Since yesterday was the official first day of summer (yayyy) I thought it would be good timing to share ALL of my essentials for a healthy summer. This includes snack ideas, non-toxic sunscreens, water safety tips, and activities for kids to get them off their iPads / TV. So let’s get right into it…

Healthy snack ideas for summer:

• charcuterie board (I use organic meats and cheeses and add lots of fresh fruits and nuts).
• veggie platter (cucumber, carrot and celery with hummus and guacamole).
• apple nachos
• berries dipped in coconut cream
• apple ‘donuts’
• banana ‘sushi’ – banana rolled in almond butter, followed by granola, the sliced.
• banana popsicles
• turkey & cheese rollups
• nut-free tahini energy bites
• rice cakes with mashed avocado or almond butter

Non-toxic sunscreens:

• While getting your Vitamin D from the sun is really important, it’s also equally important to protect your skin from the sun with sunscreen. Unfortunately many sunscreens on the market contain harmful chemicals and toxic ingredients, so I’m here to share a few of my favorite non-toxic sunscreens. Remember that your skin literally soaks up what you put on it and is your largest organ, so as important as it is to not eat chemicals, it’s equally important to be mindful of what you’re putting on your skin.
• Here’s what I look for in sunscreen:
  • Mineral-based ingredients
  • No parabens
  • Unscented or fragrance-free
  • Non-nano
  • Water-resistant
  • Broad spectrum (provides UVA & UVB protection)
• An excellent place to find clean sunscreen is on the EWG website (Environmental Working Group). You can check out their guide to sunscreen, and I recommend choosing a sunscreen that is ranked between 0 – 2 on their website.
• Below are my favorite non-toxic sunscreens:
  • Badger (love this for my kids too)
  • John Masters Organics
  • Raw Elements (love this for my kids too)
  •  Sunology (love this for my kids too)
  •  ThinkSport / ThinkBaby (I use ThinkSport and my kids use ThinkBaby)
  •  Supergoop
  •  Cocokind
  • Aubrey Organics
  • Seventh Generation

Water safety tips:

• An incredibly trustful source of information that I can always rely on is from Baptist Health. I loved this article that they recently posted on water safety at the pool or the beach. To highlight what I found to be most important from this article is the following:
  • Pool fences, pool covers and enclosures are important preventive measures to keep children safe. I personally have a pool fence around my pool and will keep it up for a few more years even though both kids are now swimming on their own. Not only am I concerned about keeping my own children safe, but also other people’s children who come to my home.
  • Install chimes/door sensors that go off when a door is opened in order to alert that someone has gone outside. I have this at my home and I think anyone with children should consider having this. Now I am immediately notified if any door of my house is opened.
  • Teach your children to swim: I invested money in a private swim instructor that came over once per week for lessons for each of my kids. I feel like it’s money VERY well spent. If private lessons are not within your budget then there are excellent group classes offered. I feel so much more comfortable knowing that my children have been properly taught water safety tips as well as how to swim.
  • Make it clear to your children that under no circumstance are they to ever go in the pool or ocean without an adult. My kids are aware of this rule.
  • Avoid ‘rough play’ and no diving into shallow areas: I always tell my kids that running around or knocking one another over near a pool is a big NO. I explained that they can hit their heads and get very hurt. I truly believe if you explain WHY you’re telling your kids no to something, instead of just saying no helps them to better understand why as well as wanting to follow the rule themselves.
  • Make sure that your pool is chemically balanced and clean. You can research how to do this on your own, or hire someone to do it weekly for you. We personally have someone that comes to our home once per week.

Activities to get kids off their iPads / TV

• Make ice pops! This is such a fun summer activity. Make some ice pops together, wait for them to freeze and then enjoy them poolside. I love these popsicle molds.
• Make a refreshing smoothie together: I love a smoothie with lots of frozen mixed berries! My kids love throwing all of the ingredients into the blender.
• Baking: I love a good peach cobbler while peaches are in season during the summer months. Berry cobbler is equally as delicious!
• Berry picking: I love picking strawberries nearby and then enjoying them at home.
• Bike riding: I taught Emma how to ride a bike last summer and we have so much fun going together (okay okay with training wheels – we’re working on taking off the training wheels soon, haha).
• Have a picnic in a park.
• Swim! This seems so obvious, but I love getting my kids outside and into the pool. The best part is it tires them out and they fall asleep earlier than normal.
• Beach day: collect seashells, play in the ocean and build a sandcastle.
• Paint rocks: I thought this didn’t sound so exciting, but we found some rocks in the backyard to paint and the girls loved it.
• Scavenger hunt: hide things around the house and have the kids find them.
• Build a fort: my girls love taking all the cushions off the couch and building a massive fort. They bring their books and barbies in there and hang out for hours.
• Color, paint, art projects
• Jewelry making (I buy the supplies off Amazon – or head to Michaels).
• Sidewalk chalk
• Puzzles
• Lemonade stand
• Board games: we’ve been loving Candyland!
• Water the plants outside
• Get the kids involved in chores: it’s important to teach them responsibility and bonus that you’re getting things checked off your to-do list at the same time
• Also check out this article as well as stuff from Amazon that’s keeping my kids busy at home