By Wendy

With the cooler temperatures outside, we’re finally getting into swing of fall. Before it gets too chilly out and the snow begins to hit the ground, enjoy the autumn season with these 5 fun and eco-friendly activities you can do with the entire family:

1- Visit a national state park for a hike- hiking is a great thing to do with the entire family. You’ll not only get to enjoy the great outdoors, but you’ll also get the heart pumping, nice quiet picnic along the hike and maybe see some forest animals.

2- Check out the fall foliage at your local park- take a stroll at your nearest park on a sunny afternoon and you’ll see trees with leaves change from green, to yellow, orange and red. It also makes for beautiful pictures!

3- Go apple picking- whether its apple picking or pumpkin picking, there are tons of local farms that start their picking season’s right after Labor Day and into the Fall season. It’ a fun weekend event for the family. Plus there are tons of activities right on the farm, from corn maize’s, hayrides, haunted houses, apple cider, and more. Check online for local farms and orchards in your area.

4- Make a delicious butternut squash soup- or maybe even a tomato basil soup. Head to your local farmer’s market and you’ll be able to find the fresh and locally sourced produce to make something delicious that will warm up everyone’s tummy.

5- Make your own Halloween costume- with Halloween a week away and no costume, it might be time to get creative this year and make your own costume. You can use any materials you want, from things you already have at home, like cardboard, construction paper, and glue, to picking up a few things at your local craft store. Have the kids come up with ideas and start decorating!

So whether you choose to go hiking or apple picking at your local farm this fall, have some eco-friendly fun this season this year with the family! What’s your favorite fall activity?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

Every year at our daughter’s school they have classroom Halloween celebrations. Families are asked to send in a snack for the class to enjoy, thankfully in our school there is a requirement that half the snacks be healthy, this helps to balance out all the sweets. Being the “Today I Ate A Rainbow” family we always sign up for bringing in a healthy snack and this veggie skeleton is one of our favorites! The best part is when I pick up our platter at the end of the day it’s always empty while there are still trays of cupcakes and other goodies still uneaten!

Here are the simple directions to make a Rainbow Veggie Skeleton:

You’ll need the following items:

• Head of cabbage or iceberg lettuce
• Zucchini slices (rounds)
• Bell Pepper slices (cross-cut)
• Celery stalks
• Sugar snap peas
• Carrots (peeled)
• Broccoli florets
• Cauliflower florets
• Cherry/Grape Tomatoes
• Healthy dressing of your choice!
• Olive slices

Step 1. Line half of small bowl with lettuce for the skeleton’s hair; fill with dressing. Place at one end of large tray or baking sheet for the skeleton’s head.

Step 2. Cut vegetables the arrange them on tray to resemble skeleton’s body

* We added the fake spiders for a little extra fun

Halloween parties can have a balance of sweets and health…by spending a little extra time you can make veggies just as fun as any junk food!
Happy Healthy Eating,

Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

This is the great time of year to enjoy apples!

Making your own apple sauce is really easy and it’s a great thing to make with
your kids! They can wash the apples, peel the apples and if they are comfortable with a knife then they can help you chop up the apples too! We sometimes like to have apple sauce as a treat after dinner and sometimes we just love having it as a little snack We prefer to make our apple sauce without sugar, we just choose a naturally sweet and juicy variety of apple like red or golden delicious!

All you need:

• 1 pound of apples
• 5 -6 tablespoons of water
• cinnamon (to taste – we like to use a lot of cinnamon!)

Wash the apples. Peel them, remove the core and then slice into small chunks. Place your apples into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and sprinkle in your cinnamon. Simmer the apples until soft. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning!!! We learned that the hard way Once they are nice and soft you can serve the apple sauce warm or cold!

Happy Healthy Eating

Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

By Wendy

Summer has flown by this year! And now Labor day is just around the corner and you’re trying to plan one more trip to the beach before you have to officially say goodbye to summer. Here are 5 easy ways you can stay eco-friendly at the beach with the family:

1: Pack up the car with as many people as possible, or use public transportation- this will not only help lower overall gas emissions and save you money, it’ll also make for some great family fun and some great pictures!

2: Use the designated walking areas instead of walking on dunes- beach grass and sand dunes help protect the land against the water and beach erosion. Using walkovers when we see them will help us keep the beach as wildlife flourishing.

3: Take everything you brought to the beach with you when you leave- whether they’re recyclable or not, be conscious of what you bring to the beach. Make sure you pack everything with you and disposing them in the right places. This helps prevent any remnant items from being left behind at the beach and potentially floating out into the water, which could end up hurting wildlife, such as fish, turtles, and other sea creatures.

4: Always pick up after yourself- The beach isn’t another bathroom or garbage can. Pick up all your leftover beach toys, snacks, and water bottles. If someone needs to use the restroom, use the public restroom. Pick up after your pets and dispose of their waste in the garbage.

5: Use eco-friendly sunscreen- if you’re at the beach, you’re bound to go into the water. Choose a eco-friendly sunscreen that uses safe ingredients to keep the water and wildlife safe of harmful toxins.

With these 5 easy tips on how to stay eco-friendly at the beach with the family, you’ll be able to help keep our beaches well protected and a ongoing summer destination for everyone.

What other tips do you practice to stay eco-friendly at the beach?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

By Wendy

It’s August and you’re hoping to take a trip with the entire family before the kids officially start school again. So you’ve finally decided on a destination and how many days you’ll be going for. Now it’s time to pack for the actual vacation. We all try to be eco-friendly at home and at work, except when it comes to packing for vacation, we tend to forget about those eco-friendly habits we’ve developed. Whether it’s from all the excitement of going on vacation or just out of convenience, we end up over packing for the vacation; bring items that aren’t eco-friendly; or maybe not recycling when possible, we forget. So, here are 7 easy ways how we can be eco-friendly while we pack and travel for vacation:

1- Pack Light: the heavier the bags, the more fuel it takes for you to travel. The lighter you bag, the better you can avoid paying additional luggage fees for heavy suitcases. It’ll also be easier for you and the family to get around. A win-win situation for everyone.

2- Avoid Bringing Toiletries: it’s great to have your own little bottles of your favorite shampoos and conditioners, but usually, hotels provide you with the toiletries you need for your stay. So skip those and bring only the ones you really need. Put them into your own plastic travel containers so they’ll be reusable and more eco-friendly

3- Pack your Digital Camera and Charger: digital cameras take better pictures and can hold more pictures than any disposable camera, which can only be used once and bad for the environment. And you’ll be able to look back at the great vacation you had this summer.

4- Bring a Water Bottle- bring your own water bottles if possible. You’ll avoid having to buy bottled water throughout your trip, which will save you money and stay eco-friendly.

5- Use Eco-Friendly Public Transportation: try using public transportation instead of renting a car and using gas. If you’re flying to your destination, choose a direct flight instead of a connecting flight.

6- Choose an Environmentally Conscious Hotel: many hotels now use renewable energy, use non-toxic cleaning products, recycle, and follow other eco-friendly practices. Search for one that makes sense for your trip. If you can’t find on at your vacation destination, try reusing hotel towels, using less water and energy, and only charge your electronics to full capacity and unplug to save energy during your stay.

7- Support the Locals: eating at local restaurants and doing local activities will let you get the full experience of your stay and decrease your environmental impact.

How are you eco-friendly when you’re on vacation?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.