“Do you make your kids eat plant-based?” This is a common question in the office. Patients want to know if we’re walking the walk of eating plant-based and are we raising plant-based kids. The short answer is yes, to a point.
As with anything and kids, there’s lots of flexibility and leeway because the battle’s not worth it.
Avoid the battle, bring on the ketchup
Ketchup and ranch dressing were clutch when my family first went plant-based. To get the kids to eat vegetables we gave them ranch, ketchup or hummus to dip and douse their food. Anything to get it down. They were 3 and 5 years old, and easily influenced.
Hiding zucchini, carrots and chickpeas in soups was another tactic. Blend it up and they are none the wiser.
PSA – make sure the soup turns out red! Don’t use green leafy vegetables for new plant-based kids…they won’t eat anything green!
The days of mac and cheese with hotdogs for dinner were long gone by the time my younger two were born. So they didn’t need the same food training.
Maintain plant-based eating
Despite how you start eating plant-based, maintaining is the key to raising plant based kids. Try not to make food a battle, although we’re not perfect with that.
We allow flexibility when they go to friends’ houses or eat out. If they want to try the chicken or the cheesy pasta we let them. But I can’t say I’m not disappointed when my son picks the double bacon cheeseburger at the local restaurant. 😬
I grit my teeth and secretly hope he’ll feel like garbage and not do it again! But I know he’ll try again. It’s more important for him to learn his own body and how he feels than to make me happy.
Check your own perspective on eating plant based
The best thing we can do is to be a consistent example. The old saying “do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t quite work.
We have to ask ourselves:
- What’s on MY plate?
- What choices am I making?
- Am I enthusiastic about trying new foods?
- Am I complaining about what I have to eat?
If you talk about how you deserve a cheat day, or you’re depriving yourself – you can’t expect kids to want to follow you.
Kids have to find their own way with food and how it feels in their body. The best teacher is when they make the connection themselves. Some of my favorite examples from my kids’ connections:
- gorging themselves at a birthday party and vomiting
- eating ice cream every night when on vacation with friends and their acne flares
- seeing liquid bacon fat solidified at room temperature and realizing what it is
- eating pizza and cake twice in 24 hours and not being able to play in their championship game because of a belly ache
Plant seeds for kids to learn
We’re still working on raising plant-based kids. It’s not perfect. But all we can do is plant seeds for them to learn.
I’ve had some great mentors along the way. Jane Esselstyn’s kids are competitive swimmers and Plantbased Juniors is a Plant-based registered dietician who I love following on Instagram.
But of course my favorite is good friend Dr Bingham, who raised her own kids WFPB and worried about how they’d eat as adults. It’s safe to say, it worked out just fine.