What do YOU feed your child? PICTURES PLEASE!

[MiahTay]

Ok, I will officially have to figure out how to use the digital camera AND download pics - but not today. I tried my own version of the "gorilla sandwich" for my lunch and I didn't even get a bite before my plate was empty! DD took one half and DS took the other. For anyone who may not know what a gorilla sandwich is (I didn't) it is a hollowed out cucumber (I used a melon baller) stuffed with filling. I used diced tomatoes, onion, olives, avocado then held together with a sunflower pate. Just cram it in there and enjoy. The second one I made I did actually get to eat and it was really pretty good.

Heather

[eachpeachpearplum]

Ok, I will officially have to figure out how to use the digital camera AND download pics - but not today. I tried my own version of the "gorilla sandwich" for my lunch and I didn't even get a bite before my plate was empty! DD took one half and DS took the other. For anyone who may not know what a gorilla sandwich is (I didn't) it is a hollowed out cucumber (I used a melon baller) stuffed with filling. I used diced tomatoes, onion, olives, avocado then held together with a sunflower pate. Just cram it in there and enjoy. The second one I made I did actually get to eat and it was really pretty good.

Heather

I like to stuff it with Alissa's Almost Tuna - Yum!

[spirulina28]

Here is what my daughter had for breakfast this morning:
green smoothie made with nectarine, 1orange, 1 banana, lamquarter, chickweed ,dandelion leaves, coconut water, mesquite. I poured that over organic blueberries , topped with 1 tsp of tahini, some probiotics and enzymes and sprinkled with bee pollen and ground up macademia nuts.

For her lunch she requested "salad", I ask her what she wants in it and so it ended up being lettuce, avocado, tomato, red clover and alfalfa sprouts, purslane with a spinach, cucumber dill dressing and topped with flowers of which she wanted more of once she had eaten them all

[GypsiAnsara]

Well my first thought was, "where the heck did they get a nectarine??"
And then I saw where you are posting from! I can't wait for summer smoothies....
Such beautiful food, and a beautiful child! A blessed family!

[gettingskinny]

Here is what my daughter had for breakfast this morning:
green smoothie made with nectarine, 1orange, 1 banana, lamquarter, chickweed ,dandelion leaves, coconut water, mesquite. I poured that over organic blueberries , topped with 1 tsp of tahini, some probiotics and enzymes and sprinkled with bee pollen and ground up macademia nuts.

For her lunch she requested "salad", I ask her what she wants in it and so it ended up being lettuce, avocado, tomato, red clover and alfalfa sprouts, purslane with a spinach, cucumber dill dressing and topped with flowers of which she wanted more of once she had eaten them all

wow, this is awesome. i can't believe your dd eats all this! how inspiring!

[eachpeachpearplum]

Spirulina28: Wow! What an incredible meal! I am so totally impressed! Thaks so much for sharing, I love the photos.

I love showing my kids the food pics as you know food always apeals to kids if someone else is eating it!

Thanks again and great job!

EPPP

[spirulina28]

Thank you for your kind comments :)

We had an interesting event end of last year: christmas party at her playcentre and of course they are all on the sad diet with lots of lollies, icecream is red and other colored wafers... anyway, we finally left, together with another woman who turned around to me and said " I'm so impressed by your little girl!"
she continued to tell me that my daughter asked her what she was eating ( she asked a lot of questions that day as she hadn't seen meat, sausages and lots of the sad food before). So the woman told her what it was ( I think it was cheese) and offered her some and that when my daughter replied " no thank you, it's not good for my tummy" in a very matter of fact way. I would have loved to have seen the face of the woman... I think she was pretty speechless!

Here is what I made for a treat yesterday: chocolat fudge

[rawfoodmommy#1]

spiruline28, the fudge picture looks delicious. What fudge recipe did you use and what is the shape and how you made it look like that?
thank you

[eachpeachpearplum]

Yummy! What kid does not like taco's:)

Soft Taco's

4 tortillas, make you own or in photo is from http://www.foodforlife.com/procart_c...ID=4&do=subcat and are the Sprouted 100% Corn Tortillas not raw but great for those parents in a pinch!
1c. assorted nuts - I used walnuts, pecans & sunflower, any nut will do!
water - as needed
taco seasoning - I made this up ages ago , sorry dont remember; chili pwdr, cumin, salt, paprika etc I think
diced avocado
salad
diced tomatos
salsa - just made a chunky marinara and put it in the dehydrator

I put a damp paper towel in a large frypan w a lid. With lid on, turned it on till warm. turn off heat. Placed tortillas on top of warm damp towls and replaced lid to gently warm through and make more pliable.

Put nut into FP or VM. Pulse until broken, not mushy. Add seasoning and do a quick pulse followed by a splash of water (slightly warm mixes better). Quick pulse again till desired texture. Dont over blend, you dont want babyfood. This is our taco meat.

Assemble as in photo. I found adding a "sour cream" made this a bit heavy:)

Enjoy!

EPPP

[nmb]

My 13-mos old eating eggplant:

[rawfoodmommy#1]

my son has been munching on pumpkin seeds and has been asking for them everyday if he sees them in the fridge. and interesting enough it was his idea, I did not offer it to him first.

[eachpeachpearplum]

my son has been munching on pumpkin seeds and has been asking for them everyday if he sees them in the fridge. and interesting enough it was his idea, I did not offer it to him first.

Excellent, I love putting food within reach. We have a rule; no saying "I'm hungry". They must think what their tummy is asking for then think what foods would adress what they have come up with. This has been working very well.

[eachpeachpearplum]

Each peace, how are you? Hey I was wondering if you find 100% raw diet more expensive than traditional & vegetarian diets? Also how about time consuming?

Hello and welcome to this forum!

Is this more expensive than traditional eating? Yes and no.

Is food prep more time consuming / labour intensive than traditional eating? Yes and no.

The best way to look at it is as if you were to embark on learning a new language in a foreign country.

When you first move to the new country you have to outfit your new flat/cottage with all new equipment that you have no idea where to buy and when you finally get it cannot read the directions because it's in a different language!!!

Going raw is not like any of the other "diets" where you are handed a strict rule book and precise measurments and this is why going raw has a bit of a steeper learning curve.

When I first went raw I was overwhelmed with what I thought I need to "buy". I come from a gourmet background so wanted to make all the 'recipes' which can lead to a VERY high grocery bill. Then there was the time required to prepare everything for myself and two small kids OMG! I nearly went mad

Is it still like this for me? NO. What changed? Well to go back to my metaphor. I am finally fluent in the raw language and I am comfortable with the information I have learned in my new country, as there was not the basic rule book it just took time.

Trial and error and time are what made a day in the life of being raw easy. . .yes easy, I promise.

You do not need to make a recipe for every meal. I have narrowed it down to having these items on hand at all times:

marinara sauce, green & red (from Alissa's lasagna recipe)
raw mayo/aioli
2-4 dressings
2-3 pates/spreads/nut salads/cheeses
1-2 cookies
1-2 crackers - sweet & savory
1-2 breads - sweet & savory
jam (fruit blended with soaked dates let set overnight)
Avocados
bunch of greens
bunch of fruits
large bowl of chopped veg mix (for filling wraps, making salads, sandwiches and stirfrys)

You dont have to make these all at once. What happens is you build upon what you have so you end up making only what has run out.

for example: today I was dashing out for 3pm school run realising I had not eaten. I whipped open the fridge having no idea what I was going to eat spied mock chicken salad and a bunch of collard greens. Threw the collard in a tupperware slapped on some chic salad a few sliced tomatoes and rolled up - one chic salad collard wrap!! Then threw in an orange sliced into smiles. This took about four min. total.

What about the $$$$. Well it's the same again. Over time I have built up a full stocked raw pantry. When I first began I was frustrated I did not have all the raw bling. No one expects you to have a Whole Foods in your kitchen. You will need to build it up over time. The key is to build up over time. Every time I go to the store I try to buy one thing thats adds to the raw pantry. Obviously the more money you have the easier it will be, Lol!

My full raw kitchen took about two years to fill out. I also spend about $1300 a month on groceries for a family of 4 which includes one cooked eater and all the dry goods too.

Try not to be to frustrated by the recipes that no one would eat. This happens to ALL of us. One of my first dehydrated "patties" got called dog food by my husband. It was truly vile. Now more often than not my husband thinks my dinner looks better than his - no kidding!

Hope this extreamly long winded reply helps!

Cheers,

EPPP

Here is a link to a thread on organising a raw life. I have posted tips throughout the Thread. Including the first several posts please have a read of posts #'s 19 and 24.

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=34601

[GypsiAnsara]

Great post EPPP!

My favorite trick for cost reduction is subbing seeds for nuts in recipes.
So I use soaked sunflower seeds instead of cashews or almonds in my favorite pate & burgers and it saves a lot of money!

I was stocking up yesterday, and the raw, organic sunnies were about $1.60 /lb and the nuts were about $10 /lb. I still buy nuts and use them, just sparingly in comparison to what the recipes call for.

My kid (and everyone else) looooooves the cheddar cheese dip that was posted on the forum a while ago - and I make that with just sunflower seeds and no nuts. Very economical! And it seems to last a relatively long time in the fridge. (It is so sad to throw away food - especially when it is raw!)

[eachpeachpearplum]

GypsiAnsara:

Great tips. I use cashews and brazil nuts in place of the very expensive macadamia nut too!

Would you be so kind as to put the link to the cheddar sauce in your above post as many will have not seen it. Even better a picture of your kiddo eating it too!

Cheers,

EPPP