Hi Hamama Friends!

This week is dedicated to ensuring that all kids are given the opportunity to live healthy lives. Every child deserves to have access to fresh & nutritious foods. In this article, we share some tips and fun recipes to get your child excited about their wellness!

How did Every Kid Healthy Week Start?

Dr. David Satcher wanted to raise awareness about the childhood obesity epidemic in the US so he created the Action for Healthy Kids in 2002. Action for Healthy Kids led many events regarding the wellness of children and provide resources for parents on how to help in their child’s wellness journey. In 2013, the Action for Healthy Kids launched Every Kid Healthy Week. During this week, the focus is on making sure that all children's physical, mental and nutritional needs are being met!¹

What are ways to get your child involved in healthy activities?

🕺️ Make Movement Fun: Find fun sports or activities that your child would like. The key to getting healthy habits to stick is to actually enjoy them! Get the entire family involved so it’s a more enjoyable bonding experience and so everyone can be held accountable.² 

📱️ Monitor screen time: Phones, Video Games and Social Media can all be fun, but make screen time a privilege that is allowed on a limited basis. Then do a family activity that everyone can enjoy! If you are having family movie night, have a friendly competition during commercial breaks to see who can do the most pushups or jumping jax or hold a plank the longest.²

👨‍🍳 Cook Together: Cooking as a family can be fun, educational and a great way to introduce new veggies to your kiddos. Kids who partake in the selection and preparation of the food are more inclined to partake in eating it as well. Don’t know where to start? No worries, we got you covered! We created an entire blog post dedicated to cooking with your kids. You can read more here!²

💆 Reduce stress: Search online for yoga or meditation videos for families/children or try incorporating deep breathing exercises into your child's bedtime routine. Children experience stress and anxiety just like adults do, so it’s so important to share healthy ways to reduce it at a young age.²

🛌 Get quality sleep: Sleep is an essential element of success for children. Aim for an early bedtime and a consistent routine of winding down with bathtime, lavender, books, breathing exercises, etc.²

Our absolute favorite activity to introduce children to is starting their own garden. Studies show that children involved in hands-on gardening are more likely to develop an increased snacking preference for fruits and vegetables. Giving children the experience of planting tiny seeds, watering and protecting them, then watching them grow and burst into life can help make children feel more confident, patient, capable and proud! 

Vegetables come in all different shapes and sizes and starting a garden can be a little intimidating, so what better way to start than growing a Hamama kit together!? The great thing about Hamama is that it can introduce your kids to different types of veggies in a fast-growing microgreen form. Hamama helps teach the advantages of nutrition and wellness at a young age - plus it's fun for kids too (and it's almost instant gratification 😀)!  

Microgreens pack a punch of flavor and taste very similar to their adult version. So if you are trying to get your child into broccoli, a great way to start is with our broccoli microgreens. Microgreens are also jam-packed with nutrients, so a little can go a long way when it comes to good health.

We’ve made it incredibly simple to start your Microgreen Garden! Click here to learn more on how to start your microgreen garden with your kiddos.

Our kits have been kid-tested and approved! ✅ Just check out the reviews & video below:

“The kids LOVE growing their veggies that they love to actually eat as well! It gives them excitement from start to finish and they almost fight over who soaks, peels, adds that tablespoon of water, harvests, etc.🌱”    - Shelli, Hamama grower

“My 7yo son loves loves loves these microgreens and eats a handful off the tray every time he walks by the kitchen table. He even has my 12yo son competing for who can eat more microgreens! This is definitely the type of competition I love at my house!!! We even did a grow-off between Hamana and a mechanized large sprout growing machine... even though the machine had a higher capacity, the kids liked Hamama better. Thank you Hamama for providing such a great opportunity for my family to grow and eat healthily!!!”   - Amanda, Hamama Grower

“I highly recommend this for anyone with young children to teens!”  - Farhad, Hamama grower

We want to make growing and eating a fun experience for the entire family. We have an awesome collection of recipes to get you inspired. Here are some of our top kid-friendly recipes:

 “Carrot Cake” Superfood Smoothie

Hamama Kids Lunch to Go

Loaded Sheet Pan Nachos

Super Salad Cashew Mac

Microgreen Brownies (yes, even dessert!)

We always looove to hear from our growers, so please share how you celebrate Every Kid Healthy Week with us!

Sources:

1. Every Kid Healthy Week - April 26–30. (2021, June 21). National Today. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://nationaltoday.com/every-kid-healthy-week/
2. 11 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Be Physically Active. (n.d.). HealthyChildren.Org. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/fitness/Pages/Encouraging-Your-Child-to-be-Physically-Active.aspx