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1. SHAPE YOUNG TASTES-Teaching your child healthier eating habits
Example: When Jude was about 10 months old, I introduced her to morning smoothies. I started off with about 4-6 oz and at age 2 she is now drinking 8-10 oz or more of a fresh fruit and greens smoothie. In the beginning we had an agreement! In order for her to be able to watch a few minutes of a morning movie, she had to drink her smoothie. After many months of making it work, she now reaches for it in the morning without being told. Persistence is key. Children need to be exposed to something many times for it to stick.
Sample Smoothie Ideas
smoothie 1:
½ cup fresh or frozen organic strawberries (or blueberries)
2 slices of fresh mango
¾ of a banana
Small handful of spinach leaves
1 tsp flax seed oil
1 cup rice milk or more to turn the blades
Blend
smoothie 2:
1 banana
2 Medjool dates
½ cup organic strawberries (fresh or frozen depending on time of year)
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 Romaine lettuce leaf
Blend- adding water to thin if needed
Putting the greens in with the smoothies is great since we know our little ones are not too crazy on the greens. I have also used small leaves of kale, even green or red leaf lettuce, celery or cucumber. Something besides all the sweet fruit.
2. FEED YOUR FAMILY THE RIGHT FATS
*The worst fats come from a factory. These are hydrogenated or trans fats.
*The best known fats come from wild salmon, flax seed oil, olive oil, nuts and nut butters, seeds & avocados (a perfect first baby food)
*Exchange mainstream chips for Guiltless Gourmet or the Olive Oil brand sweet potato chips. Try raw almond butter instead of peanut butter for some variety.
3. RAISE A GRAZER
*Just based on what I see with Jude, she likes to eat small amounts, play then eat again. If you are a parent that notices this, I would suggest going with it and let the child eat more frequent, smaller meals
*Let children feed themselves- Children will only eat what they need and in proper portion. Overfeeding your child will teach improper portion size in their adult life.
*Nibble tray idea: broccoli trees, orange wheels, carrot sticks, cut up grapes, etc in a muffin tin so they have all sorts of choices at snack time. I also give Jude the dried fruits and veggies available at most grocery stores (“Just Strawberries” is her favorite)
4. START THE DAY WITH A BRAINY BREAKFAST
*Sets the nutritional tone of the day- Smoothies are a great way to start the day (see smoothie section on this site)
*Consider fruits and vegetables like nature’s pharmacy
*Choose whole grain cereals and products without added sugar
5. TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO THE SUPERMARKET (if possible)
*Great place to teach them different foods, what is good what is not so good
*Only shop the perimeter as much as possible
6. ADD A WHOLE FOOD CONCENTRATE TO THE FAMILY DIET
*Juice Plus+ is whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 17 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Each ingredient is specially selected to provide a broad range of nutritional benefits.
*Juice Plus+ is a complement to a healthy diet & supported by clinical research
*School aged children from 6-15 can take Juice Plus+ with an adult sponsor. For more information www.childrenshealthstudy.com
*To read more on this program go to www.juiceplus.com
Here are some recipes and ideas for your family. Personally, I am a huge fan of slipping or sneaking healthy foods into Jude ’s food (like in Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld or Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron). When baking or making soups, I will sneak in vegetable purees or ground flax seeds. In our home, we call ground flax seeds “brown sugar". Jude loves it and wants to put “brown sugar” on everything.
Here are a few ideas that work in our home. Some of these ideas also come from The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.
Homemade French Toast:
Use sprouted whole grain bread with organic eggs. Top with 100% pure maple syrup or agave nectar and cinnamon. I add 1 tsp of freshly ground flax (or “brown sugar”) on top. Start small and keep adding.
Homemade Pancakes:
Make a batter using spelt, buckwheat, kamut or whole wheat flour, organic eggs and almond or rice milk. I always add in some blueberries and ground flax seed to the batter. Top with 100% pure maple syrup or agave nectar and cinnamon.
Sprouted Grain Toast with Goat Yogurt or raw honey (after 1 year old)
Fresh Smoothies & Shakes (see above & smoothie section)
Organic or All-Natural Granola: Served with almond or rice milk, chopped bananas, ground flax seed sprinkled on top with pure maple syrup if needed.
Sprouted Grain Tortilla Wraps:
filled with hummus-covered veggies or veggies with avocado and salsa. Annie’s Naturals has some great creamy dressings to add in the wrap as well. The Goddess is my favorite. We dip our “broccoli trees” in it.
Pizzas:
I don’t think I know a kid that doesn’t like pizza. I either make a whole wheat crust or buy the natural pizza crusts from Mustard Seed and add organic sauce, either goat or organic cheese and then create a pizza face out of the veggies. This really works! I make a red bell pepper mouth, broccoli nose and mushroom or pea eyes. I create hair with shredded carrots and line the entire pizza with either corn or peas. Then we play a game where she has to eat the pizza’s nose, etc.
Veggie Sandwiches:
Cheddar-style Goat Cheese with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sprouts & mustard on a sprouted grain bagel
Soups & Stews:
I use my crock pot a lot and make garden-vegetable soups with beans, lentils or whole grain pastas. A good healthy crockpot book is called The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson.
Organic Chicken, Brown Rice & Vegetables: This is a great way to sneak in a lot of veggies. I use small pieces of organic chicken mixed in with brown rice (cooked in organic veggie or chicken broth) with cooked carrots, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, peas, etc., whatever veggies you have.
Quesadillas:
The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.
3 sprouted grain tortillas
5 oz. organic pasta sauce (she suggests Seeds of Change)
4 oz. cheddar-style goat cheese, thinly sliced (Alta Dena-raw)
1 avocado, sliced
Place 1 tortilla in a skillet. Spoon the pasta sauce evenly over the tortilla and cover evenly with cheese. Top with a second tortilla. Layer the slices of avocado evenly, and finally top with the last tortilla. Cook over a high heat until the cheese melts. Grill both sides until slightly brown. Remove from heat and serve like a pizza. I have dipped them in salsa as well as add other veggies like spinach, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers.
Smoothie or Juices: I am a huge fan of blending foods and making juices. Anytime I am looking for something to feed Jude, I always go to making a smoothie or a juice. Having children make the juices is a fun way to get them involved.
Check it out.www.greenzones.org
Keep Fresh, Cut-Up Fruit in the Fridge: Having grapes, apples or whatever fruit is in season around can be a great snack and the kids will eat it.
Replace Mainstream Candy Bars with Organic Pure Candy Bars- Popular brands are Dagoba and Green & Black
Replace Mainstream Chips and Crackers: Look at products like Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies, or Mary’s Gone Crackers or Guiltless Gourmet.
Bananas & Almond Butter: This is Jude’s nighttime snack. Sometimes I will use the sunflower butter instead.
Frozen Fruit Ice-Cream: If you have a gear system juicer like a Champion, Samson or Omega, you can take frozen fruit like bananas, grapes, pineapple, mango, etc., and run it through a juicer with a blank screen and make ice-cream. If you don’t have a juicer, sometimes I just take frozen red grapes and dates and put it in my food processor to make a grape sorbet… Very yummy. Any frozen fruit can be blended in a food processor to make ice-cream.
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