Eating Clean with Children

Question of the day: What are some really good starting out eating clean recipes for toddlers and family of 4?
Clean Eating is not as daunting or difficult as it may seem. In fact, once you start living this life style and slowly changing your eating, clean eating helps to simplify your meal time!
Now remember – clean eating has many definitions depending on who you ask. To me it simply means: To eat from the Earth. But can it really be that simple while still pleasing a family of 4?
Yes. But transition slowly. Introduce new foods at every meal, and help your family become educated about their food choices. By showing them hard facts about the ever so “popular” foods they are used to consuming they will start to appreciate the simplistic foods we all often forget about. Like carrots, beets, baby spinach and beans.
When a person wants to start eating clean, the first piece of advice I give them is to make sure you have enough information. Read and research until you are blue in the face! This will help anyone understand that Eating Clean is not a diet. It’s a lifestyle change. It’s not about deprivation, counting calories or having cheat days. Clean Eating changes the way you look at food, and helps you to understand that healthy, wholesome food is as much of a necessity in our life as the air we breath and the water we drink. You can read my entire Clean Eating Philosophy here.
I love Tosca Reno’s books. They are much more than cookbooks; they are a guide to help this journey be painless and enjoyable! She describes the foods we should be eating and the poisons we need to be eliminating. You will be surprised at how easy the recipes are, how delicious they can taste and how simple this way of life is.
Kids can be the worst critiques, though. Believe me, I know first hand! A few simple moves can warm your children to the idea of no more fast food and (gasp) more veggies!

• Get them involved. Help them create the grocery list or give them a few items of their own to shop for. Children love to help! and the more they are involved the better they will be willing to accept something new.
• Inspire the “little chef” inside of them. Look through cook books, have your child pick a recipe, then get cooking! You will be surprised at what your child really does or doesn’t like as far as food. When they make choices and decisions that shows them you have trust in them, and they will feel proud that they were able to help feed the entire family.

I hope these small suggestions help your new journey to eat healthier! I wish you the best of luck and years full of good eats!