I want to thank HeVe for the opportunity to share information about feeding your family healthy food. It’s so great to be here with you all. Too often we hear parents say that they simply cannot afford to feed their family whole foods. Apples, they say, cost more per pound than a burger from the fast food dollar menu. And, even those who don’t face financial challenges often believe they won’t be able to get their children to eat healthy food. To all of the above I say, let’s change our thinking.  

To begin with, a burger from the dollar menu is not “food” in the most basic sense. Food should nourish the body and support all of the body’s functions rather than slowing, causing harm, and even stopping some functions short (consider high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes). That organic apple might cost 99 cents a pound, but it will heal and nourish your child’s body, whereas the burger will inevitably cause harm. One only needs to read the news these days to know that is true.

  There are simple ways to provide healthy foods for your family. 1) Avoid processed foods. Even “healthy” processed foods are often full of sodium and other anti-nutrients and frankly, they cost way too much. 2) Buy what is on sale. This is usually what’s in season, so you’re doing something healthy for your family and for the planet. 3) Shop the ads. This is related to point #2. Don’t be afraid to visit more than one store on shopping day to get the best deals. Just don’t go overboard and spend too much time on it either. 4) Frequent local ethnic markets. Produce, legumes, and whole grains are often considerably less expensive in these locations.  

Have you noticed that children and teens are full of surprises? Given clear and accurate information about nutrition and turned loose in the kitchen to create healthy food, children can be a force to be reckoned with! We have 6 kiddos. All of them were dedicated junk-food-junkies at some point in their lives. (Nope, we aren’t perfect parents. Gasp!) But, as I came across information about health and nutrition I shared that information with the children. I read them excerpts from books, showed them documentaries (that just happened to be what my husband and I were watching), and even bought magazines and left them around the house for them to read. (Never pushing, just making information readily available.) As they absorbed new information they started “teaching” their father and I about healthy foods and we turned them loose in the kitchen to create their own recipes.

  I encourage you to educate yourselves and your children about what foods best nourish your bodies. Invite your kids into the kitchen and give them the reigns as they become skilled with knives and appliances. Allow them to take responsibility for their food choices. Take your children shopping with you and let them to choose fruits and vegetables that they’d like to try. It will make a world of difference. And, if you’d like some kid-created healthy recipes, visit our blog http://glutenfreeveganfam.blogspot.com/.

Thank you, Julie, for writing us a great article and thank you for your great blog!