Kids can Rawk TOO

Dear Readers,
Here is a blog from a friend of mine in London Malachi.
I hope you enjoy,
Have Fun,

James :)


WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF RAW!
By Malachi, Raw Love UK

It’s a well-known fact that we all need nutritious foods – whether you’re young or old, male or female. For years, the government and the NHS have been telling us that we have to eat “five fruits and vegetables a day” for good health, which is very true. What they don’t tell you however, is that this is the MINIMUM amount our body needs!

Fruits and vegetables are absolutely essential for a healthy lifestyle but yet there’s evidence that people are not eating enough of it in their diet. A good question would be “why?” I believe the answer is strongly related to the fact that people don’t really know what to do with a bunch of kale leaves, spinach and carrots! I speak from experience because before I became a raw food chef, I was in the same position – I only ate vegetables for Sunday dinner and on Christmas days. A few years ago however, I discovered the world of raw living foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds) and as I came to understand in my journey to health the variety of things I could do with these previously ignored food species, I was totally amazed!

I have since discovered that it’s all about creativity and this is especially important when dealing with children. I have gone into schools to talk to children and young people about health and demo some of our fruit and vegetable goodies and the response has been fantastic each time.

I have learnt some tips along the way on how to get more fruits and vegetables into kids, which I’ll share with you here.

1) No pressure!

I’ve come to understand that the reason why most adults (myself included!) grow up not liking fruits and vegetables much is because we were forced to eat them as children so they became “the enemy”. It’s so much better to present healthy food to children as a nice option as opposed to a command – “Would you like…?” sounds a whole lot more appealing than “You must eat”!

2) Preparation

It would be helpful to have fruit snacks around the house so that children can become accustomed to snacking on fruit when they feel peckish, as opposed to a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate. In most cases (especially with the younger ones), children will eat what you prepare for them so instead of giving them £2 to spend at the sweet shop at school, why not give them £1 and put some fresh or dried fruit in their lunchbox also? Even better, you can learn some basic fresh smoothie recipes (see below) and create a ritual whereby you give this to them as soon as they get back from school – this will certainly get them running home!

3) Affirmation & education

Children need affirmation and encouragement so each time your child eats a piece of fruit or vegetable, be sure to encourage and affirm them. You can also educate them about the health benefits of what they eating and tell them about their favourite sports or TV star who has the same thing. It may not be cool to eat fruit in school so at the very least, what this will do is give them a wise answer in the playground if they are questioned by their friends: “David Beckham eats bananas at half time which is why he’s the best footballer in the world and so am I!”


4) Be creative / make it tasty

There are so many recipes and so many varieties of fruits and vegetables that you can be as creative as you like! It’s also a great idea to prepare TASTY healthy meals with your kids – it’s a good way to start to break the negative associations fruits and vegetables can have. There’s so much more you can do with a banana than just open and eat it! Get adventurous with your food preparation and remember always start with the fruit you know they like and then ease them into other types and introduce the vegetables gently. Ask your child to choose the fruits and vegetables he wants to put in and maybe have a little game where he makes you one and you make him one. Use this time as bonding time and it will stick for life.

5) Be the change

Finally, be the change you want to see in your kids – if you don’t eat it, chances are they will not! More often than not, children do what they see as opposed to what you say so lead by example.

Here are a few recipes to help you get started:

Sweet Treat Juice
1 Mango
2 Apples
1 Kiwi
½ lime or lemon

Method: Blend all ingredients in a blender

Juicing is a great way to get fruits in and if you’re smart, you can sneak in a cucumber into this recipe and they won’t even know. You don’t have to have the Sweet Treat everyday however as too much sugar in any form is not good.

Green Smoothie
2 bananas
A handful of spinach
4 ice cubes

Method: Blend all ingredients in a blender

This is a great way to get greens into the diet and they will never even know! Rotate the greens and the fruit for variety – you may want to try mango as a base or mango and banana and a different green (kale is a good alternative). Kids love smoothies so be creative!

Banana ice cream
3-4 frozen bananas
Apple juice (to soak the bananas in to defrost slightly)
Honey or Agave Nectar to sweeten

Method: Use a hand blender to blend the ingredients until it turns to ice cream

Dried or dehydrated fruit

Dried fruit can easily replace sweets and you can buy these from your local health food store or dehydrate them at home. A dehydrator is a great investment when introducing healthy sweets into your child’s diet. A dehydrator sucks the moisture out of food while keeping the enzymes in. If you don’t have one you can use your oven: slice some pineapples, mangos, bananas or any other fruit of your choice and place on a greaseproof tray in your oven. Set the oven to 115F and place a cloth between the oven door so that it is not fully closed – make sure you do this in an area away from the kids where it is safe. If you get really adventurous you can slice some apples and soak them in lime juice before dehydrating for six hours or until dried. This is delicious and tastes just like sweets!

The above recipes are just a snippet of what’s available on a raw living food diet – there’s literally hundreds more which are excellent for children and adults. I believe learning the amazing delights this ‘world’ holds is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your kids. I hope this has been helpful.

You can find out more about me and Raw Love UK by visiting www.rawloveuk.com, emailing info@rawloveuk.com or by calling 020 7207 2814 / 07984 211 819.

Raw Love UK - Love life, Love health: Eat raw!
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Raw food is amazing for your health - we make it delicious to your taste buds!