways your kids can be active without organized programs.

We took our kids sledding in the beautiful mountains of Utah yesterday and today.  My 9 year old was outside on his sled for FOUR hours! He hasn’t had that kind of exercise since he discovered Goosebumps books and would rather read all day than play outside.  I kept checking up on him to see if he had been frost-bitten.  It was 18 degrees, but clear blue skies. Absolutely beautiful!  The kids were well bundled and never got cold cause they were moving so much.  It’s so easy to keep your kids in the house all day cause it’s snowing, or cold, or too hot, or too hazy, or too dark, or too …you fill in the blank.  But kids are pretty resiliant and they love to be outside.  I often tease my sister (www.theorganizedmom.net) that her two year old is a prisoner because she darts outside running any time the door opens like she’s been dying to get outside all day.

So if you have to supervise, if you have to take them into the mountains, if you have to initiate a discovery walk around the neighborhood, just set aside some time each day to do it.  You all will be happier for it.

The many benefits of exercise for you and your child include building strong bones and muscles, disease prevention, weight control, mental well-being, and best of all….helps them sleep better.