Raw Food Diet for Kids

Whether you've started a raw diet yourself or you'd like your child to grow up eating only fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, the raw diet may be an effective way to get your kids to eat healthy. Consult a doctor before switching to a raw diet or incorporating mostly raw vegetables in your child's eating plan.

Significance

Growing children will start developing cravings for specific foods early in life, according to the Raw Food Society of BC website. If you introduce fattening junk foods and foods that are high in saturated fat into your child's diet at an early age, she may begin to crave these foods. Therefore, providing a diet that is full of healthy, raw fruits and vegetables may be a beneficial way to promote healthy eating habits for your child's entire life.

Considerations

According to vegan chef Mark Reinfeld in the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw," a raw diet, as opposed to a traditional vegan or vegetarian diet, which includes cooked foods, may be more beneficial because it involves eating live foods that contain the highest amount of vitamins and minerals. Foods that are boiled, fried or baked are stripped of their nutrients and do not provide the nutritional benefits that raw foods do.

Sample Breakfast

For breakfast, the Raw Food Society of BC website recommends giving your child a vitamin-packed green smoothie. The vegetables and fruits you add to the homemade smoothie are up to you -- especially nutritious additions include green vegetables like kale, spinach, celery and fruits like bananas and apples. Blend any desired fruits and vegetables in a blender to mix, then serve the drink to your child in a crazy straw to make drinking the smoothie more fun.

Sample Snacks

Cut up fruits and vegetables like apples, celery and carrots and serve them with almond butter as a snack, says Reinfield. Premade trail mix at the grocery store may have not-so-healthy candy added, but you can make your own trail mix using superfoods that are high in vitamins like goji berries. If your kids are in the mood for a sweet treat, mix some mashed bananas and strawberries into a small amount of apple juice and pour the pulpy mixture into ice cube trays with toothpicks. Your children will enjoy the raw, frozen fruit pops just as much as the sugary store-bought kind.

Warning

Children require a balance of nutritious foods to grow properly and stay healthy. Eating a variety of raw foods, including protein-filled nuts and tofu, is the best way to make a raw diet work for your little ones. According to nutritionist Jane Clark, forcing kids to eat a diet that contains no protein from animal products, like dairy, eggs and meat, may cause malnutrition, even if the child is eating vegetable sources that contain protein. Feed your children a raw diet only under the strict supervision of your child's pediatrician.