Foods that your children absolutely adore.

[Gosia]

I am sure that every parent knows that the best way to get your kids have healthy foods is to make them irresistable. So, please share with me. I am trying to expand my knowledge about these "irresistible foods", so that I can get more of the healthy foods in my children's mouths.

I discovered that my children love fruit. Watermelon, mango, they won't say "no" to these. As far as recipes, they just looove smoothies. For example, blended
* bananas, dates, almonds, water,
* bananas, raspberries, dates, almonds, water,
* bananas, strawberries, dates, almonds, water.

They also like fruit jelly, which is basically, blended
* fruit and psyllium husks.

And, they like cookies (nuts and dried fruit, perhaps some carob, blended).

My daughter likes avocadoes (but my son does not).



Please, share with me.

[Rawmommie]

My kids love some of the food I have been eating, I'm trying not to be stingy with it! ;)

smoothies, avacado's, carrots, I can't keep them away from the apples and grapes either! I think they will eat even more raw foods when I get a dehydrator. Does anyone have any good dehydrator recipes that kids like? I would love to hear those too.

[Rawkinlocs]

My kids love grapes, and most fruit in general. My girls love smoothies; my oldest daughter loves banana flax crackers, the raw cheesecake; all of them love fruit leather; my youngest baby loves most of my raw food especially the oatmeal, grawnola, cut up apples and bananas with almond butter and raisins and any fruit pudding or smoothie. He also likes carrot slaw and loves my raw salad dressings (he sucks the dressing off of the lettuce and spits the lettuce out, but I'll grate carrots and mix that in the dressing and he'll eat it.

[lvg4him]

I agree with the smoothies. My kids love dates and most dried fruits. PRESENTATION is also really important. If I just give them something to eat, they usually snub their nose at it. So I tell them I am making them something that will make their eyes shine bright (when I am making somehting with carrots) or something that will make them have strong muscles (when I give them something with spinach). My kids always batt their eyes at me and tell me what beautiful eyes they have while they are eating something with carrots in it. IT IS GREAT! :)

HTH!

[Gosia]

That is so cute! Rawkinlocs, could you please share the recipe for your magic dressing?

I just remembered that my chidren also love strawberry-banana ice-cream. And, my 4-year-old daughter likes banana pancakes (made from ground flax seeds and bananas, dehydrated).

[lvg4him]

Banana pancakes and banana flax crackers -- are they the same thing? Either way, I would love the recipe for both. I know my daughters really miss pancakes. THANKS!

[Rawkinlocs]

That is so cute! Rawkinlocs, could you please share the recipe for your magic dressing?

I just remembered that my chidren also love strawberry-banana ice-cream. And, my 4-year-old daughter likes banana pancakes (made from ground flax seeds and bananas, dehydrated).

Oh, when I said "my raw dressing", I didn't mean my own recipe...but rather Alissa's creamy avocado dressing and the tahini dressing (those are the two I make the most!). But really ANY dressing he'll do that with. My other children still eat the bottle dressings and he'll do the same with that...he just LOVES to eat! :D

Lvg4him: WELCOME!! The banana cracker recipe is really easy and I hope Alissa won't mind me posting it (it's from her book along with other tantalizing recipes):

Banana Crackers -
2 cups whole golden flax seeds (soaked in 2 cups water for 4 hours or overnight)
3 bananas
1 1/2 oranges, jujiced
*I always add a few dates to make them a little sweeter 'cause I just like 'em that way!*

Blend oranges and bananas in food processor until smooth
Add flax seeds and blend well.
Spread into a thin sheet about 1/8" on teflex (or fruit roll sheet) and place on dehydrator tray.
Dehyrate at 105 degrees for 10-16 hours or until desired crispness is acheived. Flip crackers and peel off sheet after 7-8 hours and dehydrate on the actual mesh tray.

*I always end up eating these off the tray while they're still soft (not wet, though) and spread almond butter on them...MMMMM.

I'm not sure if it's the same as banana pancakes or not...can you share that recipe with us if it's different than above? Thanks! :)

[Gosia]

I have not made them for a while, so I do not rememeber the exact proportions. Basically,
* blend bananas,
* grind flax seed, add to banana mash and then blend,
* form round pancakes (I make them small, palm size), and
* dehydrate overnight.
(In the morning, if you have any left, before your kids eat them, you can flip them and dehydrate again, so that they are firm on both sides, if you wish. But, this is not a necessary step. I think that they are nicer when soft on one side.)

As far as proportions, for 4 cups of banana mash (measured after blending), perhaps about 1 cup of flax seed is needed. When I make them again, I will let you know the exact proportions.

You could make some nice sauce to go with the pancakes (fresh dates blended with water/dried dates soaked in water and blended; or perhaps ground cashews blended with water/orange juice to make cream).



lvg4him, I use exactly the same trick!!! (that is telling my kids that something will make their eyes see better etc)

Thanks Rawkinlocs for the recipe!

[Veganmama]

My girls seem to be natural Raw eaters, i can't believe i actually use to worry because they wouldn't eat any "normal" food.

They both love most fruit and vege's but they do have some favourties.
My 3 yr old loves, Mango's, strawberries, carrots, Avocado and mushrooms
My 2 yr old loves, Peas in the pod, mushrooms, Cashews, watremelon

[Rawkinlocs]

Wow...kids that love veggies...now that must be a treat! My oldest daughter used to love bell peppers but now... :rolleyes:

I was in the fruit market and there was a little girl asking her mom to buy broccoli! I thought that was so cute and interesting. I did hear her say she wanted some because they had ranch dressing at home, but still...most kids wouldn't want to eat broccoli whether they had ranch dressing or chocolate sauce to dip it into! I need to get my kids to eat more (raw) veggies.

[Gosia]

I made them again (Julia had them for breakfast this morning, nice and warm). The proportions are as I said, 4 cups of banana mash (measured after blending) and 1 cup of flax seed, ground. My 4-year-old daughter loves them (my 13-year-old son does not).

Yes, vegies, vegies. Perhaps, the trick is to serve them arranged in a nice way (check out those photos by Veganmama). Veganmama, you are soooo lucky!:)

[racheljj]

My girls love fruit, especially grapes, watermelon, apples and canteloupe. Though, lately they've been eating tons of oranges! They also love salad with Annie's Goddess dressing and smoothies. I make two raw salsas that they absolutely love too (though they dip blue corn chips in it).

Rachel Johnson

[Gosia]

Rachel, if it's not too much to ask, could you possibly share the recipe for the Goddess dressing and the two salsas? And, smoothies, if you do not mind, please?

(I have not been succesful in tempting my kids towards eating salads. Also, the range of smoothies I make is not very extensive yet, simply bananas, some other fruit, dates, almonds and water.)

[Gosia]

I thought that this recipe by Rawkinlocs might be very tempting for kids. I thought I might try this! (Testing time, will they or won't they?)

"What I do with oat groats:

Soak overnight. I also soak golden flax seed (about 1/4 c. pre-soaked) The next morning, I take the soaked/drained flax seed, an apple (or pear or both), some dates (or if you use raw honey you can use that), a half of or a whole banana (opt.), cinnamon to taste and a dash or two of sea salt and a little water to help it blend til smooth (test for desired sweetness). Blend well, then add the oats and some raisins and pulse chop. This is some of the best tasting oatmeal! Sometimes I add soaked/sprouted buckwheat as well.

If there is any left over, I spoon it onto the dehydrator into cookie shape and make oatmeal cookies! YUM!"

[Veganmama]

Yes, vegies, vegies. Perhaps, the trick is to serve them arranged in a nice way (check out those photos by Veganmama). Veganmama, you are soooo lucky!:)

One of my tricks is not just the arranging nicely it's more the prep time that it takes as my girls probably eat most of their vegies at the bench whilst i'm chopping and fiddleing making it look pretty. They'll pick up a whole carrot and have a bite, then a zuchinni and have a bit of that, then they'll just pick off the plat ewhilst i'm arranging it. They don't eat half as much one it's at the table.

I also find that because when they open the firdge that is all there is to eat they just do, i leave the stuff that they can just grab on the shelves they can reach, Like the bag of mushrooms, the peas in the pods, tomatoes, and baby carrots and red capcicum

[lvg4him]

Gosia -- Smoothies. When you goto a smoothie bar usually EVERY smoothie has bananas in it. If not, it has yogurt (and I ask that they substitute it and they usually sub it with a banana). Bananas are WONDERFUL foods! So that is a great base! Don't feel limited by that.

To that base we usually add:
-frozen pineapple, young coconut meat and water, and honey or dates
-frozen blueberries, a touch of water, and almond butter
-frozen mixed berries and a touch of water
-orange juice and frozen cherries (with a sprinkling of spirullina)

There are TONS of smoothie books out there, but unfortunately most of them call for some sort of cooked product or dairy. But looking at them might help to get YOUR creative imagination flowing. Also, Jinjee mentioned that for her smoothies she usually only three ingredients. Usually bananas, OJ and some other fruit. She mentioned to smell them individually and then all together. If all three ingredients smell good together then they will taste good together.

HTH!

[Gosia]

Thanks Paula! I won't be scared of making them anymore!

My family seems to be going through bananas so quickly. We buy 80 pounds, and it's gone within a week. We eat LOTS of bananas. When I go shopping to our local market, I buy loads of fruit, 2-3 full-size shopping trolleys. People ask whether I have a big family, or say something like "Are you making a banana cake?". I think I buy at least 10 times as much as everyone else. It is quite amusing.:)

[racheljj]

Gosia,

The Annie's goddess dressing is bottled...but I have made a raw version of it for me. Here's the recipe link:

http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/RandallsTahiniSaladDressing.htm

Here are the links for the salsas:

carrot salsa: http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/CarrotSalsa.htm

raw, fermented tomato salsa: (you'll find it in my October 11th entry)

http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Journals/Rachel/October2004.htm

As for smoothies, my girls generally just do the banana and strawberry smoothie with a splash of aguve nectar.

Here's one of my favorites: http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/SunriseSmoothie.htm

Hope these help!

Rachel Johnson

[Gosia]

Thanks so much Rachel! I am going to try all these recipes!

PS My kids rejected the oatmeal...:( Oh, well, it's back to the smoothies then. :)

[Rawkinlocs]

My little one LOVES almond butter and bananas!

Gosia, sorry the oatmeal didn't go over well with your kids...maybe another time they might try it again and think differently of it!

[Gosia]

Rawkinlocs, how do you serve almond butter and bananas? All mushed up together, or do you spread butter on the pieces of bananas? Thanks!!!

[Rawkinlocs]

I've done it both of those ways :D

I get the Trader Joe's brand and it's kinda liquidy due to the oils of the almonds being right on top...so I stir it and drizzle it on sliced bananas. But the further down the jar I get, it get's more solid/creamy and then I have to spread it OR, sometimes I just scoop some out into a bowl and cut up bananas and stir/mush it up.

[SimplyRawesome]

I recently found a recipe for a banana snack that I love and attempted to get my son to try it. Slice a banana lenthwise and drizzle Raw Tahini or Raw Almond Butter and then sprinkle chopped up dates on top. Yummm... My son refused to eat it because he said dates remind him of roaches! :rolleyes:

I was at my ND's office today and he had a recipe book there that had some great recipes for kids. The book is Raw Kids : Transitioning Children To A Raw Food Diet, by Cheryl Stoycoff.

Here are a couple of recipes I thought would appeal to my son. Maybe your children will like them as well.

Chocolate Shake
1 fresh and 1 frozen banana
4 pitted dates
1 TBS. Carob Powder
1 cup water
1 T. Raw Tahini (optional)
Blend together and serve.

Carob Pudding
1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight, then rinsed
2 peeled bananas
1/2 cup water
2 TBS Carob Powder
1/2 cup dates, soaked 20 minutes

Process until pureed and serve.

I tried the Carob pudding recipe that is made primarily with avocado's, but my family is not big on avocados so they didn't care for it; however, I brought it to a potluck and it was a hit. Maybe the recipe above will work with my picky eaters. :confused:

[Conscious Midwife]

Older chilren love my fruit smoothies and standard salads.

Toddlers seem to prefer mono eating bowls of cherry tomatoes or grapes, upto three bananas in one sitting, tagerine segments and anything diped in guacomole :D

They like the carrot apple juice combo I make and I can even sneak in celery

3 out of 5 loved the raw sweet potato pie

[juliebove]

Most kids love raw baby carrots. I've only met one kid who didn't like raw carrots. Actually most kids seem to like most raw vegetables. My daughter likes carrots, cucumber, radishes, broccoli and occasionally celery. She also likes green onion. Many kids like grape or cherry tomatoes. You couldn't pay my daughter to eat a tomato.

As far as fruits go, I've read that apples and pears are the two fruits most kids like. Mine will eat those. Occasionally grapes, raisins or oranges. Strawberries fresh from the garden or with chocolate dip. That's about the extent of her fruit eating. She used to love bananas but is allergic.

She will eat cashews, but that's the only plain nut she will eat. She has been eating pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts and almonds made into bars or mixed into things but will not eat them plain.

[cenaw/10]

My kids like veggies and dip. So I've been playing with the dips & pate recipes and I put these out before serving dinner, they are usually gone before we sit down (who needs salad!) BTW I do put out the small inner leaves of the romaine head with the carrots, cukes, tomatoes, broccoli, etc. So some of them get salad...

[Ginger]

My 3 going on 4 year old loves bana sliced & drizzled with raw honey. She loves melons. She loves smoothies & ice creams. Lemon or lime slushies. Grapefruits are a fav also. Orange juice & other fresh juices. Nutmilks. Salads. Cookies & pies. Veggies with dip. Blueberries are a fav. Hmm.. what else?

[SmilingRawDancer]

My son refused to eat it because he said dates remind him of roaches!


OMG! That's why I would never eat dates as a kid!
<3

[Ginger]

Oh & can't forget the durian! She adores it, just look at the look on her face!

http://i13.tinypic.com/2q02adl.jpg

[Mango]

That picture is priceless! She is adorable!

I make Kale chips for my kids and they cannot eat them fast enough. I use 2 bunches of kale, 4 tbs flax oil, 6 tbs tamari, and about 4-5 crushed garlic. I dehydrate for about 2 hours. They don't even make it out of the dehydrater. They stand at the dehydrater just eating them as fast as they can.

[m&m]

I like diced apples and bannana chips (dried slices of bannana) maybe your
kids will too. :)

[fruit]

My kids love all kinds of fruit and sometimes they like to eat salad too!

[anyanyapie]

Great ideas everyone. My son just turned 8 and he has never been a real picky eater, but there are things that he just loves. He is also old enough that I have talked to him about why we eat this way. Once he understands its purpose, he is more likely to choose raw foods when he is given a choice. Kids are way smarter than we give them credit for. Here are the recipes we depend on most.

Oatmeal - he always loved cooked oatmeal. I know you mentioned your kids didn't like it. Did you put anything in it? I use 1/2 cup oats, juice of 1/2 orange, a little almond milk if I have it, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then whatever we feel like, his favorite is just a bunch of raisins in it. My favorite is a little bit of honey and walnuts. We both like chopped apples in it too.

Smoothies are great. I add cinnamon to mine too to give them a little kick. Usually a bag of frozen fruit, a fresh fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flax oil. Our favorite so far is frozen cherries with a fresh asian pear, really yummy. Sometimes I sneak some greens in there.

Salads - I have found that the key is lots of toppings. I put anything and everything I have on mixture of greens - onions, carrots, broccoli, olives, chopped apples, pine nuts, walnuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins (a must have in every salad), dried cranberries (non-sweetened), and a good dressing. With all the good stuff in it, usually you don't need much dressing, just some orange juice and a little flax/hemp/olive oil would be enough. Fresh herbs are also great and add great flavor.

Dipping - anything dipped in anything is fun. Carrot/celery in nut butters with raisins are his favorite (ie. ants on a log). Another favorite is apples dipped in a mixture of nut butter, carob/raw cocoa powder and a little honey.

pizza - raw pizza is great. I top the crust and sauce with veggies (olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc), pine nuts, sprouts. Then some thinly slices avacado. My son doesn't care for avacados and he really liked it.

Ok, one more and then I am done. Beet coleslaw. I shred beets, carrots and any other veggies I have (turnips, potatoes, and I am going to try squash one of these days). Sometimes I will chop an onion in there. For the dressing, apple cider vinegar, a little honey and crushed garlic clove (sometimes pepper too). We just gobble it down. (it's better the next day if it makes it there)

I know this was a long one, but I hope it helps.