A few weeks ago I read a wonderful post by Aimee in Simple Bites. She wrote a post about how to create a food culture in your family. It is worth a read for everybody that is interested in slow food, sustainability and raising healthy kids.
Interesting enough, creating a healthy food culture in your family will also connect you to nature and will get your family outside more.
We use food in many ways to connect with nature and to get more time outside.
Here are my 10 ways to connect nature with food.
1) Visit a local farmers market for fresh produce and learn about what is in season where you live.
2) Find a farm that allows tours so you can learn more about local farming and learn more about how food is grown and raised.
3) Start your own garden to add some fresh veggies and herbs to your cooking.
4) When it is in season go out to pick it yourself. U-pick berries, vegetables, apples, pumpkins and squash are all easy pickings.
5) Wild harvesting. Foraging maybe a lost art for many, but both Canada and the US have a lot of opportunities for picking wild berries, fishing and mushroom picking.
6) Eat outside. Go out on a hike, picnic in your neighborhood park or just set a table in your backyard or balcony. Eat outside and the family meal becomes family outdoor time.
7) Cooking outside is another great way to increase your outdoor quotient. Try to use the BBQ in new ways.
8) Making food over an open fire pit or having a camp stove with you when you are hiking makes a hike more fun for kids.
9) Your grandma probably used to do it. Preserve your harvest to enjoy a little slow food in the winter months.
10) Live in the city? Go urban harvesting
