According to a recent New York Times piece, high school students aren’t thrilled by healthy lunches, and they’re not afraid to say so. It comes as no surprise that kids of all ages tend to shy away from fruits and veggies when also given the option of eating fast food or sweets. But with 1 in 3 American children who are overweight, there is a rampant need for initiatives like the Hunger-Free Kids Act, set up a few years ago to ensure that public school lunches are nutritious.
Healthy school lunches may be easier to implement if parents begin nutrition education at home. With kid-friendly options from several of our raw food authors, perhaps we can convince our children that fruits and veggies really aren’t that bad!
From Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko:
The Laughing Gorilla Smoothie
Yields 2 quarts
½ head romaine lettuce
2 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
1 mango
2 cups water
Warning: consumption of smoothie may result in spontaneously occurring, extremely contagious gorilla laughter.
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From Detox Your World by Shazzie:
Guacamole
Basic –
1 or 1/2 medium red chili, deseeded
1 clove of garlic
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
2 tomatoes
Chop the garlic and chili, then put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, but still with little bits in it. For a chunkier guacamole, don’t process one of the avocados—instead, dice it and mix it in afterward.
Variations –
Fruity: Adding the juice of an orange to the ingredients before blending gives it a lovely sweet mellow taste.
Sweetie: Adding a banana to the ingredients before blending gives it a sweet and still substantial taste.
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From The Art of Raw Food by Jens Casupei and Vibeke Kaupert
“Pasta” with Tomato Sauce
2 squash
Basic tomato sauce (recipe below)
2 tablespoons cashews, very finely chopped
1 handful basil leaves
Grate the squash lengthwise with a grater or use a spiral slicer. Arrange the pasta on a plate and pour the tomato sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with cashews and garnish with basil.
Basic Tomato Sauce
4 tomatoes
6 sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 dates
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Rosemary
Basil
Thyme
Salt and pepper
Soak the sun-dried tomatoes first if necessary. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Remove seeds and the wet tomato meat. Add all other ingredients to the rest of the tomatoes and blend. Add herbs, salt, and pepper to taste.
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Featured image by U.S. Department of Agriculture (20111019-FNS-RBN-1694) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
