EATING WELL, MEANS LIVING WELL

Quick, and easy ways to get the whole family involved. Alexandria Rashidi

ABOUT GROWING GARDENS

For my community partner, I choose to work with a group named Growing Gardens. They have many programs teaching people how to grow in many situations, including urban. I choose to work with the school programs. What we do is come to elementary school as an after school program, and teach children all about gardening, and eating well. We even get to plant veggies with the children. I feel teaching children while they are still impressionable is very important, we want them to know the great things that eating well can do for them. So I am here to share all I have learned, give resource's, and show you how to get children involved. I was in this program while the weather was changing from fall, to winter. So I will start from there.

GARDENING IN THE WINTER? Before this adventure, I had no idea you could grow in the winter. But you can! The only difference is you have to take precautions to keep your plants warm. Also you should aim towards winter hardy veggies.

Examples to keep your garden warm: hay makes an excellent blanket, and you can pick it up at your local farmers market. Or you can use thick cloths to put over the top.

Its also about picking the right veggies: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3350629/Top-10-vegetables-to-grow-over-winter.html -- this link, shares up ten 10 veggies that are best for winter growing, and more!

MAKING IT FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Every day we would teach the children something new about gardening, and how the ecosystem plays a key role. Many children get bored when just describing information to them in words. So when we were teaching them about the important critters that live in our soil named decomposers, we turned it into a game!

Freeze tag, turned educational- bring 3 blue socks, about 5 brown socks, and the rest need to be green socks. The blue represents the ice or, cold weather. The blue socks or, (ice) goes around tagging the plants (green socks), and freezing them. Because when it gets cold out, plants can die. But a hero is around the corner, the decomposers or, (brown socks) they represent worms. They are the only ones that can unfreeze (decompose) the plants, and bring them back into the ecosystem. The kids loved it, they got to run around and play, while learning a key part of gardening.

Turning food into art- One week we were teaching the children about bugs, so we thought it be fun to have the children make their very own bug with healthy snacks! We brought raisins, Dried apricots, nuts, dates, bananas, you can really use whatever you want! The kids had a great time, and got to eat there bugs after ward.

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QUICK SNACKS FOR HEALTHY EATINGIn the previous slide I shared an idea to make eating healthy more fun! In this one I will share quick snacks to prepare, even when in a hurry. Trust me I am one who is always on the go, and I understand the simplicity of just grabbing a bag of chips or a sugary granola bar.

Olive oil, onions, and bread- Just heat up some olive oil, and fresh onions from your garden. Then dip some whole grain bread, its as easy as that. You can also add whatever you please, I personally added some green onion to the mix! Takes no longer than a few minutes.

Lettuce burrito- Just take some fresh greens from that lovely garden, and through in some berries, nuts, fruits! You really cant go wrong, also making a quick sauce out of honey, olive oil, and sea salt is the best topping.

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TASTY MEALS WHEN NOT IN A HURRY

Sometimes some spare time may fall in your lap, or you just want to prepare a nice meal for your family. In those times eating well, can still lead the way! A fun one I want to share is the carrot stir fry! Children love this one, because of the multi colored carrots. I personally had no idea there were purple, and yellow carrots.

Carrot stir fry- Just peel the skin off the carrots, chop them into small bits, and through them in. We cooked them in olive oil, and other seasonings there is really no wrong way to do this. You can also just cook them how you would a normal stir fry, and you can add anything. Chicken, or more veggies whatever may tickle your fancy.

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STARTING GOOD HABITS EARLY Throughout my time working with Growing Gardens I have learned that starting early is key, especially if you want a food revolution. The way our culture views food is not always in the best interest for our bodies, but children do not understand this unless we teach them. You do not want to force it on them, but show it, make it fun, let them be apart of the processes. When children learn to enjoy nutrient rich foods younger, it will carry on into adult hood. Hopefully from there it will continue to spread, because we feel everyone deserves to eat well, and feel well.

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MORE RESOURCES Ideas to help get kids involved, and excited:

http://www.inhabitots.com/how-to-get-your-children-excited-about-gardening/

http://www.veggiegardener.com/tips-for-getting-children-involved-in-veggie-gardening/

Quick, easy, and healthy snacks. Also scrumptious meals when not in a hurry:

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/healthy/snacks/

http://www.southernliving.com/food/holidays-occasions/fresh-tomato-recipes

https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/better-you/g/12647398/10-healthy-snacks-you-should-keep-at-your-desk/12647399/#1

Why its important to start early:

http://www.mckinneyonline.com/October-2012/Instilling-Healthy-Eating-Habits-in-Children-Its-Never-Too-Early/

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/healthy.aspx

Growing Gardens website, if your are interested in helping they are always looking for more hands will to get in the dirt!:

http://growing-gardens.org/