I LOVE this picture!! Look at all that colorful goodness. I talk to so many people who tell me that they just can't change their eating habits because there are too many no nos. "No gluten" "No dairy" "No sugar" "No artificial colors" Now, all of those things are not always "nos" - gluten from a whole grain source is an occasionally for me and dairy from organic milk is also an occasionally. Refined sugar is always a no no, but when you have so many other sweet choices like honey, agave, turbinado, stevia, and sucanut, you really aren't missing out. And artificial color??? Why would you ever want to eat something made red in a lab when you could eat from the above pile?? It blows me away.
I spoke with a man recently who spends all of his time researching and compiling evidence for alternative cancer cures. He had some amazing stories, and I have a few of my own, of people who have been cured from what the doctors called "terminal" cancer - pretty much through diet alone. God gave us the foods we need to heal disease, but we are so out of touch with our SAD - standard American diet that we are making ourselves sicker and sicker. This man told a couple of people in the group we were with that he always tells people to start simple - have their kids eat one fruit or vegetable one time a week and they will see a difference in their health. ONE veggie ONCE a week!?!? People must be sick, sick, sick if that is actually going to show them a difference. Is there really anyone reading my blog whose kids only eat one veggie one time per week?? That is one veggie per seven days!! One.
Can I tell you what my 2 year old ate yesterday?? For breakfast he had an egg (not a veggie, I am aware) and he drank a green smoothie. In that smoothie I put an orange, about 1/4 of a pineapple, a few slices of peach, about 1/2 of a mango, a large handful of fresh spinach, and 4 fresh basil leaves. He sucked the bottom out of his cup. Over the rest of the day, in addition to his meals, he ate several slices of raw red pepper, an avocado, an entire container of raspberries, and 6 large strawberries. Obviously, he had an abundance of fruit yesterday. That is just what we have around the house because it is getting close to Farmer's Market day. On any given day he drinks his green smoothie, he eats sweet potatoes, raw or roasted broccoli and cauliflower (little trees, of course), raw carrots (with the greens attached like Bugs), steamed bok choy, kale chips, and fresh squeezed orange juice. He has had everything I mentioned in the past week alone. All of my kids have.
Last night, my oldest daughter and I made a gluten free pizza crust home made and then loaded it up with caramelized onions, cabbage, garlic, and spinach - we put some goat cheese crumbles and fresh avocado on top and baked it. Oh my goodness - it was fabulous! Just the perfect mixture of sweet and tangy and all with nothing artificial anywhere.
How do I get my kids to eat this way, you might ask? Well, we changed our eating habits when my oldest were about 8. Thankfully, they are my most compliant children, so when I said "no more pop tarts for breakfast" they rolled with it. My other three have never known any different. The biggest thing is to be consistent. Those who know me, know that I am not consistent about much, but I am serious about our eating habits. "Hunger is the best seasoning" and your kids are as smart as mine, I'm sure. When they figure out that Mama is on a mission and there will be no chicken nuggets forthcoming - they will eat the "little trees." I can almost promise you.
Give it a try, but I am going to make the challenge a little bit more, well, challenging. I think you should start this thing at one veggie and one fruit PER DAY for the first week and add to it every day after that. The FDA recommends 9-15 servings of fruits and veggies per day for optimum health. Obviously, as sick as our nation is, that is not happening. I can assure you though, you will see amazing changes in your family if you aim for that and cut out the junk! It is really not all that hard once you get used to it and go back up to that picture. Focus on what you CAN eat!!!
Be Healthy!!
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