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Probably by now you are thinking of changing to a
vegetarian diet yourself. If so you will no doubt wish to
encourage your own family to partake of this good
nutritional food and improved dietary habit as well. Indeed
I would go so far as to say it is your responsibility as a
parent to ensure that your children are nurtured in a
manner that allows them to develop to their greatest
potential both mentally and physically.
However I do realize that this is not as easy as it at first
may seem particularly within a cultural lifestyle where the
media bombards our children with messages that ‘fast food
restaurants’ are ‘cool’ and that ‘Ronald McDonald’ is the
way to go. I do understand, also, that it is almost
impossible to convince our kids to resist peer pressure to
conform to the cultural norm. It seems that the ‘Happy
Meal’ wins hands down when it comes to a choice
between that and a plate of vegetables!!
You would be wise to begin the change on your own and
your family’s eating patters slowly. It may be obvious to
say that, like any other food project, begins at the grocery
store. Start by filling the refrigerator with snacks that lead
to healthy eating, such as apples and carrots or any other
type of fruit that you and your family enjoy. . It may be that
you usually take white rice. Why not think about changing
this to good, chewy brown rice. You should also try to
avoid processed foods as these are very high in fat and
sodium (salt). Perhaps you could begin to make meat
portions smaller and then even smaller and get into the habit
of including more grains and vegetables into your family
meals.
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