Happy Spring!

After a week of 60 and 70 degree weather, it snowed the first day of spring, left 10 inches and then melted away today in 70 degree weather again. Ahh yes, it's springtime in the Rockies.

Here's a picture of my garden early in the season from last year. This year I plan to start a cool season crop in April and try to get 2 seasons out of my garden.

I've also become a member in a local farm that is starting up near me. The link to it, Ekar, is on the right. It's an exciting venture that community members are putting a lot of hard work, heart and soul into, and I cannot wait to see where the adventure leads.

So what do gardens and farming have to do on a food blog? Besides the obvious answer that those are places we get our food from, there are some other answers out there. I am not Michael Pollan or Barbara Kingsolver. I highly recommend their books though, because there are plenty of people who can explain more eloquently than I why having a connection with the earth, the soil and our food chain is so important. But here is my simple reason: connecting to our food increases the likelyhood that we will eat healthy.

I'm still relatively new to this motherhood thing, but I try to get my daughter to eat her vegetables by two methods: a blitz attack, and getting her connected to the veggies. The blitz method is simple, I let her try everything I eat. She surprises me, she passes up carrot sticks and loves salad, celery and peanut butter do nothing for her, but artichoke and leek soup she can't get enough of. The second method of connecting her to her food is more complex.

People often say getting your kids involved with planning and cooking meals will help them want to eat better, and I wholeheartedly agree. Older kids can help you plan a simple, healthy meal, shop for it and help you cook it. Preteens and teenagers can practically do this all by themselves. I did a lot of cooking as a child. Little kids can also get a great experience at the grocery store. I talk to my daughter when we food shop about the different fruits and vegetables and what we might do with them.

Take it one step further; help your kids plant their own veggies. If your kids are old enough let them plan a small veggie garden, or even a container garden to really get connected. Pizza gardens are very popular (tomatoes, garlic, peppers, basil) and who wouldn't love a homemade fresh pizza? (As a nutritionist I totally support this type of pizza!) Salad container gardens are easy too, pick out your favorite salad veggies and plant them in a pot for fresh salad all summer long. The variety of veggies you'll have access to if you plant your own garden will be amazing. Your kid doesn't like carrots, but loves the color purple? Plant purple carrots and see if they'll eat those.

If for whatever reason you can't plant a garden with your kids, take them to a local farmers' market, or a local farm for that matter. Go strawberry or apple picking. You can pick your own broccoli at some farms, hey kids might like it if they pick it themselves. Don't forget pumpkins are a vegetable and when you go pick your jack'o'lantern, pick up some pie pumpkins for the kitchen.

There are a million ways to get involved and get your kids more connected to the food they eat. In the long run, if they know where it's comming from and have a sense of connection and maybe even ownership, I bet they will be more likely to ask for fresh fruits, veggies and other fresh food versus the overly processed food that spits out of vending machines.

I think I'm rambling a bit here, but my point is that the more we can do to be involved with and understand how our food gets to us, the better (read: healthier) our food will be. I have listed a whole bunch of links to the right that can help you find ways to connect. Some of them are based near me, and some of them like LocalHarvest and EatWild will help you no matter where you live.

Here are your action items: find a local farmers' market in your area, join a CSA, plant a garden, visit a farm, let your kids help you plan a meal and shop for and cook it together. I promise, you will eat better for it.