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Follow me on my journey through Motherhood, the Divine world of Raw Organic Eating, Greater Spiritual Awarness and a life that will eventually lead to Self Sufficiency and Complete Contentment.......This is my journey.....



Wednesday 29 June 2011

My Kids and getting them to eat Raw

It has been 6 months now since I began this raw journey, supported by my obliging husband, and for the most part, my 2 wonderful little children, who have done extremely well to transition to this style of eating. Though, they both do not eat entirely raw, everyday, they do indulge in a high raw diet, with the addition of some cooked eggs, a rare meal of fish or boiled rice, and recently as the weather has been cooler, a couple of meals of cooked Quinoa and steamed veggies or porridge.
A compromised meals while the kids transition
to raw. Boiled eggs, served with raw crackers
and raw tomato sauce.












I find that if I become too obsessed in trying to make them both eat raw entirely everyday, then some meal times can become a struggle, resulting in resistance. I want food to be enjoyable and easy. I have had to find compromises with the children and their eating habits. While we are amidst the cooler months of winter, I am happy to allow a portion of their intake to be cooked, as long as the majority is raw. I feel the more I pressure the kids into eating what I am the more they resist, and the resistance becomes a habit. This, is what I wish to avoid. Allowing them the space, the time and the choice to explore the raw way of eating is what helps them to transition easier. 
In saying this though, when the kids do resist eating a raw meal that I have just lovingly prepared and I assumed they are just going to devour it, but they don't, I must admit, I do find it very difficult to not get entirely annoyed, but I think that is about my ego being bruised, because I feel like their refusal is a personal attack on my culinary skills and a disrespect to my efforts. I never seem to feel so defensive and irritated if the kids refuse to eat a meal made by my husband, a friend or the grandparents, so I think it is more about my ego then ensuring they are getting their required dose of nutrients from that meal. 
And if the kids do refuse a meal I have prepared, I will try not to make a scene, nor will I make a substitute to their liking, instead I casually give them the simple option to basically 'eat it or starve'. I feel if they choose not to eat a perfectly,  good meal I have prepared, then they are not hungry enough and don't really need it. They generally tend to end up satisfying themselves with a carrot from the fridge or a piece of fruit from the basket or nothing at all.    
It is important that I bear in mind, kids tend to be also a little more 'intune' with their appetites and will not eat because the clock strikes 'dinner time' or eat to feel comforted or bored, so they may genuinely not want to eat, or not want to eat 'that' meal as it is also rather 'unnatural' to prepare one large meal for the entire family and assume they are all 'in the mood' for that same dish, when I know myself, my mood for different food choices vary and we cant expect everyone to be all wanting to indulge in exactly the same dish as each other everyday. Though, it is also unrealistic to prepare an entirely different dish for everyone each day, as of course, we are not running a restaurant!
Kids are also less tolerant to 'unique' flavours, and so what they may refuse the first, second or even tenth time, will surprise us one day and announce it is now their favourite food.

What I find that the easiest and most accepting meals for the kids is a meal made up of a selection of small portions of different dishes, such as a selection of chopped vegetables with a couple of left over raw dips I have stored in the fridge, or a bowl of zuchini noodles with a selection of left over sauces to serve with, or a raw pizza base with the toppings on the tables so the kids can create their own, or a variety of simple salads, or even a table of salad ingredients to once again create your own.















Slowly the kids will like to explore their taste sensations a little more and include new things to their intake, as long as they are not pressured. Getting them to design their own pizzas or salads also helps them to feel a sense of achievement and they will tend to enjoy the reward by eating their creation.      




I am also very fortunate that my kids have not indulged in 'fast food' or highly artificially flavoured junk food, so as they have not had exposure to this form of addictive food, to compare with, I have never had to struggle to resist them from it, which makes my life so much easier.
Overall I think my kids have become very accepting of our lifestyle change and it is opening their world as much as ours and the longer we continue this journey together, the easier it becomes for us all.
       

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