Physical activity, in combination with good nutrition, is essential to a healthy lifestyle. This isn’t rocket science. We’ve most of us heard and seen this for years. It’s not even a suggestion. Our bodies need fuel and they need to move. Today I’m sharing some of the ways WE play in our family- and also a quick and easy family favorite Energy Bites recipe so we have the fuel we need to play for 60 minutes each day.
For the Love of Play wants to inspire us- all of us- families and communities- to get up and get active – at school, at home and everywhere in between.
Play is fun and easy! Whether its flag football with friends, active brain breaks at school, a game of tag in the backyard with your family or organized sports – the ways to play are endless.Playing outside has seemingly endless options to stay active. There are probably 100 different games of “tag” alone.
Getting up and getting active isn’t always super simple when you are indoors. It’s easy- too easy- to get into that comfort zone of sitting on the couch/chair and vegging out, especially in colder months or in less than ideal weather. We try to still be active and keep moving in our house- and one way we do that is with the kids’ toys. Our house is set up so that the downstairs is a circle. At least, for kids running around, it’s a circle. The floor needs to be refinished anyway, but the ‘turns’ in the doorways? The finish was worn far before any of the rest of the floors. Our kids have run laps on that floor since they could move their little bodies independently. We’ve played thousands of hours of chase with them.
Now, they are bigger. So we have different ways of play. My son got a Captain America shield that shoots little foam discs… all of us, including my extended family, have taken turns for the past few years to don the mask and strap on the shield to hunt stinky feet.
Playing together doesn’t have to be planned. Or serious. We tend to have the most fun playing silly, made up games in our house. We’ve spent hours playing chase with Beanie Boos and other stuffed animals. It’s about moving and being active.
Outside? Soccer. Taking walks. Bike rides. Chase. Tag. The kids do cartwheels and somersaults all over the place. Basketball games, hopscotch. Baseball. There are endless ways to get moving outdoors. The point of the whole For the Love of Play campaign is to encourage us- ALL of us- to geet out there are DO things. Or get in there and DO things. Move. Wiggle. Jump. Shake. Put on the kids’ dress up clothes and pretend right along with them. You might be surprised at how much fun you’ll have!
Energy Bites
Ingredients
1 C. Quaker Oats, either Quick or Old Fashioned are fine
½ C. peanut butter
½ C. flax seed
½ C. mini baking M&M’s (optional – you could also use mini chocolate chips)
1/3 C. honey
1/2 c coconut
Directions
#1. Add all ingredients to a medium size bowl and mix well. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes so the ingredients set.
#2. Remove from the fridge and use a small round cookie scoop to scoop the mixture out. Use your hands to roll evenly into balls and place on a baking sheet.
#3. Once all the dough is rolled into balls, place the baking sheet in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes.
#4. Store the energy bites in the fridge in an airtight container.
*Makes approximately 2 dozen small energy bites.
- 1 C. Quaker Oats, either Quick or Old Fashioned are fine
- ½ C. peanut butter
- ½ C. flax seed
- ½ C. mini baking M&M’s (optional – you could also use mini chocolate chips)
- 1/3 C. honey
- 1/2 c coconut
- #1. Add all ingredients to a medium size bowl and mix well. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes so the ingredients set.
- #2. Remove from the fridge and use a small round cookie scoop to scoop the mixture out. Use your hands to roll evenly into balls and place on a baking sheet.
- #3. Once all the dough is rolled into balls, place the baking sheet in the fridge for another 15-20 minutes.
- #4. Store the energy bites in the fridge in an airtight container.
- *Makes approximately 2 dozen small energy bites.
Lori says
Do you have to add the flax seed? Just wondering about leaving it out….
Brett says
I think you are fine to skip it
Michele Bowers says
i use chia seeds.
Mark says
Curious about the flax seed. Would ground flax seed work as well. I ask because I read that flax seeds are not absorbed and pass through the digestive system without providing any nutrients.
Brett says
I think it would be ok- I will try to get some and test it this weekend
Wendy says
I make something similar to these a lot (Nutella instead of M and Ms) and always use ground flaxseed.
Michele Bowers says
when ever i change to ground, i use 1/2 as much as called for
Theresa says
How much coconut do you use? I think I see it in the picture?
Brett says
1/2 cup! can’t believe i missed that we didn’t add that!
Jay says
I see coconut in the picture, but not in the recipe. Could you clarify?
Brett says
1/2 cup! can’t believe i missed that we didn’t add that!
trixx says
We make up our own dances and songs!
Trisha McKee says
We hike at the abandoned turnpike near our town, and travel to other places to hike and fish.
Lisa L says
We try out new things as a family like ziplining or kayaking
Sand says
We go to the park, play board games and video games.
Terry Cross says
We try to play outside a lot, weather permitting.Nothing particularly unique though
susan smoaks says
one of the unique ways that we play is to go outside and take turns making up games and then playing them.
kristy thiel says
We love to play in the backyard!
cynthia painter says
We have lots of outside activities we do, but our daughter loves to have “dance party” night where we put on some music and she dresses us in her hats. We dance in the living room for hours! She is three and loves to dance and sing!
Kat H says
We love to play castle together. Any cardboard box in my family instantly becomes part of make believe.
Debra Hall says
we take the dog for long walks in the park and play with her
Laurie Emerson says
We like to do things like have 3 legged races, play frisbee and also go on scavenger hunts.
Lesley F says
We have a state park right by our house, so we go hiking almost every evening and love to see the wildlife
Lisa says
We like to play scene it. Its a DVD game where it shows you clips of shows and movies and we have to guess it.
joe gersch says
we play with the dog throwing frisbees
Cassandra Eastman says
We have a game we call midnight chase. Basically it’s hide & seek in the dark and you try to get to base before they tag you! My 5 and 3 year old love it!!
Erica B. says
We play soccer.
Cori Westphal says
We love to garden together. Weeding, watering, and picking the veggies. It’s not really a game, but it’s play to us! And lacrosse is one of our newest challenges. It’s a tough one, but a fun game to learn together as a family!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Brittney House says
We like to be active so we like to have relay races and contests in the yard for “prizes”.
Jodi says
My family likes to be silly and have a dance off, we also love playing lawn darts, and kick the can.
Lou Lou Girls says
Hello gorgeous! What an delicious recipe. Oh Yum! Pinned. I love the Captain America stuff. We hope to see you at our party tonight at 7 pm. It is so fun to party with you! http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/
Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
Aimee C says
We have family fun time a lot where we play board games, jump on the trampoline or have dart competitions. Our favorite it to go bowling or to The Boardwalk which is amusement park by our house
Kimberly Hilbert says
We love to play games: computer, board or active games. At one time we networked all our computers and had walkie-talkies so we could play a game on the computer all together. It was a lot of fun. Too bad more computer games are easy to network.
Paige c says
Every Christmas we make gingerbread houses and bake lots of cookies, for Halloween we carve pumpkins, and we love to take walks!
Krista M. says
We love to explore the trails at the park!
christine j says
we love to get out and jump on the trampoline
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! Looks great! Thanks for sharing at our #SayGdayParty!
Please remember to stop back if you haven’t already and say G’day to the hosts and someone else at the party!
Cheers! Joanne @ What’s On The List Pinned!
Dawn Monroe says
We enjoy playing disc golf. It’s cheap, it gets us outdoors, any age can play well and its amazing exercise.
Jessica H. says
We love to play by exploring the miles and miles of trail systems we have around us. Plus we get to berry pick along the way! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!
nannypanpan says
we play a game called love clues sorta like blues clues
darby says
We go to the park together!
danielle Marie says
we have game night and nerf gun wars.
Judy says
We like to play yard games or go biking.
KV says
We like to go roller skating.
Eloise Carlson says
We love heading outside to play soccer or football and we also love going for walks down to the park and bike rides. Thanks so much for hosting this giveaway!
furygirl3132[at]comcast[dot]net
heather s says
We go hiking and play tennis
Kaylin@EnticingHealthyEating says
Yum! I would say a unique way my family plays is we like to go out on my dad’s fishing boat or even go for walks and take a frisbee with us to throw around in a field for a while
Madonna says
we play a lot of board games and outdoor chasing type games
Monique Rizzo says
We like to go on scavenger hunts at beaches and parks.
Denise S says
We play board games or go fishing.
EMMA L HORTON says
WE LOVE PLAYING THE CARD GAME ROOK
Margaret Smith says
We like to take walks, go hiking, ride bikes or play ball.
julie murphy says
We like to have water fights.
Wanda Patterson says
In the woods by our house we have put up a rope swing, everyone takes turns. The first time I tried this I could barely move the next day, my whole body hurt. You end up using every muscle and don’t even realize it, your having so much fun. The kids just love it and the amount of exercise the family gets is great. We play who can jump the farthest, who swings the highest, By the time we’re done we have quite an appetite.
sandra davis says
we go outside or to the park and play ball and ride bikes
Stacey says
We love playing different games with their jump rope!
ken ohl says
We love to play hide and seek I know that is not that unusual but we love it.
Amanda Alvarado says
We like going to the park and playing on the soccer fields when they aren’t being used.
Christina says
We love playing outside, we get together with neighbors to play baseball or kickball. We go for family bike rides to the park. We just starting doing family fun mud runs last year and the kids have a blast
D Schmidt says
My family plays by going for walks on the trails near our home and creating fun outdoor adventures.
Maggie C says
We play Red Light, Green Light!
Sarah Coller says
Our family loves to head to the park with an assortment of basketballs, frisbees, and scooters and just hang out! We bring a lunch and spend a few hours being family.