Raw babies

[lakoczera]

Hi everyone,
I have a 15 month old daughter and I've been trying to keep as much of her foods raw as possible. My husband and I are trying to incorporate elements of this lifestyle into our diets and it's important to me to get Aevyn started on lots of raw foods. She eats any fruit she can get her hands on. She eats a lot of tomatoes, avocado, and cucumbers, but I don't know what other veggies to give her that she can actually process with her teeth. Does anyone have sample menus for little ones? I would like to try green juices, but I'm also looking for things that are easy to pack and eat on the run. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Lacey and Aevyn Koczera

[Purl]

sounds like sheis doin' great! if you want her to have greens maybe you could blend them with sweet fruit like banana or grapes or apples and make it thick like applesauce or pudding...

[Raene]

Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens has a big section on what to feed babies and when. You should definitely check it out. I don't have it here or I'd type out what he says about that age group.

[lakoczera]

Thanks for the suggestions! I blended some kale and collard greens the other day with a little parsley and avocado. She took 5 bites, but then refused the rest. I don't blame her... my husband and I tried it... pretty gross. I've been making salsa with cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and mango or corn, with some lime juice and cilantro. She seems to like that. I might try juicing some greens to see if she'll drink that. I just want to make sure she gets the calcium and protein she needs. I really appreciate your help.
Lacey

[lane]

Hi Lacey!
I have a 15 month old daughter as well, and what I do is take part of my green smoothie or green juice (almost a cup) in the morning and mix it with a tablespoon or so of applesauce (homemade or even store bought organic for the small amount used) --the applesauce covers the green taste and she eats it happily every time! She also eats everything you mentioned, plus peas, lightly steamed tougher veggies, and she just started eating soaked nuts- spit them out at first, but I think they are growing on her.
Hope this helps a bit!
-lane

[Shivananda]

Hi Lacey,

As a former child myself (and father, and grandfather), I'd emphasize something that should be obvious, but is somehow all too easily forgotten... and that is that kid's nutritional needs AND tastes are very different from adults. You cannot just feed them whatever you're eating and hope to have good, long-term results.

They have changing needs as their bodies develop, and you should support those needs. And the best place to get the informationj about what they need is from a "raw friendly" pediatrician or nutritionist. And when kids say (or just show you) that they don't LIKE what supports those needs, you have to be the... well... the mommy, and find a way to work around their finicky tastes. Say, they don't like the strong taste of dark green veggies like cabbage and broccoli ?? (as most kids don't) then you have to look to milder greens like butter lettuce and parsley to get the green goodness into them. Or mask them with sweet fruit, such as in blended juices.

One mistake a lot of parents have been making recently is to try to cut their infant's fat intake to supposedly combat obesity. But children naturally need a whole lot more fat in their diet than adults, to support proper neurological development among other things. Limiting their fat intake as if they were just little adults with potential weight problems can actually cause nerve damage, or worse. In a tragic case in NYC recently two so-called "raw food" parents actually starved their child to death by severely restricting its food choices, especially oils and fats. The opposite of that position is to give kids lots and lots of healthy choices (and eliminate the unhealthy ones) and let them select for themselves. I'm in agreement with the Boutenkos on this point, that, over time, kids will naturally select what they need, if they have that choice. But with infants, you have to make the choices for them.

[RawTruth]

Ugh! I wouldn't be able to drink one with kale and collard greens either. Use mild greens (baby lettuce mix, spinach, mint, parsley -- a few examples) and use only about 40% of greens to the fruit. I fed this to a baby this age and she loved it. Now she doesn't view green smoothies any differently than all-fruit smoothies.

Sprouts are fun for this age to eat, also -- some like to crunch them individually.

If she's like other kids, she'll want to try whatever you're eating. So, if you eat a variety of foods, chances are that she will, too.

[juliebove]

At that age, my daughter loved carrots and coleslaw. If you are concerned with her choking on the carrots, you could grate them. She also like fruit juice mixed with carrot juice. Kids tend to like anything that is sweet. They also like things they can eat with their fingers. Angela would never eat avocado. I tried that because I read it was an ideal first food. I can't stand them, so I don't really blame her.

[Ariella]

you could also try homemade nut milks! my kids have always loved these. our 16 month old foster daughter who just went home was also drinking 2 cups of green smoothie daily! she loved them. my other kids love them too, i was just commenting about her since she is close to your kiddos same age. you could also try to make some flax crackers. my kids have always loved these too. they are pretty quick to grab once you have them made.

hope that helps!

Ariella

JUICE PLUS+
www.juiceplus.com/+dj73561

[IamLoved]

Hi!

I also have a 15 month old baby girl who has been all raw. She loves to eat bananas! I also feed her avacadoes, tomatoes, cuccumbers (I peel them and then slice them into spears), and apples just to name a few. I also do a lot of juicing and I give her the part of the juice that is strained out of the strainer. She really likes that.
Are you nursing her?
I am sure that she is very healthy and is getting plenty of nutrition. I used to worry about our daughter, but I don't anymore. Think about what the other children her age are eating. They aren't getting any nutrition!
I also made some veggie bars for her. Basically I made a green smoothy, added some flax seed and dehydrated it. She liked those too! She also eats larabars if we are on the go.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I dont have much time to go into detail but I asked the SMAE questions here last year for my son who is now 20 months and got great advice.

So please please read past posts for a wealth of info about what to feed your young child. I just went to the first pages post and read through all and it was so helpful.

Click on my name and go to my members profile and look up all my threads. You will find all the kid queries like yours I asked and their answers I think you will find it very helpful! :p

All the best,

EPPP

[lakoczera]

Wow!!! I hadn't checked the thread for a few days and I'm so surprised by all the replies!! Thank you so much! Now I feel so bad about making her try kale and collard greens... the poor little thing! She did it though. She probably ate 12 bites over the two days we tried. What a great sport! I'm excited to try some of these suggestions. We just planted some mint, basil, and parsley, so it will be fun to have her trying these and being involved in the life process. Ok, so I know that avocados are good fats, and we drizzle olive oil over tomatoes sometimes, but what are some other good fats? I work for a chiropractic neurologist, so I know he's said they are so important, I just don't want to give her the same things all the time. Eachpeachpearplum, I love your name!!! I remember that book from when I was little. I'm so glad to know that you went through the same things with your little ones. I feel so good about the foods I'm giving her and I get so proud when other moms say how surprised they are that my baby eats broccoli and asparagus. I watch them go feed their toddlers pizza, and I'm glad that my friends who don't have children yet are noticing a difference between my Aevyn and other kids. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your help.
Lacey and Aevyn

[RawTruth]

Ok, so I know that avocados are good fats, and we drizzle olive oil over tomatoes sometimes, but what are some other good fats? I work for a chiropractic neurologist, so I know he's said they are so important, I just don't want to give her the same things all the time. Be sure to let HER choose -- offer her avocado and soaked (germinated) nuts and seeds and coconut "juice" and maybe some raw olives (depending on her tastes). Also, if you have access to durian, that's a great source, too. But -- very important: she will choose to eat what her body needs to eat. She hasn't been tainted yet like we have by the dictator of our "mind" governing what we eat. If you offer a variety of items and she keeps wanting just avocado or blueberries, for instance, for days on end, then there's something there her body is needing. You don't have to worry about balancing and having a certain amount of this and a certain amount of that. She will eat intuitively and her body's wisdom will take over. You don't sound like the kind of parent who would force her child to try anything, so I'm sure that's not a problem.

If you haven't already read it, be sure to read Victoria Boutenko's account of how her children instinctively ate exactly what their bodies needed to heal themselves.

What a delightful time you must be having watching her discover the fruits of the earth.

BTW, if you don't know about it, be sure to visit www.thegardendiet.com to learn about how Storm and Jinjee are raising their raw children.