Eat Healthy! Whether you have a toddler or a teenager, getting the family to eat healthy can be a challenge especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Sometimes all it takes is some fun and creative dishes and snacks to inspire healthy eating. Here are three simple snack ideas to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your daily routine.
Another way to inspire kids to eat healthy is by including them in snack and meal preparation. While it may take more time to make a meal, this is a great way to teach kids about making healthy choices. You can give kids age-appropriate tasks to help with too. For younger kids, pouring items into a measuring cup and bowl, mix or counting ingredients are great ways for them to help. For older kids, teaching them how to cut ingredients or even make dishes while being supervised.
As much as we love having our little ones help us make food, there are just some things that they aren’t quite ready for yet. At the same time, we don’t want to squash their passion for cooking and helping. Thankfully, Melissa and Doug has some great play food sets that not only model the real-life action, but also teach kids about making healthy food choices. Our little ones love the cutting fruit set, which gives kids the opportunity to “cut” wooden fruit. There is also a food group set, which I have enjoyed having the kids put the food into baskets of “matching” food. We then talk about why an item goes in one basket and not in another. One of our other favorite sets is the BBQ Grill. Little guy loves watching dad grill, and Melissa and Doug’s BBQ set is a great way for him to stay safe and grill alongside dad. Many of the sets include menus so kids can take “orders” and custom make dishes for others. This is probably our little guys favorite thing to do especially when it comes to the smoothie and salad sets.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW! It’s so important to be continually learning. Whether you are a child or an adult a resolution on most lists is to learn something new. Educational Insights is all about igniting the spark in every child. They want to ignite curiosity, imagination, independence and all the ways a child gets excited about learning and growing. They toys and games for children of all ages and abilities and many of their products have received top awards. Some of our favorites include GeoSafari Jr. Talking Globe where your kids can explore the world through wildlife warrior Bindi Irwin. The smart pen is great for adventure seekers and the more than 1,000 facts help introduce geography.
If your kids are into coding, or you want them to be, Artie 3000 is the coding robot preprogrammed with shapes and games, or you can write your own custom code! This item is only on pre-order right now as it doesn’t come out until the end of February.
Their Design and Drill products are fantastic and the See-Through Creative Workshop is up for Preschool Toy of the Year. It supports STEM as busy builders can drill colorful bolts directly into a see-through base, easily following the pattern card or creating their own, custom designs. Plus they have a cool robot and sparkle bot to encourage engineering-based play.
Their Nancy B’s Science Club items are to encourage girls to fall in love with science. The Microscope and MoonScope were both award winners and they both have activity journals with them too.
Aside from products that help you learn something new, classes and sports can also help you learn a new skill and the YMCA is the perfect place to turn to. The Y is more than a gym and you can easily find something for the whole family. With 18 locations in San Diego it’s great to know that when you join one, you have access to them all.
Whether you want to learn a traditional sport like soccer or swimming, or something more niche like lacrosse or rugby, the Y has classes for all. They also have gymnastics and pickleball, martial arts and yoga. Plus in January you won’t pay the join fee. It’s been waived for new customers!
GET ACTIVE! The start of the year is a great time to get back in the swing of being active together as a family. From hiking by the beach to taking in the views from mountain, there are lots of options for every level. It can be fun to make a list of places you want to hike or explore together as a family. One of the things we love doing is picking out a few new pieces of workout apparel to inspire us in our New Year’s goals. We love Lululemon because they have so many great looks that you can stay warm in and still look fashionable. From leggings with mesh to running skirts and lightweight down vests, there are so many great options that you can wear not only to your workout, but also to the school pick up line! We also love their new Ivivia line for girls. They have items geared for several different activities. If you are in San Diego, the Westfield UTC location has an Ivivia located inside the Lululemon store.
BUCKET LIST! Dreaming up what you want to do and where you want to go is the fun part. And a vision board can help your family to help keep track and check off bucket list items. These can be big like hitting up all the baseball parks in America, traveling to all 50 states, or smaller but quality like making it a point to have dinner as a family at least once a week.
In order to create one you just need a few items: poster board, magazines, newspapers, glue stick and scissors. Go through the pages of the publications and cut out pictures to represent what you want to do… an airplane for travel, a map for the world, African animals for a safari and such. Glue them onto your board and you can cut out different letters to spell words that are important to you too.
Bucket list items can be closer than you think too. There are many locations you can drive by car and feel a world away. The Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa is fantastic for families. Located in Dana Point, the resort is situated on a dramatic bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and just went through a multi-million-dollar renovation. Some of the areas that stand out to us are that upon check-in, your kids will get a passport and they are encourage to get stamps throughout the hotel and then when they collect them all they get to pick a prize out of the treasure chest. Plus they have a Children’s Lounge, and the resort hosts movie nights in their Pacific Amphitheatre complete with complimentary old fashioned popcorn, drinks and candy.
The pool is family-friendly and the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Kid’s Splash Zone is one of the only resorts in United States with a long board and short board. Once you jump on these surfboard simulators you feel like you are riding a wave in the ocean as water sprays all around you. They also have a great relationship with the Ocean Institute and stream live video for guests.
We were given items from Melissa and Doug, Educational Insights, Lululemon, and Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa. All of our thoughts and opinions are our own.
