Keep 'Em Moving

Keep 'Em Moving! 

Everyone knows we love to hike and try to hit the trails as often as possible. But I am also a big advocate for the family neighborhood walks in between the opportunities we get to hike. It is so easy to carve out 30-45 minutes in a day to corral those little ones up and walk as a unit. I love to make time for this for a number of reasons:

* Everyone gets in some healthy cardio!

* Walks serve as a reminder to kids about limits, safety procedures, distance allowed away from the grown up which is important on hikes, too.

*Everyone keeps up their endurance

*AND YOU SHARE ANOTHER FUN ADVENTURE AS A FAMILY!

The kids were outside playing today but before I called them in to wash up, I put the baby in the stroller and led the mob out on a neighborhood stroll. For those who might think trekking through the same ol' neighborhood over and over can get boring, there are lots of way to keep the babes engaged. However, today, something fun presented itself to us. We discovered mushrooms EVERYWHERE! It became a game for the olders. They were on the hunt for mushrooms and searched for the coolest looking blooms they could. find!

Here are some of the amazing fungi they discovered!

THANKS FOR READING EVERYONE!!

A Whole Happy Visit

A WHOLE HAPPY VISIT

Today was just awesome! The MOMS group of North Brunswick invited Whole Happy Kids to be a guest at their monthly meeting/playgroup. It was such an honor AND so much fun! 

Our main message was about helping busy moms find ways to move away from processed foods and toward wholesome, fresh foods. Being a stay at home mom of 3, I understand the conflict of wanting to make everything from scratch, keeping everything local and organic but feeling the pull of busy schedules, running on zero energy and the need for a few short cuts. Whole Happy Kids wants to support moms with ideas and recipes for whole, healthy eats. I want to provide enough support to make whole, healthy eating a little bit easier to achieve. I brought some easy to make samples of nutritious snacks like kale chips and pumpkin silver dollar pancakes. I think all the samples were a big hit. 

I was also able to talk to the group about introducing the little ones to hitting the trails! How exciting to be able to talk face to face with moms about some of the benefits of hiking with our kids! You will have to stay tuned for the post about our group hike next week! I can't wait! 

Some amazing moms checking out the samples and info. 

Thank you so much to the MOMS group of North Brunswick for inviting me and my actual, live and in the flesh Whole Happy Kids. It was wonderful to meet you all and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you! 

Caveman Pancakes

CAVEMAN PANCAKES

When I think of a perfect breakfast, some key ingredients come to mind: sweet potatoes, eggs and BACON. I mean, c'mon, you have the basics, a great, vitamin-packed vegetable (sweet potato), a pure, wholesome protein(egg) and BACON! 

I tend to like things simple. I like one-pot dinners and crockpot meals. For this breakfast, I took all the yummy basics that I love and tossed them together into one pancake. 

Here is what I used:


Ingredients:

5 slices of bacon, cooked and put aside

1/2 onion, sauteed in a tablespoon of coconut oil

1 medium-large sweet potato, shredded

2 Tablesppons of maple syrup

3 free-range eggs

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of coconut oil for the pan

The first thing I did was begin with cooking 5 slices of bacon

and began sautéing the 1/2 onion in coconut oil. Once the bacon and onions were done, I set them aside and began mixing the other ingredients. 

My next move was to shred this bad boy up.

I cracked three eggs into a large bowl and gave them a good beating. After that, I mixed in the shredded sweet potato, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, the onions, and chopped bacon. I season this mix with salt and pepper and I was ready the heat up the pan! 

Once your mix looks something like this, it is time to heat up the pan and melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. 

Scoop large spoonfuls into the pan and let each side brown. Once pancakes are cooked thoroughly, it is time to serve. 

Time to eat! ENJOY!!!!

THANKS FOR READING!!

Easy Fridge Pickles

Easy Fridge Pickles

What goes better with summer BBQs than pickles!? Between our family garden and the local Farmers' Markets, I am finding everything local and fresh to make delicious pickles that only take a few minutes to make and are ready to eat after being in your refrigerator overnight. This easy recipe is a big hit in my family and are worth a try!

Ingredients:

Placed in a large Ball jar:

3 or 4 big kirbies, sliced

one small onion, sliced

3-4 garlic scapes, cut into 1-2 inch chunks

a big bunch of dill

Put into a saucepan:

1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp of salt

1 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

First, gather all the ingredients for the canning jar. Depending on the size of the cucumbers, you will need about 3, maybe 4. 

Slice up the kirbies, chop the onions, garlic scapes and break off any large stems from the dill. I use the thinner stems, dill and the flowers from the dill plant. 

I mix all the chopped ingredients and then begin stuffing it all into the jar. 

After the jar is ready with the vegetables, it is time to gather the ingredients for the saucepan.

Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, turmeric and mustard seeds to a saucepan. Slowly bring everything to a boil and allow it to boil for about 5 minutes. 

After boiling for about 5 minutes, add the saucepan mixture to your jar. Once it is all in, twist the jar from side to side in order to help the ingredients settle. 

And that is all it takes! Allow the pickles to cool, then cover the jar and set it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. After that, they are ready to enjoy. I am sure you will love them!!!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Whole Happy Bird Watchers

WHOLE HAPPY BIRD WATCHERS

This morning we decided to stretch our legs and head out around the neighborhood. To add a fun twist to our walk, I introduced the little ones to a preschoolers version of bird watching! 

I created this colorful bird watching checklist for the little ones. We went over each item and then set out to see what we could find! (No need to leave a comment on my awful illustrations. lol! My children, thankfully, are very forgiving.)

We set out on our way and the little ones went right to work looking for neighborhood birds. Finding a bird nest was proving tricky but Big SIster and Brother stopped under every big tree to have a look. 

It was a perfect day! Everyone was so happy to be outside! Maybe it was just me but it seemed like there were even more birds out this gorgeous morning than usual. I am so grateful they obliged us. 

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My little bird watchers were diligent in tracking their findings.  

We had a really fun walk, got in some early morning exercise and had some practice being careful observers of nature. It was a great start to another perfect summer day! 

Lastly, I will leave you with this. No matter how passionately they plead with you that they do not need to use the bathroom before the walk, MAKE THEM GO. Or else, walk home with a kid like this. For 5 blocks. 

Thanks for reading you guys! Hope you are having a great summer! 

Beet salad

Beet Salad

Oh, beets. How I love thee. 

Beets are full of sweet yummy goodness. They have lots of vitamins and minerals, are a great source of energy and they taste great! Beets act like a tonic for your liver and help your body cleanse. They are a source of betaine that promotes cardio vascular health (yes, beets are really good for your blood!) and beets are great for pregnant women especially since they contain iron and folic acid. I have sung the praises of beets before, (check out my blog post titled 5 Things I want my healthy hungry kids to say) so it is no mystery that I think beets are a super healthy choice for my family. 

I make a few different beet salads but this is a favorite of not only my immediate family, but our extended family as well. I am happy to share it with you! 


Ingredients:

Salad

6 red beets

1/2 onion, diced 

2 stalks of celery

1 dill pickle

2 hard boiled eggs

Dressing

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 honey

salt and pepper

First things first, cut off, clean and chop up those beautiful beet greens and prepare them the same way you would in your favorite spinach recipe: sautéed with garlic and olive oil and then served over baked sweet potatoes is a simple "go to" recipe for me. 

After that, you want to clean, peel and chop the beets. In a pot, cover them with water and boil them until tender enough to poke with a fork. 

At the same time, hard boil two eggs. 

While the beets and eggs cook, you can chop up the celery, onion, and pickle (not featured here, haha!). 


Once all the ingredients are chopped, combine in a large bowl and then prep your dressing. Pour the dressing over the top of your salad. 

Let the salad sit for about a half hour before serving. Enjoy!!!! 



Thank you so much for reading! 

Group Hike at the Plainsboro Preserve

Our Group Hike at

The Plainsboro Preserve

There were mixed emotions as we began our hike but everyone had a great time in the end.  

What better way to enjoy a hike than by inviting some friends to come with us! We had a great group of happy lil' hikers geared up and ready to hit the trails at Plainsboro Preserve in Cranbury NJ. It really was the perfect way to kick off the summer. 

Our group of young hikers came equipped with binoculars and magnifying glasses. They really didn't want to miss a thing. They also liked the idea of a scavenger hunt and tried to find all the things on this checklist. Turns out there were lots of things to add to the bottom portion. For example, while on a  trail through the woods, the boys leading the way spotted a deer pretty close to the path! She darted off deeper into the woods but some of us caught a glimpse of her as she went. 

These are some of our young hikers heading off and leading the way. On this first stretch alone we spotted wildflowers, animal tracks, bird feeders and nesting boxes, a variety of bugs and insects, including beautiful shiny blue dragon flies. And I would be amiss if I didn't also mention the occasional and very captivating mud puddle. Definitely a big draw to our little ones. :) 

There was lots to see and discover. The kiddies had their eyes wide open and didn't miss any of it. Whenever one little hiker discovered something amazing, they would call all their fellow hikers to come over and investigate. All the grown ups helped point things out and explain the discoveries. 

Our hike began on a fairly open and flat path but we did head into the trails that led into the woods. The little ones kept their eyes peeled for neat things to point out to each other. They also did a great job of looking for trail markers to keep us on the right path, too. We found these cut logs in a clearing along our trail and got to snap a couple of fun pictures like this one. 

One happy little hiker needed to hitch a ride with her mom. Not a bad deal if you can get it.  Her mom made the funniest observation: her littlest one had the cleanest shoes in the lot. Completely true!

There was something to see at every turn. After a vote at the end of the hike, the highlight of everyone's adventure today was finding the tadpoles. Everyone huddled around to see them. All the little hikers were so excited to see them swimming around. It was so cute to watch.

After a close to two mile hike, we found a shady spot to refuel, rehydrate and relax. It was such a fun day and we are so glad we got to share it with our friends!

I hope we see you out there on the trails. Thank you so much for reading!