What do YOU feed your child? PICTURES PLEASE!

[klomasius]

I've found I can ALWAYS substitute carob for cacao in any of the recipes I've tried or made. It does the same job, taste, texture and binding wise, so go for it.

Not sure about the liking of greens as an evolutionary thing though. Greens contain certain unpalatable compounds that take getting used to. I'd imagine if you fed a baby green juice they wouldn't like it very much because of these compounds ;). The greens are trying to stop us eating them, fair enough!

I think you just have a pretty cool gal...

Unbent, I hope you find many healthy raw recipes you grankids like!

[Curleedst]

That strawberry milk sounds delicious. My son is allergic to peanuts, eggs and milk so what is a good first birthday cake to try and make to give him?

. . . and more!

Guacamole fruit dinner

Vietnamese Roasted Banana (http://gliving.tv/greenchefs/vanessa-sherwood/)

Strawberry Grape Crumble

Pesto Pasta

Strawberry Brazil milk

[Curleedst]

Those banana flax crackers with honey and raw almond butter is DELICIOUS!

For Breakfast we had: 3 Bananas

Snack: Alissa's Banana Flax Crackers with Honey!
1 Orange each

Lunch: RAWvolution's Greek Pizza on Onion Bread and RAW Lasagna with
a Great Salad!!!

Snack: Carob/Banana Icecream (kids) Strawberry Icecream (me)

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...59/t_=46555359

(Sorry, I don't remember how to put the photos on here! Just click the link to see the photos...)

[klomasius]

Oh that vietnamese roasted banana recipe is absolutely amazing. I am such a huge fan of gliving.tv raw recipes!

Curleedst, I've been working on a bunch of nut free raw cake recipes as there seems to be quite a few people who either are allergic to the nuts or don't want too many.

But many have coconut flakes in them, so I'm not sure they'd be suitable for a child a year or younger.

I think there are some nut free carrot cake recipes here on RFT, just use the banana search button up top and type in 'nut free cake'.

Also, what about an ice cream cake? I demonstrated a triple layer banana ice cream cake to some kids in my son's class last year and they STILL talk about it!

There's a pic below, I've posted it previously here but I'd have to trawl through a gazillion photos to find it. You could have any flavour layers you liked, and decorate the top with all sorts of colourful fresh fruits. Plus banana is easy on the digestion for little ones.

I can give you the recipe if you like, it so simple though. :)

[coco]

i didn't do cake for my little's bday, i did frozen banana ice cream with chocolate sauce (blended dates with carob or cocoa but the blended dates are enough. it would be great with blueberry or strawberry sauce too).

[MaineMomof4]

I didn't do a "cake" either I did a watermelon cake which was a small watermelon with all the peal off and I make a sauce to pour over the top which was blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries blended smooth and put a candle in the middle. I also put cut up banana slices around it on the plate and some fresh blueberries and some kiwi slices, and it was great. My older kids loved it! I sliced it like cake for everyone and cut the babies into pieces. I actually saw the watermelon cake idea on here somewhere about a year ago. Great idea!

[eachpeachpearplum]

Helllloooo . . . .

OK, I have Matthew Kenny's latest (and greatest) new book Everydayraw with the same great photos and recipes as his last book Raw Food Real World but much more simple recipes.

Today I made a few items from the book (all great & easy) and wanted to share with you the ice cream. I am not ususally a lover of raw ice creams because they are usually too something be it hard, soft, coconutty/cashew tasting etc.

I made this one with the kids. We made the chocolate "chips" yesterday to freeze overnight and the custard base today.

The consistency of this recipe is great, light & creamy with no residual coconut/cashew taste AT ALL! I assume this has a lot to do with the peppermint extract which is a very strong flavour.

Note: It did not freeze as firm as conventional dairy but I was expecting this and was prepared to let it firm up in the freezer (add more coconut oil if not firming up). I have a pile of empty qt & pt ice cream containers I get from friends which helps with the whole aesthetic.

Note: I also opted to use basic food coloring; I have used the spinich juice called for in the past but was in a time crunch.

I also opted for making the chocolate pieces from the Cherry Chip recipe instead of the cocoa nibs the recipe called for as I felt the kids would not like them - although I would. I made 1/2 his recipe for the chips. Then used less than 1/2 that for the ice cream! It keeps & freezes well.

Next will be the Cherry Chip - yum!

EPPP

P.S. OK checked this morning and it's now a nice scoopable firm consistancy! So a good 18hr's in the deep freeze!

PPS: Please note this is NOT from the book Vice Cream but from Matthew Kenny's new book Everydayraw. I have recieved several (welcome) mails asking for the vice cream recipes since posting this and I just want to clarify!

[eachpeachpearplum]

I get a lot of emails generated by my threads & posts. A query I often recieve is what savory foods do I feed my kids because most of my posts on this thread contain sweets.

The answer is that my kids do not eat savory "recipes". They eat very simply. A plate of greens w/dressing and fruits. Some time a nut yogurt & nuts. Mana bread w/ nut butter etc.

I spent much time and money making savory "recipes" and they just did not like them. They both much prefer simple. But for sweets they do like recipes for cookie, pies ect.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

EPPP

[shine72]

EPPP - I hear you on that one. I have 1 that likes the savory recipes, 1 that likes about 1/2 of them, and my one with autism, he'll pass on most of them. But give him lettuce with olive oil and he's in heaven (add onions and Nama Shoyu if you wanna get fancy)!

You're kids are getting bigger and I wanna say brighter! They glow even more now than before!

[Curleedst]

Hmm, lettuce, olive oil, onions and Nama Shoyu - sounds DELICIOUS!

EPPP - I hear you on that one. I have 1 that likes the savory recipes, 1 that likes about 1/2 of them, and my one with autism, he'll pass on most of them. But give him lettuce with olive oil and he's in heaven (add onions and Nama Shoyu if you wanna get fancy)!

You're kids are getting bigger and I wanna say brighter! They glow even more now than before!

[shine72]

Hmm, lettuce, olive oil, onions and Nama Shoyu - sounds DELICIOUS!

Only problem is, he'd put 1/2 a gallon of olive oil if he could get away with it (one time I came down and there was about 1/4 gallon in the bowl, no exaggeration). And olive oil is NOT cheap. So we've had to take to hiding it. Crazy, I know, but I gotta do what I gotta do. He LOVES it though, and I know he needs all the fats he can get, so it's all good!;)

[Eva]

Only problem is, he'd put 1/2 a gallon of olive oil if he could get away with it (one time I came down and there was about 1/4 gallon in the bowl, no exaggeration). And olive oil is NOT cheap. So we've had to take to hiding it. Crazy, I know, but I gotta do what I gotta do. He LOVES it though, and I know he needs all the fats he can get, so it's all good!;)

That's really interesting -- because I read about ADHD that it's really important to get enough fat for various reasons related to deficiencies and special needs -- for extra omega fatty acids re: clearing/strenthening the neuropathways . I wonder if that is related to your son's desire for the olive oil? Does he have the same desire for flax seed oil or those rich in omega 3 and 6??

Just curious, but I don't want to veer the conversation to far off from feeding the kids lovely and desirable food!

[shine72]

That's really interesting -- because I read about ADHD that it's really important to get enough fat for various reasons related to deficiencies and special needs -- for extra omega fatty acids re: clearing/strenthening the neuropathways . I wonder if that is related to your son's desire for the olive oil? Does he have the same desire for flax seed oil or those rich in omega 3 and 6??

Just curious, but I don't want to veer the conversation to far off from feeding the kids lovely and desirable food!

It's actually my one with autism. When he first went raw, he ate a full recipe of fudge balls everyday, for months and months. Now he can't even stand to hear them mentioned (he does this with foods). Then he was eating a whole bunch of things that didn't have too much fats, and I noticed his behavior changing. It took me a while to catch on, but when I did, I went rampant sneaking flax and hemp oils into his shakes, then he started wanting the salad with olive oil. He feels/acts/behaves/everything better with a high percentage of fats in his diet. So yes, they all help him!

[coco]

mmhmm, me too. curious whether he naturally balances all those omega's 6's with 3's or if you have to work at that. like does he crave nuts and seeds, hemp seeds, flax oil etc? funny, i can give the small girl a capsule of seed oils (bite a hole in the end and she sucks out the juice) which is pretty bitter but i guess her body just knows it's good for her.

[Curleedst]

My daughter is a selective eater but e'er now and again she will eat salads so I think I am going to try the onion, olive oil, etc. mix and see how she does!

Thanks everyone - you guys have great ideas!