by Mary Delasantos
Yesterday I picked up my daughter, Kim, and granddaughter Hannah, and brought them over to our house for a visit. Just like any other grandma (or mom), my first thought was that they must need to eat; so on the way to our house we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. We went to the produce department first and Hannah picked out a pint of bright red strawberries for her snack. As we browsed the rest of the store she held on to her treat. Later when it was our turn at the cash register Hannah would not release the package and protected it as if her life depended upon it. The cashier had to walk around to the cart where Hannah was sitting so she could scan the price label.
When we got to the house, Kim washed and sliced about half of the strawberries for Hannah. Hannah was completely enjoying her brightly colored, sweet and juicy snack until Kim and I joined her at the kitchen counter with our snacks. I offered Kim tortilla chips to go with some very yummy fresh made salsa that Dan had whipped up a few minutes earlier and I had a handful of raw sundried spiced olives. As soon as we sat down Hannah pushed away the strawberries and wanted some of Kim’s chips. We told her that she could have a chip after she finished all of her strawberries. Two year old Hannah retrieved her bowl and continued eating. When Hannah took her last slice of strawberry she slipped off her stool and walked away having forgotten all about the chips.
This made me think about the way most of us eat. We have tendencies to go for the less nutritious processed foods such as chips and crackers because they are so readily available to us. If we learn to keep the fresh and nutritious items in our line of site we too, just as Hannah did, will truly enjoy those choices as well. And, we will feel better for making those choices both mentally and physically.
Happy Eating!
Mary Delasantos
voiceofthevegan.com
Tags: children, conscious parenting, Family, Food for Thought, health, Homeschooling, Life, Living Food, love, nature, organic, parenthood, Raw food, raw food recipe, raw food recipes for kids
What a lovely post. Kids really teach us a lot, they are very observant and thoughtful. I’ve noticed lately that my two year old really takes her time to taste things. For example today she had an apple slice. She took it, looked it over really well, brought it up to her nose/mouth several times. Then she put her tongue on it, to see the texture and taste, then she nibbled at leisure. This was in great contrast to me gulping down my smoothie!
Sometimes kids are zen masters.