Children are very active and are growing every day.
It is important to watch the level of salt you give.
And it is important to give them a variety of foods.
Wholegrain cereals are very important to eat every day.
I recommend cook from the grain, not processed or boxed cereal as much as possible.
Please watch out with fast food and junk foods, which creates too many problems.
Also be careful with food additives and white sugar.
And watch out how much snack food they eat.
If they eat too many snack foods they don’t eat main meal.
Be sure to have enough liquid such as spring water, fruit tea, fruit or vegetable juice.
When they eat healthy, they are well nourished, well grounded and well behaved.
They will play well with friends and study when they get older.
When children are well, parents are happy. It creates a win/win situation.
Simple home cooking maintains our wellbeing.
Home cooking creates our life.
When you cook for the family, you use less salt. Put some food aside for children before adding any salt.
Cut carrots in the shape of a flower and it creates a joyful dish.
Be aware of the coordination of color of vegetables, it is always balanced.
It is not necessary to use too many spices. It will affect the liver.
It is good to learn the sweetness of vegetables and cooked grains.
For grain add extra water to cook softer, it is easier for children to chew.
I recommend soaking the grains. It is much easier to cook and digest.
For vegetables cut into smaller bite size. It is easier to eat.
For noodle or pasta for small children cut in half. Easier to eat.
It is good to have condiments, nuts, dried fruits on the table.
Use natural sweet for cooking such as brown rice malt, barley malt and maple syrup.
Soy sauce – diluted with water half/half.
Bancha tea – diluted with hot water half/half. You can mix with apple juice half/half.
Barley tea – make a pot and give cool through the summer.
If your child is advised in a certain way of eating by a specialist, please follow their advice. Such as egg, yoghurt and goats milk etc.
General Information
Children are growing very fast and need to eat much wider than adults.
Foods to avoid (as much as possible)
White Sugar, Junk foods, Fast foods, Soda, Red meat, Chicken and Pork, Daily foods etc. White sugar creates all kind of problem to our body. White sugar weakens our teeth and bones. Also it could be the cause of obesity.
Junk foods, Fast foods: Just fills the stomach. In the long run it will create all kind of problems beginning with obesity. Too much salt, too many additives, low quality oil etc.
Soda: Too acidic and full of sugar. (One school teacher put baby tooth in the cola and it melted completely in a few months) It is very scary.
Red Meat: From a Macrobiotic point of view, it is too Yang. Children become wild. Look at the animal kingdom: Meat eating animals are wild. When people eat red meat, it creates an extreme inbalance and urge to drink soda and eat lots of white sugar, sweets, even alcohol. One day they reach for drugs. It all makes for extreme inbalance inside our body. No inner peace. Researchers say it takes four days to digest red meat. It blocks the flow of energy.
Chicken and Pork: Watch hormones they feed. Kids hormones became very active. Maybe there is a relationship with teenage pregnancy with the amount of chicken children eat.
Dairy foods: Milk is for baby cows.
Cheese: hard to discharge especially around lower body. You can tell people who love cheese have often got heavier lower bodies. It is very hard to discharge. It blocks the flow of the energy. We don’t want children to look heavy. We want to children to have a balanced body.
Ice cream: Become too sentimental. We don’t want crying children.
It may be very hard not to eat any of the foods above. But it is important to learn where to draw the line. They can eat with a wide variety. They love to eat junk foods with friends. Occasionally it’s OK too have fun. But watch out, and do not give them too much. If children want to eat chicken, be sure to get organic or free range. If they want to eat beef, It’s ok too for special occasion. But please do not give everyday. And keep an eye on quality. Always remember flexibility is name of the game. At the same time you need to watch what they eat. Otherwise stuff builds up in their body.
Recommended foods
Grains
Brown rice
Brown rice with aduki bean
Onigiri (rice ball)
Sushiroll, Hand roll sushi
Five taste rice
Fried rice
Ohagi
Risotto, Spanish rice
Other Grains
Oatmeal
Grits
Millet cake
Barley soup
Barley risotto
Soup
Miso soup (with different vegetables)
Bean soup such as Lentil soup, Orange Lentil soup, Kidney bean soup, Chickpea soup
Aduki bean soup (make sweet)
Seafood soup
Minestrone soup
Vegetable soup
Root Vegetables
Daikon, Carrot, Lotus root, Burdock root, Turnip, Beetroot, Yam etc
Green Vegetables
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, Kale, Turnip green, Bok choy, Watercress, other leafy greens, Zucchini, Lettuce, Cucumber, Green Pepper, Onion etc
Sea Vegetables
Nori, Wakame, Hijiki, Arame, Dulse, Green Nori flakes,
Mushrooms
Round Vegetables
Onion, Squash, Pumpkin, Cabbage
Nightshade vegetables
Occasionally, not too much.
Potatoes, Tomatoes, but not Eggplant/Aubergine
Tofu, Tempeh and Seitan
Children love tofu anyway I cook it.
When you cook Seitan, be sure its not too salty.
Grilled tofu
Tofu burger
Agedashi Tofu
Stir fried tofu with vegetables
Tofu scrambled
Tofu soup
Marinated Tempeh
Deep fried Tempeh
Sweet and sour Tempeh
Seitan sukiyaki
Seitan fried
Marinated seitan
Seafood
Be sure to choose wild caught.
Noodles and Pasta
Children love noodles and pasta dishes. Udon noodle and Soba noodle has salt in it. If you make noodle soup be careful not to use too much soy sauce.
Pasta with red and white sauce
Pasta with vegetable sauce
Pasta with sea food
Pasta salad
Tofu lasagne
Tofu quiche
Condiments
Furikake condiments with very little sea salt
Toasted Sesame Seeds (no salt)
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds
Light meals, Sandwich and Snacks
Pancake (Blueberry pancake, Buckwheat pancake etc)
Waffle (Pecan waffle, Walnut waffle)
Mochi waffle
Okonomiyaki – Japanese pancake with vegetables
Fish sandwich
Seitan sandwich
Tempeh sandwich
Tofu sandwich
Hummus sandwich
Corn bread
Muffins
Oatmeal cookies
Dried nuts (no salt)
Dried fruits
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Organic apples can be eaten with skin.
If it is not organic, please peel the skin.
Dessert
Homemade dessert made healthy.
No white sugar
No dairy products
No egg
Carrot cake
Banana bread
Strawberry shortcake
Blueberry shortcake
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Fruits Kanten
Tea and other drinks
You don’t have to use all of them, but it is good to have a variety.
Spring water
Bancha tea – if it is younger child, dirtied with hot water half/half.
Bancha tea and apple juice – mix bancha tea and apple juice half/half.
Barley tea – Make pot and serve in cool through the summer.
Fruit tea – non caffeine tea is good to serve cool in the summer.
Apple juice and Pear juice
Ameyu – 1tsp of brown rice malt mixed with cup of hot water.
Amazake
Fresh carrot juice
Rice milk
Soy milk
Oat milk
Almond milk
