hey everyone,

i'm chandelle. i've been a whole-foods organic vegan for three years along with my partner, jeremy, and our two children who are 3 and 18 months. this diet has been wonderful for all of us!

i'm studying to be a holistic nutritionist right now and my ultimate goal is to be a naturopathic doctor. my partner is a waldorf preschool teacher and we live a very gentle, holistic lifestyle. studying so much about nutrition, i've decided to attempt to transition my family to a raw diet. we're planning to try it for a month and go from there.

i have some questions for those of you with small children. i've looked over some of the meal plans for the adults on this site and elsewhere and while they might be fine for adults, they are usually deficient in some nutrients for growing children.

i feel pretty comfortable that i can provide them with enough protein through nuts, sprouts and other foods like that, and fat will come also from nuts as well as seeds, coconuts and so on. i'm examining the best sources for iron, calcium, zinc and other potentially problematic nutrients, and i feel confident that we can figure that out.

however, i do have one primary concern, and that is my daughter, willow, who is 18 months old. willow was born at home, very peacefully, but with an oral-motor dysfunction, and this she could not nurse, and i couldn't keep up my supply through pumping alone. she received donated breastmilk for a year. (i'm stating this to stave off comments that she should be fine if she's nursing. she's not, it was an extremely traumatic and painful experience for me, and i don't really wish to discuss it, if that's okay. i'm just letting you know that she isn't getting any nutrients from nursing.) at this point, she eats some foods pretty well, like bread, fruit, nut butters, rice, and occasionally soft, mashed vegetables, though she often rejects them. she doesn't have many teeth yet, and won't eat raw vegetables or nuts. part of it is the teeth issue but i also suspect it's just difficult for her with her oral-motor dysfunction. a lot of foods pass right through her because she doesn't chew. i expect this to improve over time. in the meantime, i want to make sure she is well-nourished while our family is making a transition. if necessary, i will soften vegetables for her through steaming rather than her not get vegetables at all. i also hope to get some of those nutrients into her through juices and smoothies. i guess i'd just really like to know, to be sure, that someone out there with small children has fed them this diet successfully. i'd love to hear some success stories and also some honesty about any problems that arose of which i should be aware.

also, what b-12 supplement would you recommend for children who won't use a sublingual properly (since my kids are too young to get that concept yet)? (hopefully supplementation of b-12 is accepted here. i dislike supplements as much as the next person, but i'm taking gabriel cousens advice on this one.)

after examining this issue from every angle, and especially looking at every medical study i could find, we're not planning a 100% raw diet 100% of the time. adaptability is the most important issue for us and we want to move with the flow of the seasons, sickness, wellness, stress and so on, following the dictates of our bodies according to our changing needs. at this time, i intend to keep eating plant-based yogurt, my husband intends to keep eating manna bread, along with our kids, and we all enjoy brown rice and will probably eat that, steamed, from time to time. some vegetables seem to really benefit from very light steaming to break down their starches and improve bioavailability of nutrients, so we'll probably do so. we're aiming for approximately 75-90% raw. i've noticed that many people here have a high-raw diet like this, not 100%, and i'm curious how this has worked for you. do you feel that it's been successful? that it's sustainable? do kids enjoy this diet? my son, isaiah, at 3 eats incredibly well; his favorite foods are broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens, brown rice and lentils! not bad for a 3-year-old! so i think he'll enjoy this diet; as for my daughter, there are the issues i mentioned above and also just that she's rather picky and sensitive to change. we'll see about her, i guess, but i'm hopeful.

if you eat a high-raw diet, and include some cooked food sometimes, i'm very curious what cooked foods you include.

thanks so much for reading this long diatribe! i'm looking forward to some much-needed support and friendship here and i hope to offer the same.

chandelle

wow, sorry for such a long post!

[www.rawfoodsupport.com]#

They had a great thread on this just a few days ago. You also might want to check out Alissa Cohen's forum, it is chock full of raw moms and they even have a section on raising raw kids!

[www.rawfoodtalk.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2008 04:29AM by Lillianswan.

My three year old loves sprouts of all kinds. You could try grinding some and mixing them up with avocados. Avocados are perfect and were my favorite take-along baby food.

I wouldn't use nuts as a primary source of protein. Sprouts are great, as is fruit and greens.

I loved your post

We are a family of five. Our kids are 3, 7 and 12. We transitioned to a high raw idet almost two years ago from a SAD vegetarian diet. We are at a stage in our transition we are very comfortable with. We eat cooked wild rice mixed with raw veggies or sometimes cooked beans. We also eat baked sweet potatoes, boiled peanuts and popcorn with flax oil and nutritional yeast ( a fovorite snack) soups, crackers and sprouted bread. So far these things feel good and digest well and keep us happy on our high raw goals. If in the future we feel like they aren't working for us we will eliminate them.

We eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. We eat LOTS of raw soups and cereal concoctions (fruit with honey and nut butter sprinkled with sprouted and dried buckwheat) nut milks. Tahini milk is good with carob. Zucchini noodles and any kind of sauce are a favorite. When we have dried fruits they are eaten like candy except for figs. We buy lots of dried figs ( you can soak them and drink the soak water) and they are eaten up quickly. They are full of calcium. We eat pates rolled up in nori sheets. We put sprouts in wraps and on salads. We soak steel cut oats over night and add fruit for oatmeal. We eat dulse in salads and soups and pates. The most liked and most common food we eat are smoothies. We make all kinds but our favorite is just banana and spinach. We add a little water and that's it. You can add hemp seed or coconut oil. Spinach is probably everyone's favorite food now. My kids were not such good greens eaters before this diet. Salad was a tiny part of their meal with ranch dressing. This morning salad was what my three year old wanted for breakfast. They ask for them daily.

My favorite book for recipes and transitioning children is from these people:
[www.thegardendiet.com] Storm and Jinjee.

My kids are so incredibly healthy looking. Their eyes are bright and they are glowing from within. My 7 year old had been ill and looked sallow before. Sometime tears fill my eyes with joy when I see how healthy she is now. My three year old was about 18 months when we began this and he is so strong and athletic. They are super thriving. My 12 year old has always been long and skinny but I noticed in her spring shorts and shirts how muscular she is now.

Good luck. I hope this helps.