I wouldn't be dealing with something like this for at least a few years, but I still have been thinking about something. I have always wanted to adopt children and take in foster children (including older ones). I know there is a very good chance they will S.A.D. eaters. How do I find a compromise between the two? I hate the thought of having to prepare meat and dairy for them, but also don't know if it right to try and push a vegan diet on them (raw is even more difficult). I suppose I could start by trying to teach them of the benefits. Would anyone like to share advice or share what they would do in a similar situation.

geeeez joanne
i don't have any good advice for you

except to brainwash constantly them with raw films, videos, CDs, DVD's deeeelicious
raw fruits and veggies and yumminess all over til they are chanting raw raw raw
as their mantra

that's all

same way you transition any other kid. there is terrific advice out there. check out the parents forum on rawfoodtalk.com.

I would agree with you that it is NOT right to radically change their diet. Just make a list of their favorite foods before. Give them a budget, take them shopping, and then let them buy, choose and prepare some of their own food. This will increase their food consciousness. Let them know how YOU eat....and that you will be making extra and sharing.....and allowing anyone that wishes to to eat the way YOU do. That should be good.

-You lead by example.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

What DZM said. I have run the dietary gamut with my four kids, and I find that I still have some influence with my three twenty-somethings and their kids just by them watching me and asking questions. I have a raw foodist friend who is a foster parent, and she does this, but also cooks meat. I would draw the line there -- no meat in my house!

I would draw the line and artificial chemicals. Some things will affect the brain and decision making. My daughter drank red food coloring for the first time at 3 and was an emotional wreck for a few hours. I believe these are poisens and wouldn't allow kids I am in charge of to injest them. No artificial food coloring, preservatives or flavors, and no MSG. Other than that I would brainwash while doing what David said.

Oh yeah, def. no chemicals! My son drank Hawaiian Punch for the first time when he was 10, and even he was embarrassed with his behavior! That's always been a biggie for me, even when I ate meat.

Well, my house is raw and SAD, so the choice is there, but for the most part, my kids generally eat tons of raw. (It's pretty easy to use their laziness in my favor - if it comes to a choice between heating up food and having to clean up after or grabbing the bowl of cut up fruit from the container in the fridge, they will almost always pick the least amount of effort, ie the fruit!) But even when they do choose things that I wouldn't have picked, I know that overall, their diet is still way better than most.

As they get older, they seem to lean more and more to the right choices, but at this age, they don't care to be different than their friends, so when they are away from home, they eat many of the things their friends eat.

That being said, they are very well informed, and even when they eat less desirable foods, they are well aware that those foods aren't the optimal choices. I think that's great compared to many of their peers who seem to have no comprehension of the difference between fresh food and empty junk calories. It doesn't hurt that they have always been quite athletic also, so fueling those healthy bodies has always been a subject to talk about in a positive way.

Sapphire

i like what sapphire said alot.
patty