3 Kids and Us

Healthy Foods On the Go

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healthy-diet

It seems that finding on the go friendly healthy foods that your family will eat is the holy grail of parental planning. When you are trying to find food that your kids will eat when you are on an outing or zipping to soccer practice, do you find yourself resorting to buying little packages of food that you know that your kids will eat but you are afraid are devoid of nutrition? Maybe you plan ahead and pack some nutritious snacks that they do not eat well enough so you get some fast food for them as a compromise. Feeding children well can be quite a challenge. Here are some healthier alternatives that will fit your lifestyle that kids will like.

Snacks

Snacktime on the go poses one of the greatest challenges for healthy eating with all the enticing processed alternatives out there. With this easy recipe for dried strawberries that will not break the bank, you can let your kids snack on dried strawberries from a bag. Make them by setting your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (94 degrees Celsius) and cutting strawberries into thin slices. Lay the slices on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and let them coast for about 90 minutes. You will have a healthy one ingredient snack for everyone.

Another simple and low cost snack is popcorn air popped at home and mixed with your favorite healthy toppings. Full of fiber, it is sure to make a satisfying and healthy snack. Make a big batch one evening and have snacking options for days. To change it up to a sweet and healthy option, try this recipe for a popcorn treat.

Lunch

Sometimes it just cannot be avoided that you are in the car during lunchtime. This is a time when the true portability of foods is tested. Fortunately, there are mason jars. They are great for holding everything from granola laced yogurt to jar salads. The jar salad concept is so brilliant and can even make use of the leftovers that you have knocking around in the refrigerator. Make sure to put your wettest ingredients at the bottom, then layer with sturdy grains or vegetables. The humble mason jar can be your vehicle for a great fruit parfait while you are driving your vehicle. All you need is a portable cooler to keep everything cold and you are all set.

For a sandwich option, pita bread comes in all sizes and can be a great filling package as well as part of the meal. Be sure to fill the bread with their favorite lettuce as well as healthy meats and cheeses with no preservatives.

Dinner

Eating out with the family while on the go may be convenient, but it can be a real budget buster over very little time. When after school and evening practices start to hedge in on your dinner time, creativity takes center stage. An idea for a quick yet hot and satisfying meal to go that your whole family will eat are hot chicken wraps. Made earlier in the afternoon, chicken baked in the slow cooker with barbeque sauce becomes a wrap filling along with a sprinkle of low fat mozzarella and steamed kale. Wrapped in foil, these sandwiches can wait until their recipient is available to eat.

Cue the vacuum sealed jars. A casserole becomes fast food when packaged in a container that will hold the heat in. Wherever the evening takes you, your family can have their favorite homemade dish with healthy ingredients that you want them to eat.

Dessert

How about a cookie for dessert on the go? The sorghum flour in hamptoncreek cookie dough is part of the substitute for eggs, leaving your treat substantially lower in cholesterol than a traditional cookie with egg would be. The cookie dough also has less sugar added because the sorghum is naturally sweet. You can pop the ready-made dough into the oven then bag them up as a healthier special treat after lunch or dinner. Plus, since this dough has no animal products, you can sneak some raw dough while the kids are not looking.

For healthy home cooked eating on the run, one of the biggest challenges is how to make the foods your family likes as a portable option. It takes some planning and a lot of perseverance, but making sure your family has healthy options when on the go is worth it.

How to Keep your Kids from Being Naughty on Vacation

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bad_kid_travels

Vacations should be the time in your life when you de-stress, taking some time away from the daily grind to rest, recuperate, explore and most importantly have fun. This however, is easier said than done when you have children with you and planning for a stress-free family vacation needs to be done with precision. Naturally you want to have fun and you want the exact same thing for your children but very often the excitement of it all can lead to misbehaviour on your child’s part and can often spoil the good times. To avoid such a situation, here are some tips that can help you keep your kids from being naughty on vacation.

Lay Down the Rules

It is important that before you leave for your vacations that you let your kids know what is going to be happening when you’re away. You can use these talks to let them know that there will be more flexibility than normal, perhaps later bed times or food that they usually wouldn’t be allowed to eat will be available to them. Coupled with these benefits, you need to also let them know that these extra luxuries come at a price, their behaviour, It is far better if you speak with them before your vacation as if you need to do it during, it will take the child’s sense of freedom away and could lead to worse behaviour. Doing this also creates a point of reference that you can point to during your vacations.

Watch What They Eat

Naturally we relax a little with the rules when it comes to a vacation but you still need to be mindful of what your child is eating. Your kids will be excitable enough when they are away and the last thing that they need is a body full of sugar and E-numbers which can make them grumpy after the sugar rush.

Sleep is More Important

A day spent bombing in the pool, at a theme park, on an adventure playing sports and meeting new friends is more than enough for any kid to handle and they will be wiped out by the end of the day. Whilst you can relax rules around bedtimes, it’s important to ensure that your child still gets sufficient sleep. Lack of sleep equals grumpy child who will be more likely to misbehave.

Time Out 

The excitement of the holiday can sometimes be too much for a child and therefore it is vital that you take them out of the madness for an hour a day. The excitement of the holiday can sometimes be too much for a child and therefore it is vital that you take them out of the madness for an hour a day. Perhaps take them back to the room, let them play some online games on a tablet or watch a Disney film for a while, anything to turn their attention elsewhere. This will calm your child’s

Recently we have watched together “Finding Dory” and there’s plenty of free online games related to this friendly-but-forgetful fish: check out our favourites here! This will calm your child’s mind down a bit before they head back out into the fun.

Incentivise

This is the key to a happy holiday, an incentive, perhaps there is a theme park or an aqua park that your kid really wants to go to, organise this for the last or penultimate day. Doing this means that you have something to negotiate with your child when they begin misbehaving, remind them that if they are naughty then you won’t be going to the attraction that they want. Carrot and stick seems to be a harsh way of treating your kid but this theory works well.

What to do in Detroit, Michigan?

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A proud home to the sporting teams Tigers, Pistons, Lions and Redwings, Detroit is definitely a city to see and take the time to explore its rich history and multicultural areas. Here’s some inspiration:

  1. Old Saint Mary’s Church

What to do in Detroit, Michigan?

Source: Flickr

The third oldest German Roman Catholic church in the Greektown district of Detroit, was first built here in 1841, that makes parts of this church really, really old. The inside is extremely impressive and calming. There’s daily mass at 12.15pm, and Sundays at 2pm there’s a whole program to enjoy of music from the choirs, organs and string instruments.

Built in a Romanesque style with Venetian accents, you don’t have to be catholic to enjoy a visit to the Old Saint Mary’s Church, just respectful, as its really, quite beautiful.

  1. The Fisher Building

Another wonderful art deco building rich with Detroit history is the Fisher Building. 30 stories and 21 elevators, this building was built in 1928 by the Fisher family. After numerous owners it sold in 2015 at a loss at 12.2 million.

A silver medal for architecture this building is also home to the Fisher theatre, one of Detroit’s oldest live theatre venues, and regularly host art exhibitions. Love your architecture? Then you’ll love the Fisher building.

  1. The Detroit people Mover

The Detroit People mover is the city’s light rail train system. Opened in 1987, this monorail was meant to be the next big thing for the city but after small success, and a scale back on planning, this left only one track for the sidecar in completion. The People Mover today is not a bad way to get around town, when you need to travel in one direction. You are touring above the street and get to see lots of the city scoot past as you travel from one station to the next. 13 stops in all, one round trip is very affordable and you can say you’ve been people moved by the city of Detroit. This is an underestimated gem of Detroit and one to get into.

  1. William Livingstone Memorial

This great big marble lighthouse was erected April 8, 1930, atop the east end of Belle Isle Park. It commemorated the life and work of banker, publisher and transportation aficionado, and all round great guy, William Livingstone. This lighthouse was built to remember his work shipping on the great lakes and preserved as a memorial because he did so much for Michigan.

Sitting 80 feet high you can’t actually go in to the lighthouse, but admire it from behind the fence, which is not too bad, as it’s a beautiful sight to see.

  1. Museum of African American History

This museum celebrates and explores the culture and history of African Americans. Established in 1965, the museum aims to preserve black history and is a cultural icon in the city of Detroit. As well as 35,00 artefacts the museum also has a library, a theatre, research centre and gift shop. The run permanent and visiting exhibitions, and have an events calendar running concerts, screening, performances and lectures.

Open Tuesday to Sunday (Mondays as well in February for Black History Month) Tickets are very affordable at $5 for children and seniors and $8 for adults.

  1. Mexicantown

What to do in Detroit, Michigan?

Source: Flickr

Mexicantown – The name says it all! You guessed it. This part of Detroit was named for the settling of the Mexican population in the town in the 1940’s. It grew in waves of immigrants then in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and is now a vibrant place to see in the city. Colourful buildings, memorials and street art and the neighbourhood is full of restaurants. Are you hungry for Mexican food? Definitely make your way down and try one of the many traditional restaurants in the area, try a few if you have the time!

Further reading:

This father’s day which celebrity dad are you most like?

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Stuck for gift ideas, this father’s day why not see which celebrity dad your most like, to find out your ideal gift. Will it be funny man Ashton Kutcher or un-conventional parent Will Smith? What about movie hunks Mark Wahlberg or Channing Tatum or music moguls Kanye West or Jay Z? Take the fun quiz below from My Voucher Codes to see who you get!

I got Prince William, now although I don’t pretend to be king of my castle, I leave that to my partner, but I wouldn’t mind having the access to all that money and gold oh and one day ruling the UK! Okay so maybe some ideas of grandeur there, but the gift suggestions might just fit me to a tee. I’ve always fancied doing some outdoor pursuits such as clay pigeon shooting, it’s not something I have done before but always wanted to try!
At the moment the kids are at an age where I get usually a homemade gift such as a picture or papier-mâché bowl and a card, kindly made in school and then usually a little treat from my partner. So I think it will be a while before they are forking out for gifts like this!

Your Baby’s Precious Vision: Know the Red Flags that May Signal Eye Problems

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Baby's health

There are so many things to worry about as a parent and the eye health of your baby will be one of them. However, understanding the potential eye problems your baby could be born with, or could develop, will help to ensure that your baby’s eyes are healthy and that they mature as they should.

In order to avoid any visual impairments, diagnosing any eye problems as early as possible is crucial. The types of problems that may arise could be congenital (i.e. hereditary) or they could develop after birth. At the first neonatal check, a baby’s eyes should be examined to identify any potential structural problems such as retinoblastoma, ptosis, corneal opacity and cataracts. Should anything be found, your child should be referred directly to a paediatric ophthalmologist.

If these aren’t diagnosed early enough and the right treatments aren’t provided, it could have long-term consequences. Despite increasing amounts of medical advancements with things such as laser eye surgery, early detection will lead to better prevention.

Congenital Eye Problems

There are a number of ways in which your baby could develop a congenital eye problem, with the most common cause being a genetic disorder. Diseases such as Marfan’s syndrome, albinism and anophthalmia are all types of genetic conditions that can be passed onto your children. Should you or your partner have a condition that affects the eyes, you should be extra vigilant for any signs in your baby.

Other causes of these types of problems include infections, the intrauterine effects of alcohol or drugs, and maternal diabetes. Defects to the globe of the eye, the eyelids, the cornea, the pupil and iris, the retina and the lens are all congenital problems that can occur in babies.

Problems that Occur After Birth

Babies can also develop eye problems after birth. This could be caused by something like conjunctivitis during the first month of their life (ophthalmia neonatorum). Or, it could be a condition like amblyopia, which can happen during a baby’s first 2 to 3 years and is caused by sensory deprivation during this critical retinal development stage.

Knowing the Warning Signs

Whether you’re concerned about your baby’s eye health or not, there are a number of signs you can look out for that may indicate underlying problems. Watch out for any signs that your baby is tearing excessively or if there is any irritation to the eye area as this could indicate a problem with the tear ducts or an eye infection.

Take note of how your baby reacts to the light because any sensitivity they demonstrate towards it may be indicative of high eye pressure. Monitor how your baby’s eyes move and be mindful of any signs that your baby’s muscles aren’t developing properly – e.g. one eye moving in a different direction to the other may point towards strabismus.

Your baby will receive eye tests at the start of their life as part of their routine check-ups but it’s vital that you continue these. As a child’s eyes rapidly develop, particularly during the first few years of their life, regular screenings are a must, especially if there are any known problems running in the family.

Sebastian Pearce is a Dad who has become knowledgeable on eyesight issues due to his young sons low vision. He wants to raise awareness with his articles and offer support to other parents experiencing similar issues.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!