By Kristen Suzanne on August 27, 2009

Raw Vegan Tips for Your Family

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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.

 

 

   
 

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