Child bone health pics & encore weekend

We had a great bone building weekend recently at our local mountain with friends on this gorgeous sunny day.

1. Impact of running, jumping and active play is known to stimulate osteoblasts (the bone builders).

2. Sunshine is a mood enhancer and converts to vitamin D via your skin - and vitamin D is required to get calcium into bones.

3. Laughter, companionship and joy are known to raise oxytocin, boost immune function and reduce inflammation.

While it's important to eat plenty of clean proteins and minerals - materials for building bone - it's perhaps more important to avoid inflammation in the gut, so those nutrients can get absorbed and go where they're needed in our children's growing bodies.

In our crazy, stressful, modern-food world, it can feel like a challenge to avoid inflammation!

But you really can put together fun, tasty, anti-inflammatory lunches in a flash.

Super-fast last-minute mountain lunch:

• meatballs out of the freezer (double batch), with sauerkraut and mayonnaise - we love Primal Kitchens brand

• celery and sunflower butter (we always have this in the cupboard)

• home-made "oreo" cookies, which were quite easy - thanks to Maria Emmerich's Sugar Free Kids cookbook!

• plus bag of carrots and water and warm tea

And you don't have to travel to a mountain ski area to get these bone building benefits!

This morning I took a frosty walk to the corner just to soak up some early sun... and was greeted by half a dozen neighbors and dogs :)

Bone building... check!

What small thing will you do for your and your child's bones today?

Check out encore weekend of the Natural Bone Health event and let me know your favorite idea! Lets Talk!