How many other parents do you know who have trouble getting their kids to eat their veggies? There’s something about the color green that most kids despise and even if it’s something they would normally love, if they see green, you’ll get an “Ewww.” This year, why not try something new to motivate your kids to eat healthier while you save money on your groceries – and you can also go green in the process. Remember, going green is more than a color!
Get the Kids Involved
Little people love to get dirty. That’s a sad fact of parenting and one you’ll learn early on. Most kids will love getting out in the garden with you, planting seeds, watering with the hose, and then the joy on their faces when they see that first bit of green popping up is beyond amazing. This year, get your kids involved in planting the garden and when it’s time to harvest your crop, small as it might be, most kids will thrill at the idea of trying something they planted, nourished and grown all by themselves (with a little help from mom and dad that is).
About Going Green
A green lifestyle is more than you can describe in a day, sometimes even a week or a month. It’s all about sustainable living and for the family concerned with the price of fresh vegetables, in or out of season, a green garden can help you put healthy food on the table at relatively low cost. You may need to get organic soil, but that is cheap compared to the price of veggies. As for fertilizer, a compost pile is really all the nutrients you might need, so get started now. However, one word of caution if you’ve never composted before – keep your compost as far away from doors and windows as possible. The smell is beyond horrible.
Green Living Is Cost Effective
So, you’ve gone on sites like pocketchangegourmet.com to find inexpensive recipes and meal plans to give your family healthy foods at a cost you can afford. After you’ve grown many of your fruits, veggies and herbs in your own garden, that cost will be even cheaper than you can imagine. Try planting potatoes in a potato hotel so that you can keep it in the kitchen. Kids have loads of fun pulling them out from the bottom up as they mature, and you have a year-round source of ‘free’ potatoes. It’s fun, cost effective and organic. What more could you ask?
You still might need to disguise some of those greens in recipes you concoct, but even so, kids will usually at least give something a try if they’ve had a hand in growing it. Kids love to ‘own’ things as you can clearly see. Of the first two words most toddlers learn, “Mine!” is second only to “No!” This year, get your kids involved and chances are they’ll see that green is good and just maybe you won’t have any more trouble getting them to eat their veggies. Tens of thousands of parents have had great success with the “Garden to Table” strategy, and if you try, you probably will to. Good luck and happy harvesting!