conversation in our house today:

Whimsical six year old- "I want something with veganaise or a pickle."

Practically grown twelve year old- "Cooked food freak."

Whimsical six year old- "I'm not a cooked food freak, you are."



The more I thought about it the more it made me smile. I was just happy all the whining about mac and cheese is a thing of the past!!!!

We had mama's famous raw pickles and all was happy.

that's inspiring and motivating

david

That is so cool...

I feel a wonderful paradigm shift is just around the corner!

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

hey pakd4fun

what's a veganaise?

Hey guys,

We are happy to inspire and motivate.

It IS so cool. It makes me so happy

Veganaise is a vegan mayo made with grapeseed oil. We eat it on days we have cooked.

that is hilarious and inspiring. there is life after mac and cheese? i have a five year old who i am not pressuring to go raw with me, merely offering lots of other choices. but the mac and cheese thing... its the bane of my existence. please tell, how did you overcome?!?

pakd4fun such a cute and amusing exchange!



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

thanks coconutchronicles. It's a hoot around here.

Maui_butterfly,

Slow and steady wins the race is our motto. We had to do something to get well a year and a half ago. We transitioned together as a family. We are homeschoolers and are always together. We started out with a month long commitment to 100% raw and after that we could have anything we wanted (crappy junk allowed) one or two days a week. We went down to "crappy" once a week and some "healthy cooked" meal for the second one. We just kept weaning ourselves off of things while adding a new raw favorite. We were already vegetarians and had cut out artificial colors, flavors and preservatives years before. Now we are doing very well. Now instead of junk candy we have an organic candy or a vegan sandwich from the health food store. We used to have mac-n-cheese for a treat and now they ask for rice with raw vegetables. It has been months since they have mentioned mac-n-cheese. I think you should never say you can never have something to them because control issues arise. Always say yes, you can have it on Saturday, we are eating whatever we want.

I think the biggest suggestion I have is keep yummy fruit where they can get it, lots of it. When you have apples and bananas around they eat them but then you cut up pineapple or have grapes or cherries it is like you just brought out cookies. Remember how you feel if you eat all you want of cookies. Pineapples or grapes can be eaten endlessly. Keep them full on fruit and they have no room or desire for junk. They feel sick when they do eat those other foods and eventually won't want them.

My six year old used to say can we please eat cooked at home so I can lay down afterwards.

lol on the six year old quote. kids are such riots!

thanks pakd, that helps alot. while a part of me feels i should just be "strong" (militant?) about it and allow no cooked food in the house--it would sure be easier on me--another part of me knows my kid and feels like that's not the way, because self-rule is so important to her. i agree never say 'you can't have x'. so i have just been relying on my intuition to tell me how to proceed, and that's been just making lots of different fruit available, and offering fruits and vegetables often, prepared lots of different ways, and not making a big deal about it if those things are rejected. the snack rule is you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want without asking, but if its something else you have to ask first -- that has worked great for me, since she will by nature prefer to eat the things she doesn't need to consult with me first on, again the self-rule thing.

it'll be interesting to see where we are at one or two years in. thanks so much for sharing your story.

You are welcome. I hope our experiences help you.

I have thought about the militant approach. I met a waman at the Raw Spirit fest (that was a great experience for our kids) who said you should make your home a cooked free home. Maybe someday we will but I want my kids to make healthy choices on their own and not because of force. I have worried about causing eating disorders. I don't want my kids associating lack of control, or any negative associations, about food. It seems to be such a common issue, ecpecially for girls. I am guiding them, not forcing them. My six year old and I were sick before transition so we had additional motivations for sticking to our healthy diets. It helps to remind them of all the people who are getting sick from the food they're eating.

Good luck! I will be curious to see where you guys are in a year or two also.