Reasons to Support Your Local Farmers Market

I have been counting the days until my local farmers market starts.  I love farmers markets and go to my local one every week spring through fall.  I can find everything from organic meat to artwork at the market.  Why would I shop in a freezing store with artificial light when I could be walking around in the sunshine?  There are hundreds of reasons to shop at a farmers market but here are some of the few I find most important. 

1. Know where your food is coming from
Shopping at a farmers market allows you to actually meet the people that are growing and making your food.  They can tell you exactly what the difference is between different types of plums are and most likely allow you to sample all of the different types.  When I buy meat they can tell me exactly what the animal ate so I know what I'm getting. 

2. Supporting local businesses
Stores only pay a few cents per pound to the farmers for their produce.  When you buy from a farmers market all of that money goes to the farmer so the prices are normally cheaper for you and the farmer still gets more money per pound for produce.  Farmers markets also have a ton of local artists, restaurants and other local businesses.  Shopping from them is supporting your local economy, in addition you get to meet the people in your community. 

3. Eating seasonally and locally
There have been many articles on the benefits of eating seasonally.  When you shop at farmers markets you are only eating fruits that have been grown locally and are in season.  When you eat locally the food is fresher.  The produced sold at the market has normally been picked that day, as opposed to the grocery store where it's picked before it's ripe and sits in the store for days.  There has been some recent controversy over which is actually more eco-friendly, but the produce traveling less of a distance to the market means less energy used to get the food to you.  Why pay to have something shipped 2,000 miles when you can buy the same food locally?  Eating seasonally and locally is a more sustainable way of eating and living. 

4. It's fun
Going to the farmers market is an afternoon or evening out for me.  I walk around, shop, catch up with friends, listen to music and have dinner all at the market.  When I leave I have bread, meat, produce and maybe a few other things I need for the week.  You would never get that kind of experience from a grocery store, even those that are organic or offer locally grown produce.  Take your entire family and make it a fun experience for everyone! 

There are a ton of websites dedicated to helping you find a farmers market in your area.  Find one to go to this week.  Feel free to post in the comments the local farmers markets you visit and share with the rest of us!

Further reading
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/seasonal/
10 reasons to shop are your local farmers market

Free Family Activities to do this Summer

This weekend was just beautiful.  I hope everyone got to spend time outside with their families.  If you are me, you were stuck trying to think of fun things to do.  I came up with this list to help others stuck like me and those that are new to the area.  This is also a great list to do with people from out of town.  It is a cheap way to give them a great tour of some of the highlights of Seattle.  Hopefully you find something new on this list that you haven't done before that you can go explore with your family.  If you haven't heard of something or want to learn more you can most likely google it or ask in the comment section and I'll help you out.

Money is tight for everyone.  Even when it isn't tight, who wants to pay upwards of $10 a person to do an activity?  Here is a list of things I've found in the Seattle area that are free and/or really cheap to do.  If they aren't free they normally just ask for a donation or a small fee like parking.  Most ideas are suitable for all ages.  Some may sound similar, but give me a break, all of these are fun and awesome ideas that I've done myself.

For this list I had summer on my mind because children are home all day and need entertaining but to be honest most of these activities can be done all year round.  You just might have to do them in the rain.

1. Free Museum day first Thursday of every month list of museums and free days
2. Play in the tidal pools
3. Hike up to the ice caves
4. Hike off the Mt. Loop Highway
5. Go to any number of local parks to play on a playground
6. Pack a picnic and use a grill at a local park
7. Play in the large fountain at the Seattle Center
8. Fly a kite (can go do it on the beach, some have competitions)
9. Visit a local farmer's market
10. Visit a free concert on the lake
11. Walk around or have lunch at Pike Place Market- be sure to visit the original Starbucks and gum wall
12. Spend weekends going to local festivals, most have free admission
13. Visit one of the old forts (we have several just a short drive away and you can spend the day with a flashlight exploring)
14. Walk the Centennial trail
15. Go to the beach
16. Visit Jetty Island, which is basically a short ferry ride to a big shallow sandy beach
17. Visit a Seattle or local public library, many have story times and activities going on for all ages year round
18. Visit the Ballard locks (I do believe they have a new name now)
19. Say hi to the Fremont Troll
20. Pay your regards to Bruce Lee- I do ask that you only go out of respect as the family does still visit the gravesite often
21. Walk around or have lunch in the international district or chinatown
22. Visit U-Village and let your children play with all of the fun fountains
23. Take your dogs to one of the many dog parks
24. Ride the ferries (some you can drive over for free and then the ferry ride back home is free)
25. Take a tour of local wineries or breweries (not free but lots of fun for out of towners and couples to do on a nice day!)

Get out there and explore Seattle!  Most importantly have a good time doing it!  Report back and let us know how your summer adventures went.  If you find something cool that I didn't list or own a business that has something I can add let me know!

Rainy Day Field Trips to do with your Kiddos

Even though it’s spring it is still rainy here in the Seattle area.  I know when I nanny I get just as crabby as the kids when I’m stuck in the house all day, so we try to do a couple outings a week even if it’s rainy. It’s important to get out of the house to help the young ones stimulate their minds.  It also is good to have a mix of activities that allow children to socialize with other kids their own age.  Though it’s not always possible with the indoor activities, I like to pick ones that allow the kids to get some exercise and run around because movement is key for physical development. 

 When we are stuck on what we are going to do I pull out my cup of ideas.  It’s a cup that is full of Popsicle sticks, each stick has an outing written on it.  I draw one and if the idea is feasible for that day, that’s the activity we do. 

Here is a list of some of the activities we do.  Feel free to go out and do one of these the next time you’re stuck at home on a rainy day.  Add your own ideas to my list if you have any!

Inside inflatable park

Inside trampoline park

Community swimming pool

Aquarium

Library or story time

Window shop at the mall

Indoor playground

Play in the covered area of school playgrounds (after school hours)