Outdoor Family Activities - Time to plan.

As winter winds down, it is time to consider how to get the children ready for spring! You want to work on the family’s activity level by planning outdoor activities. The next time that you are at the thrift store, you can pick up an old-fashioned picnic basket or just get the big cooler out of the garage and dust it off.

Your community and the communities within a drive of one to two hours have parks--local, county, or state, perfect for affordable family fun. A picnic is just the start of your planning. It is easy to pick up a lighter, lighter fluid, charcoal, hot dogs, buns, chips, ice, and soda pop to throw into the car for a quick barbecue. In addition, do not forget the blanket and the bug spray. Load up bicycles, roller skates or roller blades, a football or soccer ball, baseball bats, gloves, and balls, and other sports gear. Keep in mind that you want everyone to enjoy the outdoors and the nice spring weather.

After everything is packed, you and your children are ready for a fun day in the sunshine! However, what you do when you arrive at the outdoor park also matters. Eating is the beginning followed by some healthy activities.

Moms and dads do not think for a minute that you will be sitting down on the picnic blanket supervising. You need to get up and play with the children because you need to be active too! Fresh air is healthy for your family, and it is fun to enjoy it with the first outdoor picnic of the year! 

Let’s go outside and play!

 

Smart and Healthy Grocery Shopping

At the grocery store, it is tempting to focus on special deals such as buy one get one free cereal deals. These deals can distract you from buying products based on their nutritional benefits for yourself and your family. It is important to save money on weekly shopping trips without sacrificing the health of your family. Make smarter grocery shopping choices by following these tips.

Try to spend more time shopping for fresh products and buy only minimal purchases from the dry food aisles and frozen food sections of the store. Buy fresh by focusing on shopping in the produce department and the meat department. If it would help, create a grocery list that starts with visiting the produce aisle.  In general, you will also want to skip the deli department because many of the foods that you could buy in this area are processed just like dry foods and frozen foods.

Plan your meals. For example, buy enough fresh meat, not frozen, by counting the number of dinners that you need to cook for the week, and then buy meat accordingly. In addition, if you need to, buy larger packages and cuts of meat and then split them up into smaller portions and freeze for later in the week.

Also, try to buy organic as much as your budget will allow.  Organic fresh fruits and vegetables are not just empty calorie products like lettuce and cabbage; they are also potatoes, carrots, apples, oranges, bananas, beets, onions, peppers, and so forth.