In this edition:

1. Monthly Maxim: Supplement
2. Feature article: Healthy diets for toddlers – Moms’ Questions
3. Recipe: Date balls - no sugar, no wheat, no dairy and still delicious

This edition of Feed and Eat Digest is devoted to moms and tots who need the courage and inspiration to improve their diets and make healthier choices.

1. Monthly Maxim: Supplement

Our life styles make supplementation extremely important. Chemicals and other pollutants in our world ask more of our bodies than what our diets can provide. It is almost impossible to sustain a 100% healthy diet all of the time. Most of us lack some part of the nutritional chain somewhere.

Since the focus this month is on tots, check out our facts page on the GNLD Vita Squares versus Gummy vites and make an informed choice for your littley: Vita Squares vs Gummy Vites

Or, read my story on how to start supplementing: Start Supplementing

And don’t tell me it is too close to Christmas, you have to watch your finances - maybe next year blah, blah, blah.

I will only say: Buy something now before you spend all your money on holiday treats. You are going to need the extra energy, extra nutrition and over-all extra oomph to cope with kids home for the holidays, the over-indulgence on bad foods and all the traveling or friends and relatives that will be descending on your life. Perhaps you will be working through it all, or be on your own, then you need something to pep you up all the more.

2. Healthy diets for toddlers – Moms' Questions

1. My tot is very picky and only likes certain foods (2 min noodles usually feature among these), how do I get my tot to eat healthy food?
2. How do you expect my older child to cope with the peer pressure of opening his lunch tin with fruit and rice cakes alongside his friends with their chips and sweets?
3. Is it necessary to buy expensive supplements, or will gummy vites do?

Before going on to the answers, here is a short summary on what I said in the talk so you have some context.

Why is everyone going on about health and diets? The simple answer is that our bodies need to be strong and able to protect itself to cope with the demands of our high powered modern life style and the environmental hazards that are caused by technological development.

The scale is overbalanced to the side of the demands and attacks on our bodies and we do not have enough resources to cope with them. Instead of facing these demands and attacks with strong healthy well fed vessels, we put up a feeble fight with bodies that are tired, get sick easily, are allergy prone and weak. This is because there are just as many chemicals and technologically tampered with stuff inside our bodies than there are outside of it.

What we really ought to do is get the balance back by doing two things: minimise the environmental attacks and strengthen our bodies by feeding it natural healthy food so it can have a fighting chance. I then give my 12 practical principles one by one explaining how they help accomplish this: 12 practical eating principles to help you make healthy choices quickly and easily

Finally I end with the list of practical suggestions you can find on my Feed your toddler page: Feed Your Toddler

Now, more detailed answers to the questions...

1. My tot is very picky and only likes certain foods (2 min noodles usually feature among these), how do I get my tot to eat healthy food?

I have three suggestions for you:

Firstly, change your own diet. We all know kids do what they see us do, not what you tell them to do. You do not have to change everything at once. Sign up for my newsletter and you will get one thing to change each month and by the end of the year your diet will have dramatically improved. Since each principle works on a continuum, next year you can improve even more and so on. For instance in the month of November start by finding a good multi vitamin for you and your kids, buy it and start taking it.

Next year November you might like to add another supplement like Omega 3. If you already take supplements, see if you can either get a better quality one that will make a bigger impact, or add something that is still missing from your diet. And if you are worried about spending money so close to Christmas, read what I said above about Supplements.

Secondly, teach your child how to make informed choices. I have invented a robot that reacts differently depending on the different kinds of food you feed it, to help my 3 year old understand. So, pretending to be the robot I become either very strong or very weak, depending on the food Benjamin suggests. Variations are now creeping in like bright eyes when it is carrots, or crazy behaviour when it is sugary (just make sure it is negative crazy, not positive crazy, or your tot might enjoy the reaction and think it is a good fun choice. I had to learn this the hard way.).

If you have a girl make it go pretty or ugly depending on the food. Do what you have to do, but teach your children to become aware and make good choices.

Thirdly, try this more systematic approach: Make a list of the top 10 to 20 foods your tot likes to eat. Most of them have a limited scope at this age. Now look at the suggestions on my Feed your toddler page: Feed Your Toddler

If your choice falls in one of the Eliminate or minimize lists, pick a food from the be creative and play with list just underneath it and try replacing the bad choice. If it does not work, pick something else. You may even give him/her a choice of three different ones to speed up the process. Then never buy the bad product again. Do not let it into your house.

If you think this limits your choices you are looking at it from the wrong perspective: what it is really doing is extending your frame of reference, opening you up to a whole range of new creative options. Repeat the process until you have eliminated all the bad choices from your original list.

Granted, you may not like to have to change something that your tot obviously likes, is cheap and easy to prepare, but that is a different matter altogether. Try to find something that will become just as easy and quick and inexpensive once you have made the change.

2. How do you expect my older child to cope with the peer pressure of opening his lunch tin with fruit and rice cakes alongside his friends with their chips and sweets?

Yes, I know, we do not want our kids to suffer ridicule and peer pressure. I do not have a quick and easy answer for this one. All I know is that learning to deal with ridicule is a very important life skill and it starts with your child understanding why his food is different from his friends'. Teach and inform them, empower them with knowledge so that they will have answers and courage. Then have courage yourself and talk to other parents.

The times are in our favour, health is a buzz word everywhere and all moms really want to do the right thing, but it is only the courageous few who actually do it and take action. Inspire other moms and let’s create a community of kids with fruit and health crackers in their lunch tins.

I have not had to deal with this as a parent yet. My eldest is only 3, but I certainly had to deal with it as a child because my mom was my predecessor. My social problems was not caused by the curious contents of my lunch tin, I can assure you. I have no recollection of feeling intimidated or laughed at about that. I simply accepted it as the way we eat.

I do remember occasionally swapping food with a friend, but these times were few and far between. I would love any of you who are dealing with this problem to respond and tell us your story, concerns, solutions, questions, experiences. Let's talk and help each other out: Click to access my contact form

3. Is it necessary to buy expensive supplements, or will Gummy Vites do?

Read our Vita Squares vs Gummy vites page and make an informed decision that suits you: Vita Squares vs Gummy Vites

Making healthier choices takes courage and planning. Let’s help and inspire each other. Here is a recipe to add to your repertoire.

3. Recipe: Date balls - no sugar, no wheat, no dairy and still delicious

Add 1 and a half cups each of coconut and oats plus a table spoon or 2 of tahini/peanut butter (choose one with no additives like the yellow bottle Black Cat brand)/any other seed or nut butter.

Mix together in a blender or with your hands and add a little of the drained date water if necessary.

Roll into balls and store in the fridge. How easy is that?

If you have favourite recipes that work well for you share them with us: Click to access my contact form

With all this difficult stuff of being responsible and making changes out the way, let us look forward to a happy holiday season. Look out for a December news letter full of festive suggestions that won’t add to your waste line, but will make you feel just as satisfied and indulgent.

Greetings,

Petro Janse van Vuuren

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