The holidays are the perfect time to introduce more fresh raw vegan foods into your kids’ lives. During the holidays, families are more inclined to prepare food from scratch rather than grabbing fast-food meals from places featuring unrecognizable, mostly fried foodless food.
Greater varieties of food abound at holiday time, so the kids likely will be more open and adventurous, ready to experience different foods and recipes.
You can use holiday characters such as Santa Claus to make the food more enticing and festive or you can decorate platters with holiday themes such as a Hanukkah Menorah or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In my experience, puppetry and the use of fairytale characters brings heightened interest to food. Using figurines and artistry are excellent for introducing young children to fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. In the spirit of play, it encourages them to participate and sample natural foods with different colors and flavors.
With all the heavy animal foods, always indigestibly combined with processed carbohydrates (the usual junk and party fare) typically offered at holiday time, children, whose bodies and brains are still developing, are more prone to getting sick. Parents can be good health models by setting an example to their children of their conviction to a raw vegan lifestyle. They can also make sure to have plenty of delicious raw foods on hand during holiday meals and for their preparation. Five to nine or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day will boost children’s immune systems and also provide the necessary alkaline minerals—calcium and potassium for muscle and bone strength. This is fundamentally beneficial for them especially because the winter holidays come with cold weather in many areas.
An excellent aspect of the holiday season is that most families stay at home for the holidays instead of going out to restaurants, where empty calories and overeating are the norm. Eating at home, especially foods lovingly prepared by parents aware of the supreme benefits of fresh plant foods, teaches children yummy, healthful choices. Once the kids get used to simple natural recipes and grow to like them, they will always choose healthful foods above junk foods.
Children love fruit, and that’s a great place to start. Colorful fruit platters designed as holiday characters or fruit in baskets made of real fruit such as a pineapple shell filled with bite-sized fruit pieces are so attractive to children of all ages. Eating an abundance of nutrient-dense raw vegan foods energizes us and keeps our spirits up during a period that can also have its stressful moments.
Discover Karen Ranzi’s Top 8 Tips for Getting Children to Eat Raw Foods During the Holidays!
Hungry for more? Check out Karen’s Stuffed Herb Pesto Holiday Appetizers recipe!
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