I need help. I am in the process of transitioning my whole family to a 100% raw foods lifestyle. The problem is that I am scared to death of doing it wrong. I have a 2 year old and an 8 month old. I took her off her formula because I truly believe it to be poisonous, and I took the 2 year old off cows milk for the same reason. For about a week or so now I have been giving both of them fruit and veggie juice from the juicer and other produce, whole. For instance I give the baby smooshed bananas and avacodos. She really likes it! I also give them home made almond milk with dates.

Their diapers are horrible. Their butts seem to be raw because it seems that their BM is more acidic maybe due to the juice. So, I limit them to maybe 2 servings a day to see if that will help. The baby was veery fat and within 2 weeks time I can definately tell that she is starting to thin out. They both sleep through the night now, which they never have done before, not even the 2 year old.

But I still worry that I may be starving the baby somehow. I need reassurance and references. Does anyone know some good books that I can go to for help with this? I am open to any suggestions that people have from their own experience too. I just don't know where to go and I want to do this right without harming my children.

Thanks for the ear guys! I can't wait to hear back!

River Willow

Right. A healthy diet CAN be very cleansing. ESPECIALLY a diet of high fruit and avocados! Ha! ha! Take it from me....as that is about 100% of my diet! LOL.

My opinion is that you should feed your children a WIDE variety of mild, fresh fruits, vegetables, greens, etc. Talk to MamaCass (I know that she has young ones). I'm sure she could give you some tips. You can always e-mail Storm. He raised raw kids. I only have my own butt to worry about at this time! LOL.

-YOU can do the computations to make sure that your child is eating enough calories (and more) to maintain weight. This should be rather simple....if you are worried.

-Just some tips.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

David-

Thank you for responding! I really appreciate it.

I haven't thought about counting calories, maybe I should try it. All I have been doing is letting them cue me as to when they are hungry. I leave the dining table stocked to the brim with fresh fruits and veggies this way my older kids and the 2 year old can just go and take what they want when they want. It seems to work great!

I also thought that I would start the two littles on green smoothies. I have had great results with this so I think that they may also do well with it!

Also, seed cheese. I am learning to make seed cheese to add to the littles diet for extra calories.

I know that most of my apprehension is just stuff that has been brainwashed into me since birth. I know for a fact that this is the right way for me to go, so why wouldn't it be right for my kids??? I just need to let go of all the BS that I have been force fed over my life span this far.

I have also been having this raging guilt at work. I work at a hospital and everytime I go pass trays of food to the rooms I feel as though I am contributing to their deaths. Sometimes it gives me nightmares at night. That may sound silly but I just can't help it. I see these hugely obese and sick people and I just want to start crying. It makes me very emotional sometimes.

Well, I'll check in later! Have a great day everyone!!

River Willow

There was once a time when all children were raised for the first year or so on a diet totally raw
and for the next couple of years major supplemented raw.

Then the food industry learned to "perfected" prepared formulas.

We aren't all born with the ability to digest everything thrown at us.
We were born to digest our mother's milk.
We depended on the diversity of our mother's nutrition and her ability to digest and assimilate it to produce that milk.

If our mother's couldn't provide milk, there were "wet nurses" who were resorted to.

As we mature, our abilities to assimilate nourishment from sources other than mother's milk grows.

But back to your present adventure;
at this stage of the game, yeah, the green smoothies and seed and/or cheeses seem like something you could resort to.

You might want to contact the LaLeche League to see if they think it would be possible for you to restart breast feeding as a supplemental nutritional source?

take it easy with complicated recipes for the smallest one, no herbs or spices, only one or two foods at a time even in a smoothie (say spinach and apple). avoid or limit the major allergens until well into the first year too, nuts, oranges and strawberries and of course no honey at all until after the first year if you choose to use it. there is little need to sweeten foods for young children too, they have an unsophisticated palate and will eat things that seem too bland to us. over spicing, salting or sweetening foods for them alters their ability to enjoy natural foods, you can avoid those things altogether a lot of the time.

i would take care with the seed cheese as well if you are fermenting it. it is very easy to breed quite a bit of unhealthy bacteria without ever knowing it and it is taxing on the system to ingest too much of that. seed pates are just as nice and don't require any fermentation though i would hold off on seeds until after a year of age.

my son loved nori when he was little, it's a great snack and makes nice seed pate and/or veggie rolls. sprouts were a hit too if he helped to grow them himself. sometimes if i just changed the shape or size of things i cut up for him he'd be more interested in eating them.

there is a raw with kids forum on the rawfoodtalk.com site that has many recipes too, check them out.

good luck!

I hear you RWillow. As for the patients at work? You cannot make their choices for them. You did not wish them to be in the hospital....and you are not forcing them to eat poor foods. These are choices each individual must make. What man put in head and in stomach - no one can take away.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

David

Hello again!

I understand that people are responsible for their own choices of what to eat, but what bothers me is that they don't have the information needed to make educated decisions. I only learned about raw eating about 2 years ago. Before then, I honestly didn't know any better. Why?? This seams to be common sense! UGH, perhaps I am being too dramatic! I am famous for that.

I love your responses guys and gals! Never have I been part of a forum who gave advice so freely and looked after each other the way you guys do!! You rock!!



River Willow

About the Le Leche Legue thing... I might take that into consideration. I breast fed all my children except the first. But only for 2 months or so. But the baby, I fed her for about 3 months with the use of a breast pump. I know I can restart my milk supply I just have to go get the pump again. Perhaps it will be worth it, just to get her where I want her to be. If I choose to actually nurse her, would she remember how?? It's been a long time.



River Willow

rwillow76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If I choose to actually nurse her, would she remember how?? It's
> been a long time.

Even if she's forgotten the experience, who taught her to do it the first time?

She might even appreciate the special attention even more now.

Hi River. Congrats on taking your 8-month old off formula, and for eliminating cow's milk from your child's diet. That's great! If it was me, I would restart breastfeeding for the 8 month old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding your child for the first year of life. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for the first 2 years of a child's life, and beyond that for as long as mutually desired by mother and child. Breastfeeding has HUGE benefits to both you and your baby. It's possible to re-establish your milk supply quickly & easily using a breast pump. My friend successfully breastfeed 2 adopted twin boys by using a breast pump to stimulate milk production. So, even though she did not give birth to the adopted twins, she was able to successfully breastfeed them. Your body is like a computer - it remembers how to produce milk. If you need to re-establish your milk supply, just get a breast pump and start pumping. As far as food goes for the 2-yr. old, I would definitely try to incorporate more greens (in the form of green smoothies). Let us know how things go for you!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2008 07:41AM by carpediem.

See this new DVD on raising children raw, made by Holly Paige who has raised two raw children and been raw herself for about 7 years: [www.oceanwavevibrations.com]

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Congratulations on your decision to improve your families health. We transitioned our family to a high raw diet a year and a half ago and it has worked out beautifully for us. We have never looked back.

There is so much good advice already given so I will just say good luck and BREASTFEED!

About the issue with your job, you may find yourself evolving to working where you feel you are doing more good than you are now. The raw diet cleared my mental fog and opened up the world for me. Life is too short to do work that doesn't fulfill you.

Hello again everyone!!

Thanks for all the advice. It is very helpful.

My husband and I are both back in college (at 31 yrs of age!), so taking on breastfeeding will be a bit challenging right now with all the other things we are doing but it will be well worth it.

I am going to college for healthcare administration. I plan on going all the way with this (masters degree). I chose this degree because of the $$ potential. I thought the more $$ I made the more likely I could afford the kind of lifestyle I wanted. Since going raw my goals and aspirations have changed though. I now have a strong desire to take my family and go live in a teepee like Daryl Hannah. Where'd that come from, right? Honestly we would need a pretty huge teepee for the size of my family.

So I was thinking that I would go ahead and change my major. I want to have a job where I don't go to work everyday feeling as though I am aiding and abedding (is that even spelled right?) in a crime.

Since going raw, I am noticing that I am a bit more emotional. I was a drama queen to start with, don't get me wrong, but what I mean is that I suddenly don't know how to handle things. Issues that I would generally handle by drinking or eating... I just don't know how to handle it. I don't know how to LEARN how to handle things. Know what I mean? It's crazy. I never realized how junk food was such a big part of life. People eat all the time... for no reason! Just to have something to do!

Anywho, you guys have a great morning! I'll check in later! Lots of homework to do!

River Willow

Well I dont have any kids myself but my sister has raised my niece (2yrs) on a lot of raw.

-I know she did follow some allergen chart on when to introduce certain foods like strawberries.
-She breastfeed and my niece is almost weened now
-Fruit juices were diluted until a couple months ago I believe. I believe it was because of the high sugar thats not good for infants.
-She eats lots of fruit and veggies. I would say be careful with pineapple it burns my niece's mouth really bad if she eats anymore than a couple bites.
-Everything is very basic no more than two combined foods normally. And no spices until recently.
-My niece loves avocados, hummus (We have to limit this sometimes...lol), and almond butter (with apples or bananas and even sometimes alone)
-She also likes Larabars which are not as good as fresh but great for on the go.
-She also like spirulina which has a lot of nutrients.
-My sister also would make smoothies and freeze them for Popsicles
-Trail mixes are also a great idea
-Now she does make her cooked oatmeal sometimes which she loves but i thought maybe your kids would enjoy a raw oatmeal with fruit and maybe some agave to sweeten it.
-Whenever she is hungry she eats which is a whole lot.

But really my niece loves the basics. She will grab almost any piece of fresh fruit or veggie with no preparations and eat it. When I go back home she is constantly grabbing my food...lol. She ask for fuits and veggies all the time.

Well, I hope this is of assistance and good luck on your journey

Fantastic!

I never thought of making smoothies into popsicles! That is a groovy idea! Green popsicles. And if they don't like it cause it's green I will explain that they are special "Shrek" sicles. They'll love it!

Thanks for the great info and have a great day!!!

River Willow

I totally understand your worries about the kiddies. If you are going to try and relactate you could try a nipple shield after you get your milk flowing again -- it's basically a plastic nipple that goes over your nipple. It will be familar- since it's basically like a nipple on a plastic bottle, maybe that way you could get her back on. And then after she's got that down, you could try to ween her from the shield later, but at least she would be nursing again. they gave my baby a bottle at the hospital when she was born, and the shield was the only way I could get her on, and it took me 3 months to get her on without the shield- so be be patient. the important thing is that she is getting the breastmilk - which I think it still important at 8 months, right? good luck!

I have decided not to worry too much about actually having her latch on. I was just going to rent the pump and bottle feed her but with breast milk. It will be easier and more convenient for all involved.

Funny thing. I thought I was doing the wrong thing by putting my kids on the raw diet because my 8 month old wouldn't take her bottle of juice, and was crying alot. I thought she was having a bad reaction and I was very worried about her health. Turns out after further investigation that the nipple on the bottle was plugged and she wasn't able to drink it. So she wasn't having a reaction after all. (duh River)

Anyway, she is getting thinner. I worry about that because it is pounded into societies head that babies are suppose to be fat. But I noticed that since I have put her on raw food her hair is growing! She was bald and her hair (peach fuzz) very thin. Now it's growing in thicker. It might just be a coincidence but I don't think so. She is the only one of us who is 100% raw. She seems different now. I don't know how to explain it. She's more beautiful right now. Her eyes are bright blue and so clear. It's weird.

I am not sure what to do with the 2 year old. He had 4 or 5 massive diarrhea diapers yesterday. They were bright orange. Yuck. I thought that perhaps I was transitioning him too quickly. I don't know. He's not taking to the green smoothies too well. I went out and bought some Lara bars and he loves those. He would live on them if I'd let him.

Other than that everything is going great. I will get all this figured out I just have to educate myself more.

You guys have a great day!!!

River Willow

are you eating lots of fat yourself? coconut butter, nut butter and nut and seed pate, avocado, olives, etc. those will be very good for your breastmilk. and green smoothies for you too of course. also make sure you are getting enough essential fatty acids, hemp seeds are an excellent source of these, the best.

you could try a simple smoothie for the young man, one type of mild green with a banana, apple or a pear. if it tastes mostly of the fruit it might be more appealing. let him help you by putting pieces into the blender too. you can also add some coconut butter to that or some hemp seeds.

so long as your littlest one is in average percentile for weight i think you're doing ok. of course it's not a terrific thing for small people to lose weight but just a little bit might not be too bad as they adjust to a healthier diet. if you are super worried focus on heavier foods like avocado, banana, etc. will your young man eat sprouts? they are a terrific source of nutrients and ones like lentil are full of great protein and calories.

good luck!

hi there! i don't have children yet but i do have Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine, and in the back of that book Dr. Cousens talks about raising raw kids. there are lots of recipes and tips of when to introduce different foods. it looks like a great plan and i hope to follow it if i have children someday! good luck!!!!

Ok guys! I just made a "green smoothie" except I added 3 bananas instead of 2, some spinach, and an avacado. My 8 month old (Sylvia) LOVED IT!!! I made it thicker... more like a pudding. She ate a whole quart of it today! I couldn' feed her fast enough. She was just eating it without spilling or spitting anything out! She's never done that before! It was crazy! I think I found the thing that she needs right now! I am so happy. Why am I so happy over green food?? This is nuts! I think my 2 year old will like it too if I can just get him to taste it! Even my 4 year old loved it. He had 2 cups himself!

All hail the green smoothie!!

As soon as I realized that she liked it so much I went right out and bought 8 avacados and ten billion bananas!! We were in the check out lane and people were just gawking over the baby. They were commenting on how bright and blue her eyes were. That's all they could say was about how clear her eyes were. I thought it was my imagination but I guess not. I am loving this people!

I thought I was transitioning my 2 year old too fast so I backed off and gave him some processed food for a couple of days... here comes the behavior issues again. Coincidence?? I think not! He's a tough cookie to crack! I have to come up with some tricky things to get him where I want him but I think it is worth it. For example; I will wait until he is crying alot, with his mouth wide open, then shove the green smoothie in!

But really, I like the idea of him helping make the smoothie. That's genious! Then he will want to eat it because he helped make it!! Why can't I think of these things?? I have to do something though because since I started giving him just partially non-raw foods his behavior has been horrible!! I just can't stand it!!

My hubby is even noticing a difference! He is about 325 lbs. He has been about 85% - 90% raw for a week or two and he had to move to the next hole on his belt today!The next hole IN I mean. Fantastic!!!! I am so proud of him!

Well, I have to go! I am thinking about using my digital camcorder to make a raw foods video to post on You Tube about raw living or something! I just know that what I have seen so far has been so helpful... I want to help people too.

You guys have a great night!!!!

River Willow

Wow River Willow! I love your enthusiasm! I was wondering: How quickly did you make the change to raw? What kind of diet did you have before you went raw (were you veg, vegan, junk food meat eating junkies)? Because that may have an effect on how hard your family detoxes -- how much garbage you have in your bodies to begin with. I agree with Radomeag that Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine is a great book for families, kids and great information on raw foods -- and every recipe I've tried is delicious! And I totally get what you are saying about working in an environment that is unsupportive of raw food -- I serve filet mignons and lamb, dreaming to one day open a raw foods restaurant. If you do feel like you need to feed some of your kids cooked food, is it organic brown rice or is it Ramen noodles and meat? I'm really impressed with what you're doing, though, and I think this site has the best support for raw transitioners and other raw foodies of any of them!

How quickly... well I tried going raw the next day back when I was pregnant with my last child. I talked my hubby into it and we decided to go on a 2 week trial. We threw all the food away in the house along with the coffee pot and things like that. It was great at first but then we found ourselves making excuses to go out to eat. The kids wouldn't stop complaining. It was pretty rough. We then called it quits because I was having trouble I think due to my pregnancy. It just didn't work well the first time. Other things factored in such as my two oldest kids going to my parents telling them what we were doing. Of course this is abuse you know. "Well any time you two want real food you just come to grandmas house" You can't make a change like this well if you have no support system. But now we have moved to another town so we have my dad here and he is very supportive.

This time we are not going so drastically. We are taking it in steps which seems to help temendously. For example, the other night we had taco salad for dinner made with mostly raw stuff and no meat or dairy. We had soy cheese and soy sour cream which was surprisingly good. The kids loved it. Then last night we had raw corn on the cob, raw asparagus spears, and sushi rolls made with raw nori, avacado, tomato, red leaf lettuce, and mushrooms. The kids ate it and liked it. That really surprised me. Apparently they are taking to it easier this time since it's not a shock to their systems.

I still have this urge to throw everything away and go 100% overnight. I also have different fears than I did before. I always find myself fearing not having any money to feed my family. I was raised to shop using the "hoarding method". If somethings on sale, buy the crap out of it. Always buy in bulk and stock up in case something happens with your job. Well, you just can't do that on the raw food diet. I have to completely relearn everything. It's pretty crazy.

Another thing that I find helpful is having internet access. I have found so much support and kindness on here not to mention tons of information, tips and ideas. It is painful to think that your own family will not support your decisions but a group of complete strangers will be there for you every step of the way.

Well, I have to go take care of my ankle biters.

You guys have a fantastic day!!!

River Willow

Such wonderful posts River. I love reading them. It is so exciting when you see your children glowing in health. My middle child was sick for a long time and healing her was part of our path to raw. She was not growing and thriving and now she is a bright eyed, glowing and thriving kid and is growing like a little weed. She is so active we can't keep up. I know exactly how you feel. It is so great, too, that viruses are blown off in half a day now. I am so happy to hear your littlest loved the smoothie. I think slow and steady wins the race and from our experiences (high raw for over a year and a half and higher raw all the time) I think you are surely on the right path. I believe going at a pace the entire family can keep up with is important. I don't know how old your older kids are but my twelve year old enjoyed "Eating without heating" by the Boutenko kids. Eventually the less healthy foods will make them feel bloated and tired and they will not be as attracted. My kids would bring up mac-n-cheese nearly everyday for months and now I literally never hear them say those words. It is like they forgot about it. Keep up the good work!!! You are doing great!!!

My friend told me about a bumper sticker she saw and I thought it was good. It said "Come to the dark side, we have cookies." LOL!

Awesome River!!!! And man I love the enthusiasm, too

I thought that you could maybe add fresh beet juice to your green smoothies because it makes it a beautiful ruby color - this may help you in getting your son to try it
Also, I have found that adding pineapple into green smoothies takes away the strong green taste - my niece loves gs when pineapple is added.

And best of luck

Way to go River Willow! It must be great to have the hubby on board with you. My partner is supportive, but he loves to cook and is very good at it. When he cooks up some delicious vegan treat, it's hard to resist. This is probably my biggest hurdle to going 100% raw. My family thinks it's pretty weird too, but I'm the one who struggles least with weight issues and eating disorders, so whatever. Keep up the great work!