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by Carissa Leventis-Cox, Mama In The Kitchen

I’m a strong advocate for feeding our children more raw vegan foods, so I thought it would be good to share the most kid-friendly raw foods that are in-season all year round and/or available all year round. It is best to find organic, local and in-season foods, but sometimes it is just not possible for many reasons (one being I have a monkey who loves bananas and we don’t grow bananas where we live).

So, here is a list of 12 superfoods that are full of, as my son says, “En-zines! En-zines!”

Hope your kids enjoy these living and enzyme rich foods!

FRESH FRUITS

1. Bananas – All kids love bananas. They are rich in enzymes, best eaten just ripe when there are brown spots on the skin. Many kids go bananas for them in:

• breakfast – cereals, granola, porridge, pudding
• green smoothies – a must in any
• ice cream – with the texture of real ice cream, you can add different ingredients to change its flavor
• lollipops – name a kid who doesn’t like them!

2. Apples – Sweet and crunchy! Full of phytonutrients and antioxidants, what’s there not to love? Have them in:

• breakfast – in our favorite Raw Muesli and a yummy accompaniment to Almond Yogurt.
• easy snacks – simply slice one up and serve with or without a dip, or create Apple Sandwiches
• raw Applesauce
• immune booster ‘tea’: mix together equal parts of apple cider vinegar and honey, add water to taste
• veggie juices – to make it more palatable for kids. I know my son prefers apple green juices over carrot ones.

3. Lemons – Rich in raw vitamin C and bioflavanoids. Enjoy in:

• salad dressings: 1 tbspn lemon juice, 2-4 tbspns extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp sea salt, spices and herbs
• raw lemonade

4. Avocado – Rich in protein, enzymes, fiber, potassium, vitamin E and healthy fats. Avocados add a richness and creaminess in:

• dips – Guacamole
• soups
• a simple side – sliced with a little sea salt and extra virgin olive oil
• desserts – creamy chocolate Sundae

5. Papaya – Loaded with living enzymes, papaya contains papain, a digestive enzyme which helps break down protein and soothes the stomach. Enjoy in:

• breakfast pudding
• simply sliced or with a little lemon

FRESH VEGGIES

6. Romaine Lettuce – Rich in vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, manganese, and chromium, it is also a very good source of dietary fiber. It is the mildest of all leafy greens and the easiest for kids to learn to love. Enjoy in:

• easy salads – Kid’s Only Salad and South Asian Salad
• smoothies – in any smoothie, this is the easiest way to get kids to eat them
• as wraps – simply place a banana in a leaf, topped with almond butter and honey or dates or nama shoyu, or other filling

SPROUTED GRAINS

7. Sprouted Oat Groats: A good source of dietary fiber, significant amount of vitamin B1, potassium, iron, phosphorous, selenium, zinc, manganese and magnesium. Enjoy in:

• heavier breakfasts – we love our Raw Muesli and Granola

RAW NUTS and SEEDS

8. Almonds – Higher in fiber than other nuts, contains healthy omega-9 oleic fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Enjoy in:

• Almond Butter – use it instead of peanut butter on bananas with honey, or in lettuce wraps
• Almond Orange Salad Dressing
• Raw Almond Milk – soak 1 cup of almonds overnight, rinse and drain the next day, process in a high speed blender with 4 cups of water and your choices of sweetener (honey, dates, to taste) and flavor (cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom)
• Raw Almond Yogurt

9. Coconut – Besides being anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal (Coconut Research Center), coconuts are highly nutritious, rich in fiber (4x as much as oat bran and 2x as much as wheat bran or flaxseed meal), vitamins and minerals. We have a tub of coconut oil in my son’s bathroom and he enjoys eating the butter as I lather and moisturize his skin with it. Enjoy in:

• breakfast – granola
• coconut oil – in desserts, pit a date and place a little coconut oil inside, close and enjoy
• creamy milk – simply blend together fresh raw coconut water and meat from one coconut.
• Pina Colada smoothie – blend together water and meat from 1 coconut, 1 banana, 1 cup pineapple, 1 tbspn honey.
• soups – we love my Coconut Gazpacho, but you can make a simple Avocado Coconut Soup by blending 1 avocado and water and meat from 1 coconut and your choice of flavours (curry, vanilla, sea salt or honey)

10. Sunflower Seeds - Excellent source of vitamin E, as well as vitamin B1, manganese, magnesium, copper, selenium, phosphorus, vitamin B5 and folate. We enjoy this in our son’s fave salad:

• I Can’t Stop Eating This Kale Salad

11. Flax Seeds – Great source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, good source of dietary fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and lignan phytonutrients. Enjoy as:

• crackers – Carrot Flax Seed Crackers
• sprinkles over breakfast and dessert puddings, as well as on Spinach Chips

SWEETENER

12. Raw Local Honey – Not only will this help with seasonal allergies, but this is an unprocessed sweetener that kids just love. Since finding out more about the negatives of agave syrup, honey is now our favorite liquid sweetener. Enjoy in:

• breakfast
• chocolate syrup with raw cacao or carob powder
• desserts
• toppings or dips for cut fruit

What are your child’s favorite raw foods? Do you have an easy recipe to share?

Learn more about making food fast, fun, frugal and eco-friendly by visiting Eat Healthy!

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