Family Friendly Recipes: Where to find ’em

The days are long and full at this time of year. School is about to let out. The number of events and things we need to do at this time of year seems to increase exponentially. When is there time to cook? Here are some ideas of where to find easy, healthy and delicious meals:

Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less by Mark Bitmann (thanks, Kim!)

Cure Organic Farm CSA Recipes: Fantastic seasonal recipes

Delicious Living: lots of great options here

Elana’s Pantry: great gluten free cooking options

Whole Foods: lots of delicious options here

Where do you look for healthy, seasonal, quick family friendly recipes? What else is out there? Share a favorite recipe, please!

Boulder Families: Here is what’s cooking this weekend!

There is so much to do this weekend! My family is heading to Hotchkiss for a farm tour & dinner at Ela Family Farms. But the pickings are good down here in town too. Whether you head to the Farmer’s Market, go to BMOCA, head to the Denver Art Museum’s Free day, dance to Dan Zanes, go on a hike, or all of the above it’s sure to be a great weekend!

Be aware of wildlife. There have been bears and muntain lions spotted in town. There is a Supermoon 5/5 @ 9:30pm, where the moon is the closest to earth it will be all year on the same night there is a full moon.

Saturday, May 5 (Happy Cinco de Mayo!)

  • Dan Zanes and Friends at the Boulder Theater. Great kids’ music and a treat to have them in Boulder! Tickets cost $12.50/kids & $25/adults.

  • Denver Art Museum Target FREE day.
  • Nature Journaling and Migration with OSMP. All ages. Free. 9:00 to Noon. You must register ahead of time by calling 303.413.7657.
  • Children’s Storytime at the Main Library. All ages. Free. 10:15 to 11:00am. Ongoing activity.

  • French/English Storytime at the Main Library. All ages. Free. 10:15 to 11am.

  • Colorado Railroad Museum is FREE today.
  • Boulder Farmer’s Market. 8:00 to 2:00pm. 13th Street between Arapahoe & Canyon Blvd. Map. Great opportunity for families to purchase locally grown produce, eat delicious food, listen to live music and so much more! A Boulder kids’ favorite.

  • Boulder Museum of Contemporary Arts [BMOCA] provides FREE guided art activities for kids on Saturdays during the Farmer’s Market. 8:00am to 2:00pm. All ages

  • African Dance and Drum performance at the Canyon Theater of the Boulder Main Library. All ages. Free. 2:00 to 3:00pm.
  • Family Day at CU Museum of Natural History: May’s theme is Running Water: Rivers, Streams and Faucets. Kids with BeetlesAll ages. Free. 1:00 to 4:00pm. Explore the size, shape, color, habitat, taste and behavior of beetles, the most diverse specie on earth! Learn what links all 400,000 species together and sing some Beatles songs as well!

  • Bold Doors Student Art Exhibit. 9:00 to 3:00pm. This is a student art exhibit and kick off event featuring repurposed doors artistically redesigned by students. Sponsored by the Center for ReSource Conservation.

Sunday, May 6

Boulder Family Events: May 4 to 10, 2012

Listed here are some great family events. Most are free. They are all opportunities to be together as a family and engage your kids of all ages. there are a lot of free day events at major museums this week to enjoy.

Have a fantastic week!

Friday, May 4

  • Children’s Storytime at the Main Library. 10:15 to 11:00am. Free. Ongoing activity.
  • Family Game Night. Meadows Branch Library. 4:00 to 6:00pm. Fun for the whole family!

  • Bold Doors Student Art Exhibit. 3:00 to 5:00pm & May 5, 9:00 to 3:00pm.

    This is a student art exhibit and kick off event featuring repurposed doors artistically redesigned by students. Sponsored by the Center for ReSource Conservation. Support a great local organization and our artistic children!

Saturday, May 5

  • Dan Zanes and Friends at the Boulder Theater. Great kids’ music and a treat to have them in Boulder! Tickets cost $12.50/kids & $25/adults.

  • Denver Art Museum Target FREE day.
  • Nature Journaling and Migration with OSMP. All ages. Free. 9:00 to Noon. You must register ahead of time by calling 303.413.7657.
  • Children’s Storytime at the Main Library. All ages. Free. 10:15 to 11:00am. Ongoing activity.

  • French/English Storytime at the Main Library. All ages. Free. 10:15 to 11am.

  • Colorado Railroad Museum is FREE today.
  • Boulder Farmer’s Market. 8:00 to 2:00pm. 13th Street between Arapahoe & Canyon Blvd. Map. Great opportunity for families to purchase locally grown produce, eat delicious food, listen to live music and so much more! A Boulder kids’ favorite.

  • Boulder Museum of Contemporary Arts [BMOCA] provides FREE guided art activities for kids on Saturdays during the Farmer’s Market. 8:00am to 2:00pm. All ages

  • African Dance and Drum performance at the Canyon Theater of the Boulder Main Library. All ages. Free. 2:00 to 3:00pm.
  • Family Day at CU Museum of Natural History: May’s theme is Running Water: Rivers, Streams and Faucets. Kids with BeetlesAll ages. Free. 1:00 to 4:00pm. Explore the size, shape, color, habitat, taste and behavior of beetles, the most diverse specie on earth! Learn what links all 400,000 species together and sing some Beatles songs as well!

  • Bold Doors Student Art Exhibit. 9:00 to 3:00pm. This is a student art exhibit and kick off event featuring repurposed doors artistically redesigned by students. Sponsored by the Center for ReSource Conservation.

Sunday, May 6

Monday, May 7

Tuesday, May 8

Wednesday, May 9

  • Children’s Storytime @ Meadows Branch Library. 10:15 to 11:00am. Free. Ongoing activity.

  • Cruisers & Crawlers @ Main Boulder Library. 10:15 to 11:30am. 9 to 24 months. Ongoing.

  • Discovery Days at the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center. Ages 2 to 5. Low cost [$3.50 to $4.50/child]. Drop-in sessions: 9:00 to 10:15, 10:15 to 11:30, 12:30 to 2:00.

  • Barnes & Noble Storytime. Ongoing activity. 10:00am.
  • Gymboree Storytime @ Barnes and Noble. Stories, movement and more. Ongoing activity. 1:00pm.

Thursday, May 10

Upcoming Events:

Please let me know of any upcoming events that should be listed here. I am happy to include your free, low cost or unusual event in Boulder Family listing of weekly events. You can reach me at Boulder4Families@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook

The Daily Groove: We can all use some groove… (Parenting Wisdom)

Scott Noelle’s Daily Groove inspires me! He supports positive and engaged parenting with his daily hits of wisdom you can get emailed to you. I want to share this incredible parenting resource with all of you. There are so many ways to parent and we are all trying to figure out what works for ourselves, our children, and our whole family. Scott Noelle may strike a chord with some of you. If he does consider heading to his site: enjoyparenting.com

Today’s Daily Groove by Scott Noelle is The Power of Attraction.

Attraction means pulling instead of pushing. The
“pull” of attraction is not physical. You attract by
focusing your mind. Your thoughts have a sort of
“gravity” that pulls matching thoughts, conditions and
events into your awareness and experience.

Today, try this experiment…

Think of *one* characteristic that you really, really
adore and appreciate about your child. Something that
makes you smile when you think about it. Pick a
keyword or phrase to remind you of this trait, and
write it on the back of your hand. (If your child can
read, use a code word or symbol instead.)

The idea is to focus on this aspect of your child as
many times as you can today. But don’t tell your child
specifically what you’re doing — the power is in what
you think, not what you say.

You might also put little reminder Post-it notes in
places like door handles, telephones, the fridge, your
car visor — wherever you frequently look or reach.

After a full day of focusing on this aspect of your
child, review the day and note how it affected your
interactions.

Can you see how, through your intentional focus, you
*created* (attracted) that experience?

See the results of one reader’s experiment:
http://dailygroove.net/power-of-attraction

I hope you enjoy The Daily Groove! If you like it sign up for more like this in your inbox. It wakes you up and gets you ready for your day…

Birth to 12 Years: A short clip of one child’s journey

Wow! This one is a amazing. It’s makes my eyes misty just thinking of the journey from birth to 12. It all happens so quickly. Reminder to cherish, appreciate, adore every moment–all of them, even the ones that feel toughest–for these are the moments we learn from the most, tell our kids we love them, and be thankful for the journey we are all on together!

Sunscreen: What is safe to put on our family?

We are in full sun season! And inevitably the question turns to sunscreen: What’s safe? What DO we want in the sunscreen? What do we NOT want in the sunscreen? I am always concerned about the chemicals we put on our bodies–especially my kids’ bodies. To help us all figure out this conundrum, I contacted New Hope Natural Media/Delicious Living, a magazine that reports on health and wellness, supplements, and many more holistic topics here in Boulder, to ask what they suggest. Below is the response from Jessica Rubino, Senior Associate Editor at New Hope Natural Media.

What To Look For In Your Sunscreen

Ingredients: minerals zinc oxide and titanium dioxide rather than chemicals like oxybenzone. Not only do you avoid potential health risks associated with these chemicals but minerals offer better full-spectrum protection, which protect against UVA and UVB rays.

Protection Ratings: SPFs actually only indicate how much UVB protection you’re getting but not UVA! So make sure the screen tests for UVA protection too (required under FDA’s new regs).

Jessica recommends Badger brand sunscreen. She says it is AWESOME for kids and adults. It uses non-nano minerals. Nanotechnology is another issue because it uses tiny particles to improve consistency of mineral products. But it is unclear the health risks for everyone, but especially kids.

Resources for more research:

  • Newhope360: A list of the top ten sunscreens and much more!

  • Environmental Working Group: Environmental Working Group (EWG) works to protect kids from toxic chemicals in our food, water, air and the products we use every day

So cover up when possible to avoid using sunscreen. If you do use sunscreen consider the tips above when choosing a brand–and yes, many of the good brands turn our skin white and are not the best consistency. Remember that vitamin D is also important to our health, and we get our vitamin D from the sun, so it is always important to balance covering up and soaking in some vitamin D.

What do you do for your family? Any other sunscreen recommendations? What else should we consider?

Boulder Families Events: April 27 to May 4

BOULDER FAMILIES EVENTS: APRIL 27 to MAY 3

Listed here are some great family events. Most are free. They are all opportunities to be together as a family and engage your kids of all ages.

Have a fantastic week!

Friday, April 27

  • Children’s Storytime at the Main Library. 10:15 to 11:00am. Free. Ongoing activity.
  • Family Game Night. Meadows Branch Library. 4:00 to 6:00pm. Fun for the whole family!
  • Lego Kids Fest @ The Colorado Convention Center. All ages. Tickets for the event are sold out for the first session Saturday. Check for ticket availability.

Saturday, April 28

  • Tulip Fairy Parade: Pearl Street Mall, Boulder. Parade starts at 3:00 p.m. at the 1300 block of Pearl Street. Pre-parade tunes courtesy of Jeff Kagan and Paige Doughty, face-painting, coloring and other children’s activities. The parade will be led by Boulder’s very own Tulip Fairy, accompanied stilt-walkers from Frequent Flyers and your tiny tulip fairies and elves. A performance of Waking the Bear courtesy of Open Space & Mountain Parks.
  • Boulder Farmer’s Market. 8:00 to 2:00pm. 13th Street between Arapahoe & Canyon Blvd. Map. Great opportunity for families to purchase locally grown produce, eat delicious food, listen to live music and so much more! A Boulder kids’ favorite.
  • The Spot (bouldering gym) Family Instructional Day. The whole family climbs for $25, including shoes. This is a great deal! Go check out this well known bouldering gym with your family & see if climbing is a sport the whole family can enjoy. Make reservations to ensure space.
  • Beatlemania Family Day at the CU Natural History Museum. Hands on exploration of our natural environment. All ages. Free. 1:00 to 4:00pm.
  • Children’s Storytime at the Main Library. All ages. Free. 10:15 to 11:00am. Ongoing activity.
  • Family Dance Party. This is a first time event but sure to be a big hit. Organized by local children’s music instructor. 2 free tickets at the website. For more info click here.

Sunday, April 29

  • Fishin’ Fun! Join Boulder’s OSMP to learn about fishing techniques, equipment, and places to go fishing in and around Boulder. They provide equipment. Ages 6+. 9:00 to 11:00am. Call for reservations 303-441-3440.
  • Walker Ranch Homestead Spring Days. All ages. Free. 10:00 to 4:00pm. A great opportunity to learn about homesteading at this historical reenactment. I love this event!!!
  • Denver Art Museum is FREE today in honor of Dia de Los Ninos. All day. Free.

Monday, April 30

Tuesday, May 1

  • Children’s Storytime @ George Reynolds Branch Library. 10:15 to 11:00am. Free. Ongoing activity.
  • Lap Babies at the Main Boulder Library. Babies up to 12 months explore books & stories with their caregivers. No older children, please! Free. Ongoing activity.

Wednesday, May 2

  • Nature Kids: Critters, Crafts, Songs & Fun for kids who love the outdoors. All ages. 10:00 to 11:30. Chautauqua Community House. Tickets are for sale–$10/adults & $5/kids up to 10.

  • Children’s Storytime @ Meadows Branch Library. 10:15 to 11:00am. Free. Ongoing activity.

    • Cruisers & Crawlers @ Main Boulder Library. 10:15 to 11:30am. 9 to 24 months. Ongoing.

    • Discovery Days at the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center. Ages 2 to 5. Low cost [$3.50 to $4.50/child]. Drop-in sessions: 9:00 to 10:15, 10:15 to 11:30, 12:30 to 2:00.

    • Barnes & Noble Storytime. Ongoing activity. 10:00am.
    • Gymboree Storytime @ Barnes and Noble. Stories, movement and more. Ongoing activity. 1:00pm.

      Thursday, May 3

      Grandrabbits Playdate. 10:30 to 11:15am. Ages 2 to 6. Free. Ongoing activity

  • Boulder Family Deals

    Title 9 Sale: 4/26 to 29 @ Flatirons Crossing Mall. This should be a great one!

    Amazon Moms: Free membership is back again. Families get 20% off diapers, free 2 day shipping for 3 months, and access to other special sales. Can’t hurt to be a member since its free!

    Shutterfly Deal: $10 Hardcover photo album from Shutterfly found @ Travelzoo. Act soon because this offer only lasts through this Thursday.

    Cricket Magazines: 35% Off a New Subscription to the Cricket family of magazines. My family loves these! They are great from toddler though teens. Use code: NE356 to get the deal. Or just go directly to the website here.

    Boulder Family Dance Party: It is not too late to get in on the fun! Free tickets are still available for this fun family event on 4/28 (2 per family. Additional tickets can be purchased.) Click here.

    One Book 4 Colorado: Get a Free Book for your 4 year old. Head to any public library to get your hands on the book, “Maybe a Bear Ate It!”. It is free! But only through 4/28. Boulder Public Library.

    50 Free Things To Do This Summer!

    Here is a great list of 50 FREE things to do this summer in the Denver/Boulder area. Most of them are family friendly. Some will surprise even those of us who have lived here for a long time. Others will just be a reminder of things we have been wanting to do, or places we want to revisit–maybe now with kids. No need to pay. Just go. Have an adventure. Try something new. Have fun! What else is should we add to this list?

    The FREE list includes:

    • Art Fairs

    • Exhibits
    • Concerts
    • Attractions
    • Tours
    • Day Trips

    I would add:

    • Boulder Farmer’s Market

    • Band on the Bricks
    • Live music at 29th Street Mall
    • Pearl Street [playing at the fountain, on the animal statues, at the rocks]

    Here’s the link to 50 FREE Summer Things To Do!

    A big thinks to http://www.denver.org and @iknowdenver!

    Happy Earth Day! and What to do on Earth Day in Boulder…

    This is a day to focus on Mother Earth. How can we help our children become great stewards of the Earth? Great lovers of nature? Explorers & people who ask the important questions about how we will leave the Earth for their children and then next 7 generations or more?

    One year we went around our neighborhood and picked up trash and put it in our red wagon. We were all amazed at how quickly we filled the wagon in a neighborhood that didn’t appear to have much trash laying around. Another year we went on a long hike with friends. What do you do to celebrate Earth Day with your family?

    Listed below: 1) Things to do in Boulder on Earth Day, 2) Some nature blogs to check out, and 3) A link to the Osprey Webcam so you can spy on those amazing birds [2 eggs].

    What to do around Boulder on Earth Day:

    • Denver Museum of Nature & Science SCFD FREE DAY. Celebrate Earth Day all day with DMNS.

    • Denver Botanic Gardens’ SCFD FREE DAY.
    • 11th Annual Wild Earth Day sponsored by Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center. All ages. 11:00 to 4:00pm. FREE. Scientific speakers, animal demonstrations, and much more.
    • Nature For Kids and Parents: Celebrate Earth Day!. All ages. 1:00 to 3:00pm. Free. Earth is home to billions of people and also home to millions of species of animals and plants.  We can learn to use less and share resources so that wildlife habitats aren’t decreased or disrupted. Join the OSMP for an easy hike starting at the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage.
    • Earth Day Concert: Nature & Songs. Children and parents can join OSMP’s Jeff Kagan, Mark Wesson and Paige Doughty for an Earth Day concert of children’s music, nature education and fun! Music will be appropriate for children ages 3-8 but all ages are welcome! Meet at the Sunrise Amphitheater on Flagstaff Mountain (map here).
    • Wanted: Nature Detectives. 4:00 to 5:00pm. Ages 5 and up. Can you solve a mystery? Search for clues?  Who are they, and how to they do it – the feathered, furred, 6-legged and green beings who live on Flagstaff Mountain?  Are you an investigator who can help us explore these

      Photo - Flagstaff Nature Center

      questions? Flagstaff Nature Center (map here). The Flagstaff Nature Center will be open 1:00 to 5:00pm on Earth Day.Don’t miss the exhibits, fun activities and animal mounts in the Nature Center! Follow this link to learn more about the Nature Center.

    Here are some Nature Blogs you might like.

    Boulder County Open Space’s Osprey Nest Webcam. Take a live look at these amazing birds. There are 2 eggs in the nest!

    How did you spend your Earth Day?