Day 195: A Recipe for Giving Back to the Planet this Spring

When I started 365give my motivation was simple. He stands about 3 feet tall, is potty trained, can count to 20 and is the love of my life. My motivation is my son. He is my miracle. My husband and I were blessed in adopting him at the age of 11 weeks old. He changed my life forever. He has made me a better person. Since the day he came home I have done everything I could to give him the best of everything life has to offer. I’m not talking about the newest toys or the finest cloths. I am talking about feeding him great healthy food that he understands and loves, travelling with him to see different parts of the world, teaching him to pick up garbage instead of walking past it, composting and treating every animal and plant with respect and care. I was once asked how I would know if I had done a good job as a parent raising my son. The answer was easy. If my son grows up being kind, giving, loving and full of life I have done my job well. If I can teach him he has the ability to impact other people and our planet by his actions in a positive manner I will be jumping for joy in the heavens at the end of my life.

Our next lesson began today and it’s all about giving back to the planet, and ourselves.  It’s a recipe I hope we will recreate year after year together.

Day 195: Give 195

This is a simple yet effective and yummy spring recipe. You don’t need anything fancy, a pot, some soil, a seed, water and a little love. This recipe takes the term Slow Food to a whole new level.  With any luck we will have a feast on the grill by July. 

Here’s our recipe – try it with your kids and see how much fun supporting the planet is and watching your seeds grow.

Ingredients

6 pots (Home Depot is selling eco-friendly ones this spring made from recycled plastic!) 
6 packages of organic seeds (tomatoes, beans, peppers, zucchini, cucumber, snap peas)
2 bags of organic potting soil
Water

This can be done directly in your garden but I needed a moveable garden this summer so we went with pots on our deck. We got our hands dirty, dug some holes, planted the seeds added some water and now we wait. Oh the lesson of patience for a 3 year old. Planting your own garden is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and will help to give your children an understanding of where our vegetables / fruit come from. They may just eat a few extra at the same time.

I am also going to throw one more GIVE into this post today. I have my special BoomBoom cards with me to encourage our family to give and to pass along the give to friends and family. BoomBoom cards are Random Acts of Kindness cards do and then pass along to your family or friends so they can do it to. It’s all traceable on their site online so you can see your act of kindness travel around the world. This card reads “Plant a Seed” which we did complete today. I will be sending this BoomBoom Card to my sister and her kids in Toronto as planting season has not yet begun. I hope this will inspired everyone that receives the card to start their own sustainable garden.

Time Commitment: 1 hour  

Cost: $15.00