We all know we should eat healthier! I decided to make up some fun ideas to help you get your whole family interested in eating healthier! When we were growing up, we were able to eat things that we wouldn’t eat now! So before you start reading each adventure there will be some information.
Organic Food: This is the Seal from the USDA! When you see this circle with the word “Organic” under the letters “USDA” you can trust the product that it is sticking to has been grown without artificial pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. That means when you pick up that nice, big, juicy apple it won’t we covered with bug spray!
1st Adventure: Let your family do the shopping at the Local Farmer’s Market. You can tag along! Just give them the shopping list, and watch them have fun filling it. Let them learn how to weight produce. Hold up a rare vegetable and let them guess what it is, or what it can be used for. You could set this up like a Field-Trip! It will take time, but you will be surprised at how much fun you can have doing something as simple as grocery shopping! Older kids might want to ask question of the vendors. They should be able to find out how much money a garden can produce. Or they can keep track of how much money you save by shopping there.
Farm Fresh Salmon: This is cheaper than the wild caught Pacific or Alaskan Salmon. Don’t stop reading yet! This fish could be raised in stagnate ponds. There are no requirements as to the living conditions or what kind of feed is given to these fish. These fish are brown or tan colored. We have noticed that some places inject pink dye into “Farm Fresh Salmon” to fake-out their customers. The reason we have noticed this is because the dye runs off the plate! You must completely trust the restaurant you are eating at before ordering fish! I think it is best to not eat fish from a farm pond.
2nd Adventure: If you have a fish hatchery in your area, take the family to check it out. Let them learn up-close what a healthy fish looks like. There are many wonderful lessons to learn at the hatchery. You might get to see how the fish are protected from hungry Eagles.
Be sure to bring your fishing poles! The hatchery should know of a good place where you can catch fish to eat.
Have you ever eaten Buffalo? If you have not done that yet, you are in for a wonderful surprise. The meat is tender, lean, and very much like beef. It usually is grass feed on an “Open Range” that means no chemicals or hormones have been injected into it. We can now get Buffalo/Bison meat at our local grocery store.
3rd Adventure: Take a day trip to see some “Open Range” Cattle or Buffalo. Have fun; pack a picnic, take some of the neighbor’s kids with you. The children could keep track of all the wild animals they see. At the end of the day, see who has the biggest list. It is a very amazing thing to see a real Buffalo! Remember your camera.
We have a place near here that is called “Bone Yard Hallow.” Old pieces of Buffalo bones can still be found there. It was a Indian Hunting Ground. At that same place, there is a drawing on a rock cliff that the Indians drew after such a Buffalo Hunt! You might have caves in your area that the Indians used for their Buffalo drawings!
4th Adventure: Take your family to a Green-House and let them explore. There is so much to learn about growing your own food. It is work having a garden, but it is up to you to make it fun for your family. If you have older kids, let them help find a way to make gardening fun! A garden is a great way to save money during this recession!
We are sharing our sump-pump water with the neighbor’s for their gardens. The rain drains down through our yard and then is pumped out of the basement’s sump-pump well. During this process the water picks up minerals, and that makes it very Alkaline! Big rain barrels hold the water until it is needed. You would be surprised at how much better those gardens are growing how that they get Alkaline water. Using this free rain water for gardening is saving us a lot of money on our water bill!