A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally Read Free Page B

Nutrition Bible, divides foods into three categories: the Good Guys (which includes whole grains, vegetables, and fruits); the Okay Guys (which includes natural sweeteners such as maple syrup); and the Bad Guys (which includes refined sugar, sugared breakfast cereals, candy, and carbonated soft drinks).
Go through your pantry and refrigerator and get rid of the bad guys. If you don't have any unhealthy foods in your house, you won't eat them. Then make a list of healthy snacks and post it on your refrigerator. When you're tired or in a hurry, consult the list and choose something. Remember, the contents of your refrigerator and pantry are like a classroom to your child. He will choose and experiment with foods that you provide. If tofu is never to be found in your refrigerator, your child won't try it. But if you make a tofu gardenburger for lunch and your child loves it, she will ask for it again.

 

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A Typical Snack List
· Organic baby carrot sticks and dip
· Whole-grain crackers and low-fat cream cheese
· Organic broccoli florets and dip
· Organic apple slices and peanut butter
· Tofu burgers and tofu hot dogs
· Yogurt
· Fruit smoothies
· Nachos made with whole-grain corn chips and low-fat cheese
· Organic blueberries

Your eating habits send a strong message to your children. Seeing you fill up on potato chips does not encourage your child to eat carrot sticks. If you steam a head of cauliflower and enjoy it immensely, however, your child will be interested in trying it. (Maybe not now, but in the future.) Good dietary habits are formed during childhood. Children do what they see others doing. In the long run, they will choose what you choose.
Serving Meat: A Warning about E. Coli
Most experts agree it's best to base your child's meals on a plant-based diet. Dr. Gordon, the American Cancer Society, and Benjamin Spock, M.D., in his recent revision of Baby and Child Care, recommend raising children on a vegetarian meal plan. This doesn't mean you should never feed your child meat. If you base your meal plans around a main dish of meat night after night, your child will not get enough vegetables and whole grains. If you base your meals on rice, beans, whole grains such as quinoa, vegetables, and soy-based proteins such as tofu, he will receive all the nutrients he needs.
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to serve "clean" meat to your child. Superstrains of E. coli bacteria have been found in hamburgers (the most dangerous form of meat, since it is ground up and handled, allowing any contaminants to spread) and have caused numerous deaths. When meat is taken from an animal carcass, it is often contaminated with deadly

 

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E. coli. In most cuts of meat, the bacteria remain on the top of the meat and are killed in the cooking process. In ground-up hamburger, however, the contamination can be spread throughout the meat and may be hidden in the very center. If the patty isn't thoroughly cooked to precise temperatures (at least 170 degrees), there is a chance that the burger will harbor E. coli.
Numerous bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can be found in all meats, but don't forget about the antibiotics, growth hormones, and a variety of pesticides and other man-made chemicals that can be passed from the animal to the meat to your child. Above all else, if you serve meat, make sure it is organic.
Packing a Healthy School Lunch
A healthy school lunch? Sound improbable? It can be done! Keep it simple. Make tiny sandwich squares, accompanied by tiny rice cakes and hummus. Provide fresh fruit or vegetables such as baby carrots, apple slices, or blueberries. Ask your children to help you pack their lunch so that they can choose the healthy foods they'll eat.
I always offer my child several choices: Your lunch choice today is a tuna sandwich with carrot sticks, or hot noodles with string cheese and blueberries. She'll gladly choose one and help me make it. Pack cold