Back to school is the perfect time of year to join the excitement and encourage your children to adopt good reading and learning habits. We strive for the best for our children which is why we spend so much time looking for the best schools and making sure teachers are exceeding our expectations. However, parents often forget how much power they have to influence their children’s learning potential. This can be done simply by making books an integral part of kids lives and introducing fun ways to learn!
Reading with your children helps them form a special bond with you as well as fosters academic excellence. Reading specifically improves speech, communication and language skills. Additionally, it gives children of all ages and walks of life an avenue for adventure and new experiences. A new way parents and families are bringing excitement to reading is by offering the fun of reading to their whole neighborhood through Little Free Libraries. Read on for my favorite Little Free Library design.
You may be asking yourself what is a Little Free Library?! Itâs a âtake a book, return a bookâ gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a container full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share. Little Free Libraries can be found all over the states but don’t fret if your neighborhood doesn’t have one yet!
You can find simple instructions to build your own Little Free Library but know the options for this project are limitless! Your children can experience the joy of helping others by donating some of their already read books as well as enjoy the benefit of being able to read books other families donate. This is a win/win for all involved and a great way to get involved in your community as well as foster your child’s academic future. Perhaps spoken best by Dr. Seuss, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Cheers!
Today’s giveaway is a great one for gluten-free gift getters on your holiday list! I have gathered a trio of my favorite gluten-free cookbooks for this giveaway.
Distinguishing scientific fact from myth, Gluten Freedom explains the latest research, diagnostic procedures, and treatment/diet recommendations, helping consumers make the best choices for themselves and their families. Gluten Freedom also discusses gluten and its impact on symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and âfoggy mind,â as well as behavioral conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder and schizophrenia.
The Complete Series: Gluten Free by Lola Workman Cooking is not only about presenting great food on the table, but it is also about sharing the occasion with family and friends. With the Complete Series, you ll find simple recipes that taste sensational and are easy to prepare, leaving you with plenty of time for life s little pleasures.
Gluten-Free Family Favorites by Kelli & Peter Bronski
Cooking and sharing meals is something every family should be able to enjoy togetherâeven if one or more family members eats gluten-free. If your household is avoiding gluten, this book will lead the way to recreating your familyâs old favorites, and introduce you to a few new ones, too!
To enter, check out these great gluten-free cookbooks and leave a comment below! The winner will be announced on December 10th. Good luck!
Today’s giveaway is for all of you foodies out there! I know you’ll go crazy for it! It’s a huge healthy cookbook library – with 13 beautiful cookbooks worth over $300!
This cookbook library includes a variety of excellent recipes for everyone’s palette. Here is a breakdown of the amazing cookbooks this library includes.
Better Food for Dogs (A Complete Cookbook & Nutrition Guide) by David Bastin, Jennifer Ashton and Dr. Grant Nixon, D.V.M.
People want their dogs to have happy, healthy and long lives and providing the best nutrition is one of the most important steps you can take toward achieving this goal. The problem is most of us aren’t nutritionists and there are so many conflicting opinions about dog’s dietary needs that feeding your dog can become an overwhelming challenge. Better Food for Dogs is an invaluable reference that will guide you through this nutritional puzzle. It also provides you with all the information — complete with tasty recipes, tested and approved by dogs — you need to feed your dog a natural home-prepared diet, one of the best investments you can make in his/her health.
The Complete Coconut Cookbook by Camilla V. Saulsbury
Coconut is all over the news â and the shelves of supermarkets. Formerly relegated to the role of decadent treat, coconut is now embraced with an enthusiasm that borders on obsession. And itâs no wonder, given its smooth, creamy texture and the compelling health and nutrition benefits of pure coconut. Everyone from hardcore health-foodies to recreational cooks â and everyone in between â will enjoy these all-natural, high-energy, top-notch, easy-to-make coconut dishes. The 200 innovative recipes cover a broad spectrum of fresh flavors and provide delicious and dependable results.
The Smoothies Bible by Pat Crocker
Drinking smoothies is the fastest, easiest and best-tasting way to achieve good health. In addition to its original 250 smoothie recipes, this new edition of The Smoothies Bible introduces 100 fresh, new recipes with even more antioxidant fruits and vegetables — even classic cocktails with and without alcohol. However, Crocker retains her original premise: smoothies are a delicious part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.
150 Best dips and Salsa by Judith Finlayson & Jordan Wagman
Packed with mouthwatering recipes, this book is all youâll ever need to get any occasion off to a memorable start. Dips and salsas are the most sociable of recipes. Theyâre a great catalyst for getting a party off to a good start because they encourage guests to congregate around while scooping and munching.
Tasting the Seasons by Kerry Dunnington
Tasting the Seasons includes an impressive variety of fast and fresh, irresistible, user-friendly recipes: family-oriented one-dish wonders, updated classics, and creative gourmet entrees – all presented with a steady focus on how to identify, select, and prepare foods using ecologically sound principles. Gathered in a highly readable and entertaining format with humorous culinary-related stories are nearly 250 recipes for superbly seasoned, beautifully presented meals to serve as the center of any occasion, from an intimate family dinner to a large holiday celebration.
The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson
The first edition was incredibly successful having sold close to 95,000 copies! Definitions of healthy eating have changed quite dramatically since The Healthy Slow Cooker was first published in 2006. In those days, it was one size fits all â low fat, low calorie and no saturated fat. Since then, thereâs been a shift in thinking. Many leading experts now feel that many of our modern diseases are directly associated with the consumption of wheat and advocate reducing carbohydrates. Another significant development is that the evidence against saturated fat has been gradually diminishing.
The World’s 60 Best Lunches Period
In The World’s 60 Best Lunches, discover fun-to-eat lunches for kids and adults alike, great packed lunch options to make your midday meal something to look forward to, and original ideas for eating lunch on the go, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
The World’s 60 Best Recipes for Students Period
In The World’s 60 Best Recipes for Students, discover creative, delicious ideas for limited budgets and big appetites and recipes for every occasion, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
The World’s 60 Best Skewers
In The Worldâs 60 Best Skewers⊠Period, discover the very best kebab recipes, original side dish and presentation ideas, and sure-fire methods for making the tastiest marinades, as well as the best ingredient combinations, new techniques, and foolproof tips and tricks, accompanied by stunning photos that will tempt your taste buds.
The 100 Best Decorated Cookies by Julie Anne Hession Hand-crafted cookies from your kitchen are perfect for any occasion! Whether youâre an occasional holiday home baker or a seasoned pro, youâll absolutely delight in Julieâs designs and ideas. This fun and creative book features tempting cookie decorating ideas for a wide array of occasions and holidays.
Organic: Farmers and Chefs of the Hudson Valley by Francesco Mastalia
The Hudson Valley, New York has become an epicenter for the local, organic, sustainable food movement. With its rich agricultural land, the awareness for sustainable living, and the growing demand for local, organic food, the farm-to-table, locavore movement has become a way of life in the Hudson Valley. Organic spotlights the Hudson Valley as a region at the forefront of this movement and features the portraits and words of the dedicated farmers who are committed to growing and producing food using sustainable methods, and the chefs who echo their beliefs and pay homage to the food they produce.
Visit the links above to check out these fantastic books and leave a comment to enter â Iâd love to hear what items you will pick out if you are the winner. The winner will be announced on December 17th. Good luck!
Most years we host Thanksgiving dinner at our home – however, this year we don’t have family coming into town to visit so we decided to travel for Thanksgiving. We booked a week at a fun, red cottage on Sanibel Island. We are meeting the mister’s uncle and aunt there for a little fun in the sun!
On our way there, we plan to pick up Thanksgiving dinner from Whole Foods and of course, we will pack our favorite wine too! Our week will be spent outside beach combing (Sanibel is known as the best place to shell in the country!), biking the island (you don’t need a car!), checking out the local shops and eateries, and taking long walks with Noodles and Olive. We are super excited! While I love hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I think it will be nice to sleep in late on the big day (no housecleaning or cooking!) and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner outside next to the ocean.
How about you – do you have an unconventional Thanksgiving planned? Are you traveling? Where are you off to?
NOTE: This post wasnât written by me â thank you for supporting the companies that help keep Sweet Greens in business.
————————————————————————–
The holidays are right around the corner! In fact, Thanksgiving is over a month away. If you are taking a vacation for Thanksgiving or the upcoming winter holidays, you should consider a green retreat. Green retreats are great alternatives to the usual vacation; whether they are at exclusive hotels, glamping yurts or whole permanent communities, there are so many benefits to this new and gentler way of life.
What are green retreats?
Green retreats are hotels and communities that take moral responsibility for their immediate environments, living off the land and the resources it provides without destroying its capabilities or reducing its ability to regenerate. Green retreats are lovely places to live and stay with facilities that emphasize the well-being of those who use them. Green retreats are beautiful communities that work together to reduce waste, reduce pollution and to allow living in the most eco-friendly way possible.
As you can see, one definition probably doesnât fit all, but even with the diversity of many types of green retreats, both temporary and permanent, you can already see what theyâre aiming for.
What are the benefits?
Obviously, thereâs a huge environmental benefit, and while it might seem like a pointless effort against the crazy amount of pollution still being pumped into the atmosphere across the world, every little helps.
On top of the very real, quantifiable benefits of environmental improvement, health and well-being, the community aspects of these places are really the cherry on top. Thereâs so much missing from life in the world, that a feeling of community is often the first thing to go. Living permanently in a green retreat when you have small children growing up is some kind of idyllic dream, because everyone is vested in ensuring that the recycling is sorted, the gardens are kept beautiful, energy and water are saved, and that the dream remains a real utopia. Think how it could change your childrenâs lives right into their futures.
Much of the value of green retreats lies in them being little oases of calm, with each one of them being a safe, secluded place where you can live or holiday without fear of the outside world ruining it. Theyâre naturally places that promote health and well-being, because looking after the earth goes hand-in-hand with looking after yourselves. And thatâs where the facilities come into play.
Great facilities for everyone
Some of these places offer the finest in community health and wellness, from amazing gyms to outside yoga, and because theyâre often in beautiful places, you can take advantage of the environment and keep fit by cycling and hiking through glorious countryside and rugged mountains.
Many green-stay places are geared up very well for the modern family, so often youâll find fitness and well-being classes in yoga, Pilates, bocca, and other up-to-the-minute exercise classes.
If youâre not too fitness-orientated, but you still like to feel good about yourself, many communities have shared gardens, where they grow fresh and often organic vegetables; imagine being able to pick the veggies for dinner instead of just busting open a packet of indeterminate green leaves!
If you donât even want to handle a gardening level of strenuous activity, why not check out the spa?
Of course, not every eco-hotel or green retreat will offer everything on this list, but thereâs a strong chance theyâll offer many of them. Some places are aimed at families with young children, and theyâll have access to schools (if youâre looking at a permanent green community in which to live), toddler groups and hospitals, as well as child-oriented facilities from swimming pools to sports pitches and courts.
Thereâs often a strong emphasis on community as a way of life, not just as a convenience, so there are likely to be group activities to see and do, committees to join, and events to put on and to attend. The aim, of course, is to provide a fullness of life and a richness of community, of the type you just donât see in the outside world.
Living in a green-oriented environment, you know that not even a single drop of water is wasted; where the sunâs rays provide one of several sustainable energies that can be used to heat and light your house; one where even your childâs kindergarten is run on eco-friendly diapers and solar panels; this is like some kind of special place. Even though you work hard to make everything you do as good for the earth as possible, knowing that for other people, this kind of thing is made easier, makes you feel good. The easier it is for people to be environmentally friendly, the more likely they are to do just that.
