Winter Picnics Get Kids Outside

A Picnic is a State of Mind -- Anywhere!! 

A picnic is a state of mind and can be anywhere. Winter picnics can be more like a camping experience with campfire cooking, or a quick picnic snack in the backyard.  Each way gets children out of the house in the fresh air when the temperature is not too cold. It is an added plus when when the sun shines, but some winter areas around the country don’t get a lot of sun until February.  Who can wait that long?

Winter Park Picnic

  Look for a neighborhood park with a few trees and bring along a tarp and blanket.  The tarp will keep the blanket dryer and more comfortable. To make the picnic simple you can pack a thermos of tomato, chicken noodle, or vegetable soup and cups and your children’s favorite crackers and cheese. Mac and cheese also works well. Add some carrots and dip, some berries, cookies and hot chocolate.  You can also go to a sheltered spot or snow fort in your back yard.

Try a Winter Campfire Picnic

Winter Campfire Picnics

  If exploring as a family, you may want to try a campfire picnic. There are few tricks to starting a campfire in the snow and maintaining it   Shovel the snow aside so that you can start the fire on solid ground or if there’s a thick base or too much snow to push aside, pack it down so that you have a solid platform to put a base of logs like a raft to start your fire on. Search for dry wood under vegetation. Pine cones, dry birch bark pieces and pine needles make a good kindling. Surround the fire with any logs you haven’t used, so the heat of the fire can help dry them out and provide you with extras. Some people place two small logs going east and west and the next layer going north and south to make a little chimney hole. Then they build the fire inside the hole.

Camp fire recipes

Adapt Those Summer Recipies & Take Them on the Trail!

Many summer camping recipes can be adapted to winter.  The trick is to make foods ahead of time, and wrap them in double tin foil. Serve with hot chocolate and end the meal with s’mores.

 To make stew packets, brown one pound of ground turkey or beef. Place some diced carrots, potatoes and one onion in a little olive oil and cook in a fry pan until tender. Stir in meat and add salt, pepper and  herbs. Make four little double layer foil pockets and place ¼ of the mixture and ¼ cup of chicken broth in each one. Roll foil tightly and seal. Place on white coals until warm. Burritos are also a hit made ahead and warmed on white coals. For more winter fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com or wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.

Photos, Fran Darling: fdarling fotos

Healthier Food Choices for Children

Encourage Healthy Eating at Snack Time

Meal and snack times provide a time to encourage healthy habits and conversation.  When wise snacking is added to three nutritious meals a day, adults can achieve the total recommended daily guidelines for healthy American children. Otherwise, the guidelines can be very difficult. Children before the 1960’s rarely snacked at all.  Then the food industry and ads took over.

Suggestions

   Over 27% of American children’s daily calories come from snacking also known as grazing. This snacking doesn’t have to be bad. It could be something you had planned to offer at mealtime anyway as part of the five basic groups on a plate: about half fruits and vegetables, half grains and protein, and a glass milk or yogurt. Perhaps children were not hungry for all the offerings. 

This plan of including tasty fruit and vegetable snacks is especially useful if fruits and vegetables are often left on the plate or a big point of contention at mealtime.

  A snack that satisfies hunger might be cut up fruits and vegetables like oranges, bananas, pears, apples, thin shavings of carrots, or frozen peas with just a small amount of cereal or crackers. Add a little cheese, yogurt,or small piece of turkey. You may want to replace crackers with whole grain bread pieces or crunchy toast, pockets or wraps and a little peanut butter. Check with your physician. 

Have Water Instead of Juice or Soda

Recommendations are five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables. Three meals plus three nutritious snacks, including one at bedtime, equals meeting the nutritional guidelines. 

  Water Not Soda or Juice

      Another suggestion from nutritionists is to provide water or milk during mealtimes and snacks rather than juice or soda. Drinking water rather than soda is cheaper; it is caffeine and sweetener free and will become a habit.

 To set a good example, eat a small snack and drink water or skim milk with your children. Have your snack at the kitchen table rather in front of the TV, phone, or computer. 

Teach How to Read Nutrition Labels 

You may like to play a game like I Spy Something Red or some other color to spark conversation. Another variation is to count the number of items of a color you can find in a room.  Alphabet and category games are also conversation starters. How many words can you think of that start with the letter B?

  You can teach young children to read numbers on nutrition labels. Four year olds can look for smaller number of sugar grams and become very aware of what they eat. These little food detectives can compare labels on boxed cereals, soup, processed meats, frozen meals, and macaroni and cheese to find the lowest amounts of sweeteners especially. 

  For more ways to help children be healthy see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarlingfotos