juicing for kids

[ofthebridge]

Hi all of you moms, I just need a little inspiration on when is the best time of day for you to juice your veggies and how often in a week do you juice? I personally am finding it hard to juice in the daytime as my 3 little ones tug at my legs and also find it difficult at night. When I finally put the baby to sleep (by 10:30 or so), I am too pooped to do anyting but take a few quiet minutes on the internet!:D

Well gotta go hit the sack and thanx for you suggestions!!!:)

[Aleesha Sattva]

i know that Melissa Gilbert (http://www.timelessspirit.com/MAR08/interview.shtml) and her son (who are both raw and have been since before his birth) do fresh juices daily.

[rawstrength]

If your kids are old enough, maybe you could have them help you juice? You could let them pick out what veggies/fruits to add.
I baby sat for my 3-year old cousin for a few weeks and she LOVED helping me with raw food prep. We also planted a garden together and went on long nature walks. It was a very rewarding experience, and she even learned to love foods that she previously thought were disgusting, like dates and green beans.

[ofthebridge]

Thanx everyone for your suggestions. My eldest is 3 so yes I could include her in the process of juicing but not really the others.... but still, it's a good idea. I will try to juice everyday and see how it goes.

Thanx again!

[Clare]

Yes, the 3-year old can sit on the counter and put the veggies/fruits in, with you pushing of course. The younger one might stand on a chair and watch if he/she is 2 or so. You could sit the baby in the high chair to watch for a few minutes. My 17-month-old loves to watch the juice coming out and he likes to gnaw on a fat carrot while I'm busy. But he does tend to pull on my skirt and apron. My almost-3 son is convinced that I couldn't juice without his help :-) He also like to "cut" with his "knife" which is a jack-o-lantern knife - really a dull little saw but he will stand on a chair at the cutting board and hack stuff up happily for awhile.

[jules88]

If I juice, I have to do it in the morning when the kids are eating breakfast. Mine are old enough to help, but all want to help at once and like others my little one 1 yr old is constantly pulling on my legs. It seems if I don't juice in the AM it doesn't happen. When I do juice, I feel so much energized and clear headed.
We have been juicing watermelon lately. It is very sweet and so refreshing. Sometimes I add a bit of greens, but not enough for the kids to taste them and everyone is happy. Them because it tastes sooooo good and me because they got part of their greens in for the day.

[Tiffany]

We juice every morning, first thing. Like another poster said, has to happen in the am or doesn't happen. I am so blessed that my partner is a dedicated juicer, so he does most of the work. Either I will watch the baby, or baby will sit in a high chair and watch papa (he loves to be where the action is!)

One solution is to split the labor. You could take 5 or 10 minutes to wash and chop the vegetables after the kids go to sleep. Then, they are ready first thing in the morning.

[Mama K]

I've gotten in the habit of doing it in the am before my son wakes up. Otherwise he LOVES to help me juice and push the foods in. (He's almost 2) Now drinking the juice? That's hit or miss with him. :p

[IppsAngel]

Oh, I don't know how much help I'll be since I only have our two year old, but he LOVES juicing first thing in the morning. We have a cheapo Black and Decker juicer and I allow him to put the chopped up carrots and apples through the hole in top. He thinks I can't do it without him, and he freaks if I even attempt to do it myself due to a faster finish. He loves carrots and apples mixed together, and I feel good about letting him help AND letting him drink the juice. I'd say let the two older kids help and stick the bacy in the playpen or high chair? GOod luck.

[MaineMomof4]

Hi, I have 4 kids 6 years old and under and we almost always juice in the evening a little while after dinner and it always works well for us. I just feel that juicing after dinner helps to digest any food that is left behind from the day if you ate any SAD at all and it's a nice way to end the day.

We usually make smoothies in our vitamix and I used to juice in the morning which I would like to get back into but need to get a new juicer. I think morning is harder to do juicing since the kids are hungry first thing in the morning and have a ton more energy and probably would be right at your leg unless you can find another activity to keep them busy. Sometimes if my kids aren't helping with juicing when I did do it in the morning I would give them play doh or legos at the table to keep them busy while I made juice.

I think juicing in the morning is nice as well though since all those vitamins will help to give you energy but I think even eating all the raw foods gives you plenty of energy as well. I always like to dilute my kids smoothies or juice with a little water as well.

Good luck with your situation and like the other posters said try letting the kids help even if it's once a week, believe me I know it can be hard when you just want to get things done sometimes and there are only so many hours in a day!

[Thick]

I usually juice in the afternoon. My breakfast/lunch dishes are done--so I can clean the juicer straightaway. Juice also makes a filling snack to get everyone through until dinner.

My kids also love to hlp me juice. They bicker about whos turn it is and we have to alternate or someone starts crying haha--wish they were as enthusiastic about cleaning the juicer=)>

[coco]

it's quite the process, isn't it? how about prepping the veggies and fruit before that 10:30 nap and then juicing when the little one is asleep? kinda breaks it up a bit so it's not so much work. and the produce isn't sitting around cut up for so long that it loses too many nutrients either.