Tips

Below is the advice that Tera, an inspiring mother of two little children, gave me when I asked a question in relation to my children's diet at the forum at http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/.
Tera kindly agreed that I use her posts on my website.

For completeness I included the entire posts.
(You can read the original posts at http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/14250.html.)

Advice for parents:
(by Tera)

From: Gosia
Subject: ? About Children
Date: April 10, 2005

I have two children, a 4-year-old daughter Julia and a nearly 14-year-old son Odys (slightly autistic). Myself, have been high/all-raw for about 1.5 years, eating more fatty foods at the very beginning, and then progressed to a high-fruit diet. I eat lots of fruit throughout the day, and then in the evening I usually have a green salad, or some other simple meal (on top of more fruit, naturally). My chidren, as I progressed in my raw food journey, have progressed from a mostly-cooked vegetarian diet. to a higher%-of-raw partially-cooked diet, namely:

they have fruit smoothies for breakfast
they often have fruit smoothies in the evening as well
they also eat fruit (Julia likes a wider variety of fruit than Odys)
Odys still takes bread to school
they both like to have some rice with (steamed) vegies and tofu
Julia still goes to childcare, and is fed cooked-vegetarian food there (I can't change that, but this is her last year there, as she starts school next year, so then it is up to me what's in her lunch-box)

I really would like to take them to a higher level, that is, increase the % of raw in their diet, but do not know how to do it. Some time ago, introducing smoothies helped a lot (I switched them from cornflakes-and-soy-milk to a smoothie breakfast). Now, I seem to be stuck. My children's tastes seem to gradually change (they even reject cooked-food and ask for raw, occasionally), but I would really like to make a bigger step. It is, after all, up to me, what I serve them. My ideal - an all-raw family. Am I too impatient?

Please, help. I would immensly appreciate any practical suggestion/advice on this topic. Thanks!
Love,
Gosia.

From: Tera
Subject: What Dr. D told me and other bits and pieces.
Date: April 11, 2005
In Reply to: ? About Children posted by Gosia on April 10, 2005

Hi, Gosia.
I'm a mom of two little tigers Mika (4) and Sebastian (2). I've recently been transitioning them to a raw food diet. I also have a home day care with 4 two year old boys, a 5 month old baby and a 9 month old baby. I've also been transitioning these little tykes to a raw food diet.

The results have been very positive. I send Mika to school with a lunch box. It's not always easy for her, but she recently went through a very difficult experience with psoriasis. Mika has grown up understanding that her health, emotions and happiness have a direct correlation with what she eats. She's actually learned to be very flexible and accepting of the fact that she can't/doesn't eat certain things because she wants to be well.

I am new to this, but I can give you my very strong opinion that unless you take the kids off grains, you will be compromising their chances to achieve real health on this diet. Just the fact that Odys seems to be already sensitive would be a highly good reason to get him off bread. Help him to understand the correlation between food and health, and propose a challenge. Make it an experiment. Get grains out of the equation. I don't know what kind of sandwiches he packs, but there are no grains that could be helpful for him, especially in his condition. You could hunt around a bit online. There is a lot of research on diet and its influence on 'autisim.'

Here's what Dr. D suggested to me regarding transitioning kids:
"I have found that they make the transition extremely easily. Usually the parents have a much more difficult time of it. Simply provide plenty of their favorite fruits and veggies, and stop worrying about their nutrition. Kids will eat all they need, especially when what they like is plentifully available. Remember, you are doing them a favor by introducing them to raw vegan at an early age.
Dr D"

At my daycare - during the transition, I would make them cooked vegetable soups, and other vegan foods they had come to really appreciate, and I would offer them the choice. The vote was unanimous on bananas and grapes. One boy in particular who suffers severe allergies to nuts and dairy products, was being fed a lot of crackers, breads, cookies, etc by his parents. When I saw him I was always aware that he had dark rings under his eyes. The first time I made a smoothie (mango, banana and lettuce) - he sat there for 30 minutes asking for refills on his glass. He comes here every day and waits for his chance to devour smoothies. Last week his mom told me that at home he has started to refuse their offers for bread. That he asks for fruit, and devours it like crazy. The dark circles under his eyes have nearly completely disappeared. My daughter Mika is an extremely sensitive little girl. A prime candidate for "ADD" and other similar tags that are placed on children. For a while at her day care, the teachers said she was "spaced out," "on the moon," slow to react, and not really "there." After only two days on all raw foods the educators were reporting "perfect" days. She was attentive, responsive, active and really "there."

This, I can assure you, has a lot to do with getting off grains and providing loads of fresh fruits.
My son has always had funny little bumps on the back of his arms and legs. They got better when I took meat out of his diet, but they disappear, when I take grains out. He has always asked for bananas, and before I discovered Dr. D's resources, I used to hide them in the cupboard, afraid that he would ruin his appetite for other foods. I should have listened to them from the beginning. If he could thank Dr D himself, he would because since I let him eat fruit to his heart's content he has become such a happy, confident little boy. He knew what he needed and he had been asking for it all along. My overly-indoctrinated ideas were holding him back.

I understand it is not easy. But if you teach your children that by their food they create their health and well being, you will empower them to make good choices. Just fill the table with fruits. My daughter Mika eats a salad every day. She likes it. Experiment with dressings. Make it fun and understand that you have been following a diet of raw food because it has a positive impact on your health. Because it makes you feel good, I assume. Why not allow your children to experience these same benefits? They will respond so quickly to positive change.

My advice: Ditch the grains, and make it fun. Challenge them. Experiment with it and enjoy all the positive changes that will very naturally and effortlessly fall in place.

I wish you loads of success and happy, healthy babies!
Muah,
Tera

From: Gosia
Subject: Re: What Dr. D told me and other bits and pieces.
Date: April 11, 2005
In Reply to: What Dr. D told me and other bits and pieces. posted by Tera on April 11, 2005

Thanks Tera very much for your response! Do not go away yet, please. I am acutely aware of the bread and grains issue , that is why I am really not happy about my son's habits (my daughter is not much into bread). I really feel determined to change that, I just need a little help with the ideas. I really appreciate your advice VERY MUCH!

I have been doing tricks that you mentioned, such as displaying fruit in the baskets around the house, making them (twice a day) smoothies etc. We buy loads of fruit, we buy boxes and bags-full of them. A big banana box every 2-3 days, for example. And, my son is quite happy to have smoothies anytime. But the lunch-box is an issue. I want to stop buying bread altogether, but I also want to have some alternatives for his lunch. And, the trick with my son is that he will not have just anything. He is happy to have apples, but he prefers bananas in a smoothie. He is happy to have my apple pie (made from bananas, apples and psyllium husks for the middle layer, and almonds and dates for the base and topping). In general, my daughter has been really much easier in the transition than Odys.

OK, let me list some ideas here for my son's lunch-box:

apples
bananas (this would take some talking into, but I will try)
some other fruit that he is likely to eat
my apple pie, or some other fruit and nut pies
fruit jelly (fruit + psyllium husks, blended)

Could you possibly expand this list? For example, what do you put in Mika's lunchbox. (Also, I need to make sure that my son, who has been recently growing at a rapid rate, is not hungry!)

Thank you very very much.
I will report later on about the progress.
Love,
Gosia.

From: Tera
Subject: A few more thoughts on the subject...
Date: April 12, 2005
In Reply to: Re: What Dr. D told me and other bits and pieces. posted by Gosia on April 11, 2005

Hey, Gosia.
It's certainly challenging stuff. I think the hardest part is getting over our indoctrination. The
more I try and complicate things, the less they like it. (...) Does he like salads? What about making lettuce wraps for him? Fill it with fruits or veggies that he likes. Do you have a spiral slicer? I like "Spirooli" because you can use long pieces of vegetables. I find that helps makes things fun and interesting. We like eating cucumber noodles. The kids love avocados, so I use them to help make things creamy. ;-)

I'm still learning, but what I find is that if I just stop worrying about it, and pack lots of fruit,
and a yummy salad, she's beaming at the end of the day when I go to pick her up! I use goat yogourt sometimes for her salad dressings, but Odys is a bit too old for dairy now. Michelle has made some good suggestions. I'm going to order those recipes and I'll let you know how it goes. I know quantity is important and so is communication. Just talk with him and make it an experiment. I cheat on some food combining sometimes to make food fun, cuz let's face it - if they're miserable, or resentful about what they're eating, they're not doing their body any favours. Yesterday we ate ants! (raisins) that were crawling all over our bananas and sometimes we drink ALIEN BLOOD -YEEEECH! (Green smoothies) I was running around the house chasing the kids saying "Alien Juice, Alien Juice," and they would giggle begging for more! I know he's a bit old for those games, but you could find something to lighten it up a bit. Take the stress out and put the fun in. Look online for crazy ways to cut fruits and veg. I know my old kids recipe book made spiders out of peach halves and mice out of pear halves. Even if he's too old to get excited about them, he'll think you're cute and love you for trying different things.

I also let Mika help me prepare her lunches, and ask her in the morning what colours and flavours she wants in her lunch. I do try and make them beautiful, too. I'll always put green and red grapes in and try and arrange things so they look nice. It's no fun opening up a tupperware of soggy, oxidized banana slices. Also, look through recipe books to inspire ideas. I wouldn't suggest preparing the recipes, but they might serve to inspire a new way of serving a fruit or vegetable that you hadn't considered.

I'm sorry, I wish I had more suggestions to offer, but I'm still figuring this out myself. I hesitate to suggest substituting potatoes, because this board is really to encourage people to go raw, but I do think that going in stages can be helpful. Especially for someone Odys's age whose palate may more accustomed to cooked foods. Make a goal for the week and take one week at a time. (My boyfriend, who has been packing salads and fruit to the construction site these days, has been looking a bit bored lately. He holds up to the teasing pretty well, though, and blames it on his 'flakey' girlfriend. BUT, every time he eats something he used to eat, he says he won't go back because he notices how difficult it is to digest and how lousy it makes him feel.)

Challenge him to TRY a week without bread. Give him an incentive. Incentives/Rewards are great. Or you could have a counter-challenge. He could challenge YOU to do something that he thinks would improve your health and wellbeing. And allow him to experience how his body feels with the changes. He's a big boy. Honour his power of choice, but provide the right motivation. Then let him live it. I suspect he's a wonderfully sensitive young man and will notice changes.

I used to eat a lot of cooked food and didn't think about it. Now, if I have a couple mouthfuls of something cooked, or a few too many avocados and nuts and I'm constipated and grumpy for 3 days. I CAN'T go back. My body likes what it has been getting lately and fiercely protests it when I fall off the path. I suspect you would notice some positive changes after just a day or two with Odys. Try it, for FUN. I don't like to admit it, but I've 'tested' a few things. Reintroducing an old cooked food and watching how it affects me has been a valueable learning process. I think I've finally 'outgrown' this process, though, because I find it's not worth feeling lousy for 3 days. ;-(

Anyway, this message is a bit erratic because of normal morning interruptions that I'm sure you'd relate to. I just wanted to get off a response and encourage you along your path. I know it's not always easy, but don't question yourself and try a few of my suggestions. Let me know how you make out. I'd be happy to keep in touch and help each other stayed inspired and excited.

Wishing you loads of success,
Tera :-)

From: Gosia
Subject: Tera, your post is loaded with brilliant ideas!!!
Date: April 12, 2005
In Reply to: A few more thoughts on the subject... posted by Tera on April 12, 2005

Thanks so much for that! I am still "digesting" them. Yes, I have a spiral slicer and will definitely try wraps, and everything else that you suggested! (...)

My motivation and inspiration is going up up up up. Thanks so much!
Love,
Gosia.

We can trust our bodies. We can especially trust the bodies of children. Your kids still have their innate ability to reject foods that are inappropriate, and accept foods that are healthful. You can trust your kids to select their own foods, as long as you're only offering foods within the range of healthy foods (very important!). Included in that range are ALL fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Some foods within this range are better than others but you can trust the bodies of your children to choose the ones that are best! If your child rejects a salad but wants fruit for dinner, trust him. His body is a far more reliable indicator of what it needs than any so-called nutrition expert who tells you to force-feed greens to your child.
(Nora)

Diet alone is not enough to heal a sick person. All the conditions of good health need to be present: a hygienic diet, sufficient rest, clean water, air, sun, exercise, mental and emotional balance.
(Bryan)

Becoming raw is a process not an event.
(Bryan)

I have said, there is no way I would stick to a diet by eating only one thing, I like variety.
(Peace)

Eat a variety and abundance of raw foods!
(TigerDak)

It seems to me if someone is worried about his/her hair falling out then one thing to try is a raw food diet! It doesn't get much better than that! And the food...oh my goddess!
(Steve)

I was just stressing about what to make (actually cook) for supper for my children (as they are not totally raw). I gave them a couple of choices - neither of which sparked them at all. Then my 5 year old daughter said "I know, why don't you cut up a bunch of different fruit and a bunch of different vegetables and put them on a plate and then we can choose what we want to eat"!!!! WOW!! what a great idea I said - she said "I know have great ideas mommy". There you go - problem solved. Just a little inspirational message for all of us who are trying to sometimes make things more complicated than they have to be!!
(Wootsie)

Every person on the planet is a raw vegan but they are just breaking the rules!
(Road Runner)

Acknowledgements: Maura (logo).
Quotes on raw foods by fellow raw foodists.
Other quotes from The Quote Garden.
Photos: Free Stock Photos