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Raw Mom Spotlight: Leigh Sietsema’s Goals for a Healthy Family

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Raw Mom Spotlight: Leigh Sietsema’s Goals for a Healthy Family

By Fiona Hollis

We love it when we get to hear from YOU. Its great finding wonderful people to interview and share their knowledge, recipes and inspiration… but we also love to hear YOUR experiences and what works for you.

This is Leigh’s response to setting boundaries within her family to ensure her children are educated about the life-thriving properties of food. It is a humble and loving place we come from when we allow our children the freedom to make their own choices. If we have established a healthy example from a young age, our children will choose from their hearts, not from a place of fear of consequence.

Could We Outlive Our Children?

“I wanted to speak about this particular point with just a few thoughts. This generation of children is the first to have so many illnesses that were unheard of a generation ago: cancer, type 1 diabetes, Attention Deficit Disorder Spectrum, etc. It seems clear that nutrition plays a large role in this.

There has never been a time in our history when so much “white” food was consumed by so many and it will be interesting (and sad) to see how it all plays out for us as we mature and age.  Not everyone will have adverse effects; my own great grandfather was a carpenter who ate white flour (homemade) tortillas daily, slathered in butter.  Everything my Great Grandma Fina made was yummy AND it had lard, butter, white flour and sugar in it!!!!  She cooked from scratch until she was almost 90, then bought store mix cakes (she had fresh baked sweets every day with fresh made coffee available all day long).   They lived to be in their mid-90’s.  Although this is how they ate when I was alive, I bet they also ate fresh fruits and veggies from the farm when they were kids and young adults.

I Want to Thrive, Not Just Survive

I have five children of my own and numerous friends find our high raw, gluten free vegetarian lifestyle too extreme.  Some days I agree; it can be hard to cook/prepare from scratch each meal and snack and when the alternative seems so simple – popping something into the microwave (which we haven’t owned for a decade), I see what they might be thinking!!

Even so, it’s my goal to get more nutrition into their bodies and more information into their minds so that they will be equipped to answer questions from well meaning family and friends.  I want a long and lovely and vibrant life, not just a life of mediocrity in food for the body or food for the mind.  Don’t get me wrong, I love treat food too; but in our home, we set limits on what can be eaten and when. For instance, the morning is for fresh food, green smoothies, fruit salad, melons and after lunch is time for treats, fruit popsicles, etc.

Give Kids a Chance to Try a Healthier Option

My favorite way to convince is to listen, to offer alternatives, to be willing to share what we’re eating. Kids love our green smoothies, green lemonade, salads, raw tabouli, nut selection, fruit basket, fruit leathers, fruit smoothies, raw chocolate pudding and raw cacao balls and even gluten free whole grain breads. They are drawn to the colors, the fresh smells, the taste and instinctively know it’s good for them!  If only they could get more of this at home.  My adult friends on the other hand, are harder to convince.  Too bad.

In addition, we take Juice Plus as a whole foods, raw supplement and I love knowing we’re getting even more nutrition that way and for those that can’t or won’t eat more fruits and veges, this is a way for them to get started.  When asked, I share that green smoothies and JP have changed our lives….we eat both every day and will for the rest of our lives.  It’s part of my path to share the wisdom of fruits and vegetables and that the “white food” isn’t what our bodies need to grow well and be strong.  It’s okay if they aren’t in a place to hear it.”

Nourish Your Family with Meals They Love

Think about all the ways you could invite your children to discover the delights of fresh fruits and vegetables! Why not invite them into the kitchen with you so that you can learn about the powerful benefits of nutrients and minerals found in leafy greens, cultured foods and even nuts and seeds! Start here today with our Remineralize Your Body Program and make it a family affair!