Tuesday, February 8, 2011

What do your kids eat? Are they raw/vegan also?

This is a valid question. There are two main theories.
1: For the entire family to go raw/vegan together.
2: For just those interested in changing to raw/vegan do so. I vote for the latter, personally.

I think the most important thing is not what everybody eats, but that the family eats together in love and harmony and support of each other.
My kids are older so they can make their own meals which is nice. My husband is on a low cholesterol diet. My son can eat anything. My daughter is wheat free/gluten free (which I am too). When it comes right down to it we've been preparing 2 or 3 types of meals for awhile but it wasn't a big deal so I never thought about it too much.

  Health has always been important to me so the family is used to me eating "weird things".I never made a fuss about anyone else joining me. I would make a green smoothie or a raw/vegan dish and I would always offer to share with anyone. Usually for the green smoothies the answer would be a big NO because it looked scary. When they saw me enjoying them very much and seeing  improvement in healthy ways they were willing to try a little sip. For the kids, I would put in a little more fruit than I normally would (the average ratio I use is 1/2 greens, 1/2 fruit). Actually I would start out with all fruit and they loved it, and then I would ask their permission to add a little bit of greens, or I would take my regular smoothie and just add more fruit and blend it again. Sometimes I would add a couple of pitted dates or agave nectar to it to sweeten it a little. They really got hooked on them and they love the convenience and speed in which a snack or a meal can be made--including a quick rinse for clean-up. Now, they usually don't mind the regular smoothie and they are amazed that it tastes okay! Just a little side note: A regular blender is adequate for green smoothies but with a high speed blender the quality of the smoothie goes way up and we all got spoiled with the new blender--so much so that when my daughter was going away to college we purchased her own blender so she could take it with her. Actually I got a deal on e-bay, I purchased a Blend-tec base with 2 blender carafes. This way all I have to do is buy another base and I got 2 high speed blenders for a reasonable price and the kids can each have one. God provides--thank you!

I have never forced anyone to adopt this lifestyle. My daughter, on her own, decided to try eating more raw/vegan dishes and smoothies (which she likes to share with her friends) and she started feeling more healthy and energetic too. She likes to experiment on her own in the kitchen making raw dishes which she's willing to share with the rest of us (thank you!, yummy!).

The cost of eating  healthy foods is expensive.  I suggest to people to start small. Just do what you can. It's never too late to start.

What we've always done  since the kids were very young is that we would require them with every meal they had to have one fruit or vegetable of their choice before dessert. The kids had one friend that liked this idea so much that when she went home she carried on the tradition with them also.

We've always made it a point to have healthy snacks around: cut up veggies (with Ranch dressing, their favorite), or fresh fruit.

It's also important for the parents to set the good example and eat as many healthy foods as they can. I like to tell my kids that good health is not just for them it's for future generations. I'm doing this for my grand-kids and I appreciate their support!

You need to do what's right for you and your family. I suggest to people to gather as much information as they can and decide for themselves what to do next. Good luck and have fun--keep it simple!

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