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What is healthy eating when it comes to kids?

Let me say off the top that I don’t have kids, so I can only imagine the struggles some parents go through trying to get their kids to eat vegetables, or in some cases, meat. I’ll speak from a nutritional standpoint on what kids need and put out a few ideas, but feel free to post comments with ideas that have worked for you, so others can benefit too.

One of the most important concepts I think, is for parents to delay as long as possible the development of a sweet tooth, by for example, not giving toddlers store-bought juice or other sweet beverages (especially soda pop). Once no longer breastfeeding/formula feeding, filtered tap water would be the beverage of choice, or the best quality full-fat milk one can find, preferably grass-fed, organic, raw milk from Jersey cows (as opposed to Holsteins). For more on choosing dairy, click here. Another healthy beverage option would be home-made fermented beverages using the recipes in “Nourishing Traditions”. If your kids are already accustomed to sweet beverages, try watering them down, giving them less frequently over time etc. in order to try and wean them off. Sweet beverages account for 30% of the average person’s calories these days, and is directly implicated in the explosion of Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease, and children are getting these diseases more and more frequently because they are consuming too much sugar. As parents, we need to lead by example, so keep store-bought juices, soda pop, and other sweet beverages out of the house. Especially in a child’s first year and hopefully as long as possible, try to avoid any packaged or prepared foods, such as boxed breakfast cereals and pastas.

Pediatrician Dr. Thomas Cowan, in his excellent article entitled “Feeding our Children”, goes through how to nourish children from infants right on through the teen-age years – I can’t recommend that article enough. I think it is bang on, and I can only cover a very few of his key ideas here.

Dr. Cowan breaks foods into 3 food groups – animal foods, grains, and vegetables, and suggests that from the time a child is beginning to eat food, they should be fed a range of 1/3 from each group to up to as much as 1/2 from the animal foods group, and never less than a third from the animal food group. The most important nutrient for children is healthy fats, like free-range eggs, cultured unsalted butter, whole-milk yogurt or kefir, fish oils, grass-fed animal fats etc. as these fats are needed to develop the nervous system in the very young, for healthy immunity in school-age kids, and for sexual development in teens. Kids frequently are not getting enough quality fats in today's fat-phobic society, which results in kids craving carbohydrates, especially sugar and starch, which makes them fat and unhealthy. Girls especially, need liberal amounts of good fats in their diet as they aid in hormone development and prevent hunger between meals. Organic coconut butter is an extremely healthy fat due to its lauric acid content, which has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties. Olive oil is also good choice. Fatty fish is a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, vital for healthy brain function, sight, and a healthy cardiovascular system. Fats to avoid are all plant oils except for coconut, olive and flax, all trans-fats, and grain-fed animal fats. Bone broths are fabulously nourishing and are the base for great cooking, and organic liver and other organ meats if fed from a very young age, may be accepted more readily throughout life. Where girls need more quality fats, boys need more quality protein as they get older for good muscle development. Look for grass-fed rather than grain-fed flesh foods for better health.

Vegetables should be cooked for kids under one year, and served with olive oil, butter or both, to help absorb the nutrition in the veggies. Introducing lacto-fermented vegetables at this time is a good idea as they are immune boosters, and getting children used to a sour taste early in life can keep them from rejecting it later. Berries and fruit, except for citrus can be added to the diet too. After the age of 1, raw vegetables can be added to the diet, but once again they need to be served with a fat, like home-made salad dressings made with olive or flax seed oils. Interestingly enough according to Dr. Cowan, children under the age of 5 can’t digest raw vegetables very well as they frequently lack the enzyme that converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, so if you can’t get your youngsters to eat raw vegetables at this age, perhaps best not to worry too much and allow the pastured cow do the conversion instead, getting the nourishment in the form of its raw cream and butter.

Grains tend to cause the most digestive issues and allergies, so diligently soak all grains for 24 hours before cooking to reduce the chance of problems. First grains offered to a baby might be brown rice or millet (both gluten free), that have been soaked for 24 hours before cooking to improve digestibility. While making today's breakfast, put the grains you are going to cook for tomorrow's breakfast in some water and let them soak for 24 hours, then drain and cook on low in filtered water. It doesn't take long to make a runny porridge from soaked grains. This would be far more nourishing than say, Cheerios and other boxed breakfast cereals, which are highly processed products made from unfermented gluten-containing grains, can be quite irritating to the gut, and don't provide much in way of nourishment. If eczema is an issue, eliminate all gluten and processed grains, as eczema may be the result of an allergic reaction to the grains. When the kids are older, sourdough breads made from whole grains that have been soaked first will cause the least amount of digestive problems.

I expect that currently very few children were raised from a baby as described above and in Dr. Thomas Cowan's article, and probably most parents reading this think I am completely crazy to suggest such a regimen, as it takes so much planning and time to implement, and what if the child simply refuses to eat what you are offering? What about picky kids that only eat white bread, pasta and junk food? How does one get them to eat their veggies and hopefully actually learn to like them? Should we sneak veggies into the kid's diet by putting spinach in the brownies we are baking? Personally, I think this is a bad idea, as although it may increase nutrition, it teaches the kid to like brownies and not spinach, which long term is not productive. Putting spinach in the chili is a better idea, because chili is healthy to begin with. That said, I think our job is to consistently offer good, nourishing food that we like ourselves, and allow the child to eat it or not eat it, without making a big deal of it if the child chooses not to eat everything. If they are hungry later, you can put their meal in front of them again without forcing them to eat it, but I'm not sure it is a good idea to make something different for them. Over time, they will be seeing you enjoying the food, and will be more inclined to try it. If meal-time becomes a daily battleground, I would think kids would be more likely to resist. With repeated exposure to veggies that are undisguised, kids will learn over time to appreciate their actual flavour. Different cultures successfully get their kids to appreciate spicy food or sour food, so there should be hope! If there are no store-bought junk alternatives in the house, like white bread, muesli bars, crackers, cookies, fruity packaged yogurts, tetra-pack juices, chips etc., kids won't consider substituting junk for their meal.

Teaching kids to appreciate good food might be easier if they can grow something themselves. It is always more fun to eat something they have grown themselves, so even if there is space only for one radish or carrot plant, that can be very worth while. Taking them to farmers' markets, to a "U pick blueberries" farm, or to Grandma's garden will help them make the connection to where food actually comes from, and if they can then help with the preparing of the food in some way, they will be more likely to want to eat it.

I think the key is to make food fun to look at and/or fun to eat. So cutting veggies into interesting shapes, making yummy home-made dips, or making veggie chips by slicing them and drying them at the lowest temperature in the oven are some ideas to try – this can work well with root vegetables in particular. Cherry tomatoes at their freshest are so sweet and delicious, and great finger food. Use romaine lettuce, nori sheets or other leafy greens as a wrap material, and have the kids fill their own wraps with some nourishing home-made dips like hummus, chicken salad, salsa, nut butters, guacamole, or whatever. Have the kids help you mix the dips and sauces – they are more likely to eat what they have made themselves. Dark-green leafies are often the toughest to get into kids – how about making a dip from them by cutting the leaves small, wilting them in a pot with a sprinkle of water, and adding generous amounts of feta or other soft raw cheese, and stirring until it melts into the greens. Add some seasoning like cumin or poultry seasoning if you think your kids would like that. This dip can be used with raw veggies, or sprouted tortillas cut into triangles and roasted lightly – YUM. Kids probably won't like steamed veggies, so try baking them or frying them – try a variety of recipes, and you may discover a few the kids like. Put spaghetti sauce on spaghetti squash, or make mashed cauliflower just like you would make mashed potatoes, for example. (Not to trick kids into thinking cauliflower is mashed potatoes – cauliflower itself tastes great cooked that way). In the hot weather, how about making popsicle treats out of a combination of freshly juiced fruit and vegetables? Apple and carrot juice are both quite sweet, and you might be able to add a small amount of cucumber or fennel juice too. Freezing chunks of fruit can be fun, or making home-made ice-cream or frozen yogurt where you can control the sugar, or try making some of the yummy desserts in “Nourishing Traditions. Your kids don't have to know they are healthy.

Last chance to register for my nutrition seminar coming up in Vancouver, Wednesday the 23rd from 7:15 to 9:15pm. Click here for details.

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