Exchange Sugary Desserts For This & Notice What Changes...

Here is November's archive file! 

Mmm comfort food that is healthy, delicious and can even help to relax your little ones with no refined sugar rush...

Homemade Compote With Granola

Your Actions Count... What Action Will You Take?

Here is September's Archive Gem...

You have more influence than you think!

http://myfruitandvegetablefriends.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/lets-get-things-started.html

How are you helping to spread the word about enjoying Fruits and Vegetables to your children? Share your tips and comments below.

Power of Words

For February's archive gem here we discover the power of language and how that can have a huge impact on children's diet...take a look at the top tips here and notice what changes when you apply the tips!

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen

Food and Emotions

Can food affect us emotionally? 

How can we create more harmony within us and society? 

Montse Bradford answers questions here in this exclusive interview with Lilou Mace. 

Watch here

Interested in learning great recipes for you and your family? Montse is running an exclusive 2 day intensive course this June in English. 

More details can be found below or email recepcion@montsebradford.es 

http://montsebradford.es/en/montse-bradford-b/summer-school-seminar/

Start this summer with increased vitality and harmony for you and your family! 

Metaphors: Encouraging Fussy Eaters

I came across an interesting article on PositivleyPositive.com the other day. A great read on how to help children talk about their feelings. A simple story of a mother and child sharing a moment of honesty to help resolve an argument (you can read the article using the link below).  

Metaphors are also a great way to teach children. Metaphors (a story with a parable) are used in NLP to help the unconscious mind unlock solutions and answers within which can help any given situation. The receiver becomes so wrapped up in the story that they don't realise there is a meaning and solution hidden in there. All is not lost though, the unconscious mind is paying attention and challenging situations and unhelpful habits can quickly be resolved. Here is a great one to use with children for healthy eating...

Here's a little story about Sue...Sue loves music. Everyone has certain types of music they like to listen to and Sue is the same. There is music to relax to, music to dance to, and music to cheer you up. Sue has just the right piece of music already for each of these things. 

She thought to herself one day, "It's funny how my brain knows without even thinking what my ears need to hear to make me feel a certain way". Sue then thought of a time when she heard a piece of music which she knew she didn’t want to listen to. It may have been a great piece of music by a fantastic singer, but it just didn’t settle well with her. She can often tell these tunes just by skimming through a music collection menu when deciding what to listen to. Sue trusts her senses and hears what they are saying. 

Sue now happily lives a healthy life enjoying a wide variety of music, knowing that her ears are receiving many different types of wonderful sounds. Sue also listens to new, unknown music every now and again, feeling excited at what wonderful things she may learn and experience. Some of her favourite songs today that she loves were once a new, unknown song for her in the past. Sue is very happy to have tried listening something new as she now dances to her new favourite song.

You needn't explain the metaphor, just notice what shifts may occur in your child being more open to trying new things and listening to what their body needs. They are a lot smarter than we give them credit for sometimes!

Article - Communication Tools To Help Kids Talk About Their Feelings

100th Post!

We have reached our 100th post here at My Fruit and Vegetable Friends!

 

A big thank you to all of the followers out there whether you are on Google+, Bloglovin or Twitter. You are very much appreciated! Thank you for spreading the word and contributing to make positive changes towards the health and well being of our future generation.

 

Together we can make a difference!

Superfoods

What are superfoods, and should we be feeding our children superfoods daily?

 

The term Superfood has been used over the past few years to describe foods that contains high levels of certain properties that are considered beneficial to our health. It has in some respects become a little bit of a trend, with a new superfood being hailed as the latest must have in shops and the media every year, resulting in a huge increase in sales for that product.

 

While certain foods contain higher levels of vitamins etc than others, it is important to remember that our body needs a wide range of nutrients, even those small amounts of trace elements are important for a healthy body. A varied, balanced diet based on natural wholefoods is ideal rather than overdosing on one particular superfood.

 

I also believe that sustainability and the care of our planet is so important at this moment in time. Therefore focusing the majority of our diet on local, seasonal produce is ideal rather than importing Goji berries all the way from Tibet for daily consumption.

 

I am not saying that we cant try new foods and get to know other products, however focusing our daily consumption on local, seasonal produce is not only great for the environment but also our health. Particular plants and dishes originate from certain countries for a reason...hotter foods traditionally come from hotter climates as spices such as chili help to cool the body down in the long term. As well as hearty rich stews with root vegetables tend to originate from colder climates as they help to warm and ground the body.

 

However saying that over the next month I will post some information on a few vegetables that have been classed as superfoods. These can be included in your children's diets for added health benefits.

 

If you have any questions about a particular superfood do post your comments here and I will answer any queries :-)

Good Vibrations Barcelona

If you haven't done so already check out the previous posts with the Hug Game Explained video. Great fun! For more fun, positive ideas, videos, news and activities have a look on the Good Vibrations Barcelona page on facebook...

Good Vibrations Barcelona - Facebook

Peter Sharp has organised some wonderful events to spread happiness and love socially, experimenting with new ideas, concepts, seeing what really makes humans tick, and the noticing how even though we can be complex individuals, deep down many are are seeking a similar and very simple thing...to feel happy, loved and accepted.

Whilst food plays a very important role in children's health, thoughts, emotions, lifestyle etc also play huge part. All areas need to be acknowledged and balanced in order for them to be able to grow up feeling happy, confident and healthy.

Try the Hug Game today and notice what difference it makes to your children's attitude and behaviour.

What changes?

How do they respond differently towards you and others after the game?

Feedback is always welcomed, do leave your comments on this blog and let us know how your family respond!

Hug Game Explained Video

Tip #3:

So heres the 3rd tip for this months NLP theme on improving childrens diets...

Role Models

If you want to achieve a goal one of the best ways is to find a role model that has already achieved what you want to achieve and to notice what they did to achieve it. Model their behaviour.

How does this fit in with improving children's diets?

Find another friend or relative that has improved their children's diets and find out what they did...how did they behave, think, believe and feel in order to achieve their goal? What practical steps did they take? Do they have any useful tips and advice for you and your family?

Be curious, experiment with new ideas and enjoy seeing the healthy eating improvements unfold!

This also works the other way - children use adults as role models and if they are surrounded by a healthy eating family who enjoy good, home cooked food, and are able to explain the importance of good food in a fun and creative way them then they are likely to follow in their footsteps.

Children will have a very hard time believing that vegetables are good for them if the rest of the family is eating microwaved junk food and fizzy drinks!

Be that role model for your children.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi