128 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition
Fruit Delight
1 cup apple puree(^1) ⁄ 2 cup mashed prunes
(^1) ⁄ 2 cup vanilla bean, fi nely chopped
(^1) ⁄ 2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
This recipe is excellent for digestion and slightly sluggish bowels. It is
also easy to prepare. Add 1 teaspoon of uncooked arrowroot if more help is
needed with digestion (and correspondingly a little water to loosen the
mixture). Apple is a very healthy food.
Find a line of baby and toddler foods based on organic ingredients. Ex-
posure to a variety of new foods will help babies and toddlers to develop a
wider appreciation and encourage them to become more adventurous eat-
ers as they grow up.
children
When preparing food for children, make it appealing and fun.
Occasionally, cover the table with many foods with different tastes — for
example, sliced raw carrot, olives, olive oil, garlic, raw mushrooms,
caulifl ower, sunfl ower seeds, carob pods, and apple slices — then let them
try each of them while you draw attention to the different fl avors and
colors. Children love to copy, so join in!
Children eat proportionally more food than adults. This is necessary
because they are growing and, therefore, their metabolism is working at a
much faster rate. They are also naturally more active than adults and use
more calories, so it is always advisable to have nutritious snacks for them
to eat, such as bananas, apples, or presoaked dried fruits. In the summer
you can make your own fruit-juice ice pops.
Banana–Rice Milk Shake
This is a tasty and energizing drink that is ideal for children. To make,
blend up to three bananas with^1 ⁄ 2 cup rice milk, soy milk, coconut milk,
or almond milk; 5 bee pollen grains; and^1 ⁄ 4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon.
What to Avoid
Children, like adults, will show clear reactions to certain food groups if
they have allergies to them. They will also experience reactions if they are
nutritionally defi cient, including headaches, insomnia, lack of appetite,
constipation, diarrhea, nausea, or catarrh. Candidiasis or a runny nose and
general low health may indicate possible nutritional problems with
reactions or allergies, stemming from inadequate digestion, malabsorption,
or nutritional defi ciency.
Avoid food colorings and additives in foods and limit the intake of
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