For the Love of Greens

One of the things I love is making great meals for my family to enjoy! I love to make meals that will leave them feeling nourished and satiated, all while giving them energy, vitamins, minerals and nutrients. In a nutshell, I love preparing meals that will make them thrive! This may sound pretty easy, but when you have two small kids and one in particular who doesn’t like many greens this calls for creativity! I am really excited and eager to get this message out there. Providing our children and ourselves with good health is our responsibility! There are more and more people buying convenient, fast food and processed foods. The rise of illnesses is increasing in children and adults. Obesity is on the rise. Food DOES matter and it is with passion that I write this. I know how hard it can be to turn your whole diet around, but a baby step here and one there will add up. ‘’What should I do for their lunches? I’m so sick of making things, and my kids just complain! I have the feeling of not being good enough or feeling guilty, but still continue with the same routine.’’ Does this sound familiar? There is no need for parental guilt here. We are all doing the best that we know how with the information on hand but the more we learn, the more we see that something needs to be done. Let’s make a shift in a lighthearted way to add more greens in a fun tasty way while eliminating fast and processed foods. It doesn’t have to be controlling or forced; eating needs to be enjoyable for the child AND the parent as well! THE SCOOP ON GREENS Vegetables, especially green leafy veggies are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibers and are alkalizing. Which means they balance the acidity that is predominant from our processed diets, stressful lives, pollution, etc. Acidity is the root cause of most diseases. Green leafy veggies are wholesome, nourishing and exactly what is lacking in most children’s (and adults’) diets. In a nutshell, having different varieties of greens every day helps our body to run smoothly. Learning to incorporate these greens in our meals gives us a great base for having an immune system that works for us and a healthy body. The idea is to add in more variety. A larger quantity of greens, along with foods that will strengthen and nourish the body will give us a better understanding of how food really does affect us and makes us more aware of our body’s signals. “Your children will see what you're all about by what you live rather than what you say.” ― Wayne W. Dyer It is essential for us, as parents, to know this because we can practice what we preach and secondly, we are confident in our ability to provide healthy foods to our children. By doing this, we are building a strong foundation for ourselves, our children and the future generations to come. I know it might seem overwhelming or challenging at first if this is a new way of eating for your family. There are so many different diets out there from vegan to raw foodist, paleo to macrobiotics and so much more in between. There is so much advice out there about what we should and shouldn’t eat. But one thing everyone does agree with is that fresh green vegetables needs to be in abundance in our diet, which is the opposite of the Standard American Diet. My intention for this book is for you to incorporate more greens in everything, so that it just comes naturally and simply into your lifestyle. What do I mean by ‘everything?’ Well, just that—EVERYTHING! Cakes? Yup, greens can go there. Ice cream? Oh, yes—definitely! There really is no limit to where and how many greens you can add to your meals. My intention is also for you to choose wholesome, ‘real’ food and eliminate processed foods and sugars. This is not a fad or a diet. This is adding in vitality to our life! Our body needs proper fuel and it gets it through what we feed our bodies, our minds and our souls. What we put in, will come out, so let’s keep it nourishing and positive! Making this a lifestyle choice for the whole family is really the way to go so that the whole family can be conscious of what they put in their bodies. Health is our birthright!