Best wishes to you, Joy, and to all those lives you will touch with your goodness!
As published in The HolisticNetworker: http://www.HolisticNetworker.com/5063/childrens-nutrition-is-your-hair-made-of-donuts/
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| Joy Feldman, author |
Whether the subject is religion, education, politics, or
even eating -- when you swim against
the current, you’d better be strong, confident, and resilient. Parents who work to feed their children
nutritious foods know this well.
The Sea Change
Around the world and throughout time, the choice of what to
eat has been made by adults combining the foods harvested in the region, along
with an understanding of what food combinations best served the health needs of
the people in that area and created pleasant tastes. Children were not consulted in this matter,
as of course, they would not yet know what is best for their bodies. Rather, they were given to eat what the
adults ate—the adults knowing what was best and taking the time to prepare it.
It is only in the last 75 years or so that food, for the
majority in the States, has become a matter of what was easiest to serve and
most entertaining—regardless of the affect on the body—and that children as
young as two or three years old were asked at the drive-through window, What do you want to eat?
The change in approach has been so complete that now people
who invest the time and money to buy local, organic foods, to prepare home
cooked meals, and who refuse to eat processed factory foods are considered
extreme. In the case of parents who do
this for their children, they are called “strict”, “strange”, or even “mean”
when working to protect their children from factory foods and toxins! Further, other adults will often sabotage the
parents’ efforts with their children by offering—or sneaking –“treats” to the
kids when parents aren’t watching.
When children see the other kids at school and in the
neighborhood eating foods that glow in the dark, sparkle, and pop, it is only
natural that they will be curious about them, and in many cases, devour them
when parents aren’t around.
Whoa!
In that environment, parents swimming against the “food current”
and working to keep their children healthy can use all the support they can
get.
Some Helpful Ideas
--In Utero and Breast
milk: Mothers set the stage for their children’s tastes in utero and when
breastfeeding. Of course the baby’s
nourishment is directly affected by the healthy choices a mother makes before
it is born, and it develops taste preferences and the ability to digest
different foods from the micronutrients that are transferred in the breast
milk.
--Beginning on
Solids: When beginning children on solid foods, there is no need whatsoever
for them to have added sugars, salts, or flavors. Sugary fruit juices (this includes juice
without “added sugar”) and fruits in syrup are not an ideal choice, and are
discouraged in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Baby food in the States—along with adult food—has become a
circus of flavors and colors that are not only unnecessary, but according to
TCM doctor Bob Flaws, also leads to many of the chronic ear/nose/throat
infections we see in infants and children.
Simple, organic puréed grains and root vegetables first,
followed by other vegetables, legumes and meats (and/or other protein), and a
small amount of seasonal fruit sets the stage for healthy choices for a
lifetime.
--Young Children and Teens:
Constant learning and involvement helps children understand why parents are
giving them foods different from what they see all around them.
- Have them shop with you,
choose different colored fruits and vegetables, have them help cook, and
discuss the nutrient properties of the foods—make it fun!
- Tell them that you know
what you’re doing is different, and that it is because you love and
respect them that you are working to provide the best for them. They can
learn to be proud rather than ashamed of their difference.
- Read books about nutrition
together with kids. But what books? There are many, and today we’ll introduce
a new one called Is Your Hair Made
of Donuts?, from nutrition speaker and writer, Joy Feldman.
Is Your Hair Made of Donuts?
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| Is Your Hair Made of Dounuts? |
Joy Feldman, author of award-winning Joyful Cooking: In the Pursuit of Good Health, now turns her focus to
helping children—and the parents working so hard to feed them properly.
In her book, Is Your
Hair Made of Donuts?, she presents
in a colorful and engaging way how literally we are what we eat! She does a
wonderful job of capturing children’s attention with a subject they would often
otherwise find boring. Further, she
helps them see that though they’re are not surrounded by other children eating
the way they do, they are not alone or weird—they are intelligently building
strength and health.
For parents who could use a little support in helping their
children appreciate nutritious foods—and who wouldn’t?—Is Your Hair Made of Donuts? is a fun read and creates memorable
impressions on those growing minds!
Is Your Hair Made of
Donuts? (ISBN: 978-0-615-55515-7, Category: Children’s Picture Book, 40
pages, 18 full color illustrations, $8.95, Distributed by Pathways) will be
released on March 1, 2012 in conjunction with National Nutrition Month. Is Your Hair Made of Donuts? will also
be available in an eBook edition.
Her articles have appeared in:
• The Well Being Journal
• The Holistic Networker
• The Birthing Site
• Natural Mother Magazine
• MidwiferyToday
Her published titles are: New Mother, Free Love & Go, Jane!
Website: www.alliechee.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllieChee
NEW MOTHER on Amazon
1 comment:
This book cover is hillarious. I can not wait to read it to my children ages 12, 10 and 6. Soon I will let you know of their responses. They are pretty well trained; however, at Grandma's house anything goes. She does have hair made of donughts :)
My favorite line in this article is about the circus of flavors and colors of baby food. Great visual!
Thank you for writing this book.
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