Eating Raw with a Family

We have a new Wednesday series of posts regarding how to eat raw with a family. If you have questions or issues around this subject that you'd like to see addressed in this series. Do you have favorite recipes your raw children simply adore? I'd love to share those too. Meanwhile....

Getting Children to Eat

Young children seem to use what they eat as a means of exploring their independence from their parents. Whether or not they'll eat said food is not simply about the taste of the food but how it appears on their plate, its texture, and who has introduced it to them, to name a few of the defenses you might hear. Try making food look FUN such as with:

Ants on a Log

Wild Jungle Peanut ButterHunza Raisins Celery Sticks Stuff your celery sticks with our delicious peanut butter and top with the tasty Hunza raisins. Don't forget to call them 'Ants on a Log' and get your children to make them with you for some added fun and feeling of ownership.

It's Good for My Body

Try to help them understand they're eating foods that are good for their body. My nephew, who is 5, asks his mom all the time, "Is this good for my body?" He has still made the choice to eat some of the foods that receive the answer, "No", but he also likes to reach for those foods which get a big, "YES". He likes knowing what components of the food make him grow big and strong. He understands he needs more Vitamin C rich foods when he feels ill and what a better way to persuade a child to eat broccoli than to tell him what a great source of Vitamin C it is?! Did you know 1/2 cup of fresh, raw broccoli has 65% of your daily value of Vitamin C?  Check out more interesting nutrition facts here!

The Right Beginning

Children start with a healthy desire for food. Their cravings and desires begin as healthy indicators for what is most beneficial to their growing bodies. Rudolf Steiner, the famous philosopher of 'spiritual science', says "Children may be overfed with things that make them lose completely their healthy instinct for food, whereas by giving them the proper nourishment, the instinct can be preserved so that they always want what is wholesome for them under the circumstances." Start young with foods closest to nature and you will raise children who is personally aware of the needs of his/her body. What is your child's favorite raw food recipe?