My two older kids recently had a day off from school, and I was really missing the Cleveland MetroParks.  I live about a five minute drive away.  They love going to the MetroParks.  (If you’re ever in Cleveland, you’re totally missing out if you’ve never been to it!!)

Yeah, it’s almost spring and, yes, I shot this video a few weeks back, but I simply had to share with you.  Beside the fact that it’s very cute, this is a great example of instilling simple fitness ideals into your kids while they’re young.  Any time you can combine nature and exercise, then only good things will come of it.

Anyway, come see how we reached the summit.

With early spring upon us, are you getting as excited for the growing season as I am?  It’s time to gather the kiddies and start planting some vegetables and flowers (if you haven’t already done so).  This year, we got a headstart on our bell peppers (they take three weeks to germinate) as well as cantaloupe, nasturtiums and marigolds.  We did this video last month and really enjoyed planting our garden indoors.

Watch as the kids have their own seeds to put into the peat pots.

This is a great way to guarantee that you’ll be working outdoors with the kids on something meaningful and downright functional to your household.  This is an excellent way to take your nutrition into your own hands as well as slow down the clock that’s always prompting us to hurry up and ignore our surroundings.

By the way, if you use peat pots, make sure you soak them for at least an hour in warm water so that they are ready to give the seeds what they need to break open.

What will your family garden grow?

Could the peanut butter scare be finally winding down?  Are you still too afraid to eat this American staple again?  How about if we take our nutrition into our own hands and just make more things ourselves?  It’s a novel concept, I know, but it’s the only way to insure that we’re getting quality and to trace back ingredients more directly, right?

Yes, those name brands will not like that, to say the least, but you will find this simple and quick recipe very satisfying and liberating: you can once again eat peanut butter without being worried about where it was processed. What is more, it takes 10 minutes max to pull off this easy, mouth-watering rendition of an old classic.

Let’s have a nutrition revolution!

Patriot’s Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of dry roasted organic peanuts

Oil to use to your satisfaction (Olive, Grapeseed, Peanut, etc.)

Sea Salt (the real deal, mined from the Celtic region)

Equipment:

Food processor or VitaMixer

Check out the video for the how-to and tell me how yours came out. Did you add anything different?

This video is part III of our Parent-Kid Exercise series.  The kinds of physical games depicted are perfect for kids ages 6-9.  Winter is still doing its thing and we have to find means of being active. I’ve talked with a lot of parents, and kids are going stir crazy right about now.  Well, help them burn off a little energy the old fashioned way, and make some room in your home or that of a friend.  Enjoy these games and let me know how everyone likes them.