Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 42

Is Covid Stemming From Our Food Choices?

When you choose plants, you equip your body with what it needs to protect you from disease.

If strong and healthy is our collective goal, we need to focus on what we can learn from those most impacted by this pandemic. Those who seemed to have statistically suffered the most severe outcomes (hospitalization and death) were those whose health was already compromised by obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption,  diabetes, and heart disease. That is a wake-up call for us. If then 60% of all global deaths are due to these conditions in general – with poor diet considered a major contributory factor in each of them – then why aren’t we talking more about that?

Research has shown that people who eat a diet high in animal protein (including red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs) have an increased risk of cancer.  People who simply avoid meat experience half the risk of colon cancer, and one-third the risk of prostate cancer.

Instead of treating disease after the diagnosis, the problem oriented approach, we should be teaching people how to prevent it, creating a wellness health system.  We must shift to teaching about a plant-based diet to avoid many of the conditions listed above.  That is what the managed health care giant Kaiser Permanente has been doing, encouraging the adoption of a plant based diet as the new normal for their patients and employees.  The Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid supports plant based diets as the healthiest option, as does Dr Kim Williams, former President of the American Cardiology Association.  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and plant based food can reverse that. John Hopkins experts says dairy is one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer.  Fish are full of mercury, microplastics, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

During this pandemic doctors and scientists have studied who is at the greatest risk of dying from COVID19 (and SARS, MERS, and Avian Flu). They found that one of the most common fatal complications is something called a “cytokine storm.”  This is when your immune system launches such an aggressive attack on the virus that it causes the body to sustain innocent bystander damage from the resulting excess inflammation.  Cytokine storm damages lungs, kidneys and even heart muscle.  Plants help not only to actively quell inflammation (versus meat, which fuels it), but they also help regulate your immune system.  That means a balanced immune system will give your body the right tools at the right moment, rather than overwhelm the body with a dysregulated and out-of-whack response.

Now, more than ever, we need to focus on building our immune systems, so we are well.  The healthier a nation we are, the better our Country will run.  If we choose wellness, the strain on taxpayers and our government health crisis dissipates.  The COVID19 pandemic has exposed serious problems with  our “world-class” healthcare system.  At present it is unable to efficiently address widespread illness.  Insurance companies and for-profit corporations like hospital systems and big pharma have been making billions in profits, and yet we are left with a very crippled, and broadly ineffective disease-centric care system that doesn’t support health and wellness. This needs to change

We must ask ourselves some hard questions: why are we afraid that we may die from SARsCoV2 virus, but not from the death that may comes from poor food choices? The number of deaths from cancers and cardiovascular disease are staggering.  During this pandemic everyone says, with such sincerity, that they are quarantining and wearing masks to protect the vulnerable, and yet this promise seems forgotten when the evening steak or burger or coke or milkshake are plunked down on the table.

How can we make people care about themselves and others, and do this all the time so disasters and disease are minimized?

Xo

Alicia

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

This Pediatrician Teaches Us How To Transition Carnivorous Kiddos Into Plant Based Wonders

Plant-centered diets that feature vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds have long been known to promote health and stave off chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc.) that account for the majority of both morbidity and mortality in the United States. Additionally, we know that factory farming takes a devastating toll on the environment, the workers in animal processing facilities, and the nearly 10 billion farm animals slaughtered for food each year in the United States. As a pediatrician and mother of two teens, I know that the choices we make around food can have a tremendous impact on our health and issues related to climate change and animal cruelty. With the world changed dramatically from the global pandemic to social justice movements calling for action, we are all in search of tangible, practical ways to display our values. A plant-centered diet can help to address many of these global issues, but for some families the idea of transitioning to a more plant-centered diet feels overwhelming, if not impossible. Parents in particular, may worry that their children will resist changes that show up in their lunchbox, at snack time, and at the dinner table, especially if they have older children that are used to typical “kid” foods such as nuggets, hot dogs, and pepperoni pizza. But parents can feel reassured knowing that shifting their family’s diet towards plants does not have to be burdensome. In fact, it can be a journey filled with joy, adventure, purpose, and of course, delicious food. 

In making the transition for my own family, I found that an inviting, caring, and gentle approach helped to mitigate conflict and stress. I did my best to persuade them with one of the best tools in my armament: the food. With a little bit of care but not too much extra fuss or work, I began making fully plant-based meals at home. I actively sought my family’s feedback and worked to prepare delicious, nutritious meals we could all enjoy. The single, most effective action I took to shift my family towards a plant-based diet was to cook good food. You hardly notice what you are missing when the plate in front of you makes your mouth water. I did my best to prepare and cook real, whole plant foods for my family. This is not to say that every meal was greeted with joy and excitement. Yet, more often than not, day in and day out, it worked.

If your family seems interested, or even curious, the next step can be to try out a few changes. Let them know you are experimenting and eager for their feedback and input. This can reassure them that how they feel genuinely matters to you. Food is meant to not only nourish our bodies but to connect us to those we love and care about. While adopting an attitude of inviting instead of imposing may take longer, such an approach offers more lasting and meaningful change and helps to preserve a loving connection to your family. Here are some steps that you can take to begin the process in your own family.

Eat more plants. This sounds simple but merely increasing the amount of plant foods you eat will necessarily crowd out animal foods. Add a salad, side of beans, or handful of nuts to your regular meals and snacks. 
Start with what’s already working and build in gradual change. This is the lowest hanging fruit. The reality is that most families already include a variety of abundant plant-based foods (e.g. pasta with marinara sauce, rice and beans, oatmeal, and even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) in their diets. If your family already enjoys a few veg-friendly meals try offering them more often. 
Make easy swaps. My family was pretty open to swapping out plant-based milks such soy, almond, and oat (so many wonderful varieties to choose from!) for cow’s milk and hardly noticed egg replacements (such as flax or chia seed “eggs” – one tablespoon of seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes) in baking. Work to build in change gradually by swapping out animal-based foods with plant-based alternatives. Today’s market has so many delicious plant-based alternatives that are becoming more widely available (even “eggs” made of mung beans!) that eating more plant foods doesn’t mean you have to give up familiar, delicious meals. Some simple ideas include:  Tofu scramble with veggies in place of bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Hummus and veggie pita in the lunchbox instead of ham and cheese. Bean and veggie burritos instead of beef burritos. Tofu instead of chicken in your stir fry.
Consider shifting animal products from the main dish to side dish. If the idea of eating an entirely vegan diet seems impossible, aim for 80 or 90%. Whether it’s meatless Monday, tofu Tuesday, or vegan before six, reducing animal foods in the diet is a step in the right direction. The food at home is the simplest place to start. If a gradual approach better serves your family, you can first focus on making changes at home and worry less about what happens outside of your home. 
Try transition foods. Transition foods are typically thought of as somewhat (from minimally to heavily) processed foods meant to replace animal-based foods such as meat, dairy, eggs, and fish. Examples might include soymilk, plant-based nuggets, vegan cheese, and veggie burgers. Products differ widely in terms of the degree to which they are processed. In general, the less processed a food is, the more wholesome and healthier it tends to be, but in some instances, processing can actually be beneficial. For example, many plant-based milks are fortified with vitamins D and B12 and many veggie “meats” provide high quality, absorbable protein as well as added iron and B12. These transition type foods may serve as occasional foods or become everyday staples in your family’s diet. They can be especially useful when families are just beginning to make the shift, when eating out, or when attending functions such as a family barbecue. These foods can also add a degree of convenience during busy weekdays. 
Engage and encourage. Involve kids in food selection and preparation. Grow some vegetables or herbs; let your child select fruits and vegetables at the market; encourage your child to help count, measure, sift, stir, pour, or brush. The more they are involved, the more likely kids are to try new foods. 
Have a sense of adventure. Try new recipes (there are a plethora of vegan/plant-based blogs, Instagram accounts, and cookbooks) and explore new cuisines. Many ethnic foods (e.g., Ethiopian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Thai) are heavily plant-centered and vegan-friendly.
Be a role model. Children learn by what they see. We don’t need to have complicated conversations about nutrition with our children. When kids see parents enjoying crisp snap peas or slurping a juicy mango, they are more likely to want to try it themselves. 
Try not to be sneaky. No one likes to be tricked. The few leaves of kale you covertly mixed into their morning smoothing could backfire. If little ones detect bitterness or a less sweet version of their favorite smoothie, they will learn to distrust your offerings. A different approach could be: “I’ve added a secret ingredient, and I’m wondering if you can figure out what is,” or allow them to throw in as many leaves of spinach as they would like and gradually work your way up. When you “sneak” things in, you may inadvertently be teaching your kids that these foods are not enjoyable.
Make it fun and be creative. Use fun shapes, an assortment of colors, and a sense of playfulness to make food appealing to little ones. Additionally, turning anything into a “bar” (i.e., salad, taco, rice bowls, etc.) is great way to get kids to try new ingredients or combinations. It also gives them some control over the meal by allowing them to add which and how much of each ingredient they want to try.
Be a good listener. If your child really dislikes something, be willing to hear them out and offer a reasonable substitute. This is not about being a short-order cook, but if there is something you can do that makes the meal more enjoyable, go for it! One of my kids really dislikes warm or sautéed snap peas. So, when I make a stir-fry, I try to set aside a handful of snap peas so that he can enjoy them raw.
Provide structure, warmth, and support. Avoid pushing, bribing, sneaking, restricting, and bargaining. Center the focus of mealtimes around enjoyment. 
Focus on the journey. As important as it is to fuel our families with nutritious foods, we have an even greater responsibility as parents to teach our kids how to feed themselves when they are away from our dinner tables. Pushing one more bite of greens or two more bites of anything is not the end goal. Don’t forget that food and family meals connect us. Yes, food should be nutritious. But it should also be delicious and most definitely shared. It’s not always easy to do, but when we focus more on the conversation than the number of bites of broccoli, everyone feels more relaxed.
Be kind to yourself and have patience. We are all just learning, experimenting, and growing.

In the end, we, as parents, are doing the very best we can for ourselves and our families. If you feel overwhelmed, consider revisiting your “why” and adjusting your pace. Look for support, involve your family, and focus on progress over any illusion of perfection. Move forward with love, compassion, and a generous dose of patience.

Reshma Shah, M.D, M.P.H. is a board-certified pediatrician and affiliate clinical instructor at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is the co-author of the upcoming book, Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families due out November 2020. You can find her on Instagram @reshmashah

Photo by Kyle Nieber on Unsplash

How to Simplify Meal Prep for Your Family

How To Simplify Your Daily and Weekly Meal Prep

Healthy, homemade meals don’t just happen, especially when you’ve got a busy, dynamic household with several mouths to feed, but spending hours in the kitchen isn’t an option for many of us. Although meal prep can be helpful and productive, it can also feel challenging to find the time—and overwhelming to organize all the tasks to make it happen. Try one or more of the tips below to bring more ease to preparing your family’s meals.

Write it in your calendar

Pick a standing day and time to meal plan, another to grocery shop and one more to meal prep. Put it in your calendar and stick to it. Once it’s in your schedule, you’ve given yourself one less thing to think about or plan—and you’ve made meals simpler by setting up all the tasks to get them made.

Plan to eat

Review your schedule for the week and determine what to cook from scratch (those nights you have more time to cook) and what to fill in with your batch cooked food (those nights when you have little or no time or energy to meal prep). Then, plot out meal solutions and options that you know you can prepare with the time you have available in your schedule. Synching what you eat to how much time you have to prepare meals makes you more efficient in the kitchen and helps you when you need it the most.

Make a grocery list when you create your meal plan

While you’re planning out your weekly menu and have all of your recipes and meal ideas in front of you, make your grocery list. By completing all of your shopping for the week at one time, you’ll not only save time and money, but you’ll also create more ease in your daily routine.

Wash and store your produce when you get home from the store

Cut vegetables and store them in water-filled mason jars, shred lettuce for salads and spiralize vegetables. Meal prep will be quicker and easier because all of your ingredients will be ready to go when you need them.

Focus on 4-6 recipes that will speed up dinner during the week

After you’ve created your weekly menu, identify parts of the meals or recipes that can be made in advance and stored until ready to use, such as sauces, soups and casseroles. Marinated proteins and roasted vegetables can also be prepped ahead of time and then transformed into meals quickly with just a couple other ingredients later in the week. Meal prep will be faster and simpler with a few things ready in advance.

Set up “stations” when you prep

During your batch cooking session for the week, organize your cooking so that your time in the kitchen is always active. Prep foods that need to marinate, bake or roast first. While those foods are in the oven, complete any stovetop cooking. While those foods roast and cook, blend and mix sauces and dressings. Set out the tools and ingredients for each recipe together.

Stephanie Dreyer is a plant-based meal planning expert, an award-winning children’s book author, and the founder of Batch Cooking Club, a weekly meal prep membership that makes meal time easier. 

Vegan and Sustainable Sneakers So Sweet You’ll Jump For Joy!

Most sneakers are manufactured using dangerous chemicals that eek into our environment and bodies. Sneakers are a must-have in our modern world though, so what to do? Choose eco! You don’t even need to google, because I’ve done the trying on and testing for you! The following companies are all doing things in a responsible manner, and look just as cool as any other brand (if not cooler because you get brownie points for supporting small green businesses.)

Check out my favorites:

Lane Eight:

I love my grey sneakers from Lane Eight. They are made with a vegan microfiber, recycled polyester thread – each shoe is made from 11 recycled plastic bottles!  The insole is made from algae (yes, algae!) which gives back 31.5 liters of water back to the ocean, and reduces 64 cubic meters of carbon from the atmosphere!

Shop my comfy grey ones here:

Trainer AD-1, $95 @laneeight.com

Avre:

I have two pairs of these funky Avre sneakers – they are made from recycled plastic which is melted down, reformulated, and spun into yarn! Overall this helps reduce energy, waste, and water. I have a black and white pair, and a pink one. The pink is a fun pop of color. I’ve been wearing the black and white ones on hikes with legging and sweats, or with black skinny jeans.

Shop the black and white style here:

Infinity Glide White and Black, $145 @avrelife.com

And the pink ones here:

Infinity Glide Blush and White, $145 @avrelife.com

Veja:

Veja sneakers are perfect with jeans, dresses, and leggings. The company offers a few vegan style options, and they have cute kiddo styles too. I have a white pair, and find that I’m wearing them in the spring and fall the most.  They are made of faux leather, or canvas – mine are faux leather with a rubber sole.

Looks like mine are sold out- but shop a similar pair here:

URCA CWL White Cobalt, $150 @veja-store.com

Cariuma:

This brand is not entirely vegan, but has a few vegan options.  It’s always nice to support brands’ vegan options to show companies our buying power! Often companies will lessen production of their non-vegan or non-eco items to produce more animal-friendly skews if demand has shown it to be profitable. I wear the white canvas lace ups with jeans, and dresses to style them down. Cariuma does have sustainability practices- responsibly sourced materials, fair wages, and they give back to charitable organizations.

Shop my white canvas shoes here:

Off-White Canvas OCA LOW, $79 @cariuma.com

Happy Shopping!

Xo,

Alicia

If Covid Came From Eating Animals, Then Why Are We Still Doing It?

It is presumed that on one tragic day in a Wet Market (live markets where people can go to buy exotic live animals and have them slaughtered on the spot), this zoonotic (animal derived), novel illness hopped from one tortured animal, likely a live bat, possibly to a pangolin and then on to humans. Thusly, the world suffered.

The virus shuffled its genes in a way that made it novel, but similar in many respects to SARs and MERS, also 2 deadly cornoaviruses. There are examples of this type of zoonotic shift throughout history, including the Spanish Flu, Ebola, HIV, H1N1/Swine Flu, H7N9/Avian Flu, SARS, and now COVID-19. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that three out of four new or emerging diseases in people come from animals, a fact that the infectious disease experts have tracked for decades. We now know that there are as many as 1.67 million potential viruses that reside within animals around the world.

Infectious diseases, like COVID19, can make the jump from animals to humans because of conditions we create. Normally these millions of viruses that naturally reside in animals should, in theory, be harmless to us. Namely because nature intended for these species to live peaceably in their habitats; not interacting in close, confined quarters with other animals; and definitely not regularly interacting with humans.

In the case of COVID-19, public health experts believe it originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China a place where there are densely packed crates of wild animals – both dead and alive – that are sold for their meat or other uses. History has demonstrated that wildlife trade and even industrial animal farming can contribute to new zoonotic diseases. All of these scenarios force different animal species to live in unnaturally close proximity to one another in filthy conditions. It is the perfect storm for viruses that once just lived harmlessly in their animal hosts to now mutate, and to eventually make the jump from animals to people. In addition to sharing viruses with us they can also give us bacteria outbreaks such as  E.coli and Salmonella  It’s no wonder that 80 percent of the U.S.’s supply of antibiotics go to animals on factory farms as a band-aid to mitigate these unsanitary conditions. Radical cruelty is paying us back via mother nature.

This type of zoonotic infection is happening over and over again in our own backyards. And as we have seen more clearly than ever with COVID-19, the pandemic that results from it knows no borders.  Zoonotic diseases are not just coming from faraway places like Asia or the Amazon. Swine Flu in 2009 was made right here in the USA, a result of industrial pig farming.  Bird flu, the source of most of our flu viruses, can easily be spread on chicken farms. 50 billion chickens are slaughtered annually, kept in such horrifically inhumane conditions that most humans can barely bare the sight and smell. They live in their poop and urine, so stressed that their immune system collapses and infection follows.

You might be thinking you don’t engage with these filthy systems, but it’s more than likely this is where your animal products come from as 99 percent of meat in the U.S.  derives from these industrial factory farms.  Factory farming ignites diseases and serves as contamination hot spot among workers. During this pandemic, we have seen some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections in the animal agriculture industry. Close work quarters resulted in high rates of infection among thousands of slaughterhouse and meat processing workers.  Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has been extremely vocal about factory farming, even unveiling legislation that would end factory farming in the US.

When you choose plants, you stop supporting encroachment into biodiversity habitats, the wet market abuse of exotic animals and the process of unnatural and cruel crowding of animals in confined spaces. When you choose a plant based diet you stop supporting practices that lead to outbreaks of animal-originated diseases.

So many of you have made choices in the name of the collective good during this pandemic, whether it’s working on the front line in our hospitals, donating your time or resources, or quarantining to flatten the curve and prevent infection from spreading too fast and to those who are most vulnerable. If we truly care about our collective wellbeing, then we need to embrace a plant-based diet.

How can you help?

Choose a plant based diet
Support organizations who fight to end factory farming like Farm Sanctuary, , Mercy For Animals, and The Humane League
Be the change you want to see in the world

For more information on eating a plant based diet, and being your healthiest self check out my book The Kind Diet.

Xo

Alicia

Photo by Peter Neumann on Unsplash

A Flash of the Infinite: On Finding Nature Amidst a Global Pandemic

In these strange quarantined times, I’ve learned to reconsider nature, maybe even (possibly) enjoy it. Before the shut in, my home was my refuge, where I could escape the stress of the city in cozy, sofa-bound solace. But now, I have nowhere to go but a different part of a condo. Like so many others, my sources of comfort and stress have inverted. I’ve grown sick of Netflix. I’ve fantasized about waiting in line at CVS.

Fortunately, in most states, the mandates around the quarantine allow for daily “recreational walks.” Since walks are now all we have, I decided I would commit to taking one every evening.  You could say leisurely walks have never really been my thing. Pre-quarantine, I would engage in long, rushed expeditions to the metro or grocery. My walks were chores leading to other chores. Always either ear-budded or on the phone, I rarely registered the calming, earthy sounds around me: cicadas buzzing, boots snapping leaves. But now I have no place to be – ever. The least I could do is pay attention.

This of course has proven more difficult than it seemed. My first leisurely retreat out of quarantine, there was too much to process. Too much feeling, color, sound, and light beaming out of a non-screen. I needed the buffer of technology or another person. Without a podcast host deadpanning into my ear, I felt too alone in this vast, infinite planet, or too close to the source – whatever the source might be. Just as people are scared to be alone with their thoughts, strolling solo made me feel too vulnerable, too exposed, too connected to the raw earth underneath me.

But even still, I decided I would continue the walks, force this new diversion upon me. I began a ritual: every evening after work, I would lie in bed, scroll through my phone for a half hour, complain to my boyfriend J about how much I didn’t want to take a walk – and then take one. I would throw on some ragged clothes reminiscent of century-old dish rags, cram my pockets with granola bars and hand sanitizer, and go.

I was surprised when after a week of these self-mandated walks, I started to come around to them, even look forward to them. Cycling through various news channels all day, I longed to disconnect and reset–offline. I wanted just a half hour every night where I didn’t have to think about worst case scenarios.

Nature seemed to exist outside of time or place or horror. If you went deep enough into the forest, there were no markers signaling what year or city or state you were in. In nature, I could simply – as the cliche goes – “be.” That was all that was required of me. I just had to exist in a body. It was the easiest hobby I’d ever had: “being.” Suddenly, I felt a click in alignment. Nature and I were existing together, made up of comparable matter, breathing in the same oxygen.

During a time of mass suffering, mass death, rising unemployment, and failed, incompetent leadership, nature offers a horizon of calm. It exists beyond the havoc, removed from the fuming talking heads or tweets from our clown president. Maybe because there were less cars and pollution, or simply because I was actually paying attention, nature seemed to be beaming more luminously than ever before. In J’s neighborhood, there are fields blazed with bloodroots and bluebells, fences cascading with ivy, sharp twists of branches crowding the sky. One day I saw not one, but two, red foxes in the brush. I’d never even seen a red fox before. Nature seemed to be having a moment.

Last Saturday, J and I hiked downslope to Riverbend Park in Fairfax County. Perched on giant boulders, we watched waves sluicing over rocks again and again. I wondered how many years (a hundred? A thousand?) the water repeated those same, unaltered movements. I was comforted by the indifference of the water, how it continued in its reliable rhythms and patterns, despite the sensation of change around it. Repetition – even the kind found in nature – breeds comfort. It gives us something to return to. At a time where nothing feels certain, maybe not even the progression of humankind itself, nature offers an enduring order – a glimpse into a future.

During crises, we can look to nature as an alternate world, an escape from our ceaseless feeds and news cycles. Nature is timeless, reaching beyond the current feeling and moment. As we contend with the unimaginable and our lives settle into this new normal, nature provides a glimmer of hope, a flash of the infinite. It will still be there for us, even when we try to resist it.

Rachel Ament is a DC-based writer who has written for The New York Times, The Paris Review, NPR, Teen Vogue, and Oxygen Magazine, among other publications. She was the editor of Jewish Daughter Diaries: True Stories of Being Loved Too Much By Our Moms.

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

9 Healthy Vegan Foods Your Child Will Actually Want To Eat

Hi there, Kind Life fam! We are Marisa Miller Wolfson, creator of the documentary, Vegucated, and mama of two, and Laura Delhauer, plant-based culinary artist and environmental theatre-maker, and our new book, The Vegucated Family Table is the first ever cookbook written specifically for those wanting to raise vegan babies, toddlers and kiddos. We know it can sometimes be a struggle to get kids to eat healthy vegan foods, so we wrote a whole book of options to help. Included is expert nutritional advice from Dr. Reed Mangels to help answer any questions you may have about the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle for your little ones. Here’s a sneak peek into the book as we talk about nine healthy vegan things that you can get even your pickiest of eaters to enjoy!

Dates

All by themselves, these delightful little fruits taste like caramel candies, but imagine being able to give your child a yummy caramel candy that is naturally filled with potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, vitamin B6, plenty of fiber and even some protein? We use these delicious, nutritious powerhouse fruits in several recipes in our cookbook, such as our Simple Date Bites, Fudgy Nut-Free Energy Bites and even as the main sweetener in our Baby’s First Smash Cake, which is loved by babies, kids and adults alike, and is actually great for any occasion. Dress ‘em up or dress ‘em down, dates are an extremely healthy, naturally sweet vegan treat.

Chia, Flax and Hemp Seeds in Puddings, Jams, Sprinkles and More

Chia and flax are both great sources of fiber, omega 3 and protein. Hemp seeds are also a great source of protein and fiber, omega-3 and omega-6, along with vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and more! And we’ve found that sneaking these nutrition-packed seeds into your kid’s food is not only easy, but it’s actually pretty fun. Children love sprinkles, but most sprinkles are nutritionally devoid and often made of nothing but sugar, artificial colorings and palm oil (no thanks!). So, instead, we decided to create a handful of “sprinkle” recipes in the book that would be made from healthy seeds, natural colorings and other nutritious foods like shredded coconut and goji berries, as well as ground cashews and nutritional yeast in our savory Vegan Parm Sprinkle. There’s something to sprinkle on just about any food for any occasion, and each of them adds a fun and healthy dose of seeds to your child’s meal, snack or treat. Additionally, chia, flax and/or hemp seeds make it into many other recipes, from smoothies to our Chocolate Cherry Chia Muffins, puddings, berry jam and nearly every dessert in the book!

Nuts, Nut Butters and Seed Butters

Nuts and seeds provide healthy sources of fat, fiber and protein, which make for very satisfying kid foods. And while PBJs have long been a staple in the American child’s diet, there are so many ways beyond that age old sammie to use nuts and seeds to make plant-powered meals and treats complete. We’ve got you covered with a host of options, including an almond butter-based Caramel Sauce, plus Cashew Chive Spread, Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce, Peanutty Dipping Sauce (great for dipping our Sesame Tofu Sticks), Orangutan-Approved Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (free from palm oil and all the yucky ingredients in the store bought brands, and with a fraction of the sugar), Peanutty Sweet Potato Stew and so much more. The book also contains many nut-free recipes, including several utilizing tahini or sunbutter instead. We also offer the option to use these seed butters as substitutes if you need to make nutty recipes allergy-friendly. (We even have an option to make delicious nut-free peanut butter cups!) That said, make no mistake, we are big PBJ fans over here, and we do have a recipe for a modern twist on the classic sandwich, as well as a PBJ smoothie bowl!

Lentils and Beans in Dishes Both Savory and Sweet

Lentils and beans are excellent sources of plant-based proteins and an array of other nutrients, and they are wonderfully accessible and inexpensive! They appear in several recipes in the book, including Laura’s Lovely Lentils and guest contributor Sayward Rebhal’s Magic Beans, both taste-approved by kiddos and packed with protein, iron and zinc. But even if you’re thinking your child is not about to sit down and eat a bowl of beans, there are so many other ways to present your littles with these nutritious legumes. We’ve got you covered between our Muscley Marinara (secretly packed with red lentils), a dal recipe by Leinana Two Moons, khichdi by Christina and Pulin Modi and more. But you can even throw beans into a dessert! On the sweeter side of things we have a recipe for Chickpea Blondies (gluten-free, grain-free and full of B vitamins!) and our White Bean Wonder Waffles, which Marisa adapted from a beloved recipe in The Kind Mama.

All Kinds of Veggies in Perfectly Balanced Juices and Smoothies

For many parents, the idea of getting their children to consume cups of leafy greens or raw veggies feels like a laughable fantasy. Well, we are here to tell you, this dream can become a reality more easily than you think. By pairing these veggies with delicious sweet fruits like apples, pineapples, mangoes and bananas in a smoothie or juice (or a smoothie or juice pop!), kids will not only enjoy eating (or drinking) their veggies, but they will request them. In the book we have a whole chapter of “Sips and Slurps,”’ including a Perfect First Green Juice and a green smoothie, both which can fulfil all of your little’s vitamin C requirements for the day! All of our juices and smoothies can also be frozen into pops, which can be an even more appealing veggie treat.

Sneaky Veggie-Laden Savory Dishes

Maybe your kid only really enjoys one cooked vegetable? We can capitalize on that one veggie! You can throw it into our Favorite Veggie Risotto or use it on our Fam Favorite Pizza (with super easy and delicious pizza crust recipe by guest contributor Akua Joy). Celebrating the veggies our kids do love is important and both of those recipes are a great way to do so. But seriously, we understand that you need to get your child to eat more than one vegetable, and we promise it’s possible. Pureeing some veggies into sauces and soups is always a great trick. We’ve snuck veggies into our grilled cheeze, hidden sweet potato in biscuits, made rice out of cauliflower, and mixed pumpkin puree into our Mac-O’-Lantern and Cheeze! We’ve even got three different ways to get your little babes to eat a dish of kale! Between our crispy Kale Chips, Cashew Creamed Kale and Marinated Kale, you just might get your child to start requesting this most infamous of nutrient- packed leafy green. Obviously you know your child best, and that’s why we have an array of options for getting those veggies in. You can decide which ones will be most enticing for your babes, but we promise there are veggie dishes in this book that your kid will not only tolerate but that they will love.

Add Baby Cereal to Boost Iron

If your kiddos don’t gobble down greens, lentils, tofu or other iron-rich foods, we’ve got a special trick: you can use iron-fortified baby cereal in place of oats/oat flour in many recipes. Whether it’s an oatmeal recipe, a pudding, pancake (like our Top o’ the Morning Green Power Pancakes) or a popsicle (like our Purple Porridge Breakfast Pop–recipe below), adding baby cereal is a sneaky and effective way to up your little one’s iron.

Whole-Food Based Healthy Treats

Homemade treats are the best treats. They taste the best and they’re usually healthier not only for us but the planet as well. Homemade and using whole foods takes it to the next level. We loved using whole and nutritious ingredients like nuts, spelt, fruit and oats while developing the snacks and desserts in The Vegucated Family Table. Our Four Seasons Fruit Crumble, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, dippable Broccoli Hearts, Sunset Pops and Iron Sink Cookies (with 15% of your child’s daily iron requirement in one cookie!) are among the many healthy, whole-foods based treats in The Vegucated Family Table. The book mainly sticks to healthy low-glycemic sweeteners like coconut sugar, maple syrup and medjool dates to sweeten treats; however, we do recognize that these sweeteners can be less accessible and on the more expensive side, so the book has some recipes such as Marisa’s Classic Nut-Free Cupcakes, using all highly accessible ingredients, and there’s always the option to substitute certain ingredients listed with those that you already have in your kitchen. The whole point is for you to feel good about giving your child the best start, and homemade treats free from animal products, using whole ingredients when you can, is doing just that.

Balanced Mains Masquerading as Dessert (What!?!)

Not only have we had the White Bean Wonder Waffles for dinner on several occasions, but we have a few other breakfast (or meal of your choice) recipes that are disguised as dessert but are so nutritious you’ll be happy to have your kiddos eating cookies and popsicles for breakfast. Our Thumbprint Breakfast Cookies are filled with protein, iron and zinc, and we shall leave you with one of our proudest recipes: the Purple Porridge Breakfast Pops. Packed with iron, zinc, protein, calcium and B12. Inspired by Marisa’s daughter, Emmie, who went through a phase of wanting nothing but “pops” for breakfast. And even though “pops” in the Wolfson house normally consisted of frozen green juice or smoothie popsicles, it was important to get a few more nutrients (and calories) into this little plant-based princess. So these massively nutritious breakfast pops were born–one of many recipes in the book specifically designed to make eating healthy vegan food something kids get excited about.

Excerpt from The Vegucated Family Table:

Purple Porridge Breakfast Pops

Purple Porridge Breakfast Pops

Marisa’s daughter goes through phases where she only wants ice pops for breakfast. Rather than make a fuss about it, Marisa just rolled with it and made her an ice pop that included the elements of the oaty breakfast Marisa wanted her to have, proving further that sometimes kids will accept an ice pop from what they will not eat any other way. Okay then!

One ice pop made with calcium- and vitamin B12-fortified nondairy milk delivers more than 30 percent of a toddler’s recommended daily intake for iron, more than 20 percent of zinc, more than 15 percent of protein, more than 10 percent of calcium, and at least half the vitamin B12.

MAKES 6

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup vanilla nondairy milk (or regular nondairy milk mixed with 1⁄8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
1 ripe banana
1/3 cup fortified baby oat cereal (or rolled oats, if you don’t have cereal, but oats contain less iron)
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 teaspoon flax meal

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into six ice pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours before unmolding and serving.

Main photo by Anthony Two Moons

Popsicle image courtesy of The Vegucated Family Table

Roasted Pumpkin With Cheese Walnut Crumble

Juicy and succulent, roasted pumpkin is a treat indeed. The combination of tangy miso and rice vinegar with a touch of nutmeg and cayenne pepper truly highlights its subtle flavor. A hefty sprinkling of a cheesy walnut crumble takes this dish from ordinary to extraordinary.

Roasted Pumpkin With Cheese Walnut Crumble

SERVES 6

Ingredients:

Pumpkin

8 cups peeled pumpkin, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes (about 3 pounds)
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
2 tablespoons mellow white miso or chickpea miso
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
cheesy walnut crumble
½ cup walnuts
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, toss the pumpkin cubes with the oil, coconut sugar, miso, vinegar, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake until the chunks are tender and golden, about 40 minutes.
While the pumpkin is roasting, make the walnut crumble: Spread the walnuts into an even layer on a baking sheet or baking dish and roast in the oven along with the pumpkin for 8 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant. Remove and add the nutritional yeast to the pan. Pop back in the oven for an additional 2 minutes to toast the yeast. Once done, remove and transfer the mixture to a food processor and add the lemon juice and sea salt. Pulse to create a crumble. Set aside.
Once the pumpkin chunks are done, transfer to a serving dish. Serve sprinkled with the walnut crumble and garnish with the fresh thyme sprigs.

Reprinted from Mississippi Vegan by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. You can follow Mississippi Vegan on Instagram here: instagram.com/mississippivegan

Copyright © 2018, Timothy Pakron

Jumpsuit-ing Into Fall

All hail the comfy jumpsuit! I have a recent love of jumpsuits. They are just so chic and easy.  I have a few dressy jumpsuits from used clothing sites that I adore, but here are some of my favorite new ones from eco-conscious brands.  A good jumpsuit can be dressed up or down easily, which is something not every dress can claim. They are also perfect for a transitional season, so your legs can be free from a fall gust of wind!

This one looks slightly different from the image – from Tradlands.  It has cute pockets, a belt, and is so flattering on!  It’s a tencel/linen blend.  Tradlands uses responsible manufacturing which  means great working conditions, living wages, and employs artisans to make their clothing.  They are very invested in a high quality “more is less” philosophy. Reducing carbon emissions is  at the top of their ethos. All of their fabrics and styles are made in small batches, with less waste!

Shop it here:

Finn Jumpsuit, $184 @tradlands.com

Next is this lovely navy jumpsuit from Esby. They have employed ethical and sustainable practices and promote slow fashion. This is a cotton and linen blend that is pre-shrunk for the comfy feel. Esby isn’t fully organic yet, but the company is increasing their organic linen and cotton supply – and will be moving fully in this direction very soon!

Shop it here:

Duffy Jumper, $248 @esbyapparel.com

How I wear it: Cute with high heeled sandals.

The next one is a spaghetti strap style from Neu Nomads.  It’s made out of Modal, and has no icky chemical dyes to leech into your system.  Neu Nomads uses sustainable fabrics, and is GOTS and OEKO Tex certified.  These certifications are put in place for organic, natural materials to ensure that the products/ fabrics have gone through rigorous testing and are safe for humans.

Shop it here:

Sydney Drawstring Jumpsuit, $138 @neunomads.com

To add to my current black jumpsuit obsession is this one from Eileen Fisher – made of organic linen. I love the wide sleeveless look, and the cinched waist adds a really cute flattering fit. I’ve  worn Eileen Fisher pieces for years – she makes ethical, timeless styles and has integrated a zero waste philosophy that I love.  If only more mainstream brands would take Fisher’s cue, and make the leap towards sustainability!

Shop it here:

Organic Linen Round Neck Jumpsuit, $139 @eileenfisher.com

Happy jumpsuit-ing!

Let me know if you find any other amazing eco ones — I’d love to hear!

Xo,

Alicia

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

What Matters Most For Your Child In The Start Of This Unique School Year

For families with children, the start of September in the Northern Hemisphere is usually a time of excitement, anticipation, and new beginnings. But this year we’re in an odd time warp, where we’re being thrust headlong into a future we’re not ready for (can school really be starting?) while we’re still mired in the uncertainty and limitations of a pandemic.

If you’re a parent in U.S. this has been a hard month, no matter what decision you’ve made about your child’s education. The stakes are high, and we don’t have enough information about what’s going to happen to make confident decisions. 

If you’re sending your child into a school building, you might be biting your nails even as you put on a brave face for your child.If you’re helping your child with remote learning, you’re remembering that learning from screens (at least as most schools are managing it) isn’t age appropriate for children and requires nearly constant supervision from parents.
If you’re hiring someone else to teach your child with a few other kids in an academic pod you’re probably dipping into funds you need for something else, feeling guilty that you can do that when others may not be able to, and still worried about how effective this arrangement will turn out to be for learning and covid-mitigation.
If you’re a seasoned home-schooler or un-schooler, you’re most likely finding that your usual schedule of activities and meet-ups is still curtailed.
If you’ve decided to try home-schooling or un-schooling for the first time, you might be encountering daily challenges that make you wonder if you’re really cut out for this. (Don’t give up! It gets easier.)

Regardless of your situation, this pandemic is probably highlighting for you that teaching is very hard work, and that our educational system needs some serious re-thinking and overhaul. Anyone who’s paying attention is being reminded that our society needs to do a better job of supporting parents in general, and especially now, when we’re all in the impossible situation of trying to keep money coming in at the same time that we’re supervising and teaching children.

Luckily, our children are resilient, and if the decision you’ve made about school doesn’t end up working for you, you can change it and do something else. This isn’t the year to obsess about academics. A child who is curious and loves to learn will easily catch up in school, with a little support.

It’s also true that tough times force us to dig deep and develop our inner resources. So we’re all enrolled right now in a crash course in resilience that’s imparting lessons we’ll use for the rest of our lives. But there’s no way to sugar-coat this. It’s a tough time for parents and children, and we’re in for more uncertainty in the months ahead. So I want to take this moment to remind you of what’s most important for your child to thrive, even during hard times: A warm connection with you.

YOU are at the center of your family. You create the weather in your home. When the pandemic is over, what your child will remember is how sunny your home felt, or how stormy. When they had a hard time, did their parent understand and help? Was the mood positive and fun? Were tears accepted and comfort offered? When mistakes were made, was grace extended? Was there room for each person in the family to express their full self with all their growing edges, and be loved unconditionally?

This may sound like a tall order in these stressful times. And yes, there will be days when you blow it big time, like every other parent sometimes does. But remember, your child is also enrolled in this crash course in resilience. He or she is learning lessons they’ll build on for a long time. Your calm, patient, nurturing is the foundation they need for this learning.

And that means that your priority has to be taking care of YOU, to maintain your own sense of well-being. When you’re running on empty, you can’t be the emotionally generous parent your child needs and deserves.

That means giving yourself the support you need to be your best as often as you can be, and compassion and grace when you mess up (as we all do). So make a short checklist of research-proven self-care strategies, and every day, check it off.

Did you get enough sleep?
Move your body to re-energize yourself?
Eat healthy food to support your immune system?
Get outside to breathe some fresh air and connect with nature?
Spend a few minutes with a guided meditation or prayer?
Connect with someone who cares about you who isn’t your child?
Talk to yourself like someone you love and give yourself constant encouragement?

It’s hard to show up as the parent you want to be when you’re under this much stress. But like your child, you can do hard things — if you give yourself enough support. If we’ve learned anything from this time, it’s that nobody can do the hard work of trying to be a good human, or the harder work of trying to be a good parent, alone. We all need support and love.

What support do you need to manage the stress you’re juggling? How can you give yourself that support? What one thing could you do today to move in that direction? What next step could you take tomorrow?

Giving yourself support takes work and discipline, but over time it builds your inner resources, and makes life much easier. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect. Two steps forward, one step back still takes you in the right direction. Within a few months, you’ll find yourself in a whole new landscape. And you might find that life looks a whole lot better from there, even in a pandemic.

Dr. Laura Markham is founder of AhaParenting.com and author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings and her latest book, the Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook. This article was originally published here.

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash