What our Children Should Be Eating

When my children were babies and toddlers I had an idea in my head, formed in part by magazine articles, friends, my own mother, etc...about what foods were "healthy" for a growing child. I also had another list of things in my head called "things children will never eat". This list included spinach and lima beans.

However, as my children grew and as I learned more and more about nutrition through my own studies I realized that each person has their own list of "needs and desires". However, my own children have taught me more about this than my formal studies.

Rather than share a philosophy with you I will share some of the likes and dislikes of my youngest child, who is very intuitive.

Sofi dislikes meat. She will not eat it in a box, she will not eat it with a fox, she will not eat it in a house she will not eat it with a mouse...

She has been like this since she was a baby. I am not a complete vegetarian. Most of our meals are vegetarian focused. However, I do use meat as a flavoring because my own body cannot digest beans in any way, shape or form and many alternate protein sources (such as soy) I am allergic to. However, for Sofi she remains completely healthy with her vegetarian fare.

Sofi does not like orange juice, peas, green beans, carrots, oranges, bananas, lettuce or any of these typical "healthy" things I grew up with. For a while I tried to force these foods on her thinking to myself "who does not like orange juice???" However, Sofi's body was more clever than I! I discovered, over time, that she adores Molokia (a spinach like plant), she adores alfalfa sprouts (eats them by the handfuls) and will eat an entire box of raspberries in one sitting!

These were all items on my "kids won't eat" list. However, interestingly enough, these items are power packed with nutrition and are even healthier than the items I was trying to feed her. As a rule, sprouts, any "baby" greens and any berries have more nutrition than their larger vegetable or fruit counterparts.

As time goes on I find out more and more about my children's likes and dislikes and I have found that it is the nutrient value of what they are eating that is important rather than what they are eating. I have discovered that if I allow them to try different foods from different cultures and different gardens that they have more opportunities to find their own likes and dislikes. Instead of making those decisions for them, I now offer them a larger variety of foods and have the rule "you have to at least try it once but you don't have to finish it the first time". Sofi recently discovered she loves oriental orange chicken. I would never have thought she would have liked THAT!

Gone are the days where you have to have a certain amount of food in each of the "four food groups" or those days when everyone needs to have a glass of orange juice with their breakfast. Our focus is now on making sure the foods we eat are high in nutrition, organic when possible and loved by the person who is eating them.