I feel for you. I know whats its like. Especially in the Indian community. Mother law!! All I can say is good luck. Maybe give the the kids green smoothies then at least you know they are getting some goodness while the in laws are there.

I wish I had a good answer to give you. Truth is am still battling my mom. Whenever the kids go to her place they get fed rubbish. I am always the one coming out looking bad. My mom's normal response is 'Your grandmother lived till 87 eating cooked food' and 'everyone eats this way'.
I really have to control myself.
At the end of the day I seldom take my kids to see grandma. Its a shame.

Daavid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------.
> At the end of the day I seldom take my kids to see
> grandma. Its a shame.

how is she otherwise besides the food thing? is she a good gramma? reason i say this is because life is so short and i think it`s important to make the most out of relationships. i don`t get along with my step mother in law but i don`t restrict my kids from bonding with them (grandpa and his wife). my eldest son (12) just got back from a vacation with them...they took him to PA to see family and to FL to see family and swim with the dolphins and roller coasters and all sorts of other memory making stuff. i always have to reprogram when they get back from visits but that`s ok. i make sure and talk and keep things open and my kids know she`s a looney so it all ends up ok. if it were worse and they didn`t treat the kids loving and the kids didn`t want to be around them i wouldn`t force the issue though. i also wouldn`t force it if they were in real harms way. just my 2 cents

MILs can be so stressful to deal with, part of it is that decades of being responsible every aspect of raising a child gives them a habit of controlling that child, also, if you are doing something diffent, they aren't looking at it as being a wonderful new and improved way of raising kids but that by your action you are condeming them as having raised their child wrong. The whole MIL stresses never seem to show up in fairy tales :-)

Just don't put a name on what you are doing when you deal with people who don't understand, they probably never heard of "raw" anyway. A name gives them a handle to control you, and makes you seem like a member of a radical group, then they have to discuss this diffent thing. If you allign your health goals with mainstream thinking a bit, it makes it seem normal.

Of course, who always blows this charade, your significant other. "She can't eat that, she's on a raw diet" and the charade crumbles. The solution to that, is to not use the name with him/her either, or to seemingly express interest in several diets so they don't know which one you are on at the moment.

If they comment on the amount of produce you eat, just say that you saw news reports about various produce being good for you or having healing properties ect. so you decided to eat lots of it (that makes eating produce mainstream.)

Or that you saw that everyone who eats the status quo gets sick and you are searching for something different. (that makes it something you initiated based on logic rather than a group/cult that you joined)

Or that you are on a "cholesterol free diet" - be vegan without using the word, explain it simply, and point out the main objection to eating animals which everyone knows is a killer. Also then if they bring up eating certain foods you can object to it based on that it has cholesterol.

You see anuiyer, you knew the answer all the time. Once you yourself are ABSOLUTELY convinced that what you have found is right for you~ the judgements of others just will not matter. I am in the exact same boat my friend...lets keep rowing toward what we KNOW is truth.

cy, Thank you.

A, Congratulations on finding what is right for you.
Keep going and good luck! Therese

oh- family

i just left my folks home and it's always a challenge-

i love how they point out that i'm really healthy- but it's not diet
my son is never sick- but i feed him weird foods
i have health ideas- but i should realize it's only for me, it doesn't work for them

and if i did i there way it would be better for all (except i did do it there way and was violently ill for years...)

so we're at an impasse- and i try. we've at least come to an understanding with my children- i give some and they give some, and my kid is so happy to get home to our crazy food.

peace-

I think you should continue feeding your children and eating the way that you see fit. Stand firmly, lovingly and confidently in your beliefs. Let your in-laws say what they think, just try not to take it personally. I think it would be helpful to cultivate a sense of detachment in this area. You have to remember, in many ways you are walking on uncharted territory and your are bound to come across resistance towards what you are doing. Look at this positively as a challenge. Learning to relate to them will help make you better equipped to handle resistance from others in the future. I think it would be helpful to write down all the objections you think they will have, do the research and write down some thoughtful responses that you will remember. You could even try some role-playing with your husband or a friend. The best way to help them see the wonderful benefits of this lifestyle is through showing them by example. The benefits should speak for itself. Best wishes!