We live in a world where healthy, fat free, low carbs etc…is plastered as advertising on so many foods we consume. But the question is. Are these things really genuinely healthy? I believe in a lot of respect too much thought is put into what is and is not healthy when it is really pretty simple. The closer a food is to its original form, the better. Over this Spring and Summer I have taken my campaign to get my kids to eat healthier an extra step and have incorporated a practical life lesson in vegetables into their lives. This Spring and Summer, we have planted, watered and harvested a garden.
Last year I watched Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution and was stunned at how many elementary aged kids knew absolutely nothing about vegetables and could not identify in their raw form some the most basic vegetables. Like a potato. I was floored. I feed my kids pretty healthy anyway due to a life of food allergies (Hit me up if you need gluten free or milk free recipes) but I decided my kids should know their vegetables. So we began back in the Fall with just our trip to the grocery store. We’d take a walk through the produce department. “Kids this is a squash….this is an eggplant, feel it, see how smooth it is?” And I let them touch the different vegetables and hold them. We bought several different things and would try them.
When Spring arrived I made a big deal about getting our raised beds prepped for planting, we bought seeds at the store. We planted them, watered them and would check them a few days a week to see if we had sprouts. When sprouts came up, we weeded. With much complaining but I explained to them that if you do not take care of the plants they will not grow and if they do not grow you will have no vegetables to eat. We planted several other plots and a kiddie pool is now holding a squash plant and herbs. One of the greatest lessons was the day we were planting and our peas had pods on them. And I broke them open and let the boys eat fresh peas right out of the pod, which they loved and I explained “We do this work, so we can get this.” Now our cucumbers and yellow squash are coming in. They are learning that some plants are prickly. We have green tomatoes on the vine now and we’ve learned that although fried green tomatoes are delicious we need to let them turn red. And they are really getting super excited about planting and harvesting. And are all excited to plant new things once other things die out. We now have corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, green onions, onions, leeks and we did have carrots and beets as well.
But as much as the health lesson is important, and it is vitally important for us as Christians because our bodies are the temple of God, so we should take care of them. Because if we fall sick because of our own doing, then we aren’t able to serve God the way that we should. But a lesson in where you food comes from is also a Bible lesson and a lesson in learning that everything we have, comes from the Lord. God made the Earth and the plants and the sunshine and the rain. We depend on him for water and sunshine to make your plants grow. If it rains, my eldest used to get upset because he couldn’t go outside to play.Now, he says “Thank you Jesus for watering my garden.” If the sunshines, he follows the same line of reasoning. And as happy as I am that my kids are eating healthy, I am more so happy that they are trusting Jesus for the most basic things like sunshine and rain.
Author: Andrea McGhee
