It’s not news that the typical U.S. diet—what researchers call the “Western diet”, loaded with meat, saturated fat, processed foods, salt and sugar and low in fruits, whole grains and veggies—is spurring all sorts of health problems, even for our youngest citizens. However, it is good news that the message to “eat more plants” is slowing creeping in.
And it’s not just the long list of celebrities, from Anne Hathaway to Woody Harrelson that are praising the a plant-based lifestyle. It’s also the scholarly experts in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and nutrition experts have joined the campaign to promote a more plant-based way of eating. In my book released earlier this summer, The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Optimal Health, Beginning Today (The Experiment, 2012), I explain the dramatic benefits of eating more plants and why hundreds of studies have led to one conclusion: The healthiest diet on the planet is a plant-based diet.
Since a plant-based diet is simply an eating pattern that “emphasizes plant foods,” it covers a spectrum of eating styles and preferences. For some families, a plant-based diet may consist of no animal products. For others, it might be a more gradual process of shifting away from the traditional Western diet that is high in animal products towards more plant foods. The great thing about transitioning to a plant-based diet is that it doesn’t involve complicated instructions. It’s a simple shift towards more whole, unprocessed foods that come directly from plants – and the result is optimal health for your children and for your whole family. Learn how with the top ten tips to eat plant based kid friendly meals!
