Raw Vegan Tips for Your Family

Win a copy of Kristen Suzanne’s Easy Raw Desserts recipe book by tweeting @CrazySexyLife with a link to this blog! The fifth, tenth, and fifteenth tweets will win!

Are you trying to get your family (and kids!) to eat more Raw Vegan foods? Here are 10 fantastic and easy tips to help you accomplish that!

1. Show your family great Raw recipes from books and the internet. Then, let them take turns picking out which recipes you make for them to try. This will really get their taste buds overflowing with anticipation.

2. Make one Raw dish at every dinner (or every other dinner), and don’t even mention it. They probably won’t even realize they are eating so much Raw food. It could be starting the meal with a salad or raw soup that is blended until slightly warm or it could be a side dish of pureed veggies flavored with herbs to go alongside the rest of the meal. And… have a Raw dessert (more on that below)…

3. Introduce your family to Raw with Raw desserts. When kids get to eat dessert after every meal, that is exciting, especially when they can have second helpings of it. Heck… I still get excited about that! Plus, Raw desserts can even be eaten for breakfast! Who wouldn’t get excited to have dessert for breakfast?!

4. Make certain meals all Raw. The easiest way to do this is to make breakfast 100% Raw. You can start by drinking fresh organic smoothies for breakfast or having creamy cinnamon nut milk with crunchy Raw granola. It’ll greatly help if you let your family take part in choosing what flavors to make. So, the night before you make a smoothie, ask your kids which flavors they would like. Make it fun by talking about the different colors, too. I love getting my nephews excited about drinking Green Smoothies. I give it a much cooler name, however: “Dragon Smoothies,” or, make a strawberry and banana smoothie and call it “Pretty-In-Pink Smoothie.” Trust me…these things help! Or… maybe lunch a Raw meal by having big fresh salads loaded with plenty of satisfying fixins (dried fruit, nuts, sprouts, veggies, and a yummy Raw vegan dressing). If the salad isn’t enough… add a Raw soup or some flax crackers with Raw hummus spread on top. Follow the meal with a nice little Raw dessert. Yum!

5. Give your kids choices so they don’t feel forced to eat just one thing. You can do this by offering them something really tasty compared to something that might not be as tasty, thereby making the tasty option seem that much better. For example, offer your kids a choice between blueberries and celery. They will probably pick the blueberries and be happy about it because they had a say in the matter and blueberries taste good (and better than celery). Or, make it a choice between carrots and zucchini. They’ll probably pick the carrots and be happy about it because of the alternative.

6. Another super tip is to cut your children’s fruit and veggies into fun shapes and sizes using inexpensive kitchen tools. They’ll be sure to show these off in school! And… turn veggies into a fun playground (broccoli as trees, tomato slice as the merry go round, etc. Or, make a face on a plate using spiralized zucchini for hair, blueberries for eyes, red bell peppers for lips, etc). Make it fun and let them play with their food!

7. Include your children in the experience of shopping and preparing the food. This helps them feel more connected to the food and it makes them feel proud to have helped. Have fun while you’re doing it and be sure to thank them for their help.

8. Here is another great way to get children excited about eating fruits and vegetables. Tell them that they get to eat a “rainbow of colors” each day. Get a piece of construction paper for every color of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Then, have your children cut out a big, fun shape for each color. On one side of each shape, write the word “DONE” and draw a smiley face. Stick them on the front of your refrigerator door with the word “DONE” side down. Each day, as your children eat a fresh fruit or vegetable that is a color of the rainbow, flip over that color’s shape so the word “DONE” is face up and you can see it. It’s a great way to motivate your kids and get them excited about eating all the colors of the rainbow because they get a challenge and a sense of accomplishment.

9. Always have Raw snacks on hand when you’re out running errands. For example, having a bag of yummy Raw trail mix in your purse can work wonders on growling tummies when waiting in line at the DMV (or where ever else you are). Other ideas are raisins, granola, or taking a cooler with you when you’re out and having fresh fruit in it or yummy fruit smoothies or green smoothies.

10. Keep Raw snacks on your kitchen counter all the time, especially before dinner. Many times family members are hungry for dinner and impatient while waiting for you to prepare the meal. By having a platter of carrots, red bell pepper strips, and other veggies, along with some creamy Raw dip… they’ll start munching on the Raw foods, which will help fill them up (perhaps they won’t even want all the cooked food when it comes to meal time). Keep snacks like dried fruit and nuts in little bowls or cute jars around the house (kitchen counter, your desk, the coffee table) to encourage filling tummies with Raw goodness instead of reaching for something unhealthy.

Creating Harmony Around the Dinner Table

Feeding people, especially one’s family, is a sacred task. This is why I have embraced the Living Foods lifestyle. Everything about it brings harmony. It has been so exciting, yet not without its challenges. My husband comes from a well-meaning Italian family; meat, pasta, bread and cheese dominate every celebration. Being RAW is tricky- you learn to plan ahead. I fill us up with Green Smoothies; bring the salads, fruit platters and raw desserts. Then I let go and enjoy the party! Being flexible and adaptable is a sign of good mental health. ‘A little of what you fancy does you good’ and being rigid is more stressful than allowing occasional compromises, especially when it comes to the kids!

HARMONY IS HEALTHY AND PLEASURABLE

I have learned that an over emphasis on food can mar the entire experience and though I am Raw and convinced it is the best way to go, I do not judge. Having traveled the world, I was always touched by the loving (not stressful) relationship other cultures had to their food. Be it Asia, South America, Australia or Europe, the focus was never on calories or health per se. The central theme seemed to be about PLEASURE. Everything about food brought enjoyment: The beautiful way food is displayed in local markets, artfully prepared and gracefully served and shared. HOW we eat, our state of being is as important as WHAT we eat. When we eat on the run, while driving, watching TV or reading the news, while standing up… Where is the sanctity, or nourishment in that?

WHAT’S EATING YOU?

Sadder still is how everyone here is on a diet- even pre-teens! All the dieting in the world won’t guarantee physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. And no matter how much we binge we still remain hungry and empty on some level. Mindfully eating with our senses fully open and awake will we be truly nurtured and fed. When I fully understood the damage of ‘shoulding’ on my family over food I determined that I needed to find ways of bringing harmony. Here are some rituals to re-establish a more balanced, peaceful connection with our food:

RITUALS THAT BRING SANCTUARY AROUND OUR EATING

*When preparing a meal for yourself or the family, light a little candle just for YOU.

*Think about ways to charge the atmosphere with excitement, connection, calm, or fun.

*Put on some music to enjoy, or sing, chant or pray- this relaxes you and puts your energy, your love into the food- which is the most important ingredient!

*Set a beautiful table with fresh flowers, a centerpiece of leaves, pine cones, berries, acorns, sea shells or crystals- something lovely to reflect the season.

*Use the ‘good dishes’ and simple but cared-for linens.

*Clear away remnants of work, mail, phone, etc.

*After hands are washed and everyone is assembled, light the dinner candle.

We all enjoy holding hands and singing the blessing. (I love to take this moment to see the light in my family’s eyes) Then the feast begins! I encourage my little tigers to take their time and really savor every bite. Whatever I serve it will be of the freshest, mostly raw ingredients prepared with love, and eaten in gratitude.

Having a loving and healthy family is the pinnacle of success and pleasure for me.

SHANNON LEONE created a documentary about raising raw kids and un-schooling called RAISING CHILDREN RAISES US www.rawmom.com

Puppy tooth fairy?

Puppy people!

I nearly had a heart attack last night when 2 of Lola’s teeth fell out and her mouth started to bleed. I immediately thought EMERGENCY ROOM! My child is dying! Her teeth will choke her as they continue to fall out throughout the night! She has a strange tooth canSer! Oh GODDESS!

Brian and Corinne both laughed at me (which I did not appreciate – until I started to laugh at me too). Is this normal? I guess dog babies are like human babies. It’s all so new to me. I’m a cat woman. Cats don’t lose their teeth or was I just oblivious?

I gave her some cool veggies to chew on and she went wild. Carrot and Kale shrapnel everywhere!

PS. How many of you are feeding your dogs raw food? How about kibble? We’re about to introduce raw and I’m not sure how to do it. Help wise pooch people!

Peace and nervous mother,
Kris

Crazy Sexy Mommies

Hi cherished health seeking sages!

WOW! Lot’s of guest bloggers this week/weekend. Everything from veganism, aromatherapy and a new favorite topic fertility! I’ve had the privilege of meeting some fabulously interesting women lately, two specialist in particular who ya’ll just have to know. First up,the dynamic Jan Roberts. Her story says it all. For more information and to ask questions or start conversations please go to http://my.crazysexylife.com

Take it away Jan…..

Hi Crazy Sexy Crew,

My name is Jan Roberts and the lovely Kris has asked me to introduce myself and give you some insights into key areas of women’s health – preconception, fertility, beautiful, happy, healthy babies and the other end of the reproductive cycle – menopause.

First a little about me…I began my career as a pharmacist in Sydney Australia, way back in 1967. I then spent fifteen years in community pharmacy, before my frustration with band-aid medicine led me to bat for the complementary side of medicine. I was tired of handing out prescriptions for people who never got better … at the time I simply thought that people were sick and were staying that way because of “the goodness that was missing from modern diets.” I’d grown up with a very insightful mother who sent me to school everyday with salad in a Tupperware lunch box. The other kids all had chocolate spread on white bread (mind you, I dearly longed to have these sandwiches)… now I’m so glad my Mom insisted on salmon on wholegrain! So I was raised with some understanding of the importance of nutrition, but had no idea of the other factors that impact our health, (the common social poisons, the oral contraceptive pill and other pharmaceutical “solutions,” toxicity in the environment and in our water, electromagnetic radiation and much more).

My then partner, also a pharmacist goaded me into learning more instead of as he said …“just talking through my hat about things I knew nothing about.” Well, I learned more and then some. He probably regrets to this day that cattle prod because it set me on a path that took me down an entirely different road (and eventually away from him, but that was much later and after we had our two children).

So I embarked on a postgraduate diploma in clinical nutrition and was particularly inspired by a lecture from a remarkable doctor in England…he talked about the work of Foresight, an Association involved in the promotion of preconception healthcare. It was a light coming on for me! Having staunchly resisted the idea of children for 35 years, I made an instant decision …when I eventually DID have my kids that would be how I’d prepare. Once I’d made that decision, I started looking at the whole reproductive cycle and was shocked at how far women had strayed (thanks largely to the medical profession) from what nature intended. So for 25 years my passion has been the promotion of preconception healthcare as the way to improve fertility and to prevent miscarriage and other reproductive problems. It’s also the best foundation to ensure that you will have a wonderfully healthy pregnancy, that you can (and will feel confident to) give birth without any help at all from modern medicine (hey, women have been doing this stuff for a few millennia), that you can and will breastfeed your baby for as long as he or she wants… and much more.

My little newsletter that ran to 12 pages and was created on one of the earliest Apple Macs turned into four books on natural ways to improve every stage of reproduction from preconception through to breastfeeding and they are all based on my personal experiences. My two boys who are now 18 and 22 were the inspiration for the series. At 38 and 42 years old, I didn’t have fertility problems, but could see that all the things that my partner and I did in preparation for conception meant that everything unfolded easily and naturally! Of course there’s nothing like writing from personal experience! But life moves on and babies grow up and personal experience is now at the menopause stage, with exactly the same diet and lifestyle factors important for an easy transition into that phase of life.

Today, women and men have greater needs for optimal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing than ever before. Corporate, work place, family and community demands place increasing pressures on all of us. Our reproductive capacity and reproductive outcomes are compromised, as well as being increasingly medically managed. Mothering no longer unfolds naturally and easily. Sexual health is compromised by the same factors adversely affecting reproduction. I could go on, but I think you get the message … 21st century diets and lifestyles have created a bunch of problems…but there’s a huge amount that we can do to redress the damage.
I will be posting some more detail in the near future on Crazy Sexy Life and answering any questions you may have. If you are in the area I am currently touring the West Coast of the US talking about all the things that need attention if you want to have a really healthy baby, and all the things that need attention if you want to cruise through menopause. Hope to see some of you there!

Click here for San Diego lecture
Click here for Costa Mesa and Vista (CA)
Click here for Seattle
Click here for San Francisco (Menopause)
Click here for San Francisco (Fertility)
Click Here for Pharmaca San Francisco
Jan’s Elephant Pharmacy lectures