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Many American families tend to lead over scheduled and frantic lives. This leads to a diet heavy in red meat, sugar, fat, refined grains, frequently in the form of fast food, also known as the Standard American diet (SAD). According to national surveys, less than 5% of people on a “healthy diet” eat sufficient quantities of green leafy vegetables (greens).

But with health issues like diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol and obesity on the uptick, more people are examining their eating habits and seeing that they need to return to raw foods to achieve optimum health for their families. For instance, spinach is one of nature’s superfoods. It contains fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, folic acid and the antioxidant lutein.

Your kids won’t eat their spinach? Try them in smoothies! Blended with bananas and other fruits, greens like spinach and kale can become a yummy snack that can help your child get the 3 to 5 servings of greens that they need to stay healthy.

If you’d like to try green smoothies for your family, check out the Green Smoothie Recipes for Kids book. It has dozens of delicious green smoothie recipes. We’ve been making green smoothies for a few weeks around here and they have been a hit with my kids.

Another way to get your kids to eat more healthfully is by incorporating raw snacks into their diets. The easiest way, of course is just by eating some fresh fruit. But kids want the fun stuff! Did you know you could make your own fruit leathers with fresh fruit in a food dehydrator? A great resource for raw snack ideas for your kids is Raw Kids Recipes.

Many families who try to incorporate healthier eating habits into their lives soon notice the positive difference in the health of their families.