kids going raw

[gina]

Im trying to integrate more raw foods to my 4 kids my son 13 is the easist but my 3 girls just wont have any veggies. my little one tries to eat them but I think the negative No i dont want to eat it from the older two are affecting my little one. I dont want to force feed them. Any recomendations

[Rawkinlocs]

Gina, do they like fruit? If so, start there and just give them more fruit and overtime, they may begin to like more veggies. You can also do green smoothies (start out with mostly fruit such as bananas, strawberries, apples, water to desired consistency and about a handful of baby spinach or kale and make sure it tastes mostly like fruit)

But if the girls will eat fruit, start them with that.

[Pailani]

My kids won't eat raw, but all of them, even the ultra-picky one, will eat green smoothies. The trick is finding a combination they like. Mine like apple/pineapple/mild greens. Three of them like me to add a banana.

[Sharon in Colorado]

When you say veggies, specifically what do you mean? I can see most kids not digging broccoli and cauliflower and some of those very tough and fibrous veggies.

Here is a list that one or all of my picky eaters will eat:

carrots (I have to shred for the one who has braces)
jicama
celery if spread with nut butter
red bell pepper (green ones have a funny taste and are just unripe red ones)
mild lettuces such as romaine and some of the baby lettuces
parlsey dipped in salt water
cucumber

So far they like all the fruit I give them.

Remember that the protein percentages they get from fruit is the same amount they got from breast milk, at the time in their life when they needed the most amount of building blocks. Storm and Jinjee's kids from www.thegardendiet.com are named "fruit bats" as they don't eat so many vegetables. They are thriving beautifully and disease-free.

Sometimes it helps to cut the fruit and veggies in eye-catching ways too.

[Conscious Midwife]

Trying making assorted dips for the veggies, that's always fun.

Blend veggies and make your own pico or salsa for dipping pita or chips in.

Mix veggies and fruits together in salads, Waldorf style.

[Halo Aglow]

Sometimes it helps to cut the fruit and veggies in eye-catching ways too.

My little boy LOVES eating different shapes! He likes eating a lot of fruits and veggies anyhow but it seems when I cut them into shapes, he'll eat twice as much!

This meal was actually mine but he ate it with me.

[eachpeachpearplum]

My little boy LOVES eating different shapes! He likes eating a lot of fruits and veggies anyhow but it seems when I cut them into shapes, he'll eat twice as much!

This meal was actually mine but he ate it with me.

My daughter will be starting first grade in the fall and I have just gine to HK and bought a selection of the Bento boxes as I wanted her "packed" raw lunch to be special. I will try the great shapes you have done.

Could you tell us everything in your Bento box? What is on your carrots they look yummy?! :p

And could you post a small picture of the star cutter you use or any other cutters too?

[twinyoga]

I second the request. That meal looks adorable and I'd love to do something similar for my twins.

Oh, also, my twins love "puddings"...such as a banana/avocado/date combination.

[Halo Aglow]

It's the carrot parsnip fettucinne recipe by Vanessa Sherwood! :D I just used star cut-outs. Instead of cilantro, I use spinach. With the stars that have the pesto inside them, they are double cutouts, meaning I used a slightly smaller star to punch out a star hole in the bigger stars to have star outlines. In those, the pesto easily stays put inside them.

The dessert is a variation of the chocolate pudding from Maraw on her website http://www.therawtable.com with strawberry and banana stars. I also added a little bit of almond extract.

I'll take a photo of the cutters I have today and post back.

eachpeachpearplum, take a look at my bento box collection! http://flickr.com/photos/lunalin/sets/72157594175284658/show/

I have a Hello Kitty one that I haven't taken a photo of yet that I recently got. I had some trouble at the Sanrio stores here trying to find the double decker bento. One store had it but it was a display and they wouldn't sell it to me... and the other store that the manager said definitely had them didn't know what the heck I was talking about--drove there for nothing. Luckily I found it on eBay.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Awesome Luna Lin. I love the black & white and red ones. Are these expensive?

[gina]

My little boy LOVES eating different shapes! He likes eating a lot of fruits and veggies anyhow but it seems when I cut them into shapes, he'll eat twice as much!

This meal was actually mine but he ate it with me.
Sharon I showed my kids your picture and they said they want that for lunch. Where can I buy the cutters? My kids and i want our lunch to look like yours.

[twinyoga]

I just went on ebay to check out bento boxes (which I never heard of before)! They are exactly what I'm looking for. This is great.

My twins will love them. And how perfect for raw food.

Thanks for sharing.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I just went on ebay to check out bento boxes (which I never heard of before)! They are exactly what I'm looking for. This is great.

My twins will love them. And how perfect for raw food.

Thanks for sharing.

Hey also try Amamzon they have a good selecton to including bigger adult sizes.

Also Hello Kitty have a great assortment too!

[eachpeachpearplum]

I just went on ebay to check out bento boxes (which I never heard of before)! They are exactly what I'm looking for. This is great.

My twins will love them. And how perfect for raw food.

Thanks for sharing.

Hey also try Amamzon they have a good selecton to including bigger adult sizes.

Also Hello Kitty have a great assortment too! They are not expensive. I just bought two at about $10 ea.

I think I will start a separate thread on this, bento lunches for kids!

[Halo Aglow]

I found a photo online of the cookie cutters I use the most.

http://www.healthclassics.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=9545

I got mine from the local health food store and it was on clearance. The whole tin container is about 5 inches wide, so there are some teenie cutters in there (the stars of different sizes with the smallest star being 5/8th of an inch). You can find it on eBay also along with different themes.

Cutting carrots is a little tough on the fingers/hand with these cutters though (I prefer to use something to help push down the cutter). If you can find small cutters with that plastic cushioning I'd definitely get that. On google or eBay I would search for "mini cookie cutters" to see the various designs that are available.

I get my bento boxes mainly from eBay and at the JBox website http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/bento/1/ Constantly check their stock of bento boxes because it can change without notice and sell out really quick.

Sharon, the Monokuro Boo one that you like is still on eBay currently: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=monokuro+boo+lunch The red one is at Jbox. I think the red one looks very classy and sophisticated.

Compared to American appetites, bento boxes are usually on the small side, so they are really good for children or people with small appetites or you can just make a meal that you know you get full off of quickly and easily (like nori rolls filled with avocado). Being raw I don't eat as much anymore so I really like the smallness of bento boxes though larger ones are available and ones that you can continually stack too.

Ohhh, I also have those linzer cookie cutters that I use occassionally... I think I almost broke one though trying it out on carrot slices though I did make some cute bunny and chick shapes. I am thinking those would be best on softer things. I like how the linzer has the pusher, easy on the hands.

People also use those shape paper punches on nori sheets--cute way to decorate.

Here's a cool bento link (be sure the check out the links section):

http://www.airandangels.com/bentobox/

[Conscious Midwife]

link for grown up bento boxes (http://www.asianawest.com/hakcollun.html)

so cool :D

[I~Wanna~RAWk]

I love all bentos, even the kiddie kind, but for those of you who want a more sophisticated look, here are a couple of bentos even my 13yo and 11yo boys didn't scoff at! :)

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/togo-ware%AE-2tier-stainless-steel-food-carrier-p-669.html#

http://www.garrettwade.com/jump.jsp?lGen=crossSell&itemID=107019&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=107019

also, garrett wade has extra stainless steel chopsticks you can purchase for the 1st bento that doesn't have utensils.

Happy Snacking