CANTEEN JUNK FOOD HURTING OUR KIDS

Last Saturday, a bunch of like-minded people were talking about raw food, and one of the ladies was commenting about how, despite years of education, school canteen was still providing unhealthy snacks for our kids. I was on a roll and started writing a long article about children loving junk food in school, why it makes them sick and how we can turn the tide and so on. Then, I stopped and deleted the entire thing because the whole article was starting to sound like a lecture! Then, I wished I didn't promise to write an article about canteen junk food. The answer is really simple actually.

We all know there's junk food temptation everywhere. The answer boils down to parents, not the school.

I mean, Muslims parents don't eat pork (kosher food), and Muslims kids in school are not tempted to eat pork. Hindu parents and many Buddhist parents don't eat beef, and their kids are also not tempted to eat beef in school. If parents do not consume junk food, the kids will not take to junk food as well.

By making healthy eating a matter of routine, without fuss with our kids, with love and care, and education about healthy options, they will follow our lead, yes, even in school. :-)

Jasmin"Eat Raw Food Today" facebook group

ps I know this article is mainly about parents and kids, but it's relevant if you don't have kids and are in contact with kids. All of us are role models to children. It helps to show children, adults enjoying raw fruits instead of candy and other no-no food.

pps how do we deal with people who sabotage our efforts in feeding our future hope healthy food? If you have ideas, please pm me or start a discussion in the facebook group.

KILLING BABIES THROUGH MILK

I am so outraged reading about the 2 babies dead, and about 500 babies made ill, after drinking tainted milk in China.

Breastfeeding is the best way to protect a child from all these dangers. But I do realize it’s not possible for every baby. A lot of mothers have to leave their children and work faraway. A lot of mothers have to work the entire day and have to leave their children with caregivers. We place our trust in companies to provide the best nutrition for our babies and the babies end up being poisoned instead. Bad food cases are cropping up everywhere, not just in China. Children have been taken ill in USA after eating undercooked burgers, Malaysian children struck down with diarrhea after eating in dirty school canteens (cafeteria).

What a tragedy for us all.

We, as parents, as brothers and sisters, as uncles and aunties, as grandparents, must take responsibility to provide the best nutrition for our family. One of the best forms of nutrition, believe it or not, are raw fruits, raw vegetables, raw nuts, raw food, lovingly prepared by our hands.

I know we are all busy people, but I'm asking all of us to make a pledge to ourselves to do something about how we treat food, and where we get them from, and how we feed ourselves and our family. Get a piece of paper, write down what your pledge is, don't have to be long nor complicated, and stick it somewhere you can see it constantly, like on a stick it note stuck to your computer monitor. If you think you can't do it yourself, feel free to message me your pledge, and I'd be happy to contact you once in a while to check on your progress ....

Jasmin who is going to sign off and kiss her sleeping sweeties now.

ps sometimes it helps to have friends who share the same concern. Perhaps you could do an Oprah group thing where a bunch of you guys at the office will band together to eat better collectively.

pps speaking about banding together, what can we do to get healthier meals in school canteens? I'll write about some shocking, or maybe not so shocking truths tomorrow.