Raw Vegan Food for Kids

Nowadays, the food industry is stronger than never before in advertising processed food for kids. It causes our youngest ones a willingness to eat only that kind of food, which will contribute to the fat, sugar and salt addiction, causing the known obesity crisis that is hitting the world as we speak.

All these new concepts of raw plant-based food being more beneficial for our health is giving us a clue that we should do some changes in the diet our family eats. But how can we make it more appealing than a well-known sugary snack? Here are some easy ideas to prepare creative and nutritious plant-based, unprocessed snacks that your family will enjoy:

So the idea of plant-based food is to increase the intake of vegetables, but vegetables are the key problem when it comes to making kids eat healthier. There is probably no kid in the world that is capable of eating a broccoli without making a silly face!

The solution is to mix them up with something your kid will like, for example with nut butter or nut cheese. Make them try the nut butter or cheese first without any veggies, and then tell them to have it with a stick, and this is where you put the veggies. Make sure the size of the sticks are small, as kids like to see that their food is smaller so they can easily grab it and make the whole experience more fun!

Here is one raw vegan spread recipe you can use with the little ones:

Blend all the ingredients until smooth. To enhance the flavor, allow sitting for at least 1 hour before serving. Makes ½ cup that can be used as a dip for fresh vegetable sticks.

A good thing about raw vegan food cuisine is that it is so creative, that you can actually mimic some of your kids’ favorite dishes. Make them have raw vegan mini pizzas or mini burgers for example. Think about what your kid likes and be creative.

Wash the kale leaves and dry them well. Tear the leaves in a size larger than a regular crisp then toss them in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, trying to coat all of the leaves. Spread the leaves on the dehydrator tray in single layers.

Dry the kale overnight (for about 6-8 hours) at 110F/43C.

Ready to eat or can also be stored in an air-sealed container. *In the case you don’t have a dehydrator, you can still make the recipe in the oven, but it will not be considered as raw food. In case of using the oven, use the lowest temperature you can and keep the door slightly open while “dehydrating” for 3-4 hours (less time).

You don’t need to put your kids into a strict raw vegan diet; this is just to give them more options of healthy plant-based food that also tastes delicious!

It is also important that you get involved and supervise what the school has to offer or what are they taking from home. It is a great idea to eat with them when you are at home, so you can guide them to eat healthy food and be a role model on this as well.