Alice RD
If you’re planning one last summer get-away before it’s back-to-school and back-to-work, make it a time to boost your family’s health to stay on the road to a cancer preventive lifestyle.
Starting early in life to help your children develop healthy habits can pay off now and in the future because it can help them learn how to make healthy eating and staying active a routine part of their daily choices.
Here’s three ideas for your vacation, which you can make fun and delicious with a little organizing and family input.
- Personalize snack stash: allow your children to pack their own snack sack for the road. With a few ground rules, take them shopping so they can select their own fresh fruit and vegetable, favorite cheese or yogurt, whole grain crackers and sweet treat. These are snacks they can eat when they want – 5 miles down the road, or they can space them out over a few days. This can go a long way to limit impulse purchases at the convenience store or airport.
- Family Fitness: Plan ahead for some physical activity every day. You could have family members each choose one activity that can be done by everyone – for example, take along jump ropes, Frisbees, stretch bands, sturdy walking shoes or yoga mats. Here’s a video of some basic stretch band exercises, for example.
- Explore local foods: Check out area farmer’s markets, family friendly farms or other food outlets that promote locally grown produce. Besides finding some tasty specialties, you may get to hear farmers, growers and producers’ talk about their food, how it was grown and how they like to prepare it.
Check out Healthy Kids Today – Prevent Cancer Tomorrow tookits for great ideas, activities and recipes to get your kids excited about healthy habits.
