We have raised our kids on grass-fed meats, lots of healthy fats, and organic goodness and we have seen all three of them develop into healthy, well-muscled, level-headed, intelligent people.
Our children, 18, 14, and 8 are healthy, vibrant, athletic people. We are often asked what or how we feed our kids. I think I hit on part of that answer above. I think part of the problem is that children don't understand what it even feels like to inhabit a healthy body with a clear mind. They live, from the time they are babes, in a state of perpetual sugar fog which results in emotional disturbances, hyperactivity, lethargy, poor immunity, inability to concentrate.. the list just goes on and on. When those little bodies are given the building blocks they need, their potential is boundless.
Our 8 year old is a hockey player. How is it that her calves and her abdominal muscles are as defined as they are? She skates with the boys and she is powerful. Or, perhaps I should say that the boys skate with her? Like all of our children, she is calm, rational, clear and decisive in her logic, and she is an empathetic, understanding little soul.
People liked to warn us that our children, the moment they turned into teenagers, would rebel and start hanging out at McDonalds, eschewing their grass fed steak for feedlot, greasy burgers and chocolate bars. We were ready for that. Yup, it was coming, no doubt, any day now, I'm sure it's about to... Know what? Didn't happen. Now, that doesn't mean that they didn't try their first fast food burger when they were hanging out with friends, because they did. They also went to potlucks with their sports teams and pigged out on all sorts of baking and chips and whatever other foreign looking food they could find. They really pigged out. Then they got sick. Oh, Mother Nature has plans for people who stray. They paid for it, in spades. So, they got a pretty good response to the question they were asking, "Is this stuff as good as they say?" They will still have a little something when they're with their friends and we expect that. The thing is, they know what it means to feel well and they know that crappy food makes them unwell. That's a pretty decent starting point. We can't control every part of their lives. All we can do, as parents, is give our kids a strong foundation and trust that they know enough to make their own decisions when they leave the nest.
Kid Numero Uno in stroke seat.
Our children are incredible athletes. Talented in anything they try. When our older daughter returns from a sleepover, she's apt to get a a few pimples on her usually clear skin. She knows it's the food and she knows that it goes away as soon as she eats "our food". That sounds like a little thing, but it's a point worth making. When my kids feel lousy or notice some change in their health, they look to things within their control to help themselves. They understand the significance of what they put into their bodies. How many of us, as adults, have searched for years trying to figure out what was wrong with us while we continued to throw sugars and PUFAs down our gullets because we simply did not understand the connection?
I was working on a farm a couple years ago, observing the conditioning of the cattle. It was a lesson I found fascinating. The farmer was pointing out the various things to look for when determining if a pastured cow is 'finishing' well (basically, if it's ready for processing). I started looking at the way the animals were muscled, their skeletal frames, the brightness of their eyes, the condition of their coat and their movement. Guess what. We're animals too. You can do that just as easily with human beings. Go ahead, go to an elementary school and view the little animal specimens. What you will see may shock you. We are a sick species.
Kids need good food. I wish I could scream that from the rooftops. They need concentrated nutrition without toxic pesticides, hormones, or steroids. They need plenty of good fat, saturated fat, animal fats from healthy, pastured animals. They need pastured animal products for protein and that treasured fat, and they need vegetables for vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrate. My children eat like royalty. They know the farmers that grew the food on their plates. They understand why we eat food from these farms and why we shun animal products from CAFOs. We strongly believe that children need this connection to their food if we have any hope of saving our local food systems in order to feed us all in the future.
Please note: Our teenagers would like to point out that the word "kid" is used loosely as they are well on their way to fully fledged adults. I stand corrected.
